Soups: Leeky Potato Soup - a question about melting cheese in it

Subject: Leeky Potato Soup - a question about melting cheese in it
Newsgroups: rec.food.cooking
From: Melba's Jammin' (barbschaller at earthlink.net)
Date: Sun, 27 Oct 2002 20:04:58 -0600
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I made some and thought I'd jazz it up some with some cheese. I have some dill havarti from a local Scandinavian market in my fridge and I cubed it and stirred it into my bowl of hot soup. I was disappointed that it didn't melt completely and incorporate into the soup; rather, the little cubes just got very soft. Could've been worse, but it wasn't what I was hoping for. Was I expecting too much from that kind of cheese?
From: Jill McQuown
Date: Sun, 27 Oct 2002 20:47:13 -0600
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Melba's Jammin' wrote:
> I made some and thought I'd jazz it up some with some cheese. I have
> some dill havarti from a local Scandinavian market in my fridge and I
> cubed it and stirred it into my bowl of hot soup. I was disappointed
> that it didn't melt completely and incorporate into the soup; rather,
> the little cubes just got very soft. Could've been worse, but it wasn't
> what I was hoping for. Was I expecting too much from that kind of
> cheese?

Some kinds of cheese are very "melty", others are not. I don't think of Havarti as a melting cheese, but maybe that's just me. You live in cheddar country! Why not just melt some cheddar into the soup?

Some other excellent melting cheeses include gruyere, brie and fontina. Regardless, I'm sure it didn't make the soup taste awful :)
From: Melba's Jammin' (barbschaller at earthlink.net)
Date: Sun, 27 Oct 2002 22:32:09 -0600
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Jill McQuown wrote:

> Some kinds of cheese are very "melty", others are not. I don't think
> of Havarti as a melting cheese, but maybe that's just me. You live
> in cheddar country! Why not just melt some cheddar into the soup?

Because I had havarti. :-) I'd been to Ingebretsen's fall sale a couple weeks ago and picked up a hunk of the yummy havarti. Never mind that Rob won't eat cheese and I don't very often. It's been sitting in the fridge waiting for me to do something with it -- I used some in a grilled cheese sandwich earlier in the day for Blue Ribbon Granddaughter. Arrggh. There's still about a half pound left.

> Some other excellent melting cheeses include gruyere, brie and
> fontina. Regardless, I'm sure it didn't make the soup taste awful :)

No, but I was surprised that I had soft hunks. Oh, well, shows you what I know about cheeses. :-/
From: Nancy Young (qwerty at mail.monmouth.com)
Date: Sun, 27 Oct 2002 23:38:38 -0500
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Melba's Jammin' wrote:
> No, but I was surprised that I had soft hunks.

My word. What good is a hunk if it's soft?

nancy (they better have a great sense of humor ... etc.)
From: MH (bastzine at worldnet.att.net)
Date: Mon, 28 Oct 2002 05:30:31 GMT
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Nancy Young wrote:
> nancy (they better have a great sense of humor ... etc.)

haha!! Yeah, we lost, but I still have good sense of humor, a little anyway.

But cheese with leek soup??? That almost require a herculian sense of humor. Serve the cheese with bread or crackers and serve the leek soup on its own. Soup doesn't always have to be thicker than mud.

Martha H.
From: Damsel in dis Dress
Date: Mon, 28 Oct 2002 05:42:32 GMT
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MH shared the following:
>But cheese with leek soup??? That almost require a herculian sense of
>humor.

We always add American cheese to our potato leek soup (it melts better than cheddar). It rounds out the flavor beautifully. Try it in just one bowl. I'll bet you'll like it!
From: MH (bastzine at worldnet.att.net)
Date: Mon, 28 Oct 2002 05:57:59 GMT
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Damsel in dis Dress wrote:
> We always add American cheese to our potato leek soup (it melts better than
> cheddar). It rounds out the flavor beautifully. Try it in just one bowl.
> I'll bet you'll like it!

OK, Dams, I'll try leek soup with cheese. But what other kind of cheese can I use other than American cheese, which I don't like at all? Swiss? I could use Gruyere, I bet.

Martha H.
From: Damsel in dis Dress
Date: Mon, 28 Oct 2002 08:23:09 GMT
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MH shared the following:
>OK, Dams, I'll try leek soup with cheese. But what other kind of cheese can
>I use other than American cheese, which I don't like at all? Swiss? I could
>use Gruyere, I bet.

I'm not very well-versed on cheeses. Just something that will melt well, without getting all clumpy. Enjoy!

Carol
From: Melba's Jammin' (barbschaller at earthlink.net)
Date: Mon, 28 Oct 2002 08:07:20 -0600
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MH wrote:
> OK, Dams, I'll try leek soup with cheese. But what other kind of
> cheese can I use other than American cheese, which I don't like at
> all? Swiss? I could use Gruyere, I bet.

How about Monterey Jack? I have a recipe for white chili that has monterey jack cheese in it.
From: Melba's Jammin' (barbschaller at earthlink.net)
Date: Mon, 28 Oct 2002 08:05:42 -0600
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Damsel in dis Dress wrote:
> We always add American cheese to our potato leek soup (it melts
> better than cheddar). It rounds out the flavor beautifully. Try it
> in just one bowl. I'll bet you'll like it!

THANK YOU VERY MUCH!! What was going through my head was the concept of all the cheesey soups that seem to abound -- Cheesey Broccoli, Beer Cheese. So why NOT add some cheese that was taking up space in my fridge? Huh, why NOT? It's called creative cookery! Whaddabuncha schlumps! Maybe I shouldn't mention that I've also added sour cream to that kind of soup -- you know, like, baked potatoes with sour cream. I'm gonna have a talk with Martha. . . Thanks, Damsel!
From: MH (bastzine at worldnet.att.net)
Date: Tue, 29 Oct 2002 01:38:04 GMT
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Melba's Jammin' wrote:
> THANK YOU VERY MUCH!! What was going through my head was the concept of
> all the cheesey soups that seem to abound -- Cheesey Broccoli, Beer
> Cheese. So why NOT add some cheese that was taking up space in my
> fridge? Huh, why NOT? It's called creative cookery! Whaddabuncha
> schlumps! Maybe I shouldn't mention that I've also added sour cream to
> that kind of soup -- you know, like, baked potatoes with sour cream.
> I'm gonna have a talk with Martha. . . Thanks, Damsel!

OK, I'm duly punished. : )

Martha H.
From: Jack Schidt (jack.schidt at snet.net)
Date: Tue, 29 Oct 2002 11:26:08 GMT
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MH wrote:
> OK, I'm duly punished. : )

Go sit in the corner and eat velveeta.

Jack Crime
From: MH (bastzine at worldnet.att.net)
Date: Tue, 29 Oct 2002 14:59:38 GMT
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Jack Schidt wrote:
> Go sit in the corner and eat velveeta.

Wow, you're harsh.

Martha H.
From: Jack Schidt (jack.schidt at snet.net)
Date: Tue, 29 Oct 2002 21:04:06 GMT
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MH wrote:
> Wow, you're harsh.

Yeah, you're right. ok, make it domestic swiss.

Jack Appeal
From: Melba's Jammin' (barbschaller at earthlink.net)
Date: Mon, 28 Oct 2002 08:09:46 -0600
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MH wrote:
> But cheese with leek soup??? That almost require a herculian sense of
> humor. Serve the cheese with bread or crackers and serve the leek
> soup on its own. Soup doesn't always have to be thicker than mud.

I agree about thin soup and didn't suggest that I was trying to thicken the soup with the cheese. I think I sort of discount the value (?) of the leeks in the soup. When I'm making it, it's more like "I wanna make some potato soup and I think I'll include some leeks to jazz it up." It is not a stretch to involve cheese with potatoes -- in any form, AFAIC.

Pppfftthhhggbbtt!
From: sf at pipeline.com (sf)
Date: Mon, 28 Oct 2002 04:04:21 GMT
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Melba's Jammin' wrote:
> I made some and thought I'd jazz it up some with some cheese. I have
> some dill havarti from a local Scandinavian market in my fridge and I
> cubed it and stirred it into my bowl of hot soup. I was disappointed

I like havarti, but I can't imagine it in soup.
From: Melba's Jammin' (barbschaller at earthlink.net)
Date: Sun, 27 Oct 2002 22:21:50 -0600
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sf wrote:
> I like havarti, but I can't imagine it in soup.

Well, I was making it up as I went along and I was thinking that dill didn't sound bad with potatoes. . . .
From: MH (bastzine at worldnet.att.net)
Date: Mon, 28 Oct 2002 05:33:34 GMT
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Melba's Jammin' wrote:
> Well, I was making it up as I went along and I was thinking that dill
> didn't sound bad with potatoes. . . .

It sounds horrible with leeks. Have the soup and then have the cheese. It's ok to have more than one course. It's not a bad thing.

Martha H.
From: Sheryl Rosen (goaway at leavemealone.com)
Date: Mon, 28 Oct 2002 04:34:43 GMT
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Melba's Jammin' wrote:
> I made some and thought I'd jazz it up some with some cheese. I have
> some dill havarti from a local Scandinavian market in my fridge and I
> cubed it and stirred it into my bowl of hot soup. I was disappointed
> that it didn't melt completely and incorporate into the soup; rather,
> the little cubes just got very soft. Could've been worse, but it wasn't
> what I was hoping for. Was I expecting too much from that kind of
> cheese?

I remember not having much luck getting havarti to melt the way you were hoping it would. Back in college, several groups gave "wine and cheese" lectures. My friends and I discovered we could go to those, get some free wine and cheese, and LEARN something! Not to mention it was a great way to meet smart guys! Anyway, we were friends with the catering people, so we woudl often wind up with the leftover cheese from the reception! How much cheese can two 19 year olds eat? So we tried to cook with it. That's when we discovered cheddar and muenster melted well into a sauce, but Jarlsberg had to be diced really small to melt into sauce, it was better for slicing and melting into a sandwich, (or on top of soup, or similar) as was the havarti.

I remember trying to make a bechamel/cheese sauce wth the leftover cheeses, to make mac and cheese. Globs of cheese resulted. It was really ugly. Tasted good though.

Ahh memories.
Subject: REC: Potato Leek Soup with Ham and Cheese
Newsgroup: rec.food.cooking
From: Damsel in dis Dress
Date: Wed, 30 Oct 2002 07:55:05 GMT

Potato Leek Soup with Ham and Cheese

Recipe By: Damsel in dis Dress
Categories: crockpot, soups/chowders

3 14-oz. cans chicken broth
8 large potatoes -- peeled and cubed
3 leeks - white & light green part only -- chopped
2 large carrots -- peeled and cubed
3 cups chopped ham
5 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon parsley flakes
1/2 teaspoon pepper
12 ounces evaporated milk
shredded American cheese -- to taste
chopped chives -- for garnish

Put all ingredients except milk, cheese, and chives in 4.5 quart crockpot.
Cover and cook on Low 10-12 hours. (High 7-8 hours)
Add milk and cheese during last hour.
Serve topped with chopped chives (optional).

Yield: 4 quarts