"Time Stands Still, But Winners Never Die"

Recipe for Cream of Garlic Soup

  

 When I was younger I developed a real love for cooking.  I devoted a lot of time to it and came up with quite a collection of recipes sufficient to fill a cookbook that never materialized, but good enough to draw the attention of the publishers of Sunset Magazine which was one of the best, if not the best, magazine for amateurs who loved to cook. 

With the passage of time, my life changed and other things captured my interest.  My time at the stove gradually dwindled in the face of other interests that were more important to supporting a family and concentrating on other professional interests.   

A week or so ago I met up with a gentleman who I had come to know in one of the local restaurants.  The subject of my interest in cooking came up and he asked about a soup recipe I developed that he thought was exceptionally good.  Interestingly enough, the recipe was published in a column in Sunset Magazine titled “CHEFS OF THE WEST.”  Without the required amount of humility and time on my side, I offered to give him the recipe.  Well, I scoured the house and every magazine on the book shelves but, alas, the recipe was not to be found.  I finally resorted to creating one without a clue as to what was in the original creation.  What I gave him and what I shared with a few friends was, to be honest, a far cry from what I had created many years before. 

Today, I accidentally picked up a stack of old magazines and, if you can believe it, one was the issue with a recipe listed in the May 1985 issue of Sunset Magazine created by “yours truly,” for Cream of Garlic Soup.  Now, folks, I don’t pretend to be a megalomaniac, but I would say that I lean more toward the reserved side.  This I can say, it is the best concoction I ever created in the kitchen and is light years ahead of what I gave to those few other unsuspecting folks, gracious as they all proved to be. 

So, what follows is the complete copy and recipe published in Sunset Magazine in May of 1985.  I sincerely hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed finding it.  And, yes, I had a better fix on the joys of cooking then than I do now.

“If you have had an experience that took your breath away, here’s a dish to bring it right back.  Its creator resides temporarily in Saudi Arabia, but he’s a native of Ridgefield, Washington, and hence a bona fide Sunset Chef. 

His silken-smooth cream of garlic soup has extracted all that is good and kind in garlic and left out all that is not.  Even the garlic haters among our tasters found it delicious, with an indescribable, somehow comforting flavor that called for second helpings.

Candor requires us to admit that spouses detected garlic that evening.  Serve this soup in a company of good friends, but don’t eat it before visiting your dentist or trying to sell an insurance policy.

Cream of Garlic Soup

3 tablespoons butter or margarine

2 teaspoons minced or pressed garlic (4 or 5 large cloves)

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

2 cans (10 ½ oz. each) condensed chicken broth

2 cups half-and-half (light cream)

¼ teaspoon paprika

Salt and white pepper

1 large egg yolk, lightly beaten

• In a 2- to 3-quart pan over medium heat, melt butter; add garlic and cook, stirring, until soft but not browned, about 2 minutes.  Stir in flour and cook until bubbly, about 1 minute.  Gradually add chicken broth, stirring constantly, and bring to boiling.
• Stir in half-and-half and paprika; cook until hot.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.  In a small bowl, stir about ½ cup hot soup into beaten egg yolk, stirring,  pour egg yolk mixture into soup and serve. 
• Makes about 4 servings. 

 

Robert S. Crowder (my real name)

Ridgefield, Washington

Alias Cowboy Bob

August 31, 2014