Spiked soups

Some people like their bourbon neat. I apparently like mine warmed through, at least sometimes. Here are three soups packed with a little extra punch. Good for those days when you contemplate if the weather can be said to be a blizzard even when it's not actively snowing, just moving existing snow in a most untidy sideways manner, which was the case when this first soup was made. Then we briefly entered false spring mode, but then the snow made a triumphant return. There's at least a month and a half of prime soup weather left, so drink up. 

Spiked pumpkin soup

Adapted from Cooking Light, November 2005 issue. To restore the recipe's lightness, use cooking spray instead of olive oil and low fat milk and sour cream.  

Ingredients
I cup onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
½ teaspoon minced fresh peeled ginger
½ teaspoon ground cumin
1½ cups apple cider
14 ounces broth
⅓ cup bourbon
¼ cup maple syrup
1 29-ounce can pumpkin puree
2 cups milk
1 teaspoon flour
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon ground pepper
Sour cream
Chopped fresh parsley

Method

Add a drizzle of olive oil n a large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion, garlic, ginger and cumin. Cook for about 5 minutes until somewhat softened. Add cider, broth, bourbon, syrup and pumpkin. Bring to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes.

Working in batches puree pumpkin mixture. Add back to sauce pan and stir in milk, flour, salt and pepper  Heat through, stirring frequently. Serve garnished with a dollop of sour cream and chopped fresh parsley. Serves 6.

Rating: A very pleasant soup. Dave calls it drunken pumpkin soup. I'm not sure if I detect the bourbon, but it's probably there as a background note, which seems better than having it be overwhelming forward. A fairly fast, easy fix.

Bourbon corn chowder

Adapted from Barbara Kafka's "Soup: A Way of Life." 

Note: The original recipe called for igniting the bourbon in a small saucepan and letting it flame for a minute before adding it to the soup. I'm sure that would add a lovely deeper caramel note, but I am match-averse stemming from an childhood incident when asked to do the seemingly simple task of lighting the candles on the table when company was coming over. (Don't worry, only a few of the green beans almondine got singed, so the damage was mainly psychic.)

Ingredients

4 tablespoons butter
1 small onion, chopped small
2 (14.75-ounce) cans creamed corn
¼ cup bourbon (see note)
½ cup chicken broth
½ cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 to 3 drops hot red pepper sauce
Ground pepper to taste

Method

Melt the butter in a medium saucepan. Cook onions in butter over medium heat for about 5 minutes. Stir in corn. Add bourbon (after igniting in a small pan, if desired) and then broth, cream, salt, nutmeg, hot sauce and pepper. Heat through.

Rating: While I'm not usually a creamed corn fan, this makes a quite nice soup. The bourbon is once again more of a background note, adding a sort of silken flavor, if silk can be said to be a flavor. (I'm going with yes.) A very fast fix that's pantry/bar friendly. And then part of me pondered, hmm, what would this be like if I'd made the creamed corn? Luckily, the other part of my brain told me to stop being such a pest to myself and stand down. Makes 4 first-course servings.

This recipe did not call for a garnish, but it occurred to me that if I'd had any fried shallots on hand, that would make a dandy topping for this.

Kentucky bourbon black bean soup

From "The Kentucky Bourbon Cookbook" by Albert W.A. Schmid; the restaurant source was Panache, a former French restaurant in Indianapolis and the chef-owner was the late Richard Cottance.

Note: The bourbon in this recipe is by no means cooked off, since it's added as a garnish. Serves 4 somewhat skimpily.

Ingredients

¾ cup finely diced onions
½ cup finely diced carrots
½ cup finely diced celery
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh oregano
1 pinch ground cayenne pepper
1½ cup black beans, divided
3 cups broth
4 tablespoons bourbon
4 tablespoons sour cream
Diced tomatoes
Fresh cilantro sprigs

Method
Film the bottom of a heavy soup pot with a bit of oil. Add onions, carrots and celery and cook, covered, over very low heat until tender but not browned. Add garlic, cumin, oregano and cayenne and cook for about 5 minutes. Add 1 cup of black beans and the broth. Simmer for about 20 minutes. Puree soup. Add remaining ½ cup black beans and heat through.

Serve the 4 servings garnished each with 1 tablespoon of bourbon, 1 tablespoon of sour cream, some diced tomatoes and cilantro.

Rating: Bizarrely, adding a swirl of bourbon as a garnish actually works, at least if you're not concerned greatly about alcohol consumption. I was afraid it would be too in-your-face boozy, but stirring into a warm soup mellows it immediately. I appreciated the fact that there were actual beans in the soup as well as the pureed variety, which I think helps with the overall appeal of the soup. It was overall fine and worth trying, but I'll stick with another bourbon soup recipe from that same book that has a lot of the same flavors (see below.)

Also, too

I'll add a shoutout to this bourbon chili recipe I've made before, and like a bit better than the black bean soup above.