She-Crab Soup

Every now and again, I get in an extreme cooking rut, you know, the one when I make the same 4 meals in rotation and literally can't think of anything else to create? So one of my goals for this week was to try a few new things and first up was She Crab Soup from Southern Living's Comfort Food cookbook. It turned out so good, we actually had it for a meal on Monday night and the leftovers as a side dish last night, we both loved it and it was quick an easy to make, but tastes complicated and fancy. I will definitely be keeping this recipe on hand.

She Crab Soup
Sherry (If you don't have a bottle on hand, you should get one. I cook with it all the time!)
1lb of crab meat (as fresh as you can get it)
6 tablespoons of butter
2 tablespoons of grated onion
4 tablespoons of all-purpose flour
3 cups of milk (I used skim and it worked just fine)
2 chicken bouillon cubes
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups half-n-half or whipping cream (I used half-n-half)
fresh parsley

1. Pour sherry over crab meat to soak while preparing other ingredients.
2. Melt better in soup pot on medium-high heat. Grate 2 tablespoons of onions (of the tears involved with this step!) and add into pot.
3. Stir flour into butter/onion mixture and gradually add milk, stirring constantly
4. Add bouillon cubes and salt. Once dissolved, add crab and turn heat to simmer.
5. Add half-n-half, stir constantly until soup thickens.
6. Serve steaming hot with chopped fresh parsley and Old Bay Seasoning {recipe didn't call for Old Bay, but I think it is needed}

We had ours with fresh bread from the bakery the first night and found that it complimented a steak very well last night. It really is surprisingly easy for a week night meal or would be perfect as a first course at a dinner party. Go ahead and impress your loved ones with this tonight!