I wonder if Andy Warhol realized when painting his Campbell's soup can, that he was immortalizing something to emulate.
Well, that's how it appears today. With every chef nowadays needing to add his own "take" to recipes in no need of fixing, and thereby rendering them inedible, there's nothing but good old tried-and-true Campbell's to rely on. Who woulda thunk it?
Since I'm out of the house a lot, I'm forced to endure the misguided caprices of our so-called chefs. They just can't seem to keep their hands off the spice box, with disastrous results. Just this week:
Tomato soup, with cilantro. Horrific. Lentil soup, with an amalgam of ill-matched spices. Dire. Pea soup, with anise. The smell alone was enough to turn one's stomach.
Why is it so hard to serve pea soup the way it's supposed to be? It's been done for eons, after all.
I am all about the Campbell's because I am a Southern woman. We have more specific Campbell's soups here. Cream of Chanterelle is my favorite. I make a lot of casseroles with it. I also reach for the Campbell's tomato when I am sick, but only because Chicken and Stars isn't available here.
So, there ya go.
Pretty pretty please don't you ever ever feel like you're less than f**ckin' perfect!
Stick to diners and coffee shops, A8, and leave the fine dining to those of us who appreciate it.
Cheyenne Jackson tickled me. AFTER ordering SoMMS a drink but NOT tickling him, and hanging out with Girly in his dressing room (where he DIDN'T tickle her) but BEFORE we got married. To others. And then he tweeted Boobs. He also tweeted he's good friends with some chick on "The Voice" who just happens to be good friends with Tink's ex. And I'm still married. Oh, and this just in: "Pettiness, spite, malice ....Such ugly emotions... So sad." - After Eight, talking about MEEEEEEEE!!! I'm so honored! :-)
Lobster? In soup? What will these so-called chefs, with their nonsense training and absurd "spices" and "ingredients", inflict upon unsuspecting diners next? What we modern restaurant-goers must suffer through every time we sit down at a table! Adding anything more than a sprinkle of salt or a bay leaf to a pot is unnecessary at the best and horrendous at the worst. When I go to a well-rated upscale restaurant, I want to be secure in the knowledge that no risks have been taken, no ideas ventured, and nothing new has been created.
You'll have to excuse AfterEight, he recently emerged from a 70 year-long coma, so anything that doesn't reflect the tastes of yesteryear frightens and confuses him.
"...everyone finally shut up, and the audience could enjoy the beginning of the Anatevka Pogram in peace."
I truly hate Campbell's split pea and tomato soups, but that's probably because I was introduced to good versions of both before I tried Campbell's. I like their chicken broth, but the actual chicken they put in their soups is often just a couple of tiny, gristly morsels. I like some of their higher-end products (chunky or Select Harvests) that use better ingredients, but most of the basic red/white label soups are pretty bad save for the creams which are better as a cooking ingredient than an actual soup.
Tomato soup with cilantro sounds wonderful, but that's probably because I'm from Texas where cilantro and tomatoes are commonly used together in Tex-Mex dishes.
"What can you expect from a bunch of seitan worshippers?" - Reginald Tresilian
Mr Matt, I agree about Campbell's tomato! I liked it as a kid, but after having had better versions--even better canned versions--I can't take Campbell's.
My favorite tomato basil soup. I ordered it a lot at La Madeleine in Texas and was sad to discover the chain was only in a few states. Recently, I stumbled across the soup at a store in Chicago and I stocked up! I tried making it myself and it still is never as good as theirs.
"What can you expect from a bunch of seitan worshippers?" - Reginald Tresilian
I miss La Madeleine's soups. I used to get my hair done in the Galleria and stop by for one right afterward. But there's a great place on 31st near my office for soup. Kind of a Soup Nazi style place, but with a very nice staff.
Campbell's tomato is OK only if I'm home sick. (That's what I equate it with, in fact, because it's what my mom used to give me when I was sick.)
And SOMMS, there's a canned version of pepper pot? Yikes. My dad, a native Philadelphian, gave me pepper pot soup as a kid without telling me about the tripe in it until I had eaten it. He ate scrapple, too. Ick.
We have the same father, Calvin! It's my dad's favorite and he never told me about the tripe as a kid either. He likes scrapple, too. Philly folk are a strange foodie bunch.
Campbell's soups are a hit or miss for me. I think the chicken noodle has a weird smell and taste. I like the Manhattan Clam Chowder and vegetable soups though. I actually prefer Progresso sometimes because they are more substantial. But, I do love fresh soup. I guess it is a favorite food of mine.
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I love old cookbooks and I know I've found a good one when they start off the "Soups" chapter by saying you'll never make Tomato or Cream of Mushroom soup as good as Campbells so you might as well not even try.
And, as hard as it it to believe, MANY "elegant" cookbooks and food writers were of the opinion that a TRULY delicious way to start a dinner party was to serve "Soup (or Soupe) Mongol (or Mongole)" which was canned Campbell's tomato and split pea soups poured side-by-side into a bowl.
Calvin - Did you ever have Butera's cream of mushroom? That's the other soup I sorely miss. It was heavenly.
Now, it's rare I find a soup that would entice me to revisit a restaurant just for soup. There is one Mediterranean restaurant in Hyde Park in Chicago called Cedars that brings me back, though. All their soups are so aromatic and flavorful, it's hard to believe they are served at a small, mid-range restaurant. I cannot go eat there without ordering soup.
"All our dreams can come true -- if we have the courage to pursue them." -- Walt Disney
We must have different Gods. My God said "do to others what you would have them do to you". Your God seems to have said "My Way or the Highway".