Two Soups, Hot and Cold

Fall has come to San Francisco, with low-lying fog and cold wind. It's the sort of weather that makes you want a thick stew to warm your bones.

Mrs. Berglund was the mother of my Uncle's college roommate. She was a small Swedish woman with long blonde hair who took both my mother and my uncle under her wing while they attended college in Oregon. This is her recipe for Oxtail Stew.

Roll 2 lbs disjointed oxtail in seasoned (salt and pepper) flour. Brown thoroughly. (Oxtail is a pretty fatty cut--you don't need extra oil.) Add 1 cup tomato juice, 1/2 cup water, 1 cup onion, 1 teaspoon salt, 4 whole allspice, 1 bay leaf, and 1 clove of garlic, minced. Cover and simmer 3 hours or more. Add 2 tablespoons vinegar or lemon juice. If you don't have tomato juice, feel free to mix water and tomato paste... but be careful, I used 6 oz. of tomato paste, and I think that made the stew a bit too sweet. Serve with lots of bread to sop up the sauce, and a side of vegetables.

If you are still in hot, end-of-summer weather, stew may not be the most appealing dinner. For that, I recommend my family's Vichyssoise, traditionally served well-chilled.

You may wonder why my Welsh/Scots Irish/Pennsylvania Dutch family has a recipe for Vichyssoise. I have two excuses: the first is that it comes from my very sophisticated Aunt, and the second is that the recipe calls for the soup to be "piping hot".

Slice 2 medium large onions and 3 stalks of celery fine (include some of the celery tops) and cook in 3 tablespoons butter in a covered pan (don't brown!). Pare and dice 4 medium potatoes. Add, with 4 cups chicken broth, to onions and celery. Cook until potatoes are tender, and put through a food mill. Before serving add 1 c light cream, salt, and pepper. Heat until piping hot (Or, you know, don't.) and garnish with parsley or chives.