Shaker Chicken and Noodle Soup

Finally, a recipe that is a "keeper"!! It is sure obvious when a good recipe comes along, and this one is it. It is a bit complicated, which is surprising considering it is supposed to be from the simple Shakers. I didn't have Vermouth, so I used some leftover white wine I keep in the fridge for recipes. I didn't slice the celery too thinly, and left some of the leaves in the mix. I am so happy with this recipe, but I will have to work on how to make it even smaller. I halved the recipe and got 4 good-sized bowls of soup. Also, I would love to have a bit more chicken in the soup. I cut the chicken up in large chunks, and I think I would make them smaller next time so I could get noodles, celery, and chicken all in one spoonful. The recipe says to add the wine mixture and chicken, and then to heat up to serving heat. Well, the soup was already boiling, so all I did was stir it in and turn off the heat!! It was quite warm when I sat down to eat it. I heated up some of those sourdough brown and serve rolls to eat with this soup, and the tastes worked well together.

Shaker Chicken and Noodle Soup

1 c. chicken broth
12 c. chicken broth
1/4 c. dry vermouth
1/4 c. butter
1 c. heavy cream
12 oz. wide egg noodles
1 c. thinly sliced celery
1 1/2 c. water
3/4 c. flour
2 c. cooked chicken, diced
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 c. finely chopped fresh parsley

1. Combine 1 cup broth, vermouth, and butter in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat. Continue to boil 15 to 20 minutes or until liquid is reduced to 1/4 cup and has a syrupy consistency. Stir in cream. Set aside.
2. Bring remaining broth to a boil in a Dutch oven. Add noodles and celery. Cook until noodles are just tender.
3. Combine water and flour in a medium bowl until smooth. Stir into broth mixture. Boil 2 minutes, stirring constantly.
4. Stir in reserved cream mixture and add chicken. Season with salt and pepper. Heat just to serving temperature, do not boil. Sprinkle with parsley. Garnish as desired. Makes 8-15 servings.