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In reply to the discussion: Those who cook will understand. [View all]Siwsan
(26,262 posts)I'm the only one in the family who can make the traditional soup my grandmother always made for Christmas Eve. The whole family, and it was a BIG one, would get together at grandma and grandpa's house for a feast. Parents in the dining room. Kids at a table in the basement. The highlight of the evening was when my grandfather would have us sing a carol, and then throw silver dollars into the air, one for each child, and we would scramble to claim one. I still have many of those coins.
But back to the soup. It is just onions, mushrooms, peas and potatoes cooked with a flour/butter rue. The trick is getting the rue to the right color. Not a shade lighter or a shade darker. It took me a couple of tries to get it right, but now everyone agrees it is as close to Grandma's as one can get. She's the one I always feel next to me when I'm stirring, guiding me in the smelling and gauging the rue until it's perfect.