Being an ardent nature lover, I love traveling to places where you can feel the nature. I also like to meet people, learn their culture and know what they eat and how they live. So a trip to Tennessee was an opportunity for me to get acquainted to the Dixie style living and their food and also visit places that were very close to the nature.
On the first day we visited Shenandoah Caverns and stayed in a hotel for that night. Next day, we did some Thanks giving shopping at Tanger outlet mall and steered towards Pigeon Forge for a show called Dixie Stampede. Initially I was not interested in paying $50 per person for a Country style food and seeing horses. But TH asked me not to be judgemental so we decided to watch the show.
After a group picture with our bus tour people, we went into the carriage room which happened to be the turning point. The entire atmosphere changed and it was nice to see people dressed up in Dixie style, singing and playing country music. After the gig, we were taken inside a huge arena. I liked how everything was put together there. We were served a four course meal in a Indian style. I mean it, we ate the entire meal by hand and even drank the soup without a spoon just like how we would drink the kheer or the last bit of rasam in the plate. I hope you get the picture of it. I was completely bowled in when they served the soup. It is one of the best soup I have ever had in my life. Then came the corn on the cob, homemade biscuit, Herbed potatoes, Barbequed Pork loin, Rottissiere chicken(cornish hen) and atlast the dessert. I ate everything except the piece of pork just because I don't eat pork. We had a choice to choose between tea, water and soda. Being loyal to water I chose water to accompany this scrumptous meal. This is one of the best American food I have ever had during my stint here.
We want to go back to this place just to have their food and ofcourse to watch their spectacular show. If you get an opportunity do visit this place and enjoy their food and their show. I am sure you will not be disappointed. And vegetarians do not worry, they have a separate menu for you :) (Trust me they didn't pay me a penny to promote them, they don't have to)
Since we came back from this trip we both have been talking about this soup. I even thought of purchasing the soup mix from Dolly's online store. But then I bumped into this recipe. I immediately went to the local supermarket and bought all those ingredients mentioned in the recipe. I didn't want to miss anything because I wanted to experience the same taste.
How it tasted?
The very first time I tried, it came out well. But I had to make some adjustments to the recipe to get the original taste. I made it again after a week with the modified recipe and it turned out PERFECT just like how it tasted @ Dixie Stampede. You can serve this conventionally as a Starter or serve it with a bread and make it a wholesome meal.
And yeah I just remembered, would you like to have my recipes in your inbox or in your reader :) You can also become a fan of Food for 7 Stages of Life in Facebook. I appreciate your interest in my blog and looking forward to get connected with you more often through one of these medium :) OK now are you ready for a STAMPEDE?
Events
This soup found its way to Jagruti's Joyful eating whilst traveling event. Isn't this soup perfect for this event.
Ingredients (Serves 4)
Source: Adapted from Dolly's Dixie Fixins written by Dolly Parton. I found the original recipe here.
Margarine - 3 tbsp (you can replace it with Butter as well)
Onion Powder - 2 1/2 tsp
Garlic Powder - 2 tsp
Corn Syrup - 1 tsp
All purpose flour - 3 tbsp
White pepper - 2 tsp +
Salt
Chicken Broth - 1/2 cup (Vegetarians replace it with Vegetable Broth)
Water - 1 1/2 cup
Cooked Vegetables (Carrots, Corn) - 3/4 cup (I have used frozen vegetables, you can also use fresh or the canned ones)
Half and Half Cream - 1 pint (If you are health conscious you can try using milk)
Fresh Parsley - 1 tbsp finely chopped (I have used fresh Cilantro)
Method in a Nutshell:
1. In a sauce pot, add water and cook the vegetables until tender. Keep the lids closed for faster cooking. The cooking time could vary depending on the type of veggies you use. Frozen ones cooks faster than the fresh ones so keep checking in between to see if the veggie is done.
(OR)
In a pressure cooker, add veggies, water (just enough to soak the vegetables) and pressure cook up to 2 whistles. I have used pressure cooker to reduce the cooking time.
Add Margarine to a sauce pot and allow it to melt on a medium flame. When it is 90% done, reduce the flame to low (really low).
2. Add Garlic Powder, Onion Powder, Corn syrup and stir it for a minute to blend the mixes with the margarine. Ensure that you don't brown it.
3. Then add Flour, 1 tsp Salt, 1 tsp White pepper, Chicken broth, Water, Vegetables and stir it well. Let it cook on a low flame for the next 3 minutes.
4. Add 1 pint of half and half, stir and let it cook for the next 10 minutes on a low flame or until the desired consistency is reached. Keep stirring in between to ensure that the layer does not form on the milk.
5. Chicken Broth contains salt, so taste the soup and add the remaining salt as per your taste. Then add 1 tsp white pepper, stir and serve it hot. We added an extra teaspoon of white pepper as our taste buds are very much Indian :)
6. Bon Appetit and scroll down for a pictorial representation of each step.
Elaborated:
In a sauce pot, add water and cook vegetables until tender. Keep the lids closed for faster cooking. The cooking time could vary depending on the type of veggies you use. Frozen ones cooks faster than the fresh ones so keep checking in between to see if the veggie is done.
(OR)
In a pressure cooker, add veggies, water (just enough to soak the vegetables) and pressure cook up to 2 whistles. I have used pressure cooker to reduce the cooking time.
Add Garlic Powder, Onion Powder, Corn syrup and stir it for a minute to blend the mixes with the margarine. Ensure that you don't brown it.
Then add Flour, 1 tsp Salt, 1 tsp White pepper, Chicken broth, Water, Vegetables and stir it well. Let it cook on a low flame for the next 3 minutes.
Add 1 pint of half and half, stir and let it cook for the next 10 minutes on a low flame. Keep stirring in between to ensure that a layer does not form on the milk.
Chicken Broth is usually salted, so taste the soup first and then add the remaining salt as per your taste. Add white pepper, stir and serve it hot. We added an extra teaspoon of white pepper as our taste buds are very much Indian :)
