Pseudo Successful

Even as someone who loves food, there aren't countless foods I could eat every single day. But one of the few I could scarf daily? Soup. Cream of, gumbo'd, bisque'd or just plain homestyle, I love it like it's my own baby. (Or my stuffed dog, Ubu.)

So when I found The Pioneer Woman's recipe for cauliflower soup, I was eager to try.

Ingredients

1 stick butter, divided

1/2 of an onion, finely diced (I used white. I always use white.)

1 whole carrot, finely diced

1 stalk celery, finely diced

1 whole (or up to 2) cauliflower heads, roughly chopped (You thought I was gonna say finely diced, huh? Do yourself a favor and don't think! Oh, and I used just one.)

2 tablespoons fresh or dried parsley, chopped

2 quarts low-sodium chicken broth or stock

6 tablespoons all-purpose flour

2 cups whole milk

1 cup half and half

2-4 teaspoons salt, to taste

1 cup sour cream, room temperature

Directions

1. In large pot or dutch oven (do I even need to tell you that I chuckled at this?) melt 4 tablespoons of butter. Add the onion and cook for a few minutes, or until it starts to turn brown.

2. Add carrots and celery, cook a couple more minutes. Add cauliflower and parsley, stir to combine. Or you could try picking up the pot and shimmying really fast. Please set up your video camera before step one if you choose to go this route. kthx.

3. Cover and cook over very low heat for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, pour in chicken stock or broth, bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer (down nah!)

4. In a medium saucepan, melt 4 tablespoons butter. Mix the flour with the milk and whisk to combine. (Make sure you whisk reeeeeeeal good. And who needs proper grammar?) Add flour/milk mixture slowly to the butter, whisking constantly. Remove from heat, stir in 1 cup half and half.

5. Add the flour/milk/half and half mixture to simmering soup. Allow to simmer for 15-20 minutes. Check seasoning and add more salt or pepper if you need.

6. Just before serving, place the sour cream in a serving bowl or soup tureen. Add 2-3 ladles of hot soup into the tureen and stir to combine with the sour cream. Pour in remaining soup and stir.

This had all the potential of being delicious. Because The Pioneer Woman only makes delicious things. But mine left something to be desired. I don't think my roux/white sauce got thick enough. I tried adding more flour, but the butter just wasn't havin' it. Jerk. Additionally, I had to add a ton of salt to each bowl I had (which was many, because this recipe made enough soup to feed the state of Missouri. Ok ... maybe more like Delaware.) And finally, I'd definitely serve it with bread or something filling of some sort. I'm a girl who loves her meat (do with that what you must), so I was always hungry shortly after eating this.

Regardless, I'd try this recipe again! But I'd also love to find a recipe that's more creamy/pureed cauliflower.

Ahwell. First week of November? Consider yourself new'd.

So what's your favorite soup?