Wow, this was a disappointment: Campbell's Slow Kettle "Kickin' Crab and Corn" soup

M

marilynfl

Moderator
What REALLY made it a disappointment was that I spent hard cold cash to augment the soup without tasting it first.

(stomping foot in utter frustration!)

We have a little seaside restaurant that sells their spicy crab/corn bisque for $20 a quart. When I saw the Campbell's version on the grocery shelf, I thought it was a bisque BASE--so I bought all the other ingredients.

A can of soup plus:

$13 can of lump crab

$2 can of Le Sueur corn

$4 heavy cream

$2 fresh parsley

plus the last of my dry vermouth.

Based on little seaside cafe prices, I didn't feel the total cost was out of the ballpark.

However...it turns out the Campbell's already contained VERY FISHY crab and tough corn and my first sip hit a piece of crab shell that stuck in my tooth. And it wasn't even tasty. I hated it and dumped the whole mess down the drain. I could have avoided wasting perfectly good ingredients if I had only tasted the canned stuff FIRST!

(Note to self: READ THE DAMN LABEL.)

(Second note to self: BRING THE DAMN READING GLASSES IN WITH YOU TO THE STORE)

It times like this that I should just make Deb in MI's chocolate pudding for dinner.

http://www.campbellsoup.com/Products/Slow-Kettle/All/121294

 
Yeah, that's awful! Personally, I haven't met a Campbell's soup I really like

but if it had shells, you might be able to complain and get some money back.

 
The only Campbell's soups I keep in stock are the Cream of Mushroom, Cream of Chicken

and Cream of Celery...great for crock pot cooking and some Dutch Oven cooking. I like their beef consume as a base for French Dip sandwiches. I cut up left over roast beef, put into the consume, add sliced onion, wine and simmer away. I keep tomato soup on hand for an easy lunch with grilled cheese sandwich, but I add sherry wine to it. Chicken noodle is always there too, for a quick lunch when I am not so hungry, but I add soy sauce. Most everything else I have tried is not good. Their soups used to be better before they started offering so many and the low fat, low salt, I am not a fan of.

I think the grand-kids asked for It Italian Wedding soup one time with the little meatballs in it, so I picked up some of that.

 
If you want to avoid a really BAD soup, avoid Wolfgang Pucks Creamy Clam Soup (or similar name)

It is so gross, I'm amazed Wolfgang would allow his name on it!

His creamy Tomato soup is wonderful.

You can read these same icky clam soup reviews on Amazon, if you wish. It is terrible stuff.

 
Here is ATK's Clam Chowder recipe that I love. I bet it would be good with the crab and corn.

I love this soup. It is not thick like the usual clam chowder but rather brothy instead. It is very rich. I had to use canned clams since I was unable to find fresh ones.

* Exported from MasterCook *

ATK New England Clam Chowder

Recipe By :America's Test Kitchen
Serving Size : 6 Preparation Time :0:00
Categories : Soups And Stews

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method

7 pounds medium-size hard-shell clams -- such as
cherrystones, scrubbed clean
4 slices thick-cut bacon (about 4 ounces) -- cut into ¼-inch
pieces
1 large Spanish onion -- chopped medium
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3 medium boiling potatoes (about 1 ½ pounds) -- scrubbed and cut
into ½-inch dice
1 large bay leaf
1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves or ¼ teaspoon dried
thyme
1 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley leaves
Salt and ground black or white pepper

1. Bring 3 cups water to a boil in large stockpot or Dutch oven. Add the clams and cover with a tight-fitting lid. Cook for 5 minutes, uncover, and stir with a wooden spoon. Quickly cover the pot and steam until the clams just open, 2 to 4 minutes. Transfer the clams to a large bowl; cool slightly. Open the clams with a paring knife, holding the clams over a bowl to catch any juices. With the knife, sever the muscle that attaches the clam to the shell and transfer the meat to a cutting board. Discard the shells. Mince the clams; set aside. Pour the clam broth into a 2-quart Pyrex measuring cup, holding back the last few tablespoons of broth in case of sediment; set the clam broth aside. (You should have about 5 cups. If not, add bottled clam juice or water to make this amount.) Rinse and dry the stockpot or Dutch oven, then return the pot to the burner.
2. Fry the bacon in the now-empty pot over medium-low heat until the fat renders and the bacon crisps, 5 to 7 minutes. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the flour and stir until lightly colored, about 1 minute. Gradually whisk in the reserved clam broth. Add the potatoes, bay leaf, and thyme and simmer until the potatoes are tender, about 10 minutes. Add the clams, cream, parsley, and salt (if necessary) and ground pepper to taste; bring to simmer. Remove from the heat, discard the bay leaf, and serve immediately.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
NOTES : Follow the recipe for New England Clam Chowder (below), substituting for the fresh clams 4 cans (6 ½ ounces each) minced clams, juice drained and reserved and clam meat reserved in small bowl, along with 1 cup water and 2 bottles (8 ounces each) clam juice in medium bowl. Add reserved clam meat and juice at same points when fresh clam meat and broth would be added.

 
Ahhh, soup is so wonderful and so easy. Life is too short...

to ever buy an industrial food-complex can masquerading as soup.

I make soup all the time. Lazy Sundays, usually what I've collected over the previous week: scraps, carcasses, peels, hours of stock simmering, wonderful smell in the house, etc.. Hearty vegetables, bisques, and chowders...

We eat it for lunch for a couple days until we're tired of it, then I put it in containers in the freezer for quick lunches and dinner components.

 
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