SOUPSONG HAS GONE HARDCOPY!
Buy one (or more) at amazon.com or barnesandnoble.com.
Release date: 12/28/2004.

You'll find this recipe in it, From AN EXALTATION OF SOUPS,
copyright © 2004
by Patricia Solley,
Published by Three Rivers Press.

READER COMMENTS:

Mary Rupp of Farmington Hills, Michigan, recommends: "Add a teaspoon of Hungarian sweet paprika or hot paprika for color and extra zing."

Fred Griffith of Cleveland Heights, Ohio, notes that U.S. chef-writer Anthony Bourdain, in Kitchen Confidential confesses that it was a bowl of Vichyssoise that determined his future: he had the nerve, as a child, to order it in a Normandy restaurant (his brother held out for Campbell's Chicken-Noodle or nothing) and discovered that there were taste dimensions in this strange looking concoction that were beyond anything he had ever had. Thus it is that Diat's soup is fated to boomerang back and forth between France and the U.S.

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A simply heavenly American creation...by a French chef, of course. In memory of the potato soup his mother used to serve him as a boy in Vichy, France, Louis Diat created it as a cool first course--and originally (according to the famous food writer George Lang) intended to add a bit of tomato pureé to it...though he succumbed to popular demand when the the white version became the rage. For the whole story of the soup and more, click HERE. Serve cold to 4 people, or 2 little piggies.

Here's a great real-life SoupTale from Lester Heitlinger of Tampa, Florida:
"As a member of a (now defunct) gourmet club, I made Vichyssoise one evening. My guest were very impressed with the results. So much so that one of my guests asked for the recipe. I replied, 'I'll do better than that. I have made extra, here is an extra quart of Vichyssoise.' She took it home and called me the next evening stating 'My husband loved the soup. I HEATED it up, added a couple of matzoh balls and he loved it.' P.S. I never gave her another recipe."

• 3 large leeks, white parts only, washed well and sliced thinly
• 2 Tablespoons butter
• 2 medium potatoes, peeled and sliced thinly
• 3 cups chicken stock
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup milk
• 1/4 teaspoon white pepper
• 1 cup whipping cream

Garnish: chopped chives

Melt butter in a large saucepan over low heat, then stir in the leeks and saute at a very low temperature, stirring occasionally, until they are golden. Add the stock, potatoes, and salt--bring to a simmer, then cover and simmer for 40 minutes. Puree, then press through a sieve to get a very fine texture.

Return to the saucepan, add the milk and pepper, and bring to a simmer. Remove from heat, stir in the cream, adjust for seasoning (cold soups should be slightly overseasoned), and chill overnight.

When ready to serve, ladle into bowls (nested glass cups with ice would be nice) and sprinkle with chopped fresh chives.