Post by joyce on Apr 2, 2006 13:14:05 GMT -6
I thought I had posted this when I first joined, but I didn't, Our town is know as "The Doodle Soup Capital of the World"
Here is an article about last years festival and recipes for Doodle Soup.
There's plenty to crow about at the Doodle Soup Festival in Bradford this weekend.
From ice cream eating contests to barbecue cook-offs and costume-optional dog shows, you won't want to miss the annual celebration on Friday and Saturday.
Of course, the whole point of being at the festival is to eat your fill of Doodle Soup.
Although Cock-A-Doodle-Do will make you think that there is chicken in the soup, the chicken has just sort of passed it by.
"It is hard to say," said Bradford's Rose Green, who has helped serve the food at the annual event, when asked what it tastes like.
But she quickly added "my husband loves it."
"It has a hot flavor taste. If you don't like a vinegary, spicy-hot flavor, then you won't like it," said Bradford's Joe Taylor, husband of festival cook Betty Jo Taylor.
"The best Doodle Soup I think looks like dirty greenish dishwater. It is one of the most unappetizing dishes I can think of," said Judge Clayburn Peeples of Trenton, a big fan of the local dish made with the pan drippings of chicken, vinegar, salt, cayenne pepper and sugar. "Politicians will eat and claim to enjoy anything, but it is something I do really enjoy."
Because it can be difficult to make, he has some friends who will call and tell him when someone has prepared some - sort of a Doodle Soup hotline.
The event was started by Betty Jo's father, Millard Hampton, in the 1970s. Back then, he made the Doodle Soup at home and then carried it to the town park.
"He made Doodle Soup all my life," Betty Jo said. She recalls knowing her grandparents made Doodle Soup over an open fireplace. "They caught the drippings on the fireplace to make the soup."
Peeples tried to find out about the history of Doodle Soup.
"I have absolutely found nothing. Some claim to have the original recipe, but who knows? I have tasted many different kinds. It is the only soup you eat with a fork. (The recipes) are a word-of-mouth and written-on-a-paper-bag kind of history."
Some people say it is from a French broth that is similar to Doodle Soup and others say it comes from the sound of the chicken, doodle-do, but others tie it to the War Between the States, he said.
"Some say the Union soldiers demanded to be fed, and the broth was made from pan drippings. The women added vinegar, sugar and spices and served it to the Yankee invaders over crackers. The soldiers liked it, and the Doodle Soup was named after the song of Yankee Doodle, which the soldiers sang," he said.
He added that the soup was meatless because there wasn't much meat during that time, and the drippings were all that the women may have had available.
And what does he think?
"When you don't know, anything is possible."
This year, you'll find Betty Jo in downtown Bradford at the Lion's Pavilion, as usual, cooking up about as many chickens. She plucked some 642 pounds into roasters last year.
"They really turn out to buy the Doodle Soup and to buy it by quarts and by the gallons if they can. We have big electric roasters that hold 35 pounds of chicken at a time," Betty Jo said. "We now have a new kitchen facility at our pavilion, and it is air conditioned and it will be so nice."
Isn't that a lot of work for a soup that doesn't actually have any of the chicken in the soup?
"You got that right," she said with a laugh. "I am pretty much the cook. I have cooked lots of Doodle Soup."
The Doodle Soup Supper will be served from 3 p.m. Friday until the "Doodle Soup runs out or the cook drops dead, whichever comes first," she said.
"You got to make a lot of it to get the right consistency. When it is made right, you don't taste the sugar or the vinegar. I make a hot batch and a mild batch. Some want it hot enough to bring tears," Betty Jo said.
While there is not chicken in the soup, hungry festival goers will get a plate of the roast chicken to eat along with Doodle Soup, slaw, bread, crackers and a drink.
"I like to pour it over my chicken," said Green. "My husband loves it in a bowl with crackers. Lots of people like to pour it over a biscuit."
Tonight, the activities move into the Bradford Methodist Church, at 7 p.m., for a community-wide church service. Things really heat up this weekend with activities of every description.
Both days, there will be train rides for children, games and food vendors, including a Bradford Garden Club Sweet Shop of homemade goodies and Dippin' Dots Ice Cream.
When you need to cool off, you can join the all-you-can-eat ice cream contest, sponsored by Turner Dairy, a new event this year.
"The adult men will think they can eat a whole box of ice cream, but after about a third bite, the shot goes to your brain and that cool breeze hits the brain," laughed Joe.
He said the contest, which offers prizes, has a time limit, age categories and no silverware is allowed.
"In the evening in downtown Bradford, we have singing and everyone enjoys singing," Betty Jo said.
"The Bradford High School chorus will start off the evening with our national anthem," said Green, who is in charge of the musical entertainment.
"Every small town tries to find something unique about itself, and this may be really unique," said Peeples about the Doodle Soup Festival.
"We have a crowd and we hope it keeps growing," Green said.
-
Doodle Soup
From Betty Jo Taylor, who cooks at the Doodle Soup Festival.
2 T. cooking oil
2/3 cup distilled red vinegar
Place oil and vinegar in a roaster on top of the stove. Cook the meat of your choice: chicken, rabbit, goat or pork, covered, on medium until tender. (The Doodle Soup Festival makes its Doodle Soup with Chicken.) This recipe is for one chicken.
Remove the meat from the roaster but reserve all the liquid in the roaster. Place the meat in a pan and brush it with butter. Place it in the oven until it is brown.
To the broth you have left in the roaster, add:
2/3 cup vinegar
1 cup water
Salt to taste
Dry cayenne pepper to taste
1/4 cup sugar, more or less, to taste
Small amount of flour
Bring liquid to a boil on high heat. The boiling is what makes the peppers take to the Doodle Soup. Meanwhile, in a small cup, whisk together a small amount of flour and water to make a paste. Add this paste slowly to the Doodle Soup, while stirring, until it is thick and very smooth, but not as thick as gravy.
Serve the browned chicken separately on one plate and serve the soup in a bowl, poured over crumbled crackers or over biscuits.
-
On the Web
One recipe, from the Commodore Forum Cookbook site, claims 'You can't screw up Doodle Soup as long as the chicken 'ain't' squawking.'
Here is an article about last years festival and recipes for Doodle Soup.
There's plenty to crow about at the Doodle Soup Festival in Bradford this weekend.
From ice cream eating contests to barbecue cook-offs and costume-optional dog shows, you won't want to miss the annual celebration on Friday and Saturday.
Of course, the whole point of being at the festival is to eat your fill of Doodle Soup.
Although Cock-A-Doodle-Do will make you think that there is chicken in the soup, the chicken has just sort of passed it by.
"It is hard to say," said Bradford's Rose Green, who has helped serve the food at the annual event, when asked what it tastes like.
But she quickly added "my husband loves it."
"It has a hot flavor taste. If you don't like a vinegary, spicy-hot flavor, then you won't like it," said Bradford's Joe Taylor, husband of festival cook Betty Jo Taylor.
"The best Doodle Soup I think looks like dirty greenish dishwater. It is one of the most unappetizing dishes I can think of," said Judge Clayburn Peeples of Trenton, a big fan of the local dish made with the pan drippings of chicken, vinegar, salt, cayenne pepper and sugar. "Politicians will eat and claim to enjoy anything, but it is something I do really enjoy."
Because it can be difficult to make, he has some friends who will call and tell him when someone has prepared some - sort of a Doodle Soup hotline.
The event was started by Betty Jo's father, Millard Hampton, in the 1970s. Back then, he made the Doodle Soup at home and then carried it to the town park.
"He made Doodle Soup all my life," Betty Jo said. She recalls knowing her grandparents made Doodle Soup over an open fireplace. "They caught the drippings on the fireplace to make the soup."
Peeples tried to find out about the history of Doodle Soup.
"I have absolutely found nothing. Some claim to have the original recipe, but who knows? I have tasted many different kinds. It is the only soup you eat with a fork. (The recipes) are a word-of-mouth and written-on-a-paper-bag kind of history."
Some people say it is from a French broth that is similar to Doodle Soup and others say it comes from the sound of the chicken, doodle-do, but others tie it to the War Between the States, he said.
"Some say the Union soldiers demanded to be fed, and the broth was made from pan drippings. The women added vinegar, sugar and spices and served it to the Yankee invaders over crackers. The soldiers liked it, and the Doodle Soup was named after the song of Yankee Doodle, which the soldiers sang," he said.
He added that the soup was meatless because there wasn't much meat during that time, and the drippings were all that the women may have had available.
And what does he think?
"When you don't know, anything is possible."
This year, you'll find Betty Jo in downtown Bradford at the Lion's Pavilion, as usual, cooking up about as many chickens. She plucked some 642 pounds into roasters last year.
"They really turn out to buy the Doodle Soup and to buy it by quarts and by the gallons if they can. We have big electric roasters that hold 35 pounds of chicken at a time," Betty Jo said. "We now have a new kitchen facility at our pavilion, and it is air conditioned and it will be so nice."
Isn't that a lot of work for a soup that doesn't actually have any of the chicken in the soup?
"You got that right," she said with a laugh. "I am pretty much the cook. I have cooked lots of Doodle Soup."
The Doodle Soup Supper will be served from 3 p.m. Friday until the "Doodle Soup runs out or the cook drops dead, whichever comes first," she said.
"You got to make a lot of it to get the right consistency. When it is made right, you don't taste the sugar or the vinegar. I make a hot batch and a mild batch. Some want it hot enough to bring tears," Betty Jo said.
While there is not chicken in the soup, hungry festival goers will get a plate of the roast chicken to eat along with Doodle Soup, slaw, bread, crackers and a drink.
"I like to pour it over my chicken," said Green. "My husband loves it in a bowl with crackers. Lots of people like to pour it over a biscuit."
Tonight, the activities move into the Bradford Methodist Church, at 7 p.m., for a community-wide church service. Things really heat up this weekend with activities of every description.
Both days, there will be train rides for children, games and food vendors, including a Bradford Garden Club Sweet Shop of homemade goodies and Dippin' Dots Ice Cream.
When you need to cool off, you can join the all-you-can-eat ice cream contest, sponsored by Turner Dairy, a new event this year.
"The adult men will think they can eat a whole box of ice cream, but after about a third bite, the shot goes to your brain and that cool breeze hits the brain," laughed Joe.
He said the contest, which offers prizes, has a time limit, age categories and no silverware is allowed.
"In the evening in downtown Bradford, we have singing and everyone enjoys singing," Betty Jo said.
"The Bradford High School chorus will start off the evening with our national anthem," said Green, who is in charge of the musical entertainment.
"Every small town tries to find something unique about itself, and this may be really unique," said Peeples about the Doodle Soup Festival.
"We have a crowd and we hope it keeps growing," Green said.
-
Doodle Soup
From Betty Jo Taylor, who cooks at the Doodle Soup Festival.
2 T. cooking oil
2/3 cup distilled red vinegar
Place oil and vinegar in a roaster on top of the stove. Cook the meat of your choice: chicken, rabbit, goat or pork, covered, on medium until tender. (The Doodle Soup Festival makes its Doodle Soup with Chicken.) This recipe is for one chicken.
Remove the meat from the roaster but reserve all the liquid in the roaster. Place the meat in a pan and brush it with butter. Place it in the oven until it is brown.
To the broth you have left in the roaster, add:
2/3 cup vinegar
1 cup water
Salt to taste
Dry cayenne pepper to taste
1/4 cup sugar, more or less, to taste
Small amount of flour
Bring liquid to a boil on high heat. The boiling is what makes the peppers take to the Doodle Soup. Meanwhile, in a small cup, whisk together a small amount of flour and water to make a paste. Add this paste slowly to the Doodle Soup, while stirring, until it is thick and very smooth, but not as thick as gravy.
Serve the browned chicken separately on one plate and serve the soup in a bowl, poured over crumbled crackers or over biscuits.
-
On the Web
One recipe, from the Commodore Forum Cookbook site, claims 'You can't screw up Doodle Soup as long as the chicken 'ain't' squawking.'