The Remedies
The Friday Newsletter goes looking for creature comforts after a grueling week, and finds them in soup, gin, bluegrass, sports nostalgia and a short-but-great movie
I’m going to apologize up front today, as this newsletter may be a bit shorter than you’re accustomed to. I’ve been advised in the past not to apologize for shortcomings in my own work that are often perceptible only to me, but I’m going to apologize anyway. For that, I will also apologize.
(I am deeply Midwestern. Have you noticed?)
It’s just been a hell of a week for me.
On-site obligations from my day job have seen me bouncing from Wisconsin to multiple locations in Pennsylvania like some kind of wayward presidential candidate, and I’ve hardly had a moment to rest. I took a 6am flight out of Louisville Monday morning1, and I’m writing the bulk of this while on another flight that will not take me home yet.
Friday waits for no man, though, and certainly not for me.
It is my sworn duty to deliver you a selection of ACBN-certified Good Things every Friday morning, and excepting a few pre-planned vacations, that’s exactly what I’ve done here for more than five years running.
Today, I’m going to focus on comfort food, both literal and figurative.
I’m kicking off Soup Season early, reviewing a season-straddling spirit, curling up with a book to Remember Some Guys, relaxing to some great music, and just hoping that my next leap is the leap home.
Won’t you join me?
Per the terms of my probation, I must clearly state that I am not a medical doctor.
As I effused last Friday, I am thrilled that it’s finally fall. I’m ready for postseason baseball, lower dew points, wearing a hooded sweatshirt with shorts and yes, drinking exactly (1) pumpkin spice latte.
Most of all, I’m excited to bring out the Big Pot.
I love making a big, hearty meal in my trusty Dutch oven, or speeding up the process in the electric pressure cooker. These meals—the soups, the stews, the chilis and such—they’re the most fun I have in the kitchen all year. I’d already mentally mapped out a plan for October in my head—I was going to embark on Crocktober.
Then my wife caught a nasty cold, and she requested that I make chicken soup.
Crocktober would have to start in September. (We’ll call it Croktoberfest.)
I’ve shared a few chicken soups here in the past, and they’ve been very good (in my humble opinion), but I had two specific goals for this one: I wanted a creamier soup, and I wanted to simplify the cooking process as much as possible.
I came up with an approach that satisfied both needs.
Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup
1 store-bought rotisserie chicken, cooked