shaker chicken noodle soup

the summer i left for my second year of college, my mom photo copied a few recipes for me. after all, i was out of the dorms and into my own apartment. there was homemade macaroni and cheese (perfected by my mom and her brother), my all time favorite mushroom bisque, a few cookie recipes from her betty crocker, held together by a rubber band, and this soup. all in all i have made this soup at least ten times - at least once every winter since.

if it were up to jason, this soup would definitely get more play in the rotation. the first winter we spent together i made this for the two of us. and as soon as the weather starts to get cool and the forecast first predicts snow, he's asking for the soup. as soon as we have leftover chicken, it's ours.

shaker chicken noodle soup
adapted from a photo copied recipe from my mother, with no clue where it came from! (although i did find a similar recipe on TLC's website)
1 hour, serves 8+

i've made this soup with extra wide, wide, and medium noddles and the wides are my favorite. the extra wides seem a bit too much, and are a bit unwieldy on your spoon. the mediums are too thin for us.

note that the egg noodles are cooked in the broth for only half the time indicated on the package. this is important. if the noodles are cooked completely in the broth, they will be mushy and overcooked by the time the soup is actually done and you're ready to eat. and the leftovers will be a total mess of mushy noodles.

the original recipe for this soup uses 3/4 cups all purpose flour, same as the TLC recipe uses, instead of the half a cup i have used. i have made this soup many times with many different amounts of flour and find that 3/4 of a cup is too much - the soup gets too thick - and anything under 1/2 cup is too thin. feel free to play with the flour based on your own preference.

13 cups chicken stock, divided
1/4 cup dry vermouth
1/4 cup unsalted butter
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup diced celery
1 cup diced carrot
12 ounces dry egg noodles
2 cups cooked diced chicken
1 1/2 cups water
1/2 cup all purpose flour

1. in a small saucepan, combine 1 cup stock, vermouth, and butter. bring to a simmer and cook until reduced to about a quarter cup, about 20 minutes. the mixture will darken and be thick and syrupy. remove from heat and stir in the heavy cream. set aside.
2. coat the bottom of a stock pot with olive oil and set over medium heat. saute the celery and carrot until softened, about five minutes. add the remaining 12 cups of chicken stock and bring to a boil.
3. add the egg noodles and cook for half of the time recommended on the package.
4. when the noodles are done, stir in the chicken until heated through and bring back to a boil.
5. whisk the water and flour until no lumps remain. add a ladle of hot broth to the mixture and whisk to combine. 
6. while continuously stirring the soup, add the flour and water mixture. cook, stirring continuously for about 2 minutes, or until slightly thickened. do not let the soup boil. 
7. stir in the reserved reduced stock, vermouth, butter, and cream mixture. taste and season with salt and pepper. serve immediately and do not let the soup boil. leftovers reheat perfectly.