St. Hubert's Potage

contributed by Kent Sarff

• 1 lb sage sausage (Jimmy Dean's will do) (substitute turkey sausage if you're not into red meat -- it works just fine)
• 1 onion, diced
• rubbed sage
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1/4 cup flour
• 1 large can chicken broth (or your own)
• 2 large potatoes (peeled, diced into sugar-cube sized pieces)
• 2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp fresh ground black pepper
• 2 cups half-and-half cream/milk

Separately prepare a roux by the butter and flour in a small saucepan. Stir it constantly over medium heat until the flour browns slightly. Set aside. (You can prepare this while the stock is simmering -- see the next steps)

In a stock pot, combine chicken broth, the browned sausage/onions, and the diced potatoes. Add two tablespoons rubbed sage -- more if you're not wimpy. Add salt and pepper. Bring this all to a boil and then simmer for about 30 minutes. Enjoy the odor as it permeates your kitchen. Add the roux, stirring and cooking until it all thickens up nicely.

I usually prepare the soup base (what you have at this point) the day before this soup is served. Refrigerate the soup base if you'll be finishing (creaming) the soup the next day. All soups are better the next day anyway, as all the ingredients have time to get intimate. Mmmm.

If you've done the right thing and prepared the base the day before, heat it until it simmers again.

Add 2 cups half-and-half. Do not boil the soup after it's been creamed, as it will curdle (yuck). Add more sage. When you think you've added enough, add a little more. Seriously. I go through half a bottle of rubbed sage for a double batch of this wonderful concoction.

Serve with fresh bread, a salad with a fresh tangy dressing, and a red wine that will stand up to the sage. The room usually goes silent after the soup is served.

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I formerly taught snowboarding on the weekends at a little resort atop the Continental Divide in Colorado. Once employment benefit was taking runs before all the tourons (tourist morons) ruined the powder. I came upon this scene one morning after a great snowstorm that left over a foot of new snow. Off the photo to the left is a wonderfully steep bowl where I made lots of fresh tracks. :)

The photo was taken with a Sony DSC-55 digital camera (Zeiss lens, 2.1 Mpxl). The colors have not been altered. Yes, the sky looks almost black on a clear day at 13,000'.

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