Rosie Amedei’s White Potato Soup

Makes 10 servings

5-6 medium to large potatoes, peeled and cut into small chunks

1 large onion, peeled and chopped

2-4 cups water, as needed

1 heaping tablespoon of chicken bouillon paste, or slightly less to taste

1 heaping teaspoon dried parsley flakes

1 scant teaspoon dried dill weed

2 egg yolks

3/4 cup flour

2-3 cups whole milk, or as needed to taste/consistency

1/2 stick butter

1/2 pound of lightly sautéed bacon (or more if to liking) cut in pieces and two tablespoons bacon drippings reserved

Ground black pepper

Directions:

1. In a large soup pot, cover bottom with prepared potato pieces and chopped onion.

2. Add enough water to cover potatoes and onions and cook over medium flame until potatoes are fork tender, stirring as needed. Add chicken bouillon paste. Do not drain cooking water.

3. Add parsley flakes and dried dill and reduce heat to simmer, stirring as needed.

4. As soup is simmering, use a fork to combine the 2 egg yolks with flour and work together to make “riblets,” which will have an appearance like pie crust dough or small peas.

5. Increase to high flame to bring soup to a rolling boil. Quickly add in “riblets” and stir quickly constantly for 5 minutes as soup will thicken “with ribbons.” Reduce to simmer and add butter.

6. Add milk as desired to soup to create desired flavor and consistency. A little cornstarch mixed with cold water and a bit of soup liquid can be added to thicken soup as desired.

7. Finish soup by adding bacon and drippings and adjusting seasonings as need for desired taste.

8. Sprinkle soup generously with ground black pepper and add more black pepper at table when ladling hot into bowls for serving.

I’ve often written about Rosie, the favorite longtime waitress in our small town and shared stories about her and her recipes in my columns and cookbooks.

As I’ve mentioned before, Rosie is also family.

She is my oldest sister Carol’s mother-in-law and mother to my big-hearted brother-in-law Bill, who died all too young at age 64 six years ago in January 2019.

Katherine “Rosie” Rigsby Widner Amidei was a wonder in the kitchen. Over the years, I’ve shared in my columns and cookbooks Rosie’s recipes for her fudge, pecan pie, soups and the classic Italian beef sandwich recipe. The latter is the succulent sandwich claim-to-fame, served for years at our town’s roadside diner Patterson’s (later Brantwood) where Rosie worked for so many years, as well as Doug’s restaurant, named for the late Doug Vessley, all located along State Highway 10 through the center of North Judson.

Rosie passed away at age 94 on Jan. 19, and I joined my parents and siblings at her funeral service in North Judson on Jan. 29. Rosie’s husband of 52 years, Al Amidei, died at the age of 93 in 2010. Their son Donny attended to all of the funeral arrangements with the help of his wife Jan, a nurse, and his daughters Andrea and Alicia.

Al, who served on our town’s school board for more years than I can even recall, was a prominent businessman in our county, including owning the local gravel pit at Bass Lake and was always active in politics. It was last fall that Al’s younger brother and Rosie’s brother-in-law Frank Amidei died just two weeks from his 98th birthday which would have been Nov. 7.

Frank was a veteran of the U.S. Army and a member of American Legion Post 92 in North Judson for more than 75 years and was elected Starke County Clerk in 1970 and Starke County Recorder in 1978 as well as a member of our Mint Festival Committee for many decades. I can still recall in my memories Frank in hat and uniform with his fellow American Legion designated leadership in the late 1970s serving as the judging panel for our annual Halloween costume contest held in the gymnasium of our San Pierre Elementary School.

Our mom was always in charge of our Halloween costumes and competitive, insisting our costumes be both original and “topical,” anticipating Frank and the judges would have an eye for detail.

In 1977, I was in second grade and my older sister Pam was in fifth grade. Our mom had us dress as Tyrone and Gladys, the funny “little old man and little old lady” character alter-egos of comics Arte Johnson and Ruth Buzzi made famous on the TV variety show “Laugh-In.” Buzzi, as her forever frowning Gladys persona in tight hairnet, drooping pantyhose and drab brown cardigan sweater, wielded a surprise weapon by hitting others over the head with her purse. Besides Arte Johnson as Tyrone, another favorite famous target of Gladys’ wayward backhand was often the head of tipsy Dean Martin during his celebrity roast TV specials.

When our costume creations only earned us a second place, our mom insisted we would have taken home first place had Pam started hitting judge Frank Amidei over the head with her Gladys-type purse.

When it comes to the topic of recipe requests, always in first place ranking with customer raves was Rosie and her rotating menu of delicious soups which were served at the restaurants where she hustled and bustled with not only waitress duties but assisting the kitchen by creating the soup rotation. Throughout the years, I never had success getting Rosie to share her signature white potato soup recipe.

A similar (but not exact) homage to her potato soup was served at Rosie’s funeral luncheon last month. However, since this soup variation included cheddar cheese, it was not true to the original, according to my oldest sister Carol. My sister’s keen eye also spotted the funeral luncheon soup version did not contain “egg yolk riblets,” which are the thin and silky ribbons of egg used as a natural thickening ingredient.

With the help of Rosie’s granddaughter Andrea and Frank Amidei’s daughter Margie, I was delivered Rosie’s handwritten copy of her homemade potato soup recipe dated on the lined notebook paper as transcribed in 2002. I’m smiling that Rosie’s memories and kitchen legacy will live on with readers and new generations of cooks enjoying this hearty soup recipe.

Columnist Philip Potempa has published four cookbooks and is the director of marketing at Theatre at the Center. He can be reached at pmpotempa@powershealth.org or mail your questions: From the Farm, P.O. Box 68, San Pierre, IN 46374.