CHARLOTTE LOUISE FERKAN PORTER was born in New Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. She’s a mother of four and a grandmother of four. And her daughter, Faye, happens to be the author of this book. So while Charlotte doesn’t live in the South, she’s got two kids who live in Nashville, Tennessee. She is a grandma and a good cook who’s taught Faye much of what she knows about cooking and baking. One of Charlotte’s favorite Southern places to visit—next to her kids in Nashville, of course—has been the Greenbrier Resort, a national historic landmark in White Sulfur Springs, West Virginia. She loved it there so much she even bought some of their custom-made china. Charlotte is known as Nama to younger granddaughters AVA and LILLIAN PORTER and as Grandma to older granddaughters SOPHIA and OLIVIA PORTER.
4 large potatoes
1 teaspoon butter
1 tablespoon finely chopped onion
⅓ cup finely chopped celery leaves, packed
⅓ cup finely chopped carrot (optional)
Salt and black pepper to taste
¾ cup cooked small macaroni, shells, or ditalini (optional)
1 Peel and cube the potatoes. Rinse and place in a Dutch oven or kettle. Add enough cold water to cover potatoes by less than an inch. Bring to a boil over high heat and then lower the temperature and cook over medium heat. With a large spoon remove the starchy bubbles that form on the side of the kettle.
2 While the potatoes are cooking, in a small skillet melt the butter and sauté the onions until tender. Be careful not to brown the butter. Add the sautéed onions to the potatoes, along with the celery leaves, carrot, and salt and pepper to your taste.
3 Check the potatoes after 5 minutes to make sure they are not too soft or mushy.
4 If adding cooked pasta, gently stir it in and make sure the entire mixture is covered with the broth. If too thick, add additional water until the desired consistency is achieved.
5 Lower the heat to the lowest setting and allow the flavors to incorporate for 6 to 8 minutes. Serve hot. Crusty bread goes well with this soup.
MAKES 6 SERVINGS.