There’s Still Nothing Like A Steaming Bowl Of Chicken Soup For A Cold

Maybe not today, and maybe not tomorrow, but one day soon you’re going to be very sick.

You can borrow the humidifier from the children’s room, you can gobble every pill in the medicine chest, you can even resort to the old Vicks rub, but I’m here to tell you that nothing does the trick for a cold like a hot bowl of chicken soup.

Mimi Sheraton, author of the most recent chicken soup cookbook (“The Whole World Loves Chicken Soup”), says that stirring a shot of warm vodka, lemon juice or hot clam juice into chicken broth is the remedy for really awful colds.

Those might work, but my theory is that chili peppers stirred into the soup are really what the doctor ordered. When I’m sick, I want something to kick me into the present tense. I figure that if I can taste something, I’m going to make it through the worst of an illness. Frankly, other than chilis, what can you taste when you’re bedridden?

Following are some variations on the chicken soup theme. Cut them out now, while you’re well - an ounce of prevention and all that. (I want to help, but I can’t be making house calls.)

The first two recipes are from “Chicken Soup: 75 World-Class Recipes to Warm Your Heart and Soul” by Marcie Ver Ploeg (Main Street Books). The last recipe is from Mimi Sheraton’s “The Whole World Loves Chicken Soup” (Warner) and comes from Ismail Merchant, a notable cookbook author himself and half of the Merchant Ivory film production team.

Sick-in-Bed Chicken Soup

4 to 5 pounds kosher chicken, including the neck, gizzard (but not liver) and feet, if possible

5 carrots, peeled and cut into thirds

4 celery ribs, cut into thirds

1 onion, halved

6 garlic cloves, halved

1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley

2 teaspoons chopped fresh dill or 1 teaspoon dried dill

Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

Crawl to the store and buy the ingredients, or, better yet, call up and get someone to do it for you.

Fill a large, heavy-bottomed pot 2/3 full of water. Add the chicken, carrots, celery, onion and garlic. Bring to a boil over high heat, then cover and simmer over medium heat while you go back to bed and take a nap for an hour.

Crawl back to the kitchen and add the parsley, dill, salt and pepper. Cover again.

Go back to bed and take another nap for an hour or two. By the time you get up, it will be ready.

Serve in a half-filled deep bowl so you don’t spill it all over the bed.

Yield: 6-8 servings.

Nutrition information per serving (for 8): 189 calories, 6 grams fat (28 percent fat calories), 6 grams carbohydrate, 76 milligrams cholesterol, 108 milligrams sodium.

Chili-Cheese Chicken Soup with Rice

4 slices of bacon

1 medium onion, coarsely chopped

3 garlic cloves, minced

2 jalapeno or other hot chili peppers, minced

1 teaspoon dried oregano

Cumin, to taste

2/3 cup rice, preferably medium-grain

1/2 cup dry white wine

15-ounces can Mexican-style stewed tomatoes

6 cups chicken broth (homemade or canned)

3 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves (about 1 pound), cut in bite-size pieces

Salt and freshly ground pepper

4 ounces Monterey Jack cheese, shredded

2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro or parsley

In a large saucepan or Dutch oven, cook the bacon over medium heat until crisp, about 5 minutes; drain on paper towels. Crumble the bacon and set aside. Pour off all but 2 tablespoons fat from the pan.

Add the onion, garlic and jalapenos and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the oregano, cumin and rice. Cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Pour on the wine, stewed tomatoes and chicken broth. Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover and simmer for 20 minutes.

Add the chicken and simmer 10 minutes, or until tender and white throughout. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Stir in the cheese until melted. Ladle into soup bowls and top with the crumbled bacon and chopped cilantro. Serve hot.

Yield: 4-6 servings.

Nutrition information per serving (for 6): 345 calories, 12 grams fat (31 percent fat calories), 25 grams carbohydrate, 72 milligrams cholesterol, 1,183 milligrams sodium.

Ismail Merchant’s Gingered Chicken Soup

1 whole 3-pound chicken

5 to 6 cups water, as needed

8 whole cloves

1-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and very finely chopped or crushed

2 whole long or round, dried hot red chili peppers, or 1/2 to 1-1/2 teaspoons dried red pepper flakes, or to taste

2 tablespoons light olive oil or other light vegetable oil, or 2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) unsalted butter

2 small fresh or canned tomatoes, peeled, seeded and coarsely chopped

3/4 to 1 teaspoon salt, to taste

1/2 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper, or to taste

Fresh cilantro or parsley leaves, for garnish

Place chicken in a straight-sided 3- to 5-quart enamel or stainless-steel soup pot and add just enough water to cover. It should not take more than 6 cups; if so, cut chicken in halves or quarters so no more water will be needed to cover.

Add all other ingredients, using minimum amounts of chili peppers, salt and black pepper for the first 25 minutes of cooking time. Simmer gently but steadily, partly covered, for about 25 minutes, adding water to maintain original level.

Taste for seasonings and cautiously add more chilis, salt and black pepper to taste. Continue to cook for another 20 to 25 minutes or until chicken is just about falling from the bone. Keep adding water to maintain original level. Adjust seasonings as you go along, keeping in mind that a fiery flavor is traditional.

Remove cooked chicken, cloves and stems from chili peppers (if any); it is not necessary to strain or remove pepper seeds. Pick chicken meat from bones and skin, discarding the latter, and return spoon-size chunks of chicken to the soup.

Yield: 2-4 servings.

Nutrition information per serving (for 4): 256 calories, 14 grams fat (49 percent fat calories), 2 grams carbohydrate, 88 milligrams cholesterol, 556 milligrams sodium.