Soup Showdown Recipe: Terri's Brunswick Stew

Say what you will about Facebook... it's a time eater, it's too intrusive, etc. But I love that it has put me back in touch with some dear friends that I somehow lost along the way... My sweet friend Terri Merren is quite a cook and she has produced a very good,  superb quaility cookbook for her son's school in the Cayman Islands. Here's Terri's recipe for Brunswick Stew. Try it and let us know what you think! Thanks, Terri!!

Terri's Brunswick StewServes 4

 TERRI'S BRUNSWICK STEW

1 4-lb. chicken

2 carrots, peeled

2 ribs celery

1 large white onion, loosely chopped

1 scotch bonnet pepper (optional)

Salt

15- oz. can diced tomatoes

15-oz. can Lima or Great Northern beans, drained and rinsed

16-oz. can whole kernel corn, with juice

1 cup celery, cut into 1" pieces

1 cup carrots, cut into 1" pieces

1 medium white onion, chopped

1/4 tsp. Cayenne pepper

1 tsp. salt

Freshly ground black pepper

1 cup heavy cream

Cut up and bone the chicken. Place bones, whole carrots, celery ribs and one of the chopped onions in a pot filled with 6 cups of water seasoned with about a teaspoon of salt. Add the scotch bonnet pepper (if desired). Cover and bring to a slow boil. Simmer for 2 hours. Strain and cool.

Meanwhile, boil the chopped celery, carrots and onion in a separate pot. Strain and cool. Pull the skin off the chicken pieces; discard the skin. Remove any gristle or fat. Place the chicken pieces and chopped vegetables in the bottom of a deep pot. Pour the strained broth over them and bring slowly to a simmer.

Add the tomatoes, lima beans, corn with its juice, and the celery pieces. Season with salt, Cayenne pepper and freshly ground black pepper. Simmer for 20 minutes.

Add heavy cream; heat through. Serve hot, and enjoy.