Cold summer soup is rich and easy to make

We've had lots of fun trying recipes for quick and easy summer desserts. Now Kay Briggs of Canton, N.Y., moves the focus to the beginning of the meal with a very easy and delicious summer soup recipe.

"This soup was very well received when I used to make it in summer," Briggs writes. "The recipe obviously predates concerns about salt and cholesterol, but I assume cooks can make the necessary adjustments. I never tried it hot, but when chilled it was very good."

Using reduced-sodium condensed soup and replacing the cream with fat-free half-and-half will, indeed, address nutritional concerns.

CRAB BISQUE

1 (10-ounce) can cream of mushroom soup

1 (10-ounce) can cream of asparagus or celery soup

1 1/2 cups milk

1 cup heavy cream

1 cup dry white wine

6 ounces crab meat

Blend undiluted soups with milk, cream and wine in a heavy saucepan. Stir over medium heat until just at boiling point. Add crab meat. Serve hot or cold. Makes 4 appetizer servings.

Per serving: 472 calories (66 percent from fat), 35.1 g fat (17.9 g saturated, 9.5 g monounsaturated), 122.1 mg cholesterol, 12.5 g protein, 18.7 g carbohydrates, 0.5 g fiber, 1,350 mg sodium.

I keep seeing "chipotle pepper" on restaurant menus, in recipes, etc. My question may seem silly, but can you tell me what it is, exactly?

It isn't a silly question at all. Many of us grew up with nothing more exotic than bell or cubanelle peppers. And though I've tasted a lot of chipotle-flavored foods and even cooked with chipotle peppers, I didn't know until I looked it up that they are red-ripe jalapeno peppers that have been smoked.

The heat, combined with the smoky flavor, gives even simple foods a new dimension. I serve the sauce here with a supermarket rotisserie chicken on days I don't have time to cook. It's also nice with grilled fish. You can add chopped garlic, bell pepper or onion if you prefer a salsa-like texture. Chipotles are sold dried or canned in adobo sauce.

VERSATILE CHIPOTLE SAUCE

Juice of 2 limes (about 1/2 cup)

1/2 cup orange or guava marmalade

1 to 2 chipotle chiles canned in adobo

1/2 cup snipped cilantro, or to taste

In a food processor or blender, pulse lime juice, marmalade and chipotle and the adobo sauce that clings to it until finely chopped. Scrape into a saucepan and bring just to a boil. Remove from heat and stir in cilantro. Use as a sauce or brush onto poultry, pork or seafood in last few minutes of grilling or baking. Makes about 11/2 cups.

Per tablespoon: 18 calories

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