COOK'S CORNER ENJOY HOMEMADE POTATO CHEESE SOUP.

Byline: Natalie Haughton Food Editor

When Helen Kerylow requested a recipe for Potato Cheese Soup like the one served at the Claim Jumper in Northridge, two readers sent along recipes. Although neither is from that particular restaurant, they're probably similar. The first one was shared by Mary Gillis, who notes that it is Marie Callender's Potato Cheese Soup. Her family loves it!

The second recipe, sent along by Joy de la Cueva, is a copy of one (by Todd Wilbur) from Ruby Tuesday Restaurant.

Recently we received another request from Ronnie Hirsch of Calabasas, who is looking for a potato cheese soup like the one served at Stuart Anderson's Black Angus restaurant.

Since many of the restaurant soups taste similar, hopefully you'll find one of these suitable. Try them - and tweak the seasonings to make them more like the soup you remember from your favorite restaurant.

POTATO CHEESE SOUP

(Shared by Mary Gillis, Valley Village)

6 tablespoons butter

1/2 cup finely chopped celery

1 cup finely chopped onions

2 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed

1/4 cup flour

2 cups milk

2 1/2 cups chicken broth 

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon white pepper

2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese

Melt butter in a large saucepan. Add celery, onions and potatoes and cook, stirring often, about 10 minutes. Stir in flour and cook 30 seconds. Gradually add milk and chicken broth; cook, stirring constantly, until soup comes to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer. Cover and cook 25 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and cool 10 to 15 minutes. Mash potatoes slightly; add salt, pepper and cheese. Stir until cheese is melted. Makes about 4 servings.

POTATO CHEESE SOUP

(Shared by Joy de la Cueva, Sylmar)

2 large Russet potatoes

2 tablespoons finely minced celery

1 tablespoon finely minced yellow onion 

1 tablespoon finely grated carrot

2 cups chicken stock OR broth

1 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons white vinegar

2 tablespoons flour

1 1/2 cups milk

1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

For top: 1 tablespoon Cheddar cheese mixed with 1 tablespoon shredded Monterey Jack cheese; 2 slices cooked bacon, crumbled; and 1 tablespoon chopped green onions

Peel and chop potatoes into bite-size pieces. Combine with celery, onion, carrot, chicken broth, salt and vinegar in a large pan over medium heat. Bring to a boil, cover and simmer 20 minutes.

Whisk flour and milk in a medium bowl; add to cooked stock mixture. Simmer, uncovered, 5 to 8 minutes or until mixture is thickened. Add 1 cup cheddar cheese and stir until melted.

To serve, spoon into bowls. Top with a mixture of 1 tablespoon Cheddar and Jack cheese. Sprinkle with crumbled bacon and green onions. Add a dollop of sour cream, if desired. Makes 2 to 4 servings.

From ``Top Secret Recipes'' by Todd Wilbur.

ANOTHER WINNING FLOURLESS CHOCOLATE CAKE

Always on the lookout for a terrific flourless chocolate cake, I tried this recipe from the October issue of Bon Appetit with excellent results. It appeared in the RSVP column and was in response to a reader request for the Chocolate Scream! Cake (the best she ever tasted) served at the Los Olivos Cafe & Wine Merchant in Los Olivos, Calif.

I streamlined the recipe slightly using the microwave oven for melting the butter and chocolate, adapted the order in which the ingredients were added to the batter and tossed in a little vanilla.

The cake slices are served drizzled with caramel sauce with ice cream alongside. Although we didn't include the recipe for the caramel sauce, we figured you could use your favorite homemade or store-bought rendition. We recently picked up a sinfully rich caramel sauce at Williams-Sonoma that was delicious!

FLOURLESS CHOCOLATE CAKE WITH CARAMEL SAUCE

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, cut into pieces

8 ounces semisweet chocolate chips (about 1 1/2 cups)

1 1/4 cups sugar

1 cup sifted unsweetened cocoa powder 

6 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

Homemade OR store-bought caramel sauce, warmed

Vanilla ice cream

Butter a 9 1/2 to 10-inch-diameter springform pan. Line bottom with waxed paper. Combine butter and chocolate chips in a large glass bowl. Microwave on high power 1 to 2 minutes, until melted and smooth, when stirred. Whisk in sugar and cocoa until smooth; add eggs and vanilla, whisk until well blended. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake in a preheated 350-degree oven, about 45 minutes, until a tester inserted into center comes out clean. Cool cake completely in pan on rack. Run knife around pan sides to loosen cake. Release pan sides. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate.)

To serve, cut cake into wedges. Place 1 cake wedge on each plate. Drizzle with warm caramel sauce. Serve with ice cream. Makes 10 to 12 servings.

Can you help

If you have recipes that can help these readers, please send them along to us at the address below to share in a future column.

I would like to have recipes for banana bread, pound cake and zucchini bread. Anyone?

- Jerry Anderson

Palmdale

I've lost the recipe for Barbara Bush's Cream of Broccoli Soup. Help!

- Lucy Ford

Northridge