No, there wasn't really a contest. Yesterday, however, when I asked for chicken soup recipes, I got a bunch of great replies. But there can be only one. And since Melenie Lambert is my favorite Jewish mother, her recipe had to be the winner. So –

Momma Mel's Chicken Soup

You'll need:

1 whole chicken, cleaned and pressed.
(Those last two words were a joke, OK?)
1 whole onion.
1 bunch of parsley.
The inside of some celery stalks.
A bag of baby carrots.
1 box of matzoh meal.
Salt & pepper.

The directions come from Mel herself:

Boil a stock pot 3/4 full of salted water. While the water is boiling, clean a whole chicken. Salt and pepper the bird in and out. Put it into the stock pot. Add a whole onion, parsley bunch, inside of celery. Reduce heat to simmer and cover. Let cook for about an hour and a half. Skim off foamy stuff. Remove carcass and parsley. Return the meat to the pot, add carrots and celery.

Must not forget his favorite part. Get a box of Matzo Meal. Any kind will do. Follow the recipe on the box. They will be lighter if you refrigerate the dough prior to boiling.

You may also put pasta into the soup or wontons (kreplach).

What makes it really really good and rich can't be done for today. I cook it the 1st day till the meat disintegrates in the soup. Strain all the junk out, saving as much meat as possible. Then you add another whole chicken to the soup and use the soup base as your water. That's the way I do it for holidays, yum yum. For sickness, usually the 1st way is sufficient.

Love to you both,
Melenie

Love back, sweetie.