Chicken Stock

If you really want a soup that will impress you need to make your own stock.  By roasting chicken and vegetables then slow simmering for hours you develop a depth of flavor that the stuff from the store couldn't hope to touch, and by using those bits of chicken that are usually discarded (wing tips, backs, necks, and whatever else you typically wouldn't eat) you'll fill the stock with the gelatin that imparts that richness and silky texture without adding any fat.  If you want to take this a step further you can then reduce this stock from a gallon down to a pint of glace de volaille, one of the best sauce bases around, and worth every second of the day and a half it takes to make.

Ingredients:
7 lbs of cheap chicken bits (I personally like to save wing tips from hosting wing nights for friends, but you can use necks, backs, feet, or whatever else you can get your hands on.  The thing you're looking for here is cartilage and/or bone to create gelatin)
1 lb carrots, in one inch pieces
1 lb celery, in one inch pieces
1 lb onions, in one inch pieces
2 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed with the side of a knife
7-8 sprigs of Italian parsley
20 black peppercorns, whole
1/2 t dried thyme, or 2 t fresh
2 bay leaves


Preheat the oven to 400 degrees, and roast the chicken bits in a large roasting pan for an hour, stirring a couple of times. 
Add the celery, carrots, and onions along with 2 C of water to the roasting pan, and cook for another hour, stirring every 20-30 minutes.

Transfer the chicken and vegetables to a large stock pot (be sure to get anything stuck to the bottom of the pan), and add in the rest of the ingredients with enough water to come within an inch or two of the top.  Cover and bring to a simmer for at least 4 hours.

Remove the chicken, vegetables, and everything else you can fish out and discard.  Allow the stock to cool then put it in the fridge until the fat solidifies (or overnight).
Remove the fat and strain the stock through either a fine strainer or a couple of layers of cheesecloth.
At this point you can either use it as stock, or you can reduce it down to a pint to make glace de volaille.