Big City Soup may be no more, but former soup eaters, including Diane Blackburn still yearn for the restaurant's concoctions, including its recipe for crab and Brie soup.

Well, I found a pretty cool version from Louisiana. Turns out the Dakota restaurant in Covington, La., has a mighty fine recipe, which calls for blue crabs. I happened to find some at Ocean City Seafood Market (1839 W. 3500 South, Salt Lake City) but dungeness will also work.

This soup is really rich so it could be served as an appetizer in cups or with a green salad for a filling dinner. Don't forget the bread for sopping.

Oh, when will a Big City Soup cookbook be released?

Requests • Reader Ellen Toscano would like the recipe for the New Yorker's cheese and potato soup.

Deidra Meibos is looking for the recipe for flank steak lo mein noodles from Indochine.

Reader Sid McOmie would like the ribs and sauce recipes from La Frontera.

Larry Geigle would like the recipe for salsa from Restaurant Morelia.

Wendi Miller craves the spicy rice with lemongrass chile chicken at Mi La Cai Noodle House.

Lindsay Jensen is looking for Maceys grocery store's recipe for vanilla-flavored icebox cookies.

Send requests or responses to lneilson@sltrib.com, facebook.com/tribremix or c/o The Salt Lake Tribune, 90 S. 400 West, Ste. 700, Salt Lake City, UT 84101. —

Dakota's lump crabmeat and Brie soup

1 pound blue crabs (about 2) or dungeness crab

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 medium yellow onion, chopped

1 medium carrot, chopped

1½ ribs celery, chopped

½ bulb garlic, chopped

1 bay leaf

1/8 cup brandy

½ cup white wine

1 quart water

1/4 cup (½ stick) unsalted butter

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1 pint heavy whipping cream

4 ounces Brie cheese

½ teaspoon freshly ground white pepper

½ teaspoon cayenne pepper

½ teaspoon salt

1/4 pound jumbo lump crabmeat (picked from shell)

Bring a large pot of water to boil. Put in crabs and let cook, about 5 minutes. Remove from the pot and immediately plunge into a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking process. Discard the water. Remove from the bowl and place on a work surface. Using a meat mallet or hammer, crack open blue crab shells until meat is exposed.

In the same pot, over medium-high heat, warm the olive oil. Add the cracked crabs and cook for 5 minutes. Add the vegetables and bay leaf and continue to cook, another 5 minutes. Add the brandy, white wine and water. Bring to a simmer over medium heat and cook for 30 minutes. Using a skimmer, remove and discard the crabs and vegetables from stock. 

In a small frying pan over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the flour and blend with a wire whisk until smooth and creamy. Cook over low heat for 1 minute.

Add the butter and flour mixture to the stock using a wire whisk until all the roux has dissolved into the stock. Add the cream and simmer over low heat for 10 minutes. 

Meanwhile, remove the outside rind from the Brie and discard. Cut the Brie into 1-inch cubes and add to the stock while constantly stirring until all the cheese has dissolved into the soup. Season the soup with salt, white pepper and cayenne pepper. Strain the soup through a fine strainer and into another medium pot over medium heat. Add the lump crabmeat, stir and let the crabmeat warm through.

Makes • 3 quarts

Source: Dakota restaurant, Covington, La.