MOSTLY SOUP: You can never have too much cheese!

April 29, 2009

You can never have too much cheese!

Since Vanessa keeps posting every day, making me look bad, I thought I would take it back to the old school with a nice warm tasty soup on a cold rainy day.

Coburg Inn Beer Cheese Soup from The Big Book of Soups and Stews

1/2 cup butter or margarine
1/2 cup diced celery (I used 2 smallish stalks)
1/2 cup diced carrot (I used 1 large carrot)
1 cup diced yellow onion
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
5 cups chicken stock or broth
3 tablespoons freshly grated parmesan cheese (I used more like 5)
2 cups firmly packed grated cheddar (I used smoked medium cheddar)
1 12 oz bottle of beer, allowed to go flat (I used Drop Top Amber, not flat)
1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste
freshly ground pepper to taste

In a large saucepan over medium heat, melt butter. Add celery, carrot, and onion and saute until soft, about 10 minutes. Add flour and mustard and cook, stirring constantly, 1 minute. Slowly stir in stock. Bring to a boil and cook over medium-high heat, stirring constantly, until thickened, about 5 minutes. Reduce heat to medium-low and add cheeses, stirring until melted. Add beer, salt, and pepper and simmer, uncovered, over low heat to blend flavors, about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Note: The soup thickens and the texture improves the second day. Warm carefully over medium-low heat, as it scorches easily. Add more liquid if the soup is too thick.

As you can see, I noted what I changed above in parentheses. This recipe was super easy, and turned out amazing. The only thing I would do differently is to saute the veggies a tad longer. They were a tiny bit crunchier than I would have liked. I was just so impatient to eat! I served this with fresh sliced french baguette.