4 T. butter
1/2 onion, finely chopped
1 stalk celery, finely chopped
2 small carrots, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 c. flour
2 c. water with 2 tsp. chicken bouillon powder
2 c. whole milk
1 12 oz. can beer
3 c. grated sharp cheddar (about 3/4 lb.)
1-1/2 t. kosher salt
1/4 t. black pepper
1 T. sugar
1 t. hot sauce
1 baguette
1 t. olive oil
Melt butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add onion, celery, carrots and garlic and cook until soft (5-7 min). Add flour and stir for 3 min. Still stirring, add water and bouillon powder and cook until smooth (about 3 min.) Stirring constantly, add milk and beer and cook until foam subsides and soup thickens slightly (about 5 min.). Add cheese, salt, pepper, sugar and hot sauce. Simmer over med. low heat for 20 min, stirring occasionally. Let cool 5 min. Thinly slice baguette, put on baking sheet and brush with olive oil. Bake at 350 degrees until golden. Top soup with bread and more cheese.
NATHANIEL'S VERSION (WITH ANN'S ASSISTANCE)
Nathaniel had made this soup for us our last night of our Christmas/New Year's visit so I only got one bowl and had been craving it ever since. Our next trip to Greeley was in February to meet our brand new granddaughter, Josephine, and since she of course was the focus of all our attention we didn't get around to making it until the last night of our visit again. Nathaniel and I made a grocery run for the ingredients (nothing exotic!) and thought we were all set, but of course midway through making the soup we realized the milk container in the fridge was not nearly as full as we'd thought and he had to run back to the store. We used the generic block sharp cheddar and grated it in the food processor. Nathaniel prefers the chicken bouillon powder everyone in New Mexico uses for Mexican cooking (I think it's Knorr) over canned chicken broth. We doubled the recipe (except for the hot sauce) and some of us ate the baguette in the soup and some on the side. It was so good--more brothy than most cheese soups which so often are just basically a cheese sauce.
ANN'S VERSION
I pretty much stuck to Nathaniel's version since it was so good. I did use 2 c. unsalted chicken stock instead of the bouillon so had to increase the salt by about a tsp. I had 2% milk on hand, so in place of the whole milk I substituted 1-1/2 c. 2% milk and 1/2 c. half and half. I added an extra tsp. of hot sauce (no surprise!) and for some reason my soup was not as brothy as Nathaniel's so I used an extra half bottle of Tecate. I didn't do the toasted bread but just ate some untoasted on the side. Again, this soup was so delicious! Nathaniel says he's made it using various kinds of beer (stout, etc.) and it's always good. Very comforting cold weather soup!
CASSIE'S VERSION
Yum! I absolutely despise beer and cannot drink it. This soup, however, is delicious. I made it almost exactly as written above, using a bottle of Samuel Adams Boston Lager (appropriate, given my location). And the hot sauce I used was Portuguese (also appropriate for the area). The only issue I had was that it was quite salty. Next time, I will cut down on the added salt. Maybe my Better than Bouillon is saltier than regular bouillon. Other than this, I was surprised by how much I loved this soup, especially because I don't like beer. The beer really does cook away, leaving a complex flavor that goes well with sausage and broccoli on the side. This was perfect for the rainy, chilly weather we are currently having. Thanks for the recipe, Nathaniel!
1/2 onion, finely chopped
1 stalk celery, finely chopped
2 small carrots, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 c. flour
2 c. water with 2 tsp. chicken bouillon powder
2 c. whole milk
1 12 oz. can beer
3 c. grated sharp cheddar (about 3/4 lb.)
1-1/2 t. kosher salt
1/4 t. black pepper
1 T. sugar
1 t. hot sauce
1 baguette
1 t. olive oil
Melt butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add onion, celery, carrots and garlic and cook until soft (5-7 min). Add flour and stir for 3 min. Still stirring, add water and bouillon powder and cook until smooth (about 3 min.) Stirring constantly, add milk and beer and cook until foam subsides and soup thickens slightly (about 5 min.). Add cheese, salt, pepper, sugar and hot sauce. Simmer over med. low heat for 20 min, stirring occasionally. Let cool 5 min. Thinly slice baguette, put on baking sheet and brush with olive oil. Bake at 350 degrees until golden. Top soup with bread and more cheese.
NATHANIEL'S VERSION (WITH ANN'S ASSISTANCE)
Nathaniel had made this soup for us our last night of our Christmas/New Year's visit so I only got one bowl and had been craving it ever since. Our next trip to Greeley was in February to meet our brand new granddaughter, Josephine, and since she of course was the focus of all our attention we didn't get around to making it until the last night of our visit again. Nathaniel and I made a grocery run for the ingredients (nothing exotic!) and thought we were all set, but of course midway through making the soup we realized the milk container in the fridge was not nearly as full as we'd thought and he had to run back to the store. We used the generic block sharp cheddar and grated it in the food processor. Nathaniel prefers the chicken bouillon powder everyone in New Mexico uses for Mexican cooking (I think it's Knorr) over canned chicken broth. We doubled the recipe (except for the hot sauce) and some of us ate the baguette in the soup and some on the side. It was so good--more brothy than most cheese soups which so often are just basically a cheese sauce.
ANN'S VERSION
I pretty much stuck to Nathaniel's version since it was so good. I did use 2 c. unsalted chicken stock instead of the bouillon so had to increase the salt by about a tsp. I had 2% milk on hand, so in place of the whole milk I substituted 1-1/2 c. 2% milk and 1/2 c. half and half. I added an extra tsp. of hot sauce (no surprise!) and for some reason my soup was not as brothy as Nathaniel's so I used an extra half bottle of Tecate. I didn't do the toasted bread but just ate some untoasted on the side. Again, this soup was so delicious! Nathaniel says he's made it using various kinds of beer (stout, etc.) and it's always good. Very comforting cold weather soup!
CASSIE'S VERSION
Yum! I absolutely despise beer and cannot drink it. This soup, however, is delicious. I made it almost exactly as written above, using a bottle of Samuel Adams Boston Lager (appropriate, given my location). And the hot sauce I used was Portuguese (also appropriate for the area). The only issue I had was that it was quite salty. Next time, I will cut down on the added salt. Maybe my Better than Bouillon is saltier than regular bouillon. Other than this, I was surprised by how much I loved this soup, especially because I don't like beer. The beer really does cook away, leaving a complex flavor that goes well with sausage and broccoli on the side. This was perfect for the rainy, chilly weather we are currently having. Thanks for the recipe, Nathaniel!
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