Tuesday Soup

 Do you like cheese?  How about beer?  Bacon?  If the answers are yes, this might be the soup for you.

During our Christmas trip to New York, we went to dinner at the Hyde Park Brewing Company.  It was really cold out, and I wasn't hungry enough for a giant entree, so I ordered their Cheddar Lager Soup.  And it was GOOD.  I've tried making beer cheese soup at home before, but it was sort of mediocre.  But the soup at the brewery was so good I decided to try again.

I searched through tons of recipes on the internet before I finally settled on one from Williams Sonoma.  Williams Sonoma never lets me down.  I gathered the ingredients (above) and got to work.  Here are my onions, carrots and celery (which years of watching Emeril have taught me is called a "mirepoix") simmering away in some bacon fat:

That's right.  Bacon fat.  Bacon makes everything better.

I followed the recipe exactly.  Finally, it was the moment of truth: Taste-Test Time.  So I scooped up a spoonful and gave it a try.  Hmmm.  It was good, but something was missing.  It definitely needed salt, so I added salt and tasted again.  Better, but it still needed something.

This is usually when I call Kev to the kitchen to taste things and tell me what's missing.  Only Kev was still at work.  I was on my own.

I had to use The Force.

Me plus The Force has often led to things going horribly wrong.  But not this time.  Because this time, I guessed right and threw in a pinch of cayenne and some liquid smoke:

Yep.  That's just what it needed.  The Force was strong with me last night.

A warning about liquid smoke (which you can find at most grocery stores near the ketchup and stuff):  Use it very sparingly, and use it BEFORE you adjust the salt, because it is pretty salty on its own.  I put in just 3 or 4 drops last night, and it really kicked up the flavor of the soup, but made it a little on the salty side overall because I had already added salt.

Daphne helped make this soup and she enjoyed doing it.  But at our house, the If They Cook It, They Will Eat It rule does not apply to things made with melty cheese.  Melty cheese is Daphne's Kryptonite.  I don't know how it is possible for any child of mine to be against melty cheese, but it seems to be the case, at least for now.  Needless to say, Daphne didn't eat the soup.  And I have to learn to be OK with that.

We served it in warm bowls (as the recipe suggested) with bacon and homemade croutons (above).  And a salad, because no matter how I try to spin it (Oh!  There are carrots in there!), this soup is pretty bad for you.  Beer, cheese, and bacon, you know.  Delicious, but not exactly health food.

You should know that while this soup isn't difficult to make, it does take time.  This isn't a quick weeknight meal.  But there are lots of left-overs, especially since Daphne wouldn't eat it, so we'll get a couple more meals out of it.  Left-overs are good.

The original recipe is below.  Don't forget to try adding the liquid smoke (or whatever else you think it needs) if you want a little more flavor.

Williams Sonoma Cheddar Ale Soup:

Ingredients:

• 4 thick-cut bacon slices, cut into 3-inch strips
• 2 Tbs. unsalted butter
• 1 large yellow onion, diced
• 2 carrots, peeled and diced
• 2 celery stalks, diced
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup pale ale
• 1 Tbs. Worcestershire sauce
• 2 cups milk
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 1 1/4 lb. sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
• Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
• Toasted croutons for garnish
• Olio novello for drizzling

Directions:

In a 4 1/2-quart Dutch oven over medium-high heat, cook the bacon until crisp, about 8 minutes. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate to drain.

Discard all but 2 Tbs. of the fat in the pot. Reduce the heat to medium and melt the butter. Add the onion, carrots and celery, cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are softened, about 20 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add the flour and cook, stirring occasionally, for 3 to 4 minutes. Add the ale and cook, stirring constantly, for 2 to 3 minutes. Add the Worcestershire, milk and broth, increase the heat to medium-high and bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for 10 to 12 minutes. Remove the pot from the heat and puree the soup with an immersion blender until smooth.

Set the pot over medium-low heat and add the cheese by the handful, stirring constantly; do not allow the soup to boil. Season with salt and pepper. Ladle the soup into warmed bowls. Garnish with croutons and the bacon and drizzle with olio novello. Serve immediately. Serves 6.