Cheddar Ale Soup

This was probably one of the most flavorful soups I've ever made, let's just start there. It was literally packed full of flavor - from the celery and onions to the Amber beer and sharp cheddar - my mouth was literally watering from the moment I started to sautee the veggies. It didn't help that I had used the leftover bread from the Egg Boat Recipe I made on Sunday to crisp up as homemade croutons...it smelled like a delightful German Pub in here. Fabulous! Of course, I have once again been inspired by Pinterest but after reading all of the variations of this recipe it kind of just evolved. (Though it is incredibly similar to Williams Sonoma's recipe.)

I will warn you it is extremely difficult to make this recipe without drinking the ale while cooking and with the finished product so...you should probably buy a 6 pack of whatever ale it is that you're using - or at least that is my theory! Alright before we get too drunk, let's cook ...

**Note - don't try to be all calorie conscious on this one and cheat with fat free cheese - you know who you are - it will mess with the texture of the soup. Trust me, I'm one of those gals that said 'whatever - I'm not logging all of those calories' but you know what - that's the only thing I wished that I had done differently on this recipe. So Full Fat Cheese - all the way!!!

Ingredients:

6 slices of bacon, chopped into 1” pieces

2 Tbs. margarine

1 onion, diced

2 carrots, peeled and diced (if you must, but I omitted this)

2 celery stalks, diced

3 garlic cloves, minced

1/3 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup pale ale (whatever your favorite is)

1 Tbs. Worcestershire sauce (I omitted this)

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

Directions:

In a Dutch oven cook the bacon until crisp. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate to drain. Once it’s cooled you can dice the bacon up into 1” cubes, if you didn’t do that before cooking.

Discard all but 2 Tbs. of the bacon fat in the pot. Reduce the heat to medium and melt the butter. Add the onion, (carrots –if you must) 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. (Once the flour is added it will become a thick veggie paste – that’s ok just keep stirring it around so that the flour cooks to a golden brown.) Add the ale and cook, stirring constantly, for 2 to 3 minutes. It will fizzle and smell incredibly fragrant at this point – just keep stirring and the mixture will settle down a bit. Add the (Worcestershire – if you are using it), 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. Serve immediately. (Serves 6.)

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