Make Something Monday ... Beer Cheese Soup

Another amazing recipe that I could actually make from my foodie friend Chef E at Food ~ Wine ~ Fun and her yummy recipe Beer Cheese Soup in Bread Bowls. This is great when dad comes to visit and leaves beer in my fridge. I'm not a big beer drinker and either is Rick so of course I can't throw away so I make dinner with it! This was amazing and so delish and the beer totally cooked out so it wasn't like sitting back pounding one. LOVED it!

European Street Style Beer Cheese Soup

1 cup onion chopped
1/2 cup carrot finely diced
1/3 cup celery finely diced
1/2 cup butter
3/4 teaspoon paprika
3/4 teaspoon dry mustard
12 ounces beer
3 cups chicken broth up to 5 cups if desired.
4 cups cheddar cheese shredded
2 cups half and half
1/2 teaspoon Tabasco
1/2 cup Flour
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

Chef E's Directions:

Sauté carrots, onions, and celery in butter until the onions are translucent

Stir in flour and cook on low heat for 3-4 minutes, whisking constantly, making sure it does not burn.

Stir in beer (must be first to cook off the alcohol), paprika, mustard, Worcestershire, and broth. Use wire whisk to smooth. Add cheese, slowly bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Feel free to mix up the cheese or a use a blend of cheeses, such as cheddar and Parmesan, sharp cheddar and colby-jack, or whatever. Tonight’s blend was some of the smoked cheeses that I cold smoked last week, including mild cheddar, white cheddar, and fontina.

Remove from heat and fold in half and half (or heavy cream if you want to get that first heart attack out of the way tonight). Add Tabasco. Serve w/ extra Tabasco on the side and fresh popcorn as garnish.

ALEXIS NOTES: I didn't have carrots or celery at that time (I made this one a few months back and wasn't so good with having veggies on hand all the time). I did have some potatoes and threw those in! Chef E has lot's of fancy cheeses too on hand this girl used what was on sale at grocery store. One day I'll experiment and have some fun cheeses to play with. It was so yummy even with what I had on hand ;). I used my fat free half and half and it tasted great.