Variations on a Theme: Warming It Up

A while back I made beer-cheese soup using Rachel Ray's recipe and I was very happy with the way it came out. I'm not sure why it's been a few years since I've made another batch. While there's a lot of chopping, this recipe is pretty easy and doesn't take a huge amount of time.

I have access to a grocery store with a fabulous cheese department. Even better, it is easy to get samples. When I ran in for coffee a couple of weeks ago I walked past a table where a man was passing out samples of chipotle cheddar. I fell in love. It's not heavy on the spices, has just the right amount of smoke and I snapped up a 10 oz package.

I didn't decide on making soup out of it right away, but when I did it seemed like a perfect idea. I did have to grab some gouda (also chipotle) from the closer grocery store to bring the cheese up to the 3 1/2 cups. I love the way gouda melts and it adds a lovely richness when combined with cheddar. To review, here's the base recipe:

• 5 tablespoons butter
• 2 carrots, finely chopped
• 2 leeks, white and light green parts only, finely chopped (Rinse your leeks well. Then do it again)
• Salt and pepper
• 1/3 cup flour
• 3 cups milk
• 1 12 ounce bottle amber beer, such as Dos Equis (I used an Abita Amber. Abita is out of New Orleans and I like a lot of their beer)
• 1 1/2 tablespoons Dijon mustard (I didn't use this, instead I added 4 teaspoons of crushed garlic)
• 10 ounces sharp cheddar cheese, grated (about 3 1/2 cups) (I added more cheese to get it to 3 1/2 cups)
• Croutons for garnish (I had warm tortillas on the side and some chorizo, green onions, and sweet bell peppers for garnish)

In a large saucepan (I used a sauté pan), melt the butter over medium heat. Add the carrots and leeks (I added the garlic here too), season with salt and pepper and cook, stirring, until soft, 10 minutes. Add the flour and cook, stirring often, for 2 minutes. 

Slowly pour in the milk, whisking constantly. Increase the heat to medium-high, add the beer and mustard and bring the soup to a boil, whisking constantly. Reduce the heat to low and simmer, whisking, until creamy and thickened, about 10 minutes. 

Remove the pan from the heat. Whisk in the cheese 1 handful at a time until combined. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Top with the croutons.

This recipe makes 3 generous servings, with the addition of the chorizo, it was a great main dish and Nexx let me have my fair share of chorizo.

Questions, comments? I'd love to hear from you.