Beer Cheese Soup and Some News

Beer Cheese Soup.  This is a soup I made for an Advent potluck at church last month.  We did themes each week: Italian, German, Asian, and Mexican.  I made Beer Cheese Soup for the German potluck.  It's really good with a hearty pretzel roll.  I got the recipe from America's Test Kitchen.


Beer Cheese Soup

Ingredients:
4 tbsp butter
½ large onion, chopped
2 carrots, peeled and chopped (or 1 cup matchstick carrots)
2 garlic cloves, minced
⅓ cup flour
1¾ cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 (12 oz.) beer, Miller High Life or Beck’s
2 cups whole milk
3 cups (12 oz.) sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
1 cup (4 oz.) American cheese, shredded
2 tsp cornstarch
Salt and pepper

Directions:
Melt butter in large pot over medium heat. Cook onion and carrots until softened, about 10 minutes. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in flour and cook until golden, about 1 minute. Slowly whisk in broth, beer, and milk. Bring mixture to simmer, then reduce heat to low and simmer gently (do not boil) until carrots are very soft, 20 to 25 minutes.

Meanwhile, toss shredded cheeses and cornstarch in large bowl until well combined. Puree soup in blender in two batches (or using an immersion blender) until completely smooth, return to pot, and simmer over medium-low heat. Whisk in cheese mixture, one handful at a time, until smooth. Season with salt and pepper. Serve. (Soup can be refrigerated in an airtight container for 3 days.)

Really good served with pretzel rolls.

Makes 6 servings.

Note: Don't use pre-shredded cheeses. Buy the American cheese at the deli counter, in a solid piece. Freeze it for 15 minutes before shredding for best results. 

This soup is really tasty!  I thought the beer might be too much for me as I don't care for it, but it wasn't overpowering at all.  It was just noticeable.  America's Test Kitchen recommended using Miller High Life, but I couldn't find it at Meijer. Instead, I looked for a German beer and used Beck's. That worked nicely.  The blend of cheeses is perfect.  ATK topped theirs with popcorn, but I served mine with a pretzel roll.

The reason I am sharing this recipe with you today is because it fits in perfectly with some news I have to share.  I am moving to the Land of Beer and Cheese: Wisconsin!  My husband took a call to be pastor of a church in Kenosha, so we are moving there very shortly.  We are really going to miss all the great friends we made here in Michigan, but are excited for our new adventure.  Kenosha seems like a really nice city.  And there's a Penzey's store there. :)

We are moving in less than a month (yikes!), so you won't be seeing much from me for a little while.  I still hope to participate in this month's Improv Challenge on the 17th and next month's Secret Recipe Club on the 4th.  But other than that my blog will be pretty quiet in January and February.  I hope to be back in the swing of things, cooking in my new kitchen and back to blogging in March.