Beer Cheese Soup

The other weekend my sweet husband joined me in the kitchen to help me cook. He chopped, grated and poured. He cleaned up as we went, which was so nice. The reward for his work...Beer Cheese soup!
Have you ever eaten something at a restaurant and just had to figure out how to make it. Well this is the story of my Beer Cheese soup. For many years my husband and I would celebrate special days at the Calderwood, a restaurant in Luck, Wisconsin. The Calderwood has great food, especially their Beer Cheese soup. It had been quite some time since we have been there so I was getting a craving for the soup and I set out to replicate it. After much searching and only having tried one recipe, I came up with something we feel is very similar!
 
I adapted the recipe from Rachel Ray. As you will learn if you continue to read my blogs, I am a tweeker. This means I cannot help but change a recipe from it's original form. (With the exception of baking which I believe is a science.) So I looked at Rachel's recipe and took what I liked and changed it slightly from there. I also halved the recipe since it would be just my husband and me eating it.
I kept the base, sauteed leeks, celery and carrots. Then, I used part milk and part half and half to cut out a couple of calories. The other addition was broth powder. A note of caution, broth powder is NOT bullion. Broth powder is a soup base that is less concentrated then bullion and has much less salt. You can get it in natural food stores or you can just leave it out of the recipe.

Beer Cheese Soup

2 1/2 T butter
1 small leek chopped (white part only)
1/3 cup chopped celery
1/3 cup chopped carrot
1/4+1/2 tsp salt
5T flour
1 cup milk
1/2+1/4 cup half and half
6oz beer
1T Dijon mustard
1tsp Worcestershire sauce
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
1T broth powder (optional; do not use bullion)
4oz sharp cheddar cheese-shredded
pepper
popcorn-popped

Saute the leeks, celery, and carrots with the butter and 1/4tsp salt; stirring often to prevent burning, allow to cook for 10 minutes on medium low using a spoon to break up the leeks as they cook.  Add the flour and cook for about 1 minute. Slowly, a little at a time, whisk in the milk, then add 1/2 cup of half and half. Then add the beer, mustard, Worcestershire, cayenne pepper, and broth powder. Cook until thick, about 10 minutes, stirring often. Slowly add the cheese stirring well until the cheese is melted. Add in 1/4 cup of half and half, a dash of black pepper, and 1/2 tsp of salt. Serve with popcorn on top!

 

Beer Cheese Soup

I think I need to go out and buy a leek so I can make this tomorrow! 

And next time I make this I will take a better picture now that my good camera is back from the shop, Yeah!!