Cheddar Beer Soup with Croutons

Who doesn't like beer and cheese? Beer and cheese are like bacon and whipped cream (or in my case, goat cheese and peanut butter) - they go well with almost everything! As my Father-in-law would say, if you can't improve something with bacon, you could probably improve it with whipped cream. We spent the next stretch of time pondering this phrase, tossing meals around, and I can't remember one dish bacon or cream wouldn't do well on.

Now, this isn't Bacon Whipped Cream soup (Anyone want to take a moment to daydream about that for a minute?), but its just as interesting. I saw this recipe on YumSugar and immediately printed it out. You don't mess around with stuff like this.

The ingredients aren't anything fancy - absolutely easy to put together. The hardest part is all the stirring - not because I have the arm muscles of a toddler, but because it was so hard to stand over the pot, the soupygoodsmell filling my nose.

Not only dreamy soup, oh no, but delicious, crunchy croutons! Make extra, because if you get them ready before your soup is done, you'll snack on them - and I'd hate for you to run out before dinner is ready!

I would recommend making this when having guests, as I had enough beer soup after one bowl... it's kind of like butternut squash soup, in that you can't eat it forever (like goat cheese or peanut butter.) :)

Cheddar Beer Soup & Croutons
c/o YumSugar
http://yumsugar.com/user/partysugar/recipes/1042371

5 tbsp. butter
2 carrots, finely chopped
2 leeks, white and light green parts only, finely chopped
Salt and pepper
1/3 cup flour
3 cups milk
One 12-ounce bottle amber beer, such as Dos Equis
1 1/2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
10 ounces sharp cheddar cheese, grated (about 3 1/2 cups)
Croutons, for garnish, recipe follows

In a large saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat.

Add the carrots and leeks, 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.

Serves 4.


Croutons

7 slices thick white bread, crusts removed
2 tbsp. melted butter
2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp. garlic, minced
1 tbsp. fresh thyme, minced
salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 375°F.

Slice the bread into small cubes, about half-an-inch by half-an-inch.

In a large bowl toss the bread cubes with the butter, oil, garlic, thyme, salt and pepper. Toss well to coat all of the bread pieces.

Spread out on a baking sheet covered with foil.

Bake in the oven, checking often for 20-25 minutes.

Remove and let cool 5 minutes. Serve in a bowl alongside the cheddar cheese soup.

See the recipe...

Bob's Your Uncle!

We're all friends here, right?

Would anyone be willing to start a support group with me? The "Entirely Smitten with Jamie Oliver" support group? I liked him plenty before, when he was naked or motivating troubled youth or tromping through Italy... but I especially adore him at home. (And that Gennaro?? Can we have a sub-group for him?!?!) For both Jamie and Gennaro, I am done-in by their real-person-ness. As I watch Jamie at Home, I feel like I'm there, hanging out with him while he cooks. He doesn't put on a yum-face when he tastes something, he admits when it isn't quite right and how to fix it, he slops ingredients around... his kitchen is one I long to be in and one I long to have as my very own.

Something else I like - watching him prepare this particular soup, he used a pressure cooker. Now, I don't have one, but want one someday. The recipe he provides, however, assumes you don't have one - which is nice. No weird complicated math pressure/volume/time calculations needed. That Jamie, totally thoughtful.

I wasn't sure that this version of butternut squash soup could live up to the delicious wonder that is my friend Liane's butternut soup, but it surprised me. Jamie's soup is thick and luscious and is just delightful over the Parmesan toasts (and packs a dainty but noticeable heat). I particularly like how moist and sloppy the toast becomes. I had a bit of a struggle making the them. I couldn't get the Parmesan to stick nicely to the bread and then they smoked a bit as they heated up. Of course, I wasn't thinking about it when I dished it out, but a clear bowl made for a funny presentation. Doesn't it look like the soup is just floating there?

It's been a while since I've been so excited about a new cooking show. I hope Food Network schedules Jamie at Home for a good long while. Jamie Oliver has a lot he can teach to home cooks. Personally, I'm going to try to work "Bob's your uncle!" into my day-to-day conversations.



Superb Squash Soup with the Best Parmesan Croutons
c/o Jamie Oliver, Jamie at Home on Foodnetwork.com
http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,1977,FOOD_9936_105309,00.html

This fantastic soup is best made with varieties of squash that have dense, orange flesh, such as butternut or onion squash. It's important to use good chicken stock and season the soup well to bring out the nutty, sweet flavor of the squash. Once you've mastered this recipe, you can take the soup in different ways by adding pearl barley, dried pasta, or some chopped bacon. Even the smallest amount of dried porcini. P.S. I made this in my pressure cooker the other day, with really great results - it's so quick!

Olive oil
16 fresh sage leaves
2 red onions, peeled and chopped
2 sticks celery, trimmed and chopped
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
4 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
2 sprigs fresh rosemary, leaves picked
1/2 fresh red chile, to taste, seeded and finely chopped
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 1/4 pounds butternut squash, onion squash, or musque de Provence, halved, deseeded and cut into chunks
2 quarts good-quality Chicken or vegetable stock
Extra-virgin olive oil

For the croutons:
Extra-virgin olive oil
16 slices ciabatta bread
1 chunk Parmesan, for grating

Put a very large saucepan on a medium heat and pour in a couple of glugs of olive oil.
Add the sage leaves and fry for around 30 seconds or until dark green and crisp. Quickly remove them with a slotted spoon to a bowl lined with paper towels - you'll use these for sprinkling over at the end. In the pan you'll be left with a beautifully flavored oil, so put it back on the heat and throw in your onion, celery, carrot, garlic, rosemary leaves, chile and a good pinch of salt and pepper. Cook gently for about 10 minutes until the vegetables are sweet and soft. Add the squash and the stock to the pan, bring to the boil and simmer for around 30 minutes.

While the soup is cooking, make your croutons. Drizzle a little olive oil over the ciabatta slices, and press some grated Parmesan onto each side. Place in a non-stick pan without any oil and fry until golden on both sides.

When the squash is soft and cooked through, whiz the soup with an immersion blender or pour it into a standard blender and pulse until you have a smooth puree* (but you can leave it slightly chunky if you like). Most importantly, remember to taste and season it until it's perfect. Divide the soup between your bowls, placing 2 croutons on top of each. Sprinkle with a few of your crispy sage leaves and drizzle with a swirl of good-quality extra-virgin olive oil.

*When blending hot liquids: Remove liquid from the heat and allow to cool for at least 5 minutes. Transfer liquid to a blender or food processor and fill it no more than halfway. If using a blender, release one corner of the lid. This prevents the vacuum effect that creates heat explosions. Place a towel over the top of the machine, pulse a few times then process on high speed until smooth.

See the recipe...

Hay Hay its Donna Day 12: Caesar Salad

All craziness of this past week aside, I still have to pinch myself about this. I could barely contain myself when I got the email from Helen on Tuesday, sharing my win with me. Anyone I work with will tell you, I squealed (seriously) and bounced up and down the halls. I called my husband and squealed at him. Called my mom and squealed at her. I think all the nearby dogs heard me squeal in pitches unheard by man.

Why all the giddiness? Because I've only been blogging a month. Rookie luck? Probably. But I'll take it! I'll take it and I'll tell you why. I've always felt awkward: I never know what to say, strangers freak me out, yadda yadda... but talking about food? With other people that love food? Totally my element. And winning this event, to me, is kinda like not being picked last in gym class. My heart is all filled up and I thank you for that. (Could I be ANY lamer??) :)

Once the bouncing passed, I got to wondering what my theme would be for HHDD #12. I quizzed Barbara, creator of these lovely HHDD events, on how this process works. Without her, I think I'd still be brainstorming and pouring over recipes.

Then it came to me, with the last two months of fantastic, mouth-watering sweets, that I could really really use a salad. You know that feeling? You glut your way through a weekend, and you really just want some nice crunchy lettuce? Mind you, this caesar has bacon... but its crunchy, too, so... yah. :)

So, ladies and gentlemen, send me your salads, your wraps, your pizzas and your stuffed things. Anything with the main elements of caesar, and I want to see it. You all are a crafty bunch and I can't wait to see what you come up with.

Fine print:
Please post your caesar salad recipe by May 27th. Once posted, please email it to me at otherpeoplesfood AT gmail DOT com, including your name, name of your blog and its URL, title of your recipe and the URL to your post, and a picture of your caesar. (Whew!) I will post the round-up on June 3rd, winner declared June 10th. To the winner goes a copy of one of my favorite cookbooks and the hosting duties of HHDD #13 (lucky!)

To get you started, I picked Donna Hay's Caesar Salad from her Modern Classics Book 1, posted after the jump.

Good luck, and happy caesaring! :)


Caesar Salad
From “Modern Classics Book 1” by Donna Hay

6 rashers bacon
1 large cos (romaine) lettuce
sea salt and cracked black pepper
¼ cup shaved parmesan cheese
croutons
1 thin baguette, sliced (32 slices)
olive oil
1 clove garlic, halved
dressing
1 egg yolk
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1 clove garlic, chopped
2 tablespoons lemon juice
3 anchovy fillets
¼ finely grated parmesan cheese
½ cup (4 fl oz.) vegetable oil

To make the croutons, preheat the oven to 180° C (350° F). Place the baguette slices on a baking tray, brush with the olive oil and bake for 10 minutes or until crisp and golden. Rub each slice with the cut garlic and set aside.

Place the bacon on a baking tray and cook under a hot grill (broiler) until crisp. When cooled, tear into large pieces. Trim the lettuce leaves, reserving the smaller inner leaves and roughly chopping the larger ones.

To make the dressing, process the egg yolk, mustard, garlic, lemon juice, anchovies and parmesan in a food processor until combined. With the motor running, gradually add the oil and process until smooth and creamy. To serve, toss together the lettuce, two-thirds of the dressing, the bacon, croutons, salt and pepper. Spoon over the remaining dressing and top with the shaved parmesan.

Serves 4.

See the recipe...