Okay, now that we've taken care of that:
This one was dictated by the activity of the evening: the Lost final season premiere (if you didn't catch that above). I had a few ideas, but I've always thought Dharma Beer was pretty funny, so this idea stuck.
Mind you, I wish I'd been brave enough to ask a question at the Lost panel at Comic-Con for the chance of taking home real Dharma Beer--but special credit is due to Ben for creating his own!
Location:
Chris & Ben's house, Northside, Cincinnati, Ohio
Attendees:
Ben, Chris, Brent, MaryKate, Aileen, Kevin, Josh, Matt, Sebastien, me
Menu:
Beer cheese soup (me)
Fish biscuits! (Ben)
Beer bread (Chris)
Island fruit salad (not sure who brought this, but it was very appropriate!)
Entertainment:
Lost, and its resultant unavoidable confusion
Brent's souPants
Staring at the magic popcorn machine (Aileen says it's ocular-powered)
The Soup:
At first, I was scared (and not just in anticipation of the crazy dreams Lost tends to give me). The pre-cheese soup, although it smelled quite good, did not taste terribly delightful. It tasted like hot beer with vegetables. Appetizing? Not particularly.
Thankfully, a tasty thing happened when the cream and cheese was added, and it was even tastier when eaten with some asiago cheese bread and a beer on the side. Bread, especially, is a necessary accompaniment.
This soup takes a while (about 2 hours, start to finish) and is a little labor-intensive at the beginning. Every time I make a roux I'm reminded how sincerely I need to develop some upper body strength, and this one was particularly straining with all that veg suspended in it.
Also: This may be the most unhealthy soup I've made. Warning to my Mom: Don't read the ingredients unless you want to worry about the state of my arteries.
All in all, was it worth it? I'd say so. It was topical; it was good; I feel good about it.
adapted from Emeril Legasse's Cheese and Beer Soup
Note: This recipe serves 6--I made a batch and a half to serve 10 and it worked well.
5 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 cup minced yellow onion
1 cup minced celery
1 cup peeled and minced parsnip
2 tablespoons minced garlic
1/2 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
4 cups vegetable broth
2 cups pale ale
2 bay leaves
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 cup heavy cream
3 cups grated Cheddar (I used 3 white cheddars from Vermont, Wisconsin and New Zealand)
1/2 cup crumbled Stilton
salt and pepper
finely chopped Italian parsley, for serving
Melt butter over medium-low heat in a large soup pot with a lid. Add the onions, celery and parsnip, then cover and cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add the garlic and cook for about 1 minute, stirring.
Sprinkle the flour into the pot and--stirring constantly--cook for 4 minutes.
Keep stirring, and gradually add the broth and beer. This takes a little finesse, but you want to do it slowly so that your soup ends up smooth and silky instead of Lumptown, USA.
Add cayenne and bay leaves, then bring the mixture to a boil (again, slowly--that beer makes the soup a little heady at first).
Simmer uncovered for 1 hour.
Add heavy cream, stirring, then add the cheeses a bit at a time, constantly stirring. Season with salt and pepper to taste, garnish with parsley and--can't stress it enough--serve with bread (and beer!).
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