I told Logan this afternoon it was his turn to choose a soup. I'm not sure he was happy about it from the get-go, but he embraced it and came up with a soup that was very him.
Here's how you make it:
Nope.
But we did buy those things, because Logan is funny, and because we wanted to be the first people ever to purchase a single Bud Light at a Whole Foods.
And because Logan always follows through on a joke, he made beer mac n cheese (beer stirred in at the end with the cheese powder). He said it smelled "like college," so let's just not analyze that statement at all or anything.
We both tasted it in the strangest Iron Chef ever, and it mostly tasted like boxed m&c--which I suppose is due to Bud Light not tasting like much at all. In any case, were both thoroughly amused with the whole process.
But we were both thoroughly satisfied with the other experiment going on in the kitchen. Before he was done with his bowl of soup, Logan said it was one of his favorite things he'd ever eaten--so I'm going to say it was a success.
Better than that, though, it was a reminder that something as simple as cooking together can be a perfect date. A time to connect, to create, to get in each other's way and use that as an excuse to hug-n-kiss-n-stuff--just dreamy. Too often I turn down Logan's help in the kitchen because I feel bad taking up his time when I was the one who said I would cook, but you know? I'm officially gonna stop doing that. Cooking a ridiculous, fattening meal was the best time I've had in the kitchen--or in general--in weeks, if not in 2013. Like the precious print in my kitchen says (purchased last summer at Renegade Craft Fair in SF and framed for me for Christmas by my dear one): "Cook with the ones you love." A good reminder, but tonight was a perfect lesson in just that.
ENOUGH WITH THE SHMOOP.
This soup tastes like extra saucy mac 'n' cheese, with a whole buncha peppers in it. Do you like those things? If yes, then I promise you'll like this. You just have to be able to get over feeling bad about cooking things that aren't good for you. I mostly eat pretty healthy, but if an idea gets into my head (or Logan's head!) and I want to try it--I'm probably going to. In this case? Totally worth it. Another bonus in that category--this thing is so rich you can't really eat that much of it. And it was really quite spicy, but you can cut back the peppers if you're not into that.
Beyond just the base level of delight that any mention of macaroni and cheese brings, we did a few things to make this even more decadent. Rather than regular elbow macaroni, we used chiocciole, which is kinda like macaroni got hit with the Honey I Blew Up The Kid gun. And the garnishes really made it. I guess garnishes make a huge difference a lot of the time, but it doesn't get much better than buttered pretzel bread croutons and fried jalapenos.
Bottom line, though? This soup makes you happy.
Macaroni and Beer Cheese Soup with Pretzel Bread Croutons and Fried Jalapenos
Inspired by this recipe on a blog called Closet Cooking I'd never seen before
Serves 4 - 6
GET THIS STUFF
1 T olive oil
1 T unsalted butter
1 small onion, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
2 sticks of celery, chopped
Chopped peppers to your taste: we used 1 poblano, 1 jalapeno, 1 Fresno and 1 serrano
2 cloves of garlic, peeled and chopped
1/4 c flour
2 c vegetable broth
1 12-oz beer: we used Hofbräu Original
2 c chiocciole or pasta of choice
3 oz Gruyere, grated
3 oz sharp cheddar, grated
1/2 c heavy cream
DO THIS WITH IT
Heat oil in a heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat.
Add onion, carrots, celery and peppers and cook for about 10 minutes or until soft.
Add garlic and cook another minute or two.
Add flour and cook, stirring the whole time, for two minutes.
Add vegetable broth and beer, and blend using an immersion blender until it's just a bit smoothed out, still leaving some nice chunks of veggies.
Bring to a simmer and add pasta--cook until al dente.
Be sure to stir once in a while so as not to burn the bottom.
Stir in cream and cheeses. When the cheese is melted, you're done! Add salt and pepper to taste and serve with the following:
Garnishes:
For croutons, heat oven to 350 F. Cut a small loaf of pretzel bread and drizzle with melted unsalted butter, then toss around on a cookie sheet. Sprinkle with a bit of flaky salt. Bake for 10 minutes or so.
For fried jalapeno, slice one jalapeno thinly and toss slices in flour and sprinkle with salt and pepper. In a small frying pan, heat 1/4" of olive oil. When oil is shimmering, toss in jalapeno slices until golden. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on a paper towel. Best to do this right before serving soup.
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