I am not a fan of
beer. I don't like beer, or ale, or stout, or porter. In fact, anything that
tastes even remotely yeast-y or hoppy, is just not for me. I do, however, like
the warm ale cheese dip that has become quite popular in local pubs, and is
served with warmed, freshly baked pretzels.
When I saw this
recipe in the Post-Dispatch for Beer
Cheese Soup (a product of executive chef John Johnson and served in the
Beerhouse, one of St. Louis's River City Casino's five eateries), I
was intrigued. I had all of the ingredients on hand, and it looked easy. It
was! Not only that, but I really
liked it. The beer flavor is strong, but not off putting, even for a confirmed
beer hater like me. The Casino serves theirs with hot house-made pretzel
sticks. I just grabbed for the box of frozen Super Pretzels, baked one up, and
served it with the soup. It was wonderful and strongly reminiscent of what I
enjoy in area pubs.
The recipe is very
forgiving. I decided to make half the amount, so started off that way by melting
half of the called for butter, but then lost track of what I was doing and used
the full amount of carrot, onion, and celery, before halving everything else. It
was still wonderful, so, when I make it again, will do the same thing.
River City Casino Beer Cheese Soup
Yield: 7 cups
8 tablespoons butter
1/3 cup diced carrot
1 tablespoon diced
onion
1 tablespoon diced
celery
Granulated garlic,
to taste
Kosher salt, to
taste
Black pepper, to
taste
White pepper, to
taste
1/2 cup all-purpose
flour
2-1/4 cups 1904 Beer
(I used Guinness)
3 cups half-and-half
1/4 teaspoon
Worcestershire
Tabasco, to taste
8 ounces grated
sharp cheddar cheese
Milk, if needed, to
thin
In a large, heavy
pot, melt butter on medium heat until sizzling. Stir in carrot, onion and
celery and sauté, stirring occasionally, until vegetables turn soft without
turning color. As they cook, season with garlic, salt and both peppers.
Stir in flour and
let cook, stirring occasionally, for 1 to 2 minutes to cook off floury taste.
A quarter cup at a
time at first, stir in beer, incorporating each addition before adding another.
Bring mixture to a boil.
Stir in
half-and-half, Worcestershire and Tabasco. Bring just to a boil but do not
allow to boil. Stir in cheese, let melt. Taste and adjust seasoning. Cover and
refrigerate until ready to serve. Reheat, adding milk to thin if needed.
This post is linked to:
6 comments:
Hi Pattie:)
I'm not a huge fan of beer either. I can take it or leave it on most occasions. Funny thing is though, I adore Beer Cheese Soup! Pretzels are a nice touch:)
I don't think I have ever had it with a vareity of vegetables though and that sounds mighty intriguing. I'll have to give it a try the next time Marion is in the mode. Yes, she LOVES Beer Cheese Soup!
Thanks so much for sharing, Pattie...hope all is well in your little corner of the world...
i am a fan of beer and this looks delicious!
Love s beer cheese soup and this sounds magnificent, thanks for sharing found you at Merry Monday!
What a wonderful meal. Everything looks delicious.
Thank for sharing with us at Thursday Favorite Things Blog Hop
Olivia
Reinvented Collection
This sounds wonderful, especially with the pretzels! Thanks for sharing at Merry Monday! :)
nice
Post a Comment