Wallis Cheddar Ale Soup

Beer.

Proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy.

It also goes quite nicely in a big pot of cheese and cream to create the perfect blend of silkiness.

Oh, and it tastes like heaven.

I know most ladies aren't much into the beer variety. But my gals and I aren't most ladies. We do not discriminate against long necks. Or cans for that matter. And what better way to give tribute to the ales, wheats and lagers we know and love by putting it in edible form? This one's for the beer lover in all of us.

Wallis Cheddar Ale Soup

You'll need a few ingredients...
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1 yellow onion, finely chopped
- 1/2 cup carrots, finely chopped
- 1/2 cup celery, finely chopped
- 1 cup flour
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 1 (12 oz.) beer of choice (for this recipe I used one of my favorites, Newcastle Brown Ale)
- 7 oz. extra sharp cheddar, shredded
- 7 oz. swiss, shredded
- 2 cups half and half
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1/2 tsp. dry mustard
- 1/2-1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

Gather ye ingredients and place hither on counter. 

You'll need a large pot. Like ol' blue here. 

Have you seen the Ninja? It is amazing. Ninja, you have my free sponsorship right now. This thing will chop just about any darn thing you put in it. This is a huge time saver when chopping the veggies, as I will demonstrate shortly.

Grab the vegetables. I used whole carrots, little nubby snack carrots simply can't compete with these boys. Peel off the outer layer, and get your Ninja on.

Orange glory. I did a really fine chop on all these so that they don't get in the way of our main ingredients. The veggies are more for texture and substance. They are the backbone of this soup but could never take the place of the slightly bitter, slightly sweet Newkie Brown. 

If you're not familiar with the affectionate term Newkie Brown, take a trip to England and please for God's sake (because remember, He gave us beer to make us happy) ask for a Newkie Brown and pray that your English cousins don't catch on to your naivety on such things. 

Your daddy would be so proud. 

Carry on. (My wayward son).

Beer, classic rock. It kinda goes together, doesn't it?

Continue the same way with the celery and onion. If you're doing this manually, I drink for you. Get the pot heated to about medium, add the butter and vegetables and let them soften, about 5 minutes.

It'll begin to mush together. We like mooshy.

Next, gradually add the flour. Sprinkle in a little at a time and stir, stir, stir! You don't want any clumps. My first time making this it was a bit clumpy. The stirring is extremely important so that you thicken the soup throughout.

Whip that spoon! And whip it good.

It'll start to look like you're doing it wrong. But you're not. It's all in the wrist. 

Next grab your beer.

Open it.

Take a sip pull.

Don't forget to be ladylike in the process.

Pinky out.

Theeerrrree you go.

Now take the rest of the brew and gradually stir into the pot until it becomes a porridge consistency.

One thing I forgot to mention.

There was a slight accident on the scene. We had a moment of silence for our bottle of wine that precariously stood atop my fridge and somehow landed in shatters in front of my very own eyes.

Watched the whole thing happen in slow motion. There was nothing I could do but continue to stir the soup. And I thought to myself, there'll be peace when you are done.

After watching your wine tragedy, continue as planned with incorporating the beer and chicken broth.

Add shredded cheddar and swiss until smooth.

Add in half n' half, salt, Worcestershire sauce and dry mustard. NOTE: make sure your dry mustard is clump-free. Clumpy dry mustard results in powder bombs in a spoonful of soup and trust me, powder bombs are not pleasant.

Reduce heat to low and let the soup thicken, about 15 minutes.

The smell and flavor of your beer will really come through in this stage. We meditate.

And then we plate. 

Garnish with extra shredded cheese on top or a few green onions. Nothing says English pub like this cheddar ale soup! Cheers!