Vinny – this is a recipe that I developed after visiting a pub in Cleveland several times and having their Beer-Cheese soup. I took a few liberties adding bacon, but have a pretty darn good version going on here. My kids think this is one of the best meals on a cold snowy day! Andy
Andy’s Beer and Cheese Soup — original 1/14/11
Roux:
4 TBS Butter
4 TBS Flour GP
Vegetables:
2 Cup Carrot cleaned and chopped
1 Medium Onion (~2 cups) chopped
1 TBS Garlic chopped
Liquids:
12 oz Beer – (prefer nothing less than a Sam Adams Boston Lager,… and have gone as dark as Guinness – any good microbrew or homebrew will work)
4 Cups Chicken Stock
Cheese (grated/crumbled)
2 cups Sharp Cheddar
1/2 cup Gruyere
1/4 cup Blue
Misc:
¼ Olive Oil
¼ Tsp Cayenne Ground Pepper
1 TBS Spicy Brown Mustard
~4 TBS Corn Starch (more/less Msgt to thicken – may vary)
¼ Heavy Cream
Salt – to taste
Bacon – good bacon (prefer apple wood smoked)
You can get all three below going at once to cut down on prep time:
1) Fry 4 Strips of Bacon to crisp. When cooled enough, rough chop into bits.
2) In a medium pan or skillet, make a roux with 1/2 stick butter and equal part flour – go to peanut-butter brown and shut down.
3) Sauté carrot and onion in oil and add salt (~1/2 tsp), until soft and starts to brown. Add the Garlic for a minute or two, but do not let it burn.
In a blender, and in 2 batches, blend the cooked onion/carrot/garlic with ~2 cups of chicken stock until very smooth (IMPORTANT: put a towel over the blender and lean in the lid, otherwise you will decorate your kitchen and yourself with HOT veggies).
In what will become the final “soup pot”, mix together the BEER and 4 cups of chicken stock to pot – bring to a boil.
When it is at a hard boil, add the blended veggie mixture, and the roux.
Add Brown Mustard and Cayenne Pepper
When this mixture boils, turn the burner to LOW
Add the Cheese slowly, stirring constantly,.. let it melt in slowly.
Make a slurry with the Corn Starch – start with ~2 TBS – Thicken the soup mixture to desired texture, adding more corn starch slurry to get there. (I like my soup to make a medium-thick coating on the back of a spoon, realizing it will thicken slightly as it cools in the serving bowl.
Finish by stirring in the heavy cream.
Serve in bowls topped with the bacon bits, and with a nice bread for dipping – and you must enjoy with a nice amber beer!
Here is a Pasta recipe sent to me by my good friend Ariel Cohn
Hi Vinny!
Here’s the recipe from tonight’s dinner. I have yet to master making ravioli (or any pasta) from scratch, so I’m still using the frozen stuff, but the sauce is all me
3 tablespoons butter
8 fluid ounces heavy whipping cream
salt to taste (I use about 1/4 tsp)
1/4 – 2/3 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup grated Romano cheese
1 egg yolk
1 tablespoon or more fresh chopped parsley
Melt butter or margarine in a saucepan over medium heat. Add heavy cream, stirring constantly. Stir in salt, parsley, nutmeg, grated Parmesan cheese, and grated Romano cheese. Stir constantly until melted. Let the sauce reach simmering level then turn it down. When it stops simmering, mix in the egg yolk. Simmer over medium low heat for 3 to 5 minutes. Garnish with additional grated Parmesan cheese, if desired.
You can add anything else you like at this point, veggies, meats, etc.
Tonight I added some sauteed mushrooms. I sauteed them in butter and minced garlic.
This makes about enough sauce to cover three bowls of pasta.
Cooking With Vinny 
Vinny – this is a recipe that I developed after visiting a pub in Cleveland several times and having their Beer-Cheese soup. I took a few liberties adding bacon, but have a pretty darn good version going on here. My kids think this is one of the best meals on a cold snowy day! Andy
Andy’s Beer and Cheese Soup — original 1/14/11
Roux:
4 TBS Butter
4 TBS Flour GP
Vegetables:
2 Cup Carrot cleaned and chopped
1 Medium Onion (~2 cups) chopped
1 TBS Garlic chopped
Liquids:
12 oz Beer – (prefer nothing less than a Sam Adams Boston Lager,… and have gone as dark as Guinness – any good microbrew or homebrew will work)
4 Cups Chicken Stock
Cheese (grated/crumbled)
2 cups Sharp Cheddar
1/2 cup Gruyere
1/4 cup Blue
Misc:
¼ Olive Oil
¼ Tsp Cayenne Ground Pepper
1 TBS Spicy Brown Mustard
~4 TBS Corn Starch (more/less Msgt to thicken – may vary)
¼ Heavy Cream
Salt – to taste
Bacon – good bacon (prefer apple wood smoked)
You can get all three below going at once to cut down on prep time:
1) Fry 4 Strips of Bacon to crisp. When cooled enough, rough chop into bits.
2) In a medium pan or skillet, make a roux with 1/2 stick butter and equal part flour – go to peanut-butter brown and shut down.
3) Sauté carrot and onion in oil and add salt (~1/2 tsp), until soft and starts to brown. Add the Garlic for a minute or two, but do not let it burn.
In a blender, and in 2 batches, blend the cooked onion/carrot/garlic with ~2 cups of chicken stock until very smooth (IMPORTANT: put a towel over the blender and lean in the lid, otherwise you will decorate your kitchen and yourself with HOT veggies).
In what will become the final “soup pot”, mix together the BEER and 4 cups of chicken stock to pot – bring to a boil.
When it is at a hard boil, add the blended veggie mixture, and the roux.
Add Brown Mustard and Cayenne Pepper
When this mixture boils, turn the burner to LOW
Add the Cheese slowly, stirring constantly,.. let it melt in slowly.
Make a slurry with the Corn Starch – start with ~2 TBS – Thicken the soup mixture to desired texture, adding more corn starch slurry to get there. (I like my soup to make a medium-thick coating on the back of a spoon, realizing it will thicken slightly as it cools in the serving bowl.
Finish by stirring in the heavy cream.
Serve in bowls topped with the bacon bits, and with a nice bread for dipping – and you must enjoy with a nice amber beer!
Andy Gray
Here is a Pasta recipe sent to me by my good friend Ariel Cohn
Hi Vinny!
Here’s the recipe from tonight’s dinner. I have yet to master making ravioli (or any pasta) from scratch, so I’m still using the frozen stuff, but the sauce is all me
3 tablespoons butter
8 fluid ounces heavy whipping cream
salt to taste (I use about 1/4 tsp)
1/4 – 2/3 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup grated Romano cheese
1 egg yolk
1 tablespoon or more fresh chopped parsley
Melt butter or margarine in a saucepan over medium heat. Add heavy cream, stirring constantly. Stir in salt, parsley, nutmeg, grated Parmesan cheese, and grated Romano cheese. Stir constantly until melted. Let the sauce reach simmering level then turn it down. When it stops simmering, mix in the egg yolk. Simmer over medium low heat for 3 to 5 minutes. Garnish with additional grated Parmesan cheese, if desired.
You can add anything else you like at this point, veggies, meats, etc.
Tonight I added some sauteed mushrooms. I sauteed them in butter and minced garlic.
This makes about enough sauce to cover three bowls of pasta.
Hope you like it!
-Ariel