Cheese Soup

During my last time living in New Hampshire, in late 1975-early 1976, my friends Mike and Deb and I used to treat ourselves most every Friday night to dinner at the Loaf and Ladle, a little restaurant in Exeter that specialized in soups, stews and home-baked goodness. None of us had much money, but we could go there and get a fantastic, filling and satisfying meal without needing a lot of money. I think the Loaf is still in operation, in a different building, and I'm guessing the prices are a bit higher, but I'm also guessing the food is still fantastic.

One of their early specialties was Cheese Soup. In 1979, they put out a cookbook, which we still have. It automatically falls open to that recipe. We made some the other night, and it was just so good. So good that I want to share the recipe with you. First, the recipe straight from the book, then some notes on how we do some things with it.

Cheese Soup

1 cup oil
1 cup flour
1 bottle beer or ale
6 cups water or chicken stock
2 teaspoons Worchestershire sauce
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 pound sharp cheddar cheese
salt and pepper

Whisk the oil and flour and cook slowly in a saucepan. In another saucepan, mix the beer, stock and Worchestershire and start heating. When the roux (oil and flour) is cooked, add mustard, cayenne and enough stock to make a thick paste. Grate or chunk the cheese, and gradually whisk it into the roux. When all the cheese is in and melted, add the rest of the beer/stock and mix it up. Salt and pepper to taste.

When we make it, we almost always use stock instead of water. Also, the sharper the cheese, the better. I'm thinking Vermont cheddar, with its unique flavor, would be awesome in this soup. Lately, I've been using a chipotle flavored cayenne powder to positive effect! The choice of beer usually depends on what is at hand, but a full flavored beer like a nut brown is fantastic. And, we have been doing some experimenting with additions to this soup, things like grilled onions, bacon, mushrooms, broccoli, etc. This soup is incredible alone; it is also great as a base for any additional things that your imagination can come up with. For two of us, we halve the recipe and still have leftovers. Sometimes, I use a little less stock to make the soup a little thicker. And, finally, get yourself some good bread to dunk...

I hope you try it, and I hope you like it!