Beer Cheese Soup

Yesterday, I had my very first Beer Cheese Soup at a local eatery (I'm a late bloomer... just started watching Seinfeld, too). It was sooooo good I asked for more "to go" so that I could share this yum with "my boys" at home. It was so good I stubbornly decided to try and make it today in honor of our 90 degree weather. After spending time online looking for a recipe to base my experiment on, I found the perfect beginning. My audience tonight: 4 boys (3 teens plus hubby). Results: Victory!! (Why do I keep learning to make things so good at home we do not have a reason to go out?) :)

INGREDIENTS:
1 1/4 cup white onion
3/4 cup celery
1 cup carrots
3 bottles pale ale beer (minus 1 sip)
7 cups hearty chicken stock (I used 1 Knorr Chicken Stock gel cube + 2 cups water and 1 carton chicken stock)
3 TBSP Dry Mustard
2+ TBSP Kosher salt (or more to taste)
8+ cloves minced garlic
3/4 cup butter
2 cups flour
2 pounds sharp cheddar cheese + 1 cup
1+ cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
4 1/4 cups heavy whipping cream
1-2 TBSP extra virgin olive oil

Using a food processor, puree onion, celery, garlic and carrots in separate batches. Place all of these guys in a large stock pot and saute over medium-low heat with extra virgin olive oil. Slowly whisk in flour, then butter and fully cook. Gradually whisk in the chicken stock(s) and beers. Bring to a boil. Over medium heat add the cheeses and mix until smooth. Then add the cream, mustard and salt, combine well and heat through on a lower temperature. If not zippy enough, just add a dash more kosher salt.

In all the excitement, we forgot to top off with croutons. This would be great with a green leafy salad and bruschetta, but c'mon, it's our first try...

This makes a ton of soup! All the boys had seconds or thirds. I am glad for all the leftovers we will enjoy this week. If I was having a large group over, this would serve everyone a cup along with a brat and salad.

Start-to-finish time when I could sit down and crochet, about an hour. So, for an easy prep I've made something yummy good for several days. Not bad for a first try. :)

Spot was too busy enjoying another bone from last night's feast to care about this delight. Sometimes, Spot is just plain wrong.

Yummy Porterhouse Steak & Sauce

Yesterday we wanted to serve a really special meal for our company. My hubby had been talking about Porterhouse steaks. I had never made them, so why not try? It's fun to not know what you are doing and combine experiences. The result was a fantastic meal!

Here's our Menu:

Brie with Rosemary wafers
BBQ Porterhouse Steak with Merlot Mushroom Sause
Fresh Green Beans
Feta & Broccoli Stuffed Potatoes (posted on New Year's)
Baby Green Salad with our lastest fav Dressing (posted 5/16/12)
Corn on the cob


INGREDIENTS FOR THE PORTERHOUSE AND SAUCE:
1 Porterhouse per person
Kosher salt
Ground Pepper
Newman's Olive Oil & Vinegar Dressing
3/4 - 1 cup Merlot wine
1 lb sliced mushrooms
2 cups beef broth
6 cloves garlic, minced
4+ TBSP Wondra flour
4 TBSP unsalted butter at room temp
2+ TBSP extra virgin olive oil

DAY AHEAD:
Marinate steaks in Newman's dressing. Season both sides well with kosher salt and ground pepper. Seal in ziploc with about 1/3 the dressing. Massage well and put in the fridge. If you think about it, massage again sometime and flip the bag.

THREE HOURS AHEAD:
Bring steaks to room temperature, set on work platter. Reserve juices in bag for BBQ.

GRILLING TIPS:
Salt each side again with more kosher salt. Grill each side about 5 minutes, moving from heated to cooler areas as usual. Press steaks to check for doneness. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

MERLOT MUSHROOM SAUCE:
While steaks are on the grill, prepare sauce. In medium skillet, saute 1 pound of sliced mushrooms and minced garlic in 2 TBSP extra virgin olive oil til tender. Whisk in broth, bring to boil and reduce to simmer. Then add flour and butter to form a paste. Bring to boil again, then simmer. While simmering, slowly stir in Merlot in thirds. Add pinch of kosher salt, ground pepper and heat through. Stir frequently. Serve hot.

This was the moistest steak! Our company loved the buttery taste of the meat that just melted in our mouths. Grilled perfectly. The Merlot sauce was the perfect pairing. We couldn't stop praising the taste sensations. In fact, my hubby is having some leftovers right now.

Spot gives this 4 paws, a tail wag and a yip. Not only was she underfoot, she was under the table and was finally rewarded with her very own bone on a tea towel.

Lucy Juicies ... Yummy Sliders

These minis are just the yum! 2 lbs of hamburger makes 10 sliders. If you serve with a salad and our Deep Fried Chips, you could feed more than you think. Since I only know how to cook for 8, that's what I do. Got the idea for this recipe from a friend who gave me a Cook's Country recipe. These would also be great app's for a larger party. Wonderful leftovers for lunch, too. I like mine with dill pickle slices.



INGREDIENTS
2 lbs 85% fat ground beef (recently learned that this gives the best flavor and cooks to 90% fat - I'm sold!)
1 brick Extra Sharp Cracker Barrel White Cheddar Cheese, sliced into 10 thick pieces
3 slices wheat bread, ripped in small pieces
1/3 - 1/2 cup milk
2 tsp Kosher salt
1 tsp fresh ground pepper
4 cloves finely minced fresh garlic
1/2 tsp garlic salt
3 tsp finely sliced fresh basil
1 package mini hamburger buns

One hour before you want to eat... or even 24 hours ahead of time, prepare the burgers.

In large work bowl, mash the bread with the milk and seasonings until smooth. Add the milk slowly. Once this is mashed well, mix in the hamburger meat. When the meat is fully combined with the mash (you will end up using your hands so take off the rings), divide the mixture into 5 even hunks. I used a cutting board as my work surface.

Working with one hunk at a time, divide the meat in two. Taking a piece of cheese, firmly wrap one portion of meat around the cheese. Once wrapped, take the final section of meat and firmly wrap it around the first layer. You should now have something the size of a mini tennis ball. Work this again to be sure it is fully combined, then flatten to about 1/2 inch. THEN, cut this in two and make two small burgers. They will be about the size of the bottom of a juice glass if you traced it. You should have cheese in both sections.

Repeat this with the other 4 hunks. You will now have 10 mini burgers. Thick. Flattened. (Remember - start with a ball, then flatten as usual, it will just be fatter.)

Chill for at least 30 minutes separated by wax paper in a Ziplock, but up to 24 hours. (That's what we did)

TO SERVE
Get out the grill and BBQ til medium rare. Serve in mini buns. When you take a bite, the cheese will come and visit your tastebuds. Add pickles, onions, tomatoes, mustard, etc. Or this new Mayo I made tonite:

MAYO SPREAD and DIP
1/2 cup Hellman's
1 tsp Kosher salt
Juice from 1 1/2 lemons
1 tsp fresh Rosemary

Whisk and enjoy as a dip for Homemade Deep Fried Chips (from my March 19 entry) or on the burger buns.

Spot gives this 4 paws plus a tail wag. She knows that later on, I am even going to use one of these as a treat when I train her on her newest trick!

Get Your Salad Freak On Part 1

I'm on a salad binge and morphed this one from The Chew's Brown Derby recipe. Since I saw this, we've had this many times... confirming my new salad freak. Just in time for summer...

INGREDIENTS
2 heads of red leaf lettuce
1 cup crumbled blue cheese
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
1/2 tsp sugar
juice from 1 fresh lemon
1 1/2 + sea salt
1/2 + freshly ground black pepper
1 1/2 tsp thick Worcestershire sauce

LATER
1 1/3 cups extra virgin olive oil

WHAT TO DO
An hour before you want to nosh, prepare this lovely dressing. Using a (clean and empty) spaghetti-sauce sized jar, add the diced garlic. Then add the red wine vinegar, sugar, lemon, salt, pepper and W sauce. Shake well. Then add the extra virgin olive oil. Shake again and chill. When you serve - shake, shake, shake. This dressing will keep for 12 days in the fridge. Not so true for us. We drank it fast!

SERVING IDEAS
We like it over red-tipped lettuce with either parmesan or blue cheese and croutons. Tonite we used our George Foreman indoor grill to cook up some chicken tenders on sale. The boys diced those up and added them to their salads.

The original recipe calls for iceberg and romaine and cherry tomatoes. This is on the "try it" list, but next I will try making my own croutons out of dry deli bread.

Spot? She's her own freak... thinking blue cheese is safe for babies or doggies

Our New Fav Side Dish

How do you spell Side Dish? One or two words? The other day I watched a show new to me called "Restaurant Impossible". The host is Robert Irvine. Not only does he help restauranteurs evaluate their use of space, he upgrades their menus when needed.

We are all in love with his recipe that we tried tonight along with marinated BBQ T-Bones. I tweaked it a little, but all the credit goes to Robert.

Blue Cheese Spinach Orzo Side

INGREDIENTS:
3.5 TBSP unsalted butter
3 TBSP flour
1 cup low-fat milk
1 pound orzo, cooked and cooled (drain in cold water, fluff to keep from sticking)
2.5 cups crumbled blue cheese
1 TBSP kosher salt
1 tsp ground pepper
2 big handfuls of fresh spinach
1.5 cups diced tomato


DIRECTIONS:
In medium skillet over med-high heat, melt butter. Lower heat and whisk in flour. Once fully combined, reduce heat all the way to low and whisk in milk. Stir and cook til thickened. Then add the blue cheese, one package at a time. Be sure fully combined before you add the next pkg. Season with salt and pepper, blend and remove from heat.

Now stir in the orzo. Then add the spinach and tomatoes, again combine well. The orzo will warm with the sauce and the spinach will wilt.

Start to finish this takes about 30 minutes. Serves about 8 people with one-cup servings or the 4 of us with refills. Chef says this will keep 5 days. Not in our house!

Spot was not around for this part of the meal. She was only interested in the T-Bones on the BBQ and is now enjoying her reward.

Congratulations on the World's Best Banana Bread!

One of my favorite people is Buddy the Elf. I love when he runs into a NYC Cafe and jumps up and down yelping "Congratulations! You did it! You did it!!" All because he saw the sign out front: World's Best Coffee. Well, jump some more, Buddy. This is the world's best no-fail banana bread.

Preheat oven to 350 and grease two glass loaf pans, be sure to get the corners.

1. In mixing bowl, cream together:
3/4 cup unsalted butter
1 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
3 beaten eggs
2 cups bran cereal

2. In a medium size bowl, mix:
3-4 cups rip bananas with 3-4 tsp. vanilla extract

3. In a third bowl, mix:
3 cups flour
4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp baking soda
1/2+ cups chopped walnuts

4. Combine:
Add flour and banana mixtures alternately to the main bowl in 3 equal parts, mix well between additions. Stir til blended.

Pour evenly into pans and bake for 55 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

This is moist and delicious! Eat one and freeze one til later. Or if you have a teenage son, just leave them on the counter, they'll be gone in a couple of days.

Spot gives this 4 paws, silly dog.

Best Chocolate Cake Ever!

I got this recipe off a Hershey's cocoa container, but you can use any chocolate.
Rather than making a frosting, I like to use a container of Buttercream frosting in the middle and on the top, leaving the sides free. Looks pretty and elegant on a cake plate. The picture of my last cake is a bit tipsy, that was because I slipped when I was placing the top layer on and didn't want to make a mess by trying to straightening it. Don't worry, it still tasted moist!

INGREDIENTS:
2 cups sugar
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup cocoa
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp sea salt
1 cup milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2-3 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup boiling water

INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Preheat over to 250, grease and flour two 9-inch round cake pans.
2. Stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder and soda, salt in mixing bowl. Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla; beat on medium speed 2 minutes. Stir in boiling water. (Batter will be thin) Pour into prepared pans.
3. Bake 30 - 35 minutes until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans and cool completely.
4. Frost.

Spot loves chocolate and tries to get at it every way she can even though she knows it's not for hounds. Still, 4 paws.