tailgating and beerless potato soup

Out for sushi twice.  The Grey.  The Descendants.  (Two movies in two days is unheard of in my world!)  A book purchase.  A good run on the trails.  Lots of friend time.  A successful new recipe.

All these things made my weekend great!

And I'm still high on life, despite this nonsense that I saw on the interstate today:



Have you ever seen anything so asinine?

I don't know who those poor children are, with the hair-product mohawks, airbrushed onto the tailgate of this truck that I can only hope is their father's (I don't know what other hope to cling to), but I feel like we should all lift up this family in prayer.

Honestly, people.  Snap into some reality.

Speaking of reality, it's chilly tonight, and I was craving some homemade soup.  This was a winning recipe, compliments of the Neelys, from the Food Network.

Fully Loaded Cheesy Potato Soup

4 Tbsp. butter

1 onion, finely chopped

1 carrot, finely chopped

1 rib celery, finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

1/4 c. all-purpose flour

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

3 c. chicken stock

1 cup whole milk

1 (12-oz.) bottle light-bodied beer

2 large russet potatoes, peeled and chopped

2 cups grated extra-sharp Cheddar

Dash hot sauce

Dash Worcestershire

Sour cream, for topping

4 slices bacon, cooked crisp, for topping

2 Tbsp. chopped fresh chives, for topping

Extra shredded cheese, for topping

In a large Dutch oven over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the onion, carrot, celery, and garlic, and saute in butter until the vegetables begin to soften, about 4 minutes. Sprinkle the flour into the pan and continue to stir for 2 minutes to toast the flour. Add salt and pepper, to taste. Gradually whisk in the stock, then the milk and the beer. Stir in the potatoes and bring the soup to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer the soup until the potato is tender, about 20 to 30 minutes.

Puree the soup, using an immersion blender or in an electric blender, until smooth. Return the soup to low heat. Add the cheese a handful at a time, stirring until melted and smooth after each addition. Season the soup, to taste, with hot sauce, Worcestershire, and salt and pepper.

Serve it up, topped with your favorite accompaniments.

As a sidebar, I should tell you that I used vegetable broth in lieu of the beer.

I don't drink beer, but I will use it for cooking, even though I'm clueless while buying it.  About a year ago, in fact, I wasted an exorbitant about of time in the beer aisle looking for an appropriate "white beer" for my Cheddar Beer Soup.

Anyway, I wasn't able to buy any in my grocery store today (obviously beer as a cooking ingredient wasn't considered when they passed that law about no beer or wine sales on Sunday), so veggie broth it was.

The soup was delish, even beerless.  So give it a go on your next cold night!  It'll warm you right up.

And for the love of the children, don't airbrush yours on your vehicles.