Beer Cheese Soup

For those of you who grew up in Birmingham, you probably remember a restaurant called Baby Doe's Matchless Mine. It was actually built on the side of a mountain inside a mine shaft. It was a very cool place with great ambiance, which would be expected for a mine shaft eatery. They even had wailing miner music in the background. To me, it sounded like Baby Doe calling back from the dead. Then there was the kidnapping that occurred outside their doors one night in 1983. They closed the place not too long after that. Anyway, they had the most fabulous beer cheese soup I have ever had, and this is a recipe I created that comes pretty close to theirs. Though I am not a big fan of it, I use Velveeta cheese in this because it makes a nice, smooth texture. You can adjust the amount of beer you want according to taste. This is wonderful to serve before a meal, or as the main dish.

Beer Cheese Soup

1 stick butter
1 cup chopped carrots
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup all-purpose flour
2- 32 oz cartons chicken broth
1 32 oz pkg Velveeta cheese, cubed
1 cup grated cheddar cheese
1 1/2- 2 cans beer
3/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 lb bacon, cooked and crumbled

In a large pot over medium heat, melt butter. Saute onion and carrots until tender. Add flour and stir into mixture until smooth. Slowly add chicken broth, stirring with a whisk to prevent mixture from forming lumps. Heat to boiling, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens. Add cheeses and beer, stirring until well blended. Cook on medium heat for about 10 minutes. Run soup through a blender in batches until creamy and smooth. Garnish with bacon.
Yield: about 10 servings

Note: When running the hot soup through a blender, use small batches (1/2 -3/4 full) because it could explode out of the top of the blender if it is too full. Unfortunately, I learned this the hard way.

Incorporate flour into sauteed vegetables and stir in chicken broth with a whisk until smooth:


Cut cheese into cubes:

Blend in small batches until smooth and creamy:

I served cheese oregano muffins with it.

Top with bacon. All that's missing is the wailing miner music.