Hi. I love to search out new recipes and try new things. As I find them in magazines, on blogs, and various other places, I will make them and let you know how they turn out. I will also give you any tips to make it easier or offer suggestions on how I changed the recipe to better suit me and my family. Check back frequently for new recipe ideas. Take a look at the other recipes in the {Find it, Make it} series or enjoy the other posts on Julie’s blog. – Amanda
I was in the mood for Vermont. The smells, the tastes….don’t get me started. I grew up in Vermont but haven’t been back in about 7 years. I have a trip planned on the horizon, but until then I needed a little fix. I started searching for a good soup recipe and came across the recipe for Vermont Cheddar Ale Soup from the Grafton Inn in Vermont. You can find it on a few sites, but I stumbled upon this recipe on the website Your Mileage May Vary.
This recipe takes a bit of time to come together and there are a few steps you can do ahead of time:
1. Get your garlic bulb roasted (about 30 min)
2. Caramelize your onion (20-30 min)
3. Grate your cheese while the above 2 are working.
For the cheese I used 2 blocks of Cabot Extra Sharp Cheddar and 2 blocks of Cabot 50% Reduced Fat Cheddar. I could not find the Grafton cheese, but Cabot cheese is also made in Vermont and available at most grocery stores.
I also could not find the McNeills Ale. I substituted with New Belgium’s Fat Tire Amber Ale.
Then I followed the recipe exactly. I especially enjoyed using the new immersion blender I received from Julie for Christmas. It was so easy and there was just one little piece to clean. No need to move everything over to the blender.
- 1 garlic bulb, roasted
- 1 sweet onion, chopped & caramelized
- 1 red pepper, diced 1/4 inch pieces
- 1 carrot, peeled and diced 1/4 inch pieces
- 2 shallots thinly chopped
- 2 qt vegetable stock (64oz)
- 1 pint heavy cream
- 2 pounds Grafton Cheddar, shredded (see above note)
- 22 oz McNeill’s Firehouse Ale (see above note)
- 3 large Yukon gold potatoes, diced 1/2 inch pieces
- 1/4 pound unsalted butter
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Saute shallots, peppers, and carrots until soft in 2 T olive oil and 1 T butter.
- Add bottle of beer and simmer 5 minutes.
- Add caramelized onions, potatoes, stock and remaining butter.
- Simmer until potatoes are tender, then turn off flame.
- Add cream, roasted garlic and cheddar slowly with whisk.
- Puree in blender.
- Add salt & pepper to taste. Garnish with fresh chives and croutons.
Yields 1 gallon.
To go with this I cubed up some pumpernickel bread, sprayed with my new olive oil sprayer, and sprinkled a little salt. After about 10-15 min at 400 degrees I had some yummy croutons to top it.
This recipe makes a lot and I think it would be easy to make half the recipe. However, my family all loves it and we can have it a few nights in a row.
I definitely got my Vermont fix and it made the house smell really yummy. Thanks to Neil and Shaula for posting this recipe that I stumbled on.
From my searches to your dishes…Enjoy!!
