Fridays, I bring you a local MSP (Minneapolis St. Paul) restaurant shout-out, and sometimes a recipe!

I pretty much love allrecipes.com. The awesome thing about this site is that it has recipes submitted by real people (no really…they have pictures and everything). And even BETTER, these recipes have been reviewed and tweaked by real people. Most everything I’ve made off of this site has been delicious, and I often follow at least one of the suggestions submitted by people who have tried the recipes (just scroll down and you’ll find ‘em).

We were jonesin’ for some hearty, filling soup and found a recipe for Wisconsin Native Beer Cheese Soup. Jackpot! We made it last week with Guiness (wow) and devoured with some miche bread from our local co-op. Try this soup for your next Meatless Monday dinner, or double the recipe and make a batch for your Superbowl party!

If you eat gluten-free, I’ve included suggestions to make the soup GF, too! Thanks to my cousin, Carla, for the GF suggestions!

Meatless Beer Cheese Soup (tweaked from Wisconsin Native Beer Cheese Soup)

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups diced carrots
1 1/2 cups diced onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon hot pepper sauce
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
3 cups vegetable broth
2 cups beer (we used Guiness. To make gluten free, try Red Bridge)
1/3 cup butter
1/3 cup flour (for GF version, try Domata Flour)
4 cups milk
6 cups shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon dry mustard

Directions

In a large saucepan over medium heat, stir together carrots, onion, and garlic. Stir in hot pepper sauce, cayenne pepper, salt, and pepper. Pour in vegetable broth and beer; simmer until vegetables are tender, about 12 minutes. Remove from heat.
Meanwhile, heat butter in a large soup pot over medium-high heat. Stir in flour with a wire whisk; cook, stirring until the flour is light brown, about 3 or 4 minutes. Gradually stir in milk, whisking to prevent scorching, until thickened. Remove from heat, and gradually stir in cheese. Keep warm.
Stir beer mixture into cheese mixture. Stir in Dijon mustard, Worcestershire sauce, and dry mustard. Adjust for hot pepper sauce. Bring to a simmer, and cook 10 minutes.
Serves 6

If you tried it, let me know what you thought! Leave a comment below or find me on Twitter.

Shout-Out

This week’s veggie shout-out goes to Mill City Cafe in Northeast Minneapolis! Curt and I hit them up for brunch last Sunday, and they had fantastic Portabella Mushroom Biscuits and Gravy. Combine that with funky local art and plenty of hot coffee, and I was a happy camper. Mill City Cafe

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