Wednesday, December 7, 2011

Broccoli and Cheese Soup

The Pin...

The Project...
Day 2 of my week of Pinterest meals found me attempting to make broccoli and cheese soup, something that has intimidated me in the past, but has always been part of my ultimate comfort challenge. I have pinned several recipes to try, and decided to give this one the first go.

The amount of ingredients was slightly intimidating (as was the use of Cardamom, as I've never used it before and therefore had no idea what it tasted like). The recipe calls for 1/2 an onion, but I ended up using only 1/4 since my husband hates onions. I also ended up just throwing in veggies until it looked like there was enough rather than weighing them out.

Sautéing the onion and garlic in the butter. Easy peesy, nothing I haven't done before. Maybe this won't be so bad after all...

Now in goes the flour. Wow. Not the effect I really had in mind. I've made a roux before, and I don't remember it looking quite like this. However, I don't have time to start over, so I press on.

Ok, adding all the wet ingredients (milk, half and half, and chicken stock) helps break up all that flour. I breathe a little better.

Mmmm, veggies. I'm sure I added more than the recipe called for, but we love broccoli in this house. And to me, if every spoonful doesn't have broccoli in it, then there's not enough.

I let it simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, then added the spices. I didn't measure out the salt or pepper, just kept adding until it looked like enough. It's starting to smell pretty yummy by now.

Then in goes the cheese. I didn't want to use the Velveeta substitution that the original blog suggested, so I just used the colby jack cheese that the recipe originally called for. I may have added a bit more cheese then called for, but I figured that after adding more veggies, why not? Can't have too much cheese in a cheese soup.

After mixing in the cheese and letting it simmer another 10 minutes, it was ready!

I wish I'd taken the time to make bread boules, but with all the errand running I did during the day, we were lucky to have a home cooked meal at all. Maybe next time I make soup, I'll put in that extra effort.

Something New...
As excited as I was to try this, the end result was a bit disappointing. My husband and I had to add more salt and pepper at the table to give it any flavor, and we both fount it to be rather chalky. If I were to do it over again, I would add less flour and more spices (probably more fresh garlic and onion as well). It was nice to have a warm bowl of soup on a cold night, but I don't think that this recipe will give me ultimate comfort. But, another day, another pin completed, and another boring dinner averted. Remember to follow me on Pinterest to see more of my pins.

Happy Pinning!

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