Cheese Soup From Alton Brown Recipes

CHEESE SOUP FROM ALTON BROWN

Steps:

• Melt butter in large, heavy-bottomed soup pot over medium heat. Add onion, carrot, celery, and salt. Sweat for 5-10 minutes, or until veggies begin to soften, stirring occasionally. Sift the flour over the veggies and cook, strring constantly, for 2-3 minutes.
• Gradually add chicken broth and bring to boil, stirring constantly. Reduce heat to low and add garlic and bay leaf. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes or until veggies are soft.
• Remove bay leaf. Turn off heat, add heavy cream and then puree with an immersion blender or in a conventional blender (if using blender or food porcessor, cool 5 minutes then transfer liquid to blender or processor and fill no more than 1/2 way. If using blender, release one corner of lid to prevent vacuum effect from heat expansion resulting in heat explosion. Place a towel over top of processor feeding and pulse a few times beofre process on high speed until smooth).
• Gradually add the cheese, 1 small handful at a time, and stir until melted before adding next handful. Stir in Marsala, Worcestershire, hot sauce, and white pepper. Taste and add additional salt if desires. If soup is not hot enough, return to low heat until warmed through.
• If not serving right away, store in a thermos to keep warm and avoid graininess. If refrigerating and reheating, use double boiler to reheat.

CAULIFLOWER SAY CHEESE

Steps:

• Grease an 11 by 7-inch flameproof baking dish with the butter and set aside.
• Position 1 oven rack in the middle position and 1 in the top position and preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• Place the cauliflower in a small glass bowl, stalk end up. Use a paring knife to remove the lower leaves. Trim the curds off of the stem, keeping them as intact as possible. Try to keep the size uniformly large and make as few cuts as possible. Discard the leaves and stem. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and microwave on high for 4 minutes. Rest, still covered in plastic, for another 4 minutes. Uncover and rest for 4 to 5 more minutes while preparing the rest of the dish.
• Combine 4 ounces of the cheese, the bread crumbs, egg, salt, mustard, paprika, black pepper, and cayenne in a large mixing bowl. When 1 minute remains on the cauliflower rest period, microwave the cream on high for 30 seconds. Add the cream to the bowl with the cheese mixture and stir to combine.
• Using your hands and a tea towel if the cauliflower is still hot, rub the large florets between your hands to break up the curds. Add the curds to the cream mixture and stir until the cheese is thoroughly melted and combined.
• Spread the cauliflower mixture in the prepared baking dish, place on the middle rack, and bake for 20 minutes. Remove the baking dish and turn the broiler to high. Sprinkle the remaining 1/2 ounce cheese atop the cauliflower. Place on the top rack and broil until the top is bubbly and appropriately brown, 6 to 8 minutes. Rest 10 minutes before serving.

CHEESE SOUFFLE

Steps:

• Use room temperature butter to grease an 8-inch souffle mold. Add the grated Parmesan and roll around the mold to cover the sides. Cover with plastic wrap and place into the freezer for 5 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
• In a small saucepan, heat the butter. Allow all of the water to cook out.
• In a separate bowl combine the flour, dry mustard, garlic powder, and kosher salt. Whisk this mixture into the melted butter. Cook for 2 minutes.
• Whisk in the hot milk and turn the heat to high. Once the mixture reaches a boil, remove from the heat.
• In a separate bowl, beat the egg yolks to a creamy consistency. Temper the yolks into the milk mixture, constantly whisking. Remove from the heat and add the cheese. Whisk until incorporated.
• In a separate bowl, using a hand mixer, whip the egg whites and cream of tartar until glossy and firm. Add 1/4 of the mixture to the base. Continue to add the whites by thirds, folding very gently.
• Pour the mixture into the souffle. Fill the souffle to 1/2-inch from the top. Place on an aluminum pie pan. Bake in the oven for 35 minutes.

FRENCH ONION SOUP

Steps:

• Trim the ends off each onion then halve lengthwise. Remove peel and finely slice into half-moon shapes. Set electric skillet to 300 degrees and add butter. Once butter has melted add a layer of onions and sprinkle with a little salt. Repeat layering onions and salt until all onions are in the skillet. Do not try stirring until onions have sweated down for 15 to 20 minutes. After that, stir occasionally until onions are dark mahogany and reduced to approximately 2 cups. This should take 45 minutes to 1 hour. Do not worry about burning.
• Add enough wine to cover the onions and turn heat to high, reducing the wine to a syrup consistency. Add consomme, chicken broth, apple cider and bouquet garni. Reduce heat and simmer 15 to 20 minutes.
• Place oven rack in top 1/3 of oven and heat broiler.
• Cut country bread in rounds large enough to fit mouth of oven safe soup crocks. Place the slices on a baking sheet and place under broiler for 1 minute.
• Season soup mixture with salt, pepper and cognac. Remove bouquet garni and ladle soup into crocks leaving one inch to the lip. Place bread round, toasted side down, on top of soup and top with grated cheese. Broil until cheese is bubbly and golden, 1 to 2 minutes.

ALTON BROWN'S WINTER VEGETABLE SOUP

Steps:

• Place 2 tablespoons of the olive oil into an 8-quart stockpot over high heat until the oil shimmers. Add the mushrooms and saute until browned, about 5 minutes. Remove the mushrooms from the pan and set aside.
• Decrease the heat to low, add the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil and the carrots, celery, onions and salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 30 minutes.
• Add the tomatoes, sage, rosemary and garlic, and cook for 5 minutes, stirring to break up the tomatoes. Add the water, soy sauce and Parmesan rind, increase the heat to high and bring to a boil, about 15 minutes. Decrease the heat to low, add the squash and kale, cover and cook until tender, 30 to 35 minutes.
• Return the mushrooms to the pot along with the beans and red wine vinegar and cook until all is heated through, about 15 minutes. Remove the cheese rind and serve warm with shaved Parmesan.