Cheddar Horseradish Soup

You probably guessed that I'm on a winter soup kick right now, and I'm back to the 50 Easy Soups by Food Network Mag. This is their cheddar-horsey soup, and it is good. I'd puree the carrots next time, I think... they were too thick for the amount of cook time. Maybe I didn't 'sweat' them long enough, but would have liked smaller pieces. I also omitted the leeks, as I don't like them. And I'd bake and serve the crouton bread on the side in triangles so they didn't get soggy in the soup. Otherwise, pretty nice, and anything requiring a bottle of beer to cook is good for me!

#29 Cheddar Horseradish Soup

2 diced leeks

2 diced carrots

pinch cayenne

pinch salt

3 T flour

2 T dry mustard

1 bottle beer

1/4 c horseradish

3 c water

dash of Worcestershire

2 c. half-n-half

1.5 c cheddar

Sweat the diced veggies in butter. Add cayenne, salt, flour, and dry mustard. Cook 2 minutes to make roux. Add beer, horseradish, water, Worcestershire. Simmer until thickened. Whisk in h-n-h and cheddar. Top with cracked pepper and croutons (or serve on side).

Like Pea Soup out there!

It's time to use up that leftover ham hock, so here goes: 

Hock, carrots, celery, shallots, rosemary, bay leaf, thyme, and chicken stock making goodness.

Split Pea with Ham and Rosemary being prepared as we speak.

Waiting to see how the end results turn out. More to come later as the final edition comes together.

Merry Christmas!

This is honor of my Grandma Trent's traditional Christmas Eve dinner...rib-eyes grilled, potatoes, and creamed corn. I used thin rib-eyes, pan-roasted with Montreal steak seasoning and a side of horseradish cream sauce, homemade creamed corn with bacon and chives, baked potatoes, with sour cream & bacon & chives on top.

Tomorrow: Afternoon supper Trebesch/Eyre style with mashed potatoes, niblets corn in butter sauce, rolls, and dessert of chocolate silk pie.  Bring it!