One Year Blogiversary! And a Soup : )

Yes, it was in March of last year that I started this blog. Wow, I can’t believe it’s been an entire year already!

Having a food blog has certainly made a more skillful and adventures cook out of me, and my blog-writing has matured too, since my first few entries. It’s been a pleasure sharing my experiences with you, my fellow bloggers, and a pleasure to learn about yours as well. Thank you everyone for reading. Hopefully another great year of food-blogging lies ahead!

Now on to the good stuff:

I’ve been meaning to make this soup for a while and the other night I finally got the chance. Besides French onion and my mom’s split pea soup, broccoli and cheese soup is my favorite.

I made it once before using Emeril’s recipe and it was divine, of course. This time I tweaked the recipe quite a bit. Also I didn’t puree it like Emeril, a. because I liked the chunky texture and b. because I just didn’t want to bother.

I love this recipe. It’s one of those mouth-watering dishes that require a surprisingly small amount of work. There really is something to be said of simplicity.

(Yield: 6 servings)

Ingredients:

2 tbsp butter

1 tbsp olive oil

1 large yellow onion, diced

1 garlic clove, minced

1/2 tsp dried thyme

1/3 tsp curry powder

Cayenne pepper to taste (a few pinches)

3 tbsp flour

3 c chicken stock

3 c broccoli florets

1/2 c 2% milk

1 c sharp cheddar or American cheese, grated

Salt/pepper

Heat the butter and oil in a medium soup pot on medium-low heat. Add the onion and season with ½ tsp of salt. Sauté for 4 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the garlic, thyme, curry, cayenne and black pepper (to taste.) Sauté for 1 minute. Add the flour and cook for 2 minutes, stirring frequently, careful not to burn. Then add the stock, turn the heat up and cover with a lid. Bring to a boil, crack lid, turn the heat back to medium-low and simmer for 5 more minutes. Add the broccoli and cook another 4 minutes. Then add the milk and bring to a simmer again. Add the cheese, stirring to melt. Adjust the seasonings and it’s done.

I like to serve this soup with homemade croutons.

[This soup refused to be photogenic but I promise it was delicious nonetheless.]