Plate #5: Broccoli Cheddar Soup

It's February now, and for such a midget of a month, it's awful. The months of cold and wind are becoming unbearable, and then it teases you with one succulent 60 degree Friday afternoon, only to follow up with horizontal snow on Monday. Not to mention all that goddamn wintry mix. I've recently reread Jitterbug Perfume by Tom Robbins (to die for, really) and he says it perfectly:

However more abbreviated than its cousins it may look, February feels longer than any of them. It is the meanest moon of winter, all the more cruel because it will masquerade as spring, occasionally for hours at a time, only to rip off its mask with a sadistic laugh and spit icicles into every gullible face, behavior that grows quickly old.

It makes a girl start to wonder why she moved to New York at all. (Oh, yeah.)

The point of all this though is soup. If there's anything that keeps you keepin' the faith besides under-the-covers shared body heat (or perhaps an adorable pooch), it's hot glorious soup, warming you from the esophagus and out.

Jenny, waiting for spring to arrive at the door.

I like broccoli. And I'm really into cheddar. I also dig cream and onions. Thus, a soup featuring these dudes is an ideal foul-weather friend.

Naturally, we start with butter in the pot. Toss in some diced onions and minced garlic to sweat it out Russian bathhouse-style. Maybe some thyme, too? Dust in a couple tablespoons of flour and let that cook until nutty to get that coats-your-mouth-and-tummy texture. And after that, roughly chopped broccoli (fresh or frozen, whatever your icy February heart prefers). And after all that, chicken stock. Let them simmer, make friends.

Friends cooking/thickening/escaping the heartless, heatless
clutches of February

After about 10 minutes of everyone getting to know each other, it's time for a puree. In an ideal world, one would accomplish this with an immersion blender, to avoid potentially spilling hot soup all over oneself and the counter and the dog. I do not live in an ideal world. At the very least, I have learned from my previous supper club mishaps that pressure builds when a sealed container is filled with hot liquid and perhaps that container should have a vent.

Soup blending master and genius.

Once everyone is nice and smooth, return them to the pot. Add some cream. Add that wonderful shredded cheddar. Add salt and pepper.

And so, once more, you have staved off weather-induced depression with a creamy bowl of soup. You even feigned extra sunshine with a couple olive-oily croutons. Until it's time for the dust off that sundress and those sandals, you do what you can to keep the faith.

Broccoli Cheddar Soup (makes 4 servings)
adapted from Emeril Lagasse

3 tbsp. butter
1 small onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 thyme leaves, chopped
3 tbsp. flour
3 cups chicken stock
1 lb. broccoli, chopped
½ cup heavy cream
1 ½ cups sharp cheddar, shredded
Salt and pepper, to taste

Saute onions, garlic, and thyme in butter. Add flour and cook until fragrant. Add broccoli and cook until soft. Add chicken stock and simmer for 10 minutes or until thickened. Puree. Mix in heavy cream and cheese. Salt and pepper to taste.

To make croutons, slice baguette thinly. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Drizzle with olive oil. Bake at 400° until golden and crisp.