This #CookingForLieutenants thread covers broccoli cheddar soup, which is one of those comfort food staples that, when done right, is a piece of heaven on a winter night like this. It will keep for 5 days, & will only take about an hour & a quarter.
1. Dice 1 large yellow onion into 1/2” pieces. Sauté in butter. Add salt. Stir & cook until the onions are translucent. Or, as line cooks say, cook them until they sweat. Set aside for later. 
2. Make roux. In a small sauce pot, melt 5 tbsp of butter. Over a low flame, add 1/4 cup of all purpose flour, & whisk until the flour is fully folded into the butter. We’re aiming for blonde roux, so keep whisking until the flour cooks a bit & turns a golden brown.
3. Scrape the roux into a rondeau, or wide & flat-bottomed pot. Add 1 pint of stock - your choice, but I’m happy with Kirkland boxed chicken stock from Costco - whisking constantly. Next, while still whisking over low heat, add 1 pint of half & half. Simmer for 15 m-20 minutes.
4. You can substitute milk for the half & half, but as an instructor said to us in culinary school, fat adds flavor. If a skin forms on top of the soup base, just whisk again until it’s mixed back in. Add salt & pepper.
5. I usually add smoked paprika as well at this point, but that’s up to you. Now chop your veg. Don’t just use the florets, cut the skin off the stalk & dice that wonderful broccoli. I used enough broccoli to fill a 6” wide 4” tall bowl.
6. I’ve seen recipes that call for 1 whole carrot, but it’s far easier to just cut 6-8 baby carrots into 1/8” thick rounds. These went straight from the bag onto my cutting board.
7. Add your veg to the soup base. Season again with salt & pepper. Taste. It’s always better to season at regular intervals while cooking, than running the risk of over-seasoning at the end, & ruining your hard work.
8. Bring your soup to a boil, then reduce the heat to low & simmer for 20 minutes. Stir occasionally.
9. Turn the flame off. You can either take the time to grate an 8oz block of cheddar, or save the hassle & mess with a bag of pre-grated cheese. Your time is important & you’re not Chef Escoffier, remember.
10. Slowly add the cheese to the soup, stirring as you go to endure the cheese melts & spreads through the soup. Or you can just hire my kids to be your sous-chefs for this step.
11. You’re done. Garnish with some of the leftover cheese. Reward yourself with a cocktail.
12. Wait for the soup in the pot to cool to almost room temperature before storing for later in the week. In my case, because my kids both had seconds & ate like I’d starved them for a month, I’ve only got about 1 bowl left.
13. Adjust the amounts & volumes as needed, but I usually yield 6 bowls of soup from this batch.
14. Here endeth the lesson.
The tween boy had thirds a full hour after he had seconds. Would but that I had his metabolism. I now have maybe 1/2 a bowl of leftovers for the two of them tomorrow, but no worries. Donkatsu is tentatively on tomorrow’s menu.
