Apple Cheese Soup

Ingredients:

• 6 TBS. Unsalted butter
• 1½ cup chopped onion - (one large)
• 4 medium Golden Delicious Apples, pared and diced into about ¼" pieces about 5 cups
• 1 cup flour
• 1 tsp. Freshly ground nutmeg
• 8 cups chicken broth
• 2 cups milk ***
• 2 cups finely grated sharp white Cheddar Cheese
• 2 cups finely grated sharp orange Cheddar Cheese
• 4tsp. Kosher salt
• Freshly ground black pepper

• Melt the butter in a large sauce pan. Add the onions and cook until softened but not brown. (5-10 minutes)
• Add the apple and cook five or ten minutes so apples are cooked but still firm
• Sift the flour over the apple/onion mixture
• Add the nutmeg and cook another 4-5 minutes, stirring often
• Blend in the chicken broth. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer about ten minutes.
• Whisk in the cheeses until they are completely melted.
• ***The milk should now be added, however, other than a little extra body, I personally don't think it adds anything. If you taste as you go (and who doesn't), I think you will find the soup to be very tasty without adding milk, but the option, of course, is yours.

Option

There is also an option that adds Apple Jack or Calvados liqueur (about 6TBS for the amounts listed above), but again, I don't think that it adds anything.

The beauty of this soup is in its delightful layering of subtle flavors. Being a soup, measurements and even ingredients are more guidelines than gospel. Add the milk, don't add the milk, 8 cups of brother or 6 cups of broth, more apples, less onions - whatever you think will make your soup more appealing to you and your friends or family.

I hope you decide to include the nutmeg. It was a surprisingly nice touch, unexpected in soup. Enjoy!