I just realized that I have so many soup recipes I want to make and share with you guys over the next month or so. Like start expecting one a week. I am even sharing soups all over the internet at the moment. I don’t know if you’ve seen this yet, but umm, I recently made a buffalo chicken chili (with beer bread toast for dipping!!) for the first time and fell in love. <–If you didn’t already, click that link. Bring on the soup, right??? But who doesn’t love soup, it’s warm and comforting, and in today’s case, so cheesy. Broccoli cheddar soup is such a classic. I have loved it since the very first time I ever had it as a kid at Panera…bread bowl and all. Actually, I think the bread bowl was my favorite part. I loved how it soaked up the cheese soup. I mean, the best, right?!? It seems every fall I come up with a slightly new way to show you guys broccoli cheddar soup. My very first year of blogging, I tried to copycat Panera’s recipe. The next year I added butternut squash and curry. Last year I made broccoli cheddar soup hand pies, and this year? This year I am going back to the classic, but adding fried cheese curds. Wait, what? Cheese curds???
Yes, cheese curds!! If you’ve never had cheese curds, now is the time. If you are possibly weirded out by them, GET OVER IT. Do you remember this summer when I went to Madison, Wisconsin? That was the trip I discovered and fell in love with cheese curds (ok and all things Wisconsin too!). And not just cheese curds themselves, but fried cheese curds. Like whoa. Yes. And WHOA. And then DELICIOUS. And I promise, I am not being paid to go on and on about cheese curds. I really just want to express how much I love them, and how I would be so excited if you tried them. Like it would make my day, no my week. I just know you will all love them. Honestly, there’s really no way you couldn’t, it’s fired cheese. OMG. Just stop.
Like I said earlier, I kept the broccoli cheddar soup pretty traditional. I didn’t want any crazy flavors to take away from those cheese curds. So the soup is quick and easy to make. It’s obviously delicious on its own and especially when served in a bread bowl. I couldn’t help but bring back my childhood favorite, so I made some bread bowls for the soup. There’s just something so amazing and fun about eating out of bread. FYI, bread rulz, my mom taught me that important life lesson. You can use regular bowls if that’s more your thing…but at least get some bread for dipping. No soup is complete with out carbs. Don’t argue that, I’ll stick with those words until I go to my grave! Yes, I am serious about my soup and bread.
Ok, but the curds!! I am pretty sure cheese curds are widely available at most grocery stores now. I have seen them both at my local grocery store and my local Whole Foods. I used fresh Wisconsin Cheese curds for this soup because I have the bestest friends over at Wisconsin Cheese, and they kindly sent me some…sometimes on Fridays I’ll get a surprise package full of cheese curds. Can you say best Friday surprise ever or what?!? Anyway, frying cheese curds is the way to go if you are a newbie. They’re honestly down right incredible and there’s a large possibility you’ll eat all the curds before they even make it to the top of the soup. Once you try your first, you’ll understand what I’m saying. OH and?? I totally used pumpkin beer in my frying batter. Broccoli cheddar soup with fried cheese curds – suddenly Thursday’s killin’ it!
Without a doubt.
