December

It’s the last month of the year! The holidays are always so intense. It seems like the season starts out slow as Halloween starts things out, but then it slowly snowballs into something huge. Thanksgiving, then Hanukkah, Yule, and Christmas, and probably more that I’ve completely missed. My stepdaughter’s birthday is this month as well! I always feel bad for the December babies who share a birthday with Christmas.

My friend, Mark, was actually born on Christmas day and he always said that he was a Christmas gift to his mother. Mark was an amazing man with whom I used to LARP with and do other nerdy stuff. He passed away back in 2016. I still miss him very much and this month always makes me think of him. He said that food tasted better when it was made with a wooden spoon. He had the most amazing recipe for beer cheese soup. He was a man with a heart that was bigger than himself.

Omar’s Beer Cheese Soup

“Omar’s recipes were less laden with poison than anticipated.” – Lord Stratford of Arinth.

Ingredients:
8 cups of water
4 Michelob Amber Bock (Beer)
8 teaspoons of chicken base
2 tablespoons of cornstarch
1 # 10 can of cheddar cheese sauce
1 pound of bacon *
2 tablespoons of white pepper

* _{Merry’s Note: The vegetarian-friendly version of this that she uses for LARP Tavern involves substituting a stick of butter in place of bacon grease and veggie bullion in place of chicken stock.}

Directions:

• Cut bacon into 1 inch strips and fry in your soup pot. (Do not drain the grease; Mark always said it was good, not healthy.)
• When bacon is done, add 1 tablespoon of white pepper; stir for about 30 seconds.
• Add beer and deglaze (Don’t know what it means? Look it up.)
• Add chicken base; bring to boil
• Add 5 cups of water, reserving the remaining cup; Bring back to a boil
• Add cornstarch and white pepper to reserved water, whisk to dissolve
• Add entire can of cheese sauce to boiling pot.
• Stir frequently until incorporated. (The cheese sauce will sink to the bottom and burn if you are not careful.)
• Once thoroughly incorporated, add the cup of water/cornstarch reserve to the pot, stir constantly until back to a boil.
• Serve hot with french bread and (believe it or not) pink lemonade.

Note: You may substitute about 48 oz of chicken broth for the water and chicken base if you are so inclined. Chicken base is reduced chicken broth in the form of a paste.

I haven’t made this myself yet, but I’ve got a strong hankering for it. I used to eat it all the time when it was served during LARP events. Beer Cheese Soup is always good and Mark’s recipe was king among soups. Some part of me had thought to talk about the Holidays today, but I couldn’t help going off on this tangent.

Thank you guys for reading. And if you end up giving Mark’s (or Omar as his character was named) recipe a try, please let me know how it turned out. I’d love to see pictures too! Take care and see you guys tomorrow.