Well I just spent hours in the kitchen working on my latest Friday Food Flop, a smoked Gouda blonde ale soup. Yes, I was doing a few (thousand) other things, too, but most of that time I was messing around with this dumb recipe.
It started with our Colorado Springs trip last month when we went to a brewery and had an amazing Blonde ale smoked Gouda soup. I said what I always say to myself when I try something yummy, “I could make that…”
WRONG.
I started out with a basic white sauce like the one in this ‘ketchup soup' recipe, and then added the only “blonde ale” I could find at the store, along with the only “smoked Gouda” I could find there. I was almost done and started taste-testing like I always do and it had this nasty bitter bite to it, it was no where near as dreamy as the soup in Colorado Springs. It wasn't even OK in my opinion but Kent said it wasn't bad. I tried adding a little palm or coconut sugar, and that helped a little, and then I tried adding a little Parmesan, thinking that maybe the gouda was just too strong for me. Nope, it was still icky. Of course Kent had two helpings since he's such a great guy, and maybe because he loves anything that has beer in it, but I knew the kids weren't going to go for it and I was right.
Kent thinks maybe it was the blonde ale (“because it was a Belgian beer”), but I'm pretty sure it was just a matter of the quality of Gouda cheese. I'm guessing that some have a sharp bite to them and others, like the one we had in Colorado, have a nice smooth flavor. My first tip-off should've been when it said on the front that it was a “processed” cheese, but I thought that was just because it was smoked. It wouldn't irritate me quite so much if I hadn't spent so long working on this stupid recipe and if I hadn't dropped so much cash on all the ingredients, too.
Above is a picture of the soup we loved in Colorado.
Oh well. Anyone out there have a good recipe for beer cheese soup? Or maybe you have your own recent food flop to share so I'm not feeling like the only loser in the kitchen right now?!
Lynn says
Hello, I don’t mean to make you feel like a kitchen failure, but I’ve made this exact recipe before and it tasted just like the restaurant. I imagine it was the cheese that made it a flop for you. (I own a cheese business so I have access to really good cheese.) Where do you live? If you were up for trying again maybe you could track down some really good cheese and beer. The only thing I don’t love about the recipe is that the soup is fairly thin, but that’s how it is in the restaurant too.
Kitchen Kop says
Yes I think you’re probably right!!
Kelly
Danielle says
https://m.rockymountainnews.com/news/2007/Mar/28/smoked-gouda-soup-from-phantom-canyon-brewing-co/
This is the recipe you’re looking for :).
Leeann says
I found your site because I was searching the web for a recipe after having this soup at the same place. I’m sorry that first try worked out badly, but I am so excited about trying the new suggestion!
Tammy says
Hey, Kelly. I was just at that restaurant on Wednesday. They have given out their recipe for this fabulous soup. It’s actually posted on the web. Just google Blonde Ale Gouda soup. I am going to make it this weekend and will be happy if it is any where near as good.
KitchenKop says
Wow, how did you know which restaurant I meant? Did you know it was this one: https://therocky.com/news/2007/Mar/28/smoked-gouda-soup-from-phantom-canyon-brewing-co/ ? Except ours didn’t have any popcorn as garnish, but I don’t think that would’ve been good anyway! Thank you so much for telling me this! I had no idea it had potato in it… I notice they still didn’t mention which kind of smoked gouda, that’s where I’m afraid to try again, because we have no good gouda around that I know of. I’m copying it here in case I ever want to try again and that site is down or something, and let us know how yours turns out!
2 (12-ounce) bottles of blond ale or light Mexican beer (such as Tecate or Pacifico)
6 cups chicken stock
1 to 1 1/2 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and diced small
Bay leaf
1 quart heavy cream
1 1/2 pounds smoked Gouda cheese, grated
Salt and pepper, to taste
• In a large heavy soup pot, bring ale or beer, chicken stock and potatoes to a boil; add bay leaf.
• Reduce heat to medium, cover and simmer until potatoes fall apart (about 90 minutes).
• Slowly whisk in the heavy cream and allow soup to gently boil, uncovered, until it starts to thicken, stirring occasionally. Remove the bay leaf.
• Add the shredded cheese and whisk briskly until it melts.
• Puree the soup – a stick blender or food-processing wand works well. Strain through a fine- mesh strainer; season to taste with salt and pepper.
Tienne McKenzie says
Gotta love husbands that eat our flops and insist they taste fine when we know otherwise!
Soli @ I Believe In Butter says
As said before, failing sometimes happens when you try. More important to make the attempt than anything.
And I hope that applies to me tomorrow when I try making osso buco for the first time.
D. says
I love beer cheese soup, but I have no decent recipe either.
I’ve also been searching for ages for a good recipe for cream cheese soup. DH and I went to a fancy schmancy restaurant at Yellowstone the last time we stayed there and they served cream cheese soup as a first course. Yeah. Just try to make it without a decent recipe. I would venture to say it’s about the same experience you had with your “no recipe” soup.
Colleen says
Hey Kelly! I do not mean to laugh, but I am laughing out loud right now! You are so wonderful and it makes me feel half-way normal knowing that you are not infallible. I cannot even count the number of things I have made since becoming a Real Foodie that were a complete flop and my DH (who will honestly eat almost anything) wouldn’t touch, much less my super finicky DS. Ahhh well…..guess that dream of a bed and breakfast will not be a reality anytime soon!
I’m going to do some research and see what I can find. Soup is my big food addiction and surely there is a recipe out there that will be “to die for”! Meanwhile, I have a recipe for beer bread from a restuarant in Savannah that will make you cry it is so good (hint: it has a whole stick of butter poured over the top after cooking). I’ll post it for you this weekend. Kent will love it!
I can only imagine how beautiful the color change is in Michigan right now! We are finally getting some “cooler” weather after being in the high 80’s and 90’s for months. 70’s today, 60’s tomorrow so we should be seeing some beautiful fall color soon! Have a blessed weekend!
Donna Bauman says
Another thing to consider is maybe the restaurant is using some fake hidden ingredients so you may not be a loser at all…. maybe you are a winner because you made a recipe with REAL FOOD in it! Also remember that he who never tries and fails, never accomplishes anything big. Your failures are what make you strong and get you closer to success. So much can be learned from these experiences and so they should be celebrated. As my brother told me recently… when you are on the cutting edge, you have to expect that you are going to need a few band aids every now and then! Congrats on your experiment just for the learning!
KitchenKop says
Great advice, thanks!!! 🙂
Kelleigh says
He he! I’m glad I’m not the only one to have a flop this week!
I attempted to make yogurt from raw goatmilk (for the first time). Yep it was runny. So runny that even straining it through cheesecloth didn’t catch anything solid!
Well I intended all along to make a yogurt drink! I promise! 😉
Bethany says
I make yogurt from raw goats milk and it is runny by nature… it doesn’t have as much fat as cows so it doesn’t thicken as much. I use a culture called ABY-2C from Dairy connections, it’s purported to make a thicker yogurt and so far it has for me. I add about 1/8tsp for 1/2 gallon and I get a thicker, but yet still pourable final product. I do not believe you can make a thick raw goats milk yogurt….if you heat it that is a different story, it can get a bit thicker, but then why use raw milk ?? So get this culture it’s fantastic!
https://www.dairyconnection.com/commerce/catalog.jsp?catId=11
Bethany says
LOL…. I am so glad I am not the only one who has massive fails in the kitchen !! 🙂 Thanks for the laugh !