Beer Cheddar Soup in Mini Boule

In one tiny bite, you can taste the home-made buttery pumpernickel roll, the tang of German Stout and the warm sweetness of local farm cheddar.

German Beer Cheese Soup in Finger Bread Boule

It's cold, and I'm in California. This has been the oddest weather year in the over 20 years that I've lived in Southern Cal. The summer was mild, never really hot or sweltering, and now the winter is rainy and cold, like East Coast cooooooooold. I find myself craving soups and small plate foods to eat while sitting cozy and curled up on the couch watching a movie.

These little home-made bread boules are perfect for serving to guests (I made them for my daughter's wedding this past October). They also freeze so well, making it easy to keep a few for yourself and a cozy-mate.During the first of the year, we're all a little more careful about our food intake (aka: I stuffed myself silly over the holidays). Portion control is the given here, as you can only fit a spoonful of German Beer Cheese Soup in these little guys. That means, you get the treat without over eating. Deprivation has never worked with me, but I can have discipline when it's this stylish.

Beer Cheddar Soup

1 cup celery minced
1 cup carrots minced
1 1/2 cups onion minced
1 1/2 sticks (6oz) butter
2/3 cup flour
1 tsp. Dijon Mustard
3 cups Vegetable Broth
12 oz. dark German beer
3/4 cups milk
4 cups shredded cheddar cheese
minced chives for garnish

1) In a skillet on Low/Med - cook carrots, onions and celery in butter until tender (about 15 minutes). Season with salt.
2) Add flour and mustard to the skillet and whisk until incorporated and smooth.
3) Add Veggie broth and beer, cook and stir until thickened.
4) Puree in a blender, then return to skillet.
5) Stir in milk and stir for about 6-10 minutes, then add cheese and cook/stir for about 10 mins. (Add more liquid as desired) *Can be frozen to heat and serve later*

Pumpernickel Boule (in Bread Machine)
[adapted from Zojirushi]

Place ingredients into bread machine in this order:
1 2/3 cups Water
2 1/3 cups Bread flour
1 cup Wheat Flour
1 cup Rye Flour
3 Tbls. Molasses
1 tsp. salt
2 Tbls. Vegetable oil
4 Tbls. Cornmeal
2 tsp. Instant Coffee
2 Tbls. Unsweetened Cocoa
2 tsp. Active Dry Yeast

Turn Bread machine to Basic Dough setting. When dough is finished, remove, cut and measure dough into 3/4 oz. sizes. Using fingers push each dough piece into small round balls, and pinch together on the back side. On floured board, twist each ball seam side down to make a smooth bottom. Place each dough ball on a parchment lined baking sheet (about 2 inches a part), cover and let rise for about 1 hour. Glaze each dough ball by brushing with an egg wash (1 egg beaten with 1 Tbls. water). Bake in a preheated oven set on 350F for about 10 minutes.
Remove to cool on pan.

To prepare the "boule", snip off the top of each baked bread ball and using the kitchen shears, carefully, cut out a bit of the inside bread. Be careful to not cut through the bread.

The Bread bowls may be filled now, or freeze them for filling as needed.

TO FILL:

Pour the warmed soup into a squeeze bottle with a medium opening. Turn the squeeze bottle over each Bread Boule and fill almost to the top with soup. Garnish with snipped chives.

These are easy to reheat in the oven, if your guests are late or the cozy turns into smooching before you have a chance to enjoy the German Beer Soup Boules. Lucky you.

Pichelsteiner; You Heard Me. It's a Let's Lunch Bunch Stew

When it gets cold, even in California, it's time for Stew! I was more than happy to have a good hearty stew be the choice for this month's "Let's Lunch" bunch (a casual group of folks on Twitter that agree to join in on a virtual lunch-date every month.) For my cozy concoction this month I chose to make a Pichelsteiner; a classic 3 meat German stew that could warm the heart of a glaciated wolverine. My daughter's fiance, Potsch, is from Munich originally. For Christmas Eve I wanted to make him something that would recall his family holidays in Germany. His mom usually makes Beef Goulash (and you never tread on another mother's traditions), so I needed a different Bavarian Classic. I found a wonderful book, Germany Culinaria, that was very detailed about the food cultures and various regions. It had gorgeous pictures of the very places my husband and I visited in Munich last summer when Chris, (Potsch's Uncle) treated us like royalty in his absolutely cozy and beautiful Hotel and Restaurant, Der Tannenbaum. If you ever have the chance to go, let me know; it's one of the friendliest cities I've ever visited. Potsch was thrilled to have Pichelsteiner (which he made sound so great with the accent and everything) and the rest of us certainly ate our share, too. The recipe is very simple, on purpose; no one wants to be stuck in the kitchen cooking while everyone else is having fun in the living room with music, gifts, and laughs. (Beef, Pork, Veal - cubed with Carrots, Celeriac Root, Leeks, Potatoes, Parsley and Stock) One of the best parts about this stew is how well it freezes, or tastes for lunch the next day. Like most stews; it improves with a little time to marinade the flavors. I just know you'll love the stew ideas from the rest of my virtual lunch mates; just go on Twitter and search using the word #LetsLunch (the hash mark denotes a topic of conversation). And maybe you'd like to join us next month. We've made BLT's, Soups, Salads, Left-overs, Desserts and now-- Stews.

Just like the rules of structure and grammar give the needed tension to poetry that really moves us, so does being given a "challenge" for us self-proclaimed gourmands.

{ALSO; a little side note here - One of our spunky #letslunch gals is sitting in a hospital right this minute, and will hopefully read our lunch posts today. Take a moment to check out her cavalcade of recipes and stories at GeoFooding. Sending you a big-blogging-hug, Karen}

Lets Lunch Bloggers:
A Tiger In The Kitchen
Cowgirl Chef
Bon Vivant
The Cosmic Cowgirl
Pinch My Salt
Serve It Forth

RECIPE: PICHELSTEINER
1lb. Pork (cubed)
1lb. Veal (cubed)
1lb. Beef (cubed)
2 Tbls. Clarified butter
1lb. Potatoes (cubed)
2 Leeks (cut in ring slivers)
3 Carrots (cut in thin disks)
1/2 Celeriac Root
32 oz. Meat Stock
1 Tbls. Parsley (chopped)
Salt & Pepper

In a large bowl, combine all the veggies. In another bowl, combine all the meat.
In a large pot, melt the clarified butter on low/med. Add a layer of meat to the bottom of the pot, then a layer of veggies (salt and pepper). Continue to layer the meat, then veggies and seasonings until all is used. Pour the Stock over and just to cover. Heat the stew mixture to a simmer, then cover and cook on low for about 2 hours. Sprinkle with fresh chopped parsley to serve.
As they say in Munich: An Guadn