The story of Beer Cheese Soup....

When I was young my Uncle Phil, Mom, my friend Lisa and I once went on a winter adventure. We headed up to Northern Minnesota for a weekend of snowmobiling. I remember clearly how we somehow ended up singing a song called " I'm not Lisa" the entire way up North but even more clearly I remember the Beer Cheese soup we had at a little Inn after a cold day of snowmobiling. I have tried for years to find a recipe that matched that delicious batch but haven't found anything close, so I have done some experimenting and here is what I have found....

Three Cheese Beer Soup

6 ounces sharp cheddar cheese- shredded by hand ( it melts better!)
6 ounces white cheddar cheese- shredded by hand ( it melts better!)
1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup chopped green onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 tsp dry mustard
5 cups chicken broth
1 -12 oz bottle of beer
1 cup whipping cream
10 slices bacon- cooked crisp, drained and chopped
1/2 cup grated Parmesan or Romano Cheese
1/2 teaspoon bottled hot pepper sauce
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1. Bring cheese to room temperature- about 30 minutes. In Dutch oven heat butter until melted over medium heat. Add in onion, and garlic, cook for 10 minutes until tender and slightly browned.

2. Stir in flour and dry mustard then slowly add broth, whipping cream and beer cooking until bubbly- stirring constantly.

3. Gradually add cheese until melted. Add in bacon, hot pepper sauce and Worcestershire sauce.

Makes about 10 servings

Apple Pork Roast

It's fall in Minnesota, the leaves are red and yellow, the air is cool and the sun is shining. It's the perfect time for Apple Pork Roast. Fill the house with the smell of apple and tempt your family to the dinner table!

3 1/2- to 4-lb boneless pork top loin roast
3 clove garlic, cut into thin slices
1 tsp coarse salt or regular salt
1 tsp dried rosemary, crushed
1/2 ts[ coarsely ground black pepper
3 medium apples, I suggest something tart like honey crisp
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup apple cider
2 tablespoons lemon juice

Directions

Trim fat from meat. Cut a few slits about an inch deep in meat; insert a piece of garlic in each slit. Make the rub in a small bowl by combining salt, rosemary, and pepper. Sprinkle evenly over meat; rub in with your fingers.

Place roast on a rack in a shallow roasting pan. Insert a meat thermometer. Roast, uncovered, in a 325° oven for 1 1/4 to 1 3/4 hours or until the meat thermometer registers 145°.

Spoon off any fat in roasting pan.

In a large bowl combine the apples, brown sugar, apple juice, lemon juice. Spoon the apple mixture around meat.

Roast, uncovered, for 30 to 45 minutes more or until meat thermometer registers 155°.

Transfer meat to a serving platter. Cover meat with foil; let stand for 10 minutes before slicing. (The internal temperature will rise about 5° during standing.)

Remove the rack from the roasting pan. Stir the apple wedges into the pan juices. Serve with the meat.

My favorite fall treat : Apple Strudel

My mom use to fill the house with the smell of Apple Strudel each fall. I still remember walking in the house and just melting from the smell. This is one of my all time favorite recipes!

Apple Strudel

• one sheet of thawed puff pastry
• two apples, peeled, cored, and cut into thin slices (I recommend using two different kinds of apples just to add a little interest to the flavors. My favorite? Granny smith and Honey Crisp)
• 2-3 tbsp of sugar depending on how sweet your apples are
• 1 tbsp of flour
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• a good pinch of salt
• 1 egg

1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.
2. Slice up your apples as thin as you can. If you slice them thickly you will want to add a few minutes to baking time. Put the apples in a medium bowl.
3. Sprinkle the sugar, flour, cinnamon, and salt over the apples. Toss the apples really well with those dry ingredients. You want all the slices to be coated well.
4. Roll out the sheet of pastry till thin but not too thin.
5. Pile the apples along the bottom edge, but leave a good margin of pastry as a border.
6. Fold the pastry over the apples as of you are wrapping a present ( which really you are!) , and pinch the edges together. You'll end up with a long rectangular shape that looks like a giant toaster strudel.
7. Carefully put the "log" on a baking sheet, pinched-edge-side down. Fold under the ends to make sure everything stays where it's supposed to.
8. Brush the top with a little beaten egg, and sprinkle with a bit of sugar. Cut about three slits in the top so steam can escape.
9. Bake for 25-30 minutes until the top is brown and you're intoxicated by the smell of apples.
10. Cut it into slices, and serve with vanilla ice cream.Or go wild and add a little caramel sauce . Holy sweetness.

Rockin' Guacamole!

Ingredients

• 2 ripe avocados
• 1/2 red onion, minced (about 1/2 cup)
• 1-2 Serrano chilies, stems and seeds removed, minced
• 1 tablespoon of fresh lime or lemon juice
• 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
• A dash of freshly grated black pepper
• 1/2 ripe tomato, seeds and pulp removed, chopped

Serve with tortilla chips.

Method

1 Cut avocados in half. Remove seed. Scoop out avocado from the peel, put in a mixing bowl.

2 Using a fork, mash the avocado. Add the chopped onion, lime or lemon, salt and pepper and mash some more. Chili peppers vary individually in their hotness. So, start with a half of one chili pepper and add to the guacamole to your desired degree of hotness. Be careful handling the peppers; do not touch your eyes and wash hands well. Use lemon juice on your fingers to get rid of extra pepper
Keep the tomatoes separate until ready to serve. Blend to taste.

3 Cover with plastic wrap directly on the surface of the guacamole and refrigerate until ready.

4 Just before serving, add the chopped tomato to the guacamole and mix.
Serves 2-4.