Mac & Cheese Soup

When I worked Bristol Renaissance Faire making lunch for the cast, I accumulated quite a few soup (pottage) recipes. This is one I never made for them but always wanted to try.

As always, the recipe picture above is a 4x6 JPG file. You can download it and print it on 4x6 photo paper to keep in your personal recipe box.

For equipment, you will need:

1. A saucepan. I'll be using my 3-qt. stainless-steel pan from Target.
2. A colander to drain the macaroni.
3. A cutting board and sharp knife for chopping. I use a wood cutting board because the University of Wisconsin did a scientific study that says they are safer than plastic cutting boards.
4. A stirring spoon. I just use the cheap wood ones I can get for $2 at the local big-box Kroger.
5. A cheese grater. I recommend grating your own cheese because purchased grated cheese has sawdust in it to keep the shred from clumping.
6. Various bowls to hold the mise en place.
7. Various measuring spoons and cups.
8. A whisk safe to use in your saucepan. I have some cheap stainless-steel whisks I got at the local big-box Kroger.
9. A heat source, such as a stove top.

For ingredients, you will need:

1. 168g (1½ cups) dry elbow macaroni
2. Water to cook macaroni
3. Salt for macaroni water
4. 48g (½ cup) minced onion
5. 30g (¼ cup) minced celery
6. 28g (2 Tbsp) unsalted butter, melted
7. 40g (⅓ cup) all-purpose flour
8. 117g (½ cup) dry white wine
9. 490g (2 cups) low-sodium chicken broth
10. 1 tsp. dry mustard
11. ⅛ tsp. ground nutmeg
12. ⅛ tsp. cayenne pepper
13. 490g (2 cups) whole milk
14. 16oz (4 cups) shredded sharp Cheddar
15. 1 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
16. Salt to taste
17. 28g (¼ cup) crumbled blue cheese (optional garnish)
18. 2 Tbsp. minced fresh chives (optional garnish)

Perform your mise en place:

1. Weigh the macaroni
2. Weigh and mince the onion (about ¼ of an onion) and celery (about ½ of a rib).
3. Weigh the butter
4. Weigh the flour
5. Measure the white wine
6. Measure the chicken broth
7. Measure the three spices into a small bowl
8. Measure the milk
9. Shred the cheese, if necessary
10. Measure the lemon juice

You are now ready to cook.

Place the macaroni in the saucepan. Pour in enough water to cover the macaroni. Sprinkle in some salt. Put the saucepan on the heat source. Turn heat to medium-high. Bring water to a boil. Cook until macaroni is a little before desired doneness, as it is going to cook more in the soup. Drain the macaroni. Rinse it with cold water and toss to prevent it from clumping before you need it. Set it aside to be added to the soup later.

Place the pot back on the heat source. Put in the butter. Turn heat to medium-low to melt the butter. When melted, add onion and celery. Turn heat to medium. Sweat (cook to remove liquids) the veggies for about 5 minutes. Sprinkle in the flour. Stir and cook for about 1 minute.

Pour the wine into the pot. Use the stirring spoon to scrape any bits off of the bottom of the pan. Simmer the wine until it is almost fully evaporated.

Pour the chicken broth and spices into the saucepan. Simmer until it thickens; that should be about 5 minutes. Add the milk. Simmer until warmed through. Do not boil the milk; this would result in a grainy texture.

Grab a handful of grated cheese and add it to the pot. Stir with a whisk until the cheese is completely melted. Repeat this step with the remaining cheese. This step took me about 15 minutes. My wrist is now a little achy. No pain; no gain! Consider it Cookercising™. (Cookercise™ is a trademark of Mister Karl Makes Stuff. All rights reserved.)

Pour the macaroni back into the soup (Where did my macaroni picture go?). Add the lemon juice.

Combine the blue cheese and chives in a bowl to use as a garnish.

You now have about 7 cups of mac & cheese soup. The left picture is out of the original recipe. The right picture is my end result. Did I nail it? Either their "1½ cups" of macaroni was way more than the box's "168 grams" for the same measure, or they scooped out the macaroni and only put a little bit of the liquid cheese in the bowl. My kettle indicated this made around 7 cups (just below the 2-quart line on my kettle), so it isn't a volume discrepancy. I'm going to choose to believe that the picture was inaccurate.

Cost-wise, this is not an inexpensive recipe, mostly because of the cost of the cheese. The garnish of blue cheese and chives also jacks up the cost. Per Bristol-size serving, this comes in at $1.98 per bowl. The 2025 price of a bowl of soup would be $2 (based on inflation since 1995). If I could make it cheaper, I'd think about this. The problem is really the cheese. I'm not sure how many people would want a heavy cheese in their stomachs while performing in 100°F weather.