Beer Cheese Soup

Melt butter in a Dutch oven or large saucepan over medium heat. Add carrots, celery, garlic, onions, mustard powder, cayenne, salt and pepper. Sweat the vegetables, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 15 minutes.

Sprinkle the flour over the vegetables and cook, stirring constantly, for about 1 minute. Pour in the chicken stock, mustard and Worcestershire and simmer until the vegetables are soft, about 15 minutes. Pour in the beer and simmer for about 5 minutes. Use an immersion blender to puree until smooth.

Add the cheddar, Gruyere and half-and-half and stir until melted through. Adjust the seasonings, if desired. We added a dash more of salt and pepper at this point.

Top with garlic crostini.

Note: To prepare garlic crostini, preheat oven to 400ºF. Cut a baguette into ½-inch diagonal slices. Lay bread slices onto a baking sheet and drizzle lightly with olive oil on both sides. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake for about 6 minutes, until crusty and golden. While warm, rub the bread slices with a clove of garlic.

Recipe from Jeff Mauro of Food Network.