"Gail, do you like seeee food?"

Those were the words of my stepdaughter, Alissa. She was 12 years old when she asked me this, as she opened her mouth wide to display its contents. Seeee Food! Yes I like seafood, but not that! Our kids always displayed such cheesy humor. They never grew out of it. So it was this fall's soup cooking season that made me think of my Honey Bear's favorite soup: Beer Cheese Soup. Of which I never made, with all the years of souping making to be done on our stove. Am I a bad wife? The summer we married we honeymooned in the McKenzie Bridge area and dined the old Log Cabin Inn. It was a wonderful old place that served up beer cheese soup. So in honor of my big Honey Bear....

HONEY BEAR'S BEER CHEESE SOUP

1/2 cup butter.
1 chopped medium yellow onion.
1/2 cup chopped carrot.
1/2 cup chopped celery.
1 medium Yukon potato, peeled and cubed.
1 cup flour.
2 cups chicken broth.
1 12-ounce bottle of pale ale. (You can drink the 5 other bottles later.)
7-ounce extra sharp cheddar cheese, shredded.
7-ounce pasteurized process Swiss cheese. (I use approximately 10 slices out of deli singles package.)
2 cups of half and half.
1-pound smoked sausage ring, cut into pieces.
Salt to taste.
1/2 tsp dry mustard.
1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce.
1/2 tsp black pepper.
1 tsp to 1 tbsp of hot sauce. You decide.
5 crispy fried bacon, crumbled for topping.

Melt the butter in a pot and add chopped onion, celery, carrot, and potato. Saute until translucent and slightly softened. Add flour and stir until mixed. Add chicken broth and beer. Cook until soft boil. Slllloooowwwwly add all the cheese until soup is smooth. Add half and half, salt, mustard, pepper, Worcestershire and hot sauce. Reduce heat and cook until veggies are done and soup is thick. In a pan saute sausage pieces and when done remove and blot dry and toss in soup. Ready to eat? Get your bowl and dish it up and toss some crumbled bacon on top.