Finally, as next weeks weather brings a pleasant chill, this pumpkin soup is apropos for the season. Part beer, part gooey cheese, this recipe is sure to make you want to curl up next to a fire under a warm blanket.

Dogfish Head Punkin Beer, Sharp Cheddar & Brie Soup

Ingredients

1 honeycrisp apple – medium diced

1/2 red onion – medium diced

2 cups of pumpkin puree

3 shallots – medium diced

2 whole cloves of garlic – fine chopped

2 apples, chopped (I used honeycrisp)

1/2 cup of dark brown sugar

1 Tbs of fresh thyme, chopped (or 1/2 teaspoon dried)

1 Tbs of fresh sage

4 Leaves of fresh sage (for spiced marcona almonds)

1 Tbs of fresh rosemary

2 cups of organic free range chicken broth

1 (12 ounce) beer (Dogfish Head Punkin Ale)

1/4 cup of smoked paprika

1/4 cup of cumin

1/4 cup of curry

1/4 cup of pumpkin spice

1 cup organic cream

16 ounces sharp sweet red cheddar cheese, shredded

8 ounces delice de bourgogne cream brie, rind removed

2 Tbs of extra virgin olive oil

Black pepper and sea salt, to taste

Spiced Marcona Almonds

1 cup of marcona almonds

1 tsp of pumpkin spice

1 tsp of curry

1 tsp nutmeg

1 tsp cinnamon

4 leaves of sage

A drizzle of extra virgin olive oil Sea salt, to taste

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Use a greased cookie sheet or pyrex dish, add the marcona almonds, sage, pumpkin spice, curry, nutmeg, cinnamon and sea salt to season. Bake for 10-15 minutes, until golden brown and fragrant and sage is dried.

Soup Time!

Place a large pot on the stove over medium heat a large pot over medium heat. Drizzle the extra virgin olive oil in the pot. Once hot, add the shallots, onions, honeycrisp apple, spices, garlic, herbs and dark brown sugar. Sauté until onions and shallots sweat and the apple soften, about 8 minutes. At this point in the cooking process in the chicken broth, pumpkin puree, dogfish head punkin beer and allow to cook. Bring soup to a simmer and cook for 10 to 15 minutes. Meanwhile grate the block of sweet red cheddar cheese and cut off the rind from the double cream brie. With an immersion blender puree the soup until silky smooth (This can be done on a steady simmer). Whisk in the sweet red cheddar and brie. Once soup is on a simmer for about 5 minutes – ladle the soup into into a tiger stripe pumpkin or a pumpkin pie pumpkin. Garnish with spiced marcona almonds. Happy November!