Cheddar Cheese Soup

This is another recipe from Disney, specifically Le Cellier Steakhouse in the Canada part of EPCOT. This is one of the Miller families favorite things to get there. Recipes from restaurants a lot of times don't give you all the information so you never get it quite right. I took two recipes for this soup, one from Disney cookbook and one from AllEars.net and sort of merged the two and I have it pretty darn close. This is also labor and time intensive because you can't walk away from it for more than 15 minutes, but it is very filling and very much worth it.

1/2 lb bacon cut into 1/2" pieces
1 medium red onion cut into 1/4" pieces
3 celery stalks (ribs) cut into 1/4" pieces
4T butter
1C flour
2C chicken broth or stock
4C milk (I used Oberweis whole milk)
3/4 lb grated white cheddar cheese (This is the trick - most white cheddar is way too strong and almost sour, Cabot wasn't as good. If you can find it use Canadian Black Diamond. Sam's carries it.)
1T Tabasco sause
1T Worcestershire sauce
Salt and pepper to taste
1/2C warm beer - Moosehead (Worth it to get it if you can find it, lacks the bitter aftertaste.)
Chopped chives for garnish.

In a large pot cook bacon until it is just starting to lightly brown - about 5 minutes. Add onion celery and butter and saute on medium for about 15 minutes. If you can cover the pot to keep the steam in it will speed things up, stir occasionally to keep from sticking. The onion and celery need time to soften. (The cook book recipe didn't give nearly enough time and they were still sort of crunchy in the first batch) Add flour and cook, stirring constantly for four minutes. Whisk in chicken stock and boil for one minute. Reduce heat for a low simmer and cook for 15 minutes. Add milk and continue to simmer for another 15 minutes. Do not let the milk boil. Remove from heat and stir in cheese, Tabasco and Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper until the cheese is melted smooth. Stir in warm beer. Serve with chives on top.