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Friday, November 29, 2019

Blaire's Hug in a Bowl

Or broccoli cheddar soup!

Blaire's time as Girl of the Year is coming to an end, and before she rides off, I wanted to try my hand at at least one more of the recipes American Girl released to celebrate her time in the sun. She might make the occasional appearance around these parts the same way Grace does, but the odds of American Girl producing any other Blaire content moving forward is pretty slim, and I have to admit, this recipe caught the interest of this cheese loving blogger from the moment I read her books. Read on to learn how to make Blaire's famous Hug in a Bowl yourself!


I've already talked at length about Blaire's struggles with her new diagnosis of lactose intolerance, and how American Girl hasn't always been amazing at tying that in to their marketing campaign, to featuring plenty of lactose heavy treats at the Blaire Wilson Tea this past summer to spotlighting a brownie recipe in her second book, which - while story relevant - are often lactose free anyway, and therefore not especially exciting for kids looking for new treats that won't upset their stomachs. 

However, there were at least two recipes that were available on the hard to find, and not well advertised American Girl Explore page. Geared towards parents who are looking for more ways to get their kids eating healthy, getting involved in activities, or being a better friend, this page also features the occasional recipe. Some of these are just repeats from old cookbooks or American Girl Magazine articles, but others are entirely new content, like this recipe for Blaire's Hug in a Bowl

Hug in a Bowl, or broccoli cheddar soup, is featured in Blaire's series as one of Blaire's signature dishes, something she enjoys making for her family and eating herself. Since her diagnosis, it's another recipe she's had to adapt to meet her new dietary needs. It's also one of the recipes she provides to the food pantry to encourage kids to eat more vegetables, and is part of her inspiration for making Awesomesauce to donate to the pantry. 

The recipe offers three different ways to make broccoli cheddar soup: one with dairy, one with cashew milk and vegan cheese, and one that's completely dairy and nut free. Each version of the soup starts with the same base: chop up 1 1/2 pounds of broccoli and set it aside. Heat 5 cups of chicken broth until it boils, then reduce the heat to a simmer. Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large sauce pan and add 1 finely chopped yellow onion, stirring often, for about eight minutes before adding 1/4 of a cup of flour, coating the onions well and cooking for one more minute. Add the broth, broccoli, 1 tablespoon of lemon juice, and 1/2 teaspoon of thyme to the sauce pan and bring the mixture to a boil. Finally, reduce it to a simmer and let it cook for about 20 minutes, covered, until the broccoli is tender. 

Take the pan off the heat and let it cool before transferring it in batches to a blender to blend it smooth. I used my immersion blender, which saved a lot of time and hassle, as well as clean up, and didn't require me to wait for the mixture to fully cool down because I wasn't transferring it to a plastic blender. This is one of my favorite kitchen tools, and I'd definitely recommend doing it yourself. 

Once it's blended, it's time to add your cheese. The dairy version calls for 2 cups of whole milk, and 1/2 pound of grated sharp cheddar cheese, as well as salt and pepper to taste. I'll admit, despite my own dairy sensitivity, I made this version, because I really like cheddar cheese and am not a fan of nut milk or vegan cheese. If you are, you can also make it with 2 cups of cashew milk, 1/2 pound of shredded vegan cheddar, salt and pepper, or 2 to 4 mashed Yukon Gold potatoes, smoked paprika, garlic powder, salt and pepper. 

The recipe instructs you to mix in your milk, then half of your shredded cheese, and serve the remaining cheese over the top of the soup.


The final product was somewhere between pretty good and just okay. I have to admit, I was pretty disappointed with it, because the soup was incredibly runny and not thick the way I like broccoli cheddar soup to be. It also didn't really taste like cheddar at all, which makes me think maybe it would be better to add some other cheese to bring out the salty, creamy flavor, the way a really good home made mac and cheese does. But I still ate all the leftovers and would probably make it again. It's a relatively involved recipe, especially if you don't have an immersion blender, so I'm not sure if this should be the first recipe an aspiring young chef should try on their own, but a responsible kid who looks up to Blaire could probably do it with a little help from an adult, and it's a simple enough way to bring Blaire's books to life for a parent, AG Club or home school group. 

Overall, I enjoyed the potential of Blaire's stories and collections, but was kind of disappointed in the actual execution this year. It's fun to see that AG did in fact research and design recipes that match Blaire's series, but disappointing to see it tucked away on part of the website that not too many fans seem to be aware of. In the future, I hope they make more of an effort to get interested readers supplemental materials in a more in your face way, instead of hoping they stumble upon them because they're a historian who's always on the hunt for more official company materials for various research projects. 

Anyway, I hope this was of interest! Can't wait to see what next year brings us from the Girl of the Year line.

Although I'm not sure it'll have quite as many tasty offerings as this year's did...

2 comments:

  1. I prefer Nana's Cream of Broccoli Soup :) (I think I gave you the recipe).

    Gluten free soups are tougher to make than dairy free from my latest trials. At least Blaire can have white flour!

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  2. I am lactose intolerant also but I can have broccoli cheddar soup. I am happy about that because I would not want to give it up. It looks like Blaire is happy with her soup.

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