cauliflower soup

i totally can't take credit for this recipe.  i stole it from thepioneerwoman.com blog, but i made it last night and it turned out well, so i thought i'd share.

1 stick of butter

1/2 onion, finely diced

1 stalk celery, finely diced

1 carrot, finely diced

2 heads cauliflower, roughly chopped

8 cups chicken broth

2 cups whole milk

6 tablespoons flour

1 cup half & half

2 tablespoons dried parsley

1 cup sour cream

salt and pepper

melt 1/2 of the stick of butter in a dutch oven.  add onions and saute until transluscent.  add carrots and celery and saute while you're chopping up the cauliflower.  add cauliflower and parsley and simmer 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, with a lid on it.  add chicken broth and bring to a boil.  reduce heat.

once it's boiling, melt the other 1/2 of the stick of butter in a saucepan.  in a bowl, whisk together the milk and flour, and add to the melted butter.  whisk.  remove from heat.  add the half & half.  add this mixture to the soup, stirring to thicken.  simmer for 5 more minutes.

when ready to serve, add a large ladleful of soup to the sour cream, whisk to incorporate, and then pour back into the soup.  don't add the sour cream directly to the soup or you'll get chunks a la curdled egg yolks in your chocolate pie filling.

i served it with oyster crackers and dr. pepper, because that's the way i roll.  also, it was just me and jake, and jake was rushing out the door because he had a last minute ticket to the AC/DC concert.  if i had more time and/or if i was serving more people, i probably would've whipped up some faux red lobster cheddar biscuits.  they're SO EASY.  maybe i'll post that recipe next.