Snowy Soup Sunday

Sundays in college were always spent studying all day in the undergraduate library. After hours upon hours of catching up on the week's school work (I didn't have the greatest college study habits), I would walk across campus for 7pm mass at the Newman Center. When church ended, I grabbed dinner with friends at Panera Bread. To this day, soup at Panera takes me back to those cold, winter Sundays in college.

Now, 3 years out of school and mere months away from starting another rigorous stint of classes , I find myself craving Panera soup. Luckily, this month's Food Network Magazine has a recipe very similar to the soup that I love.

I know that this is absolutely comfort food, but don't we all need that after such a snowy weekend?

Almost-Famous Broccoli-Cheddar Soup

6 Tbsp. unsalted butter

1 small onion, chopped

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

2 cups half-and-half

3 cups low-sodium chicken broth

2 bay leaves

1/4 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg

Kosher salt and ground pepper

4 cups broccoli florets (about 1 head)

1 large carrot, diced

2 1/2 cups grated sharp cheddar cheese, plus more for garnish

Melt the butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until tender, about 5 minutes. Whisk in the flour and cook until golden, about 3 to 4 minutes, then gradually whisk in the half-and-half until smooth. Add the chicken broth, bay leaves and nutmeg, then season with salt and pepper and bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook, uncovered, until thickened, about 20 minutes.

Add the broccoli and carrot to the broth mixture and simmer until tender, about 20 minutes. Discard the bay leaves. Puree the soup in batches in a blender until smooth; you'll still have flecks of broccoli and carrot. Return to the pot.

Add the cheese to the soup and whisk over medium heat until melted. Ladle into bowls and garnish with cheese.