Buffalo chicken... soup style!

One of Jeff's favorite savory indulgences is buffalo wings... and I'm sure he would say we don't have them often enough. For tonight's dinner, Buffalo Chicken Soup, we took their essence and turned the components into a speedy soup!

Into a pot of sizzling melted butter, we added chopped celery and onion and gave them time to soften. When the onion was tender, I stirred in chicken broth, milk for a creamy edge and a couple dashes of cayenne pepper sauce to continue the buffalo theme.

When those liquids began to bubble, we gradually stirred in a mess of cheeses that we first tossed with flour. We used shreds of mozzarella, pungent crumbles of blue cheese and a handful of fresh grated Parmesan cheese for a salty depth. Once the cheese had given into the heat and melted smooth, I tossed in shredded cooked chicken that I had poached earlier in the morning while making breakfast. Don't have time to bother with that? Pick up one of those handy roasted chickens from the market and shred it to pieces. You may not use all of the meat, but toss the extra into the freezer or make a sandwich out of it the next day.

When I added the chicken, I let the soup come back up to a simmer and cook for a few minutes to give the chicken a chance to thoroughly heat through. For a fun presentation, I held back on some of the shredded chicken and topped each bowl off with some of the extra, along witha few remaining crumbles of the vein-y cheese. And, while it is always optional, go ahead and put a few extra drops of cayenne pepper sauce on top - it doesn't blow your head off, but adds a punch that keeps your spoon going back for more. I loved the complexity the blue cheese brought to this soup... however, I've mentioned before that Jeff is not the biggest blue cheese fan in the world, especially when it stands out in a dish. He got a little worried when he saw the mound I was planning to add and started to get a little nervous - happily though, he agreed it did wonders here!

Recipes
Buffalo Chicken Soup