Baby Doe's Matchless Mine Beer Cheese Soup - Not as Cheesy as it Looks

Baby Doe's Matchless Mine Restaurant, Dallas

Many of you probably remember Baby Doe's Matchless Mine, on Harry Hines, overlooking lovely I-35, behind the famous waterfall billboard. The building is gone now, but the memories remain. The restaurant was named after Baby Doe Tabor, who, through a scandalous marriage, was the wife of Horace Tabor, one of the wealthiest men of the late 19th century. When Horace died penniless, after silver prices dropped as a result of the gold standard, Baby Doe moved into one of their holdings, the Matchless Mine where she eventually died from old age.


Baby Doe Tabor

Back in 1986 I was the DJ down in the mine and became friends with some of the managers. I used to love their beer cheese soup and was able to talk the kitchen manger out of the recipe, but was kind of startled when I saw the ingredients, due to their "cost effectiveness," but you can't argue with great taste. This is a really simple, great Fall/Winter recipe to warm to cockles of your heart.

Here it is...

Amount Ingredient
-------- -----------
8 cups Milk
2 ts Tabasco sauce
4 ts Worcestershire sauce
4 tb Chicken base (powder or granules, I like Knorr)
16 oz Cheez Whiz
6 tb Cornstarch
1/3 cup Warm Water
1 cup Beer (Baby Doe's used to use either Shaefer or Lone Star)
Cayenne pepper to taste

Combine the milk, Tabasco, Worcestershire, and chicken base in a stock pot. Bring it to a boil, stirring frequently.

Add the Cheez Whiz, after warming it up in hot water or in the microwave. Mix in well.

Dissolve the cornstarch completely in the 1/3 cup of warm water. Add it to the soup, which should start to thicken almost immediately. Reduce the heat a bit and stir in the beer.

To serve, ladle into bowls and dust with cayenne pepper and top with some chives. Croutons do quite well in the soup as well.

Greg