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Ah, Fall
As you all know, I love Fall, so I won't go on about it, other than to say one of my favorite things about it is that it's finally Soup Season again. I don't know why, but I just don't like to make or eat soup in the Summer. I was craving potato soup last night, which I haven't made in years because... well, I am not sure why! Just haven't. Unfortunately, without a substantial amount of protein in his meals the kidunit becomes The Uber Crank, so I didn't want to make my usual potato soup which is basically just potatoes, milk, and some seasoning. So to increase the protein level I added two of the foods that make other foods better! Cheese, and bacon (mmmmm, bacon!). Then I decided using some broth instead of just milk would increase the protein, too, so I did that. And I had some liebfraumilch on hand so I added some of that for flavor interest. (I really wanted to add some golden beets to this recipe, but the regular grocery store didn't have any and I didn't want to make a special trip to Whole Paycheck to find some. I'll do that next time, I guess.) In the end, the soup turned out really well, so I'm sharing the recipe in case others are interested.
Potato Soup with Cheddar and Bacon
6 slices bacon
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped carrots
1 stalk celery, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
2 C chicken broth (low sodium)
1 C white wine
1 1/2 C table cream or half-and-half
4 cups diced potatoes*
1/8 teaspoon cayenne
1/8 tsp smoked paprika
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/8 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
In a 3-quart saucepan, cook bacon until crisp, remove and drain well on paper towels. Remove all but about two tablespoons of the bacon grease. Add the vegetables and garlic to the bacon grease and saute until the onions are soft and translucent, but not brown (3-4 minutes). Stir in chicken broth, wine, potatoes, and spices; bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and simmer, covered, for 15 minutes. At that point, add the cream and cook over low heat for 10 more minutes. At this point, take about a cup of the vegetables out of the soup and mash them in a small bowl with a potato masher (or you could use a blender or food processor) and then return the mashed vegetables to the pot and stir them in to blend. Turn off the heat and stir in cheese until just melted (the soup will be hot enough to melt the cheese without the heat being on). Crumble/shred the bacon into small pieces and add to soup (I didn't add it during the primary cooking process so all the flavor wouldn't cook out of the bacon). Makes about 6 servings.
* I used a mixture of russet and red potatoes so I had different textures. The russets are mealy and will mash easily to thicken the soup, the reds stay firm so you have lots of nice chunks.
If you want to make this ovo-lacto vegetarian, leave out the bacon, substitute olive oil for the bacon grease, and use vegetable broth instead of chicken.
Potato Soup with Cheddar and Bacon
6 slices bacon
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped carrots
1 stalk celery, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
2 C chicken broth (low sodium)
1 C white wine
1 1/2 C table cream or half-and-half
4 cups diced potatoes*
1/8 teaspoon cayenne
1/8 tsp smoked paprika
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/8 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
In a 3-quart saucepan, cook bacon until crisp, remove and drain well on paper towels. Remove all but about two tablespoons of the bacon grease. Add the vegetables and garlic to the bacon grease and saute until the onions are soft and translucent, but not brown (3-4 minutes). Stir in chicken broth, wine, potatoes, and spices; bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and simmer, covered, for 15 minutes. At that point, add the cream and cook over low heat for 10 more minutes. At this point, take about a cup of the vegetables out of the soup and mash them in a small bowl with a potato masher (or you could use a blender or food processor) and then return the mashed vegetables to the pot and stir them in to blend. Turn off the heat and stir in cheese until just melted (the soup will be hot enough to melt the cheese without the heat being on). Crumble/shred the bacon into small pieces and add to soup (I didn't add it during the primary cooking process so all the flavor wouldn't cook out of the bacon). Makes about 6 servings.
* I used a mixture of russet and red potatoes so I had different textures. The russets are mealy and will mash easily to thicken the soup, the reds stay firm so you have lots of nice chunks.
If you want to make this ovo-lacto vegetarian, leave out the bacon, substitute olive oil for the bacon grease, and use vegetable broth instead of chicken.