There's Something About Soup

It is a beautiful winter's day in Los Angeles: few clouds in the blue sky, mid 80s, light breeze blowing.  Basically, weather from a postcard, and the reason property costs what it costs here.  But despite this, what do I want for dinner?  Soup.

Soup has always been my go-to.  Even as a child, if my parents wanted me to eat something I normally wouldn't (think lima beans), they would put it in soup and I was off to the races.  So combine that love of soup with an incredible Chanukkah present from my college friends Justin and Ashley, Bacon Salt, and a cheesy baked potato soup just had to happen, lovely warm weather or not.

Magic happens, at least for me, when warm soup is poured into a bowl, and perhaps served with a crusty bread, or even IN a crusty bread.  And while people think a good homemade from scratch soup is tough to make, they would be wrong.

Cheesy Baked Potato Soup
3 large Russet potatoes
1 quart vegetable stock
Bacon Salt (or substitute a mixture of salt, black pepper, garlic powder, cayenne pepper, and smoked paprika)
1/2 pint heavy cream
2 small handfulls medium cheddar cheese
Salt, pepper to taste
Peel and quarter your potatoes and add to a large pot with the vegetable stock and enough water to just cover the potatoes.  Boil until they are soft enough to break up with a fork or potato masher.  Using an immersion blender, blend until smooth.  (If you don't have an immersion blender, first off, GET ONE, they are amazing.  Second, you can just blend it in batches in a normal blender.)  Add cream and Bacon Salt (or seasoning mixture) to taste then slowly whisk in the cheese.  Garnish with chives, green onions or cilantro to give it a bit of color.

I try to make soup at least once a week, regardless of weather.  If you find it is too hot for soup, move to Siberia or just make a chilled soup.  This one would taste just as good cold, though you might need to add a bit more stock to thin it out, as the potato starch would thicken it a lot sitting in your fridge.