Sock it to Me Potato Soup

When you live in the area of the country where winter starts on September 1st, and ends on August 31, you learn to eat a lot of soup...anything that will warm you from the inside out. We all tend to have our favorite soups, Chicken Noodle, Tomato, Italian Wedding Soup, Beef and Barley, in our harried lives, we usually grab a can and just open it up.

Nothing, but nothing, surpasses the taste of a pot of homemade soup, nothing replace the aroma of a pot of soup simmering on the stove. The aroma greets you when you walk through the door, your taste buds begin to tingle, you begin to salivate...will it live up to all your expectations????

I have been blessed to share an on line friendship with a very special person, Anne Murch-Gutierriez. We met in a cookbook collectors group that we both belong too called CookbooksEtCetera, where we were swap partners in a cookbook exchange. For some reason, we just hit it off, and even though she lives in Texas, we speak on line every day, and sometimes, we speak on the phone. One of these days, I hope I get the opportunity to meet her in person.

She is a fabulous cook, and a feather in her cap is, she has finally opened my mind to a more southwest cuisine, even getting me to use a Jalapeno pepper or two. She's right, you don't taste the heat, just the flavor.

She is always inventing new recipes, and fortunately for me, she shares them with me. She had e-mailed me a recipe for a soup that she created a few days ago. It sounded delicious, and I was out shopping and thought I'd pick up the ingredients and try it (thank heaven for I-phones, I had the recipe on my e-mails.) I read through it and thought it would be great to serve in a bread bowl for dinner. I stopped at Panera's and bought the bread bowls and headed home.

Marc had a meeting, and wasn't quite sure of his arrival time, so I wanted to time it perfectly. Anne's directions were right on the money. The soup was superb, deliciously cream, without being overly rich, the flavors blending so well.

Here is Anne's Recipe for Sock it to Me Potato Soup (I wanted her to call it Get off the Couch Potato Soup because it is so good, it will cause you to run to the table)

Sock it to me - Potato Soup
Anne Murch-Gutierrez

1 tablespoon olive oil
2 garlic cloves minced
2 slices thick bacon diced
1 leek sliced
1 large onion diced
1 small jalapeno seeded and minced
2 large Russet potatoes cubed
2 zucchini, peeled and cubed
1 tablespoon Mrs. Dash Original Seasoning
1 tablespoon Mc Cormick’s Season All
1 bay leaf
1 carton Chicken stock
1 package 12 ounces shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1 cup heavy cream at room temperature

Sauté garlic, bacon, leek, onion and jalapeno in olive oil, until translucent. Add potatoes, zucchini, bay leaf, seasonings and chicken stock. Simmer soup until potatoes are cooked, approximately 35 minutes. Remove the bay leaf. Stir in the cheese. Blend the soup with an immersion blender ( or place small amounts into a blender at a time.**) Then add heavy cream and serve.

**If you are pureeing the hot soup in a blender do not fill the blender more than half fill, as heat expands. Blend on low, then increase to puree. You will need a second pot to do this. As you puree each small batch, transfer it to another pot) You can also use a potato masher to make the soup smooth, but if you can, get an immersion blender. They are not very expensive, and you will use it all the time. You also have the option not to puree it, and leave it a little chunky.

Here is what you will need for the soup:


As with all the recipes I have given you, I always recommend you read them through once, and get everything prepped ahead of time. It always makes assembly of your recipes easy. As you use something, put it away, it will make your clean-up a breeze too.

Peel the garlic


crush the garlic and set it aside


Peel the onion


Make thin slices in the onion


Turn the onion 90 degrees
and slice it again


Your onion should be nicely diced
if not, just give it a rough chop


Peel your potatoes


Place them in cold water
until you are ready to dice them


Peel the zucchini and set aside for a minute


Cut the thick end of the leek off


Cut the rough top ends of the leak off


Remove a few of the outer leaves,
leeks are very dirty and sandy


Wash the leeks from the top
and the bottom



Slice the leek in thin circles



I usually don't slice all the way to the
top as I find the tops very thick and coarse


Cut the potato in half


turn 90 degrees, cut in half again



you will have 4 pieces
now cut in 1 - 1 1/2-inch cubes


Cut the zucchini in half


turn 90 degrees, cut in half again



you will have 4 pieces


now cut in 1 - 1 1/2-inch cubes


Seed and cut the jalapeno pepper in small pieces



Take two slices of bacon
and cut (I use a scissor)
in i-2-inch pieces


You should now have everything prepped
and ready to go to start the soup


Place the olive oil in the pot



Add the bacon



onions


leeks


jalapenos


I added the garlic after adding
the other ingrdients above so
it wouldn't burn


Cook until translucent


Add the potatoes



zucchini



Bay Leaf


Mrs. Dash



Season All Seasoned Salt


Give a quick stir so the veggies don't burn on the bottom



and Chicken Broth


Bring to a boil


Reduce to a simmer


stirring often

You will see the potatos start to break
down as the soup cooks

Continue simmering for about 35 minutes
or until the potatoes and
zucchini are soft

Remove the Bay Leaf


Before adding the cheddar cheese
I removed a little of the cheese so
I could sprinkle some on the top of
each bowl of soup- about a handful


Add the cheddar cheese



Blend well


Use an immersion blender (or whatever you are
going to use) to puree the soup





Add the cream to the soup


Blend well



While the soup was cooking,
I took a few slices of bacon
and microwaved them,
crumbled the, and set them aside
to sprinkle on the soup at serving time



Place the cheese and bacon on the side
until ready to serve


I also brought Bread Bowls at Panera's
I inserted a knife


and made a circular cut to form a lid
and a bowl


I removed the excess dough from the lid
and the bowl



Melted a little butter


added a little garlic salt


mix the butter and garlic



brush the lid


and bowl with the garlic butter


line a baking pan with some aluminum foil


and place in a 375 degree oven for about 10 minutes
to lightly heat it and crisp up the lid a little


Ladle the soup in the bread bowl


Sprinkle with the reserved bacon



and reserved cheese



eat and enjoy...it's delicious!!!!!