It's Friday So It Must Be Soup! Feb 18 Baked Potato Soup

First of all, It seems I was just awarded a Stylish Blog Award by Kimberly at the Farmer's Wife! I'm not sure what that means since I am totally green as a blogger but it certainly made my day!
I think that I am supposed to tell you 7 things about myself and then give this award to some other blogs that i love:

1. I am a professional makeup artist
2. I work with lots of celebrities but I prefer cooking by myself in my kitchen
3. I am a not very fast but very enthusiastic, very amateur, self taught race walker who is about to start training for my second half marathon
4. I am an avid yoga practitioner who has lost her way but is slowly trying to get my mojo back
5. The only I vegetable dislike so much that I cannot eat it is okra
6. I can't stop listening to Adele 
7. I prefer salty, crispy over sweet any day

Now, I will pass this award on to some blogs that I am loving these days:

Jen @ piccante dolce
Jean @ lemons and anchovies
Suzie @ suzie the foodie
rachael @ la fuji mama
mike and tina @ choosy beggars
meeta @ what's for lunch honey?
obachan @ still clumsy with chopticks
todd and dianne @ white on rice couple
petra @ zoom yummy





So, the soup. I am getting so tired of having to say that since I am not feeling well, blah blah blah
but
since I'm not feeling well AGAIN I needed something kind of  not bland, but not super highly seasoned and comforting on my poor, yucky tummy. The only thing that is keeping me from setting my hair on fire and running, screaming, into the woods is the fact that at least two other people I know well are also experiencing some sort of tummy bug. I am starting to think that some sort of plague has descended upon my person. Between this and the pine mouth, I should lose a few pounds at least.

Anyway, I wasn't even really looking for anything in particular, when I spotted this soup from Something Edible for Perfect Potato Soup.

I didn't really change much, other than substituting chicken broth for water since Beau at Something Edible promised that it was already perfect and you know what? It is pretty perfect, especially for my needs. It's not too rich, it really tastes of potato, which I love and when I served it with a little sour cream, some shredded cheddar and crumbled, crispy bacon, it really did taste like a baked potato in a bowl. That made me very, very happy.

Baked Potato Soup

2 or 3 slices of bacon, chopped up
1 small onion, chopped finely
kosher salt and fresh black pepper to taste
5 yukon gold potatoes, peeled and 1/2" dice
chicken stock to cover or half chicken stock and water
1 tsp balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 tbls butter
1/4 cup or more milk (depending on how thin you want your final soup)

cook the bacon  over med  heat in your soup pot until the bacon is golden brown, about 10 minutes. Add the onions, salt and pepper and turn the heat down to med-low and cook until the onions starting showing some colour, another five minutes or so. Add the diced potatoes and turn it back up to med. Cook the potatoes, stirring frequently so they don't stick and burn, for another 10 minutes.

Add your stock, water or combination to the pot to just cover the potatoes and bring to a light boil. Simmer lightly for about 7 to 10 minutes until the potatoes are almost totally soft.  Mash them with a potato masher until they reach a texture you are happy with, add the balsamic, the butter and the heavy cream. Add some milk to reach the desired consistency right before you are going to serve it.
Ladle the soup into bowls and garnish it the way you would garnish a baked potato. For us, that means a dollop of sour cream, some grated sharp cheddar, a crumble of crispy bacon but you could add chopped green onions, or even goat's cheese or yogurt.