A little behind the weather...

Over the winter I made few really great soups and I haven't had a chance to sit down and share them with you. I know it's not really soup season anymore, but since I do live in Wisconsin there's a very good chance we could still have a cold spell.

The first soup, baked potato, I decided to make because a girl at work was craving baked potato soup for lunch and we couldn't find any place near work that offered it. After talking about it so much I really wanted some too. So that weekend I went home and made it :-)It was hard to find a baked potato soup recipe because they are all very similar with just have few variations. I finally decided on a basic one and went from there.

Baked Potato Soup
From Yumsugar.com (adapted from Cooking Light magazine)



2 tbsp. butter
1/4 of a large onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
4 baking potatoes (about 2-1/2 lbs
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
6 cups milk
1 cup (4 oz) shredded extra-sharp cheddar cheese
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 cup reduced-fat sour cream
3/4 cup chopped green onions
6 bacon slices, cooked and crumbled
Cracked black pepper (optional)

• Preheat oven to 400°F
• Pierce potatoes with a fork and place on oven rakes
• Bake for 1 hour or until tender
• Cool, peel, and coarsely mash potatoes
• In a large pot, melt butter over medium heat
• Add the onions and garlic and sauté until soft, about 8 minutes
• Add flour into the vegetables
• Gradually whisk in milk, stirring until blended
• Cook over medium heat until thick and bubbly, about 8 minutes
• Add mashed potatoes, 3/4 cup cheese, salt, and 1/2 tsp pepper
• Stir until cheese melts
• Remove from heat
• Stir in sour cream and 1/2 cup onions
• Cook over low heat for 10 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Do not boil.
• Ladle 1-1/2 cups soup into each of 8 bowls
• Sprinkle each serving with 1 1/2 tsp cheese, 1-1/2 teaspoons onions, and about 1 tbsp. bacon
• Garnish with cracked pepper, if desired

The next recipe is the "losing" recipe from the Iron Chef competition we had a work. Though it didn't win, I think it's a great soup! I first made it with reuben sandwiches for St. Patty's day last year. Yum!!!

Guinness and Onion soup with Irish Cheddar Crouton
From Foodnetwork.com

Picture from foodnetwork.com

My picture from the Iron Chef competition

2 Tbs extra-virgin olive oil
5 cloves minced garlic
8 cups thinly sliced onions
Gray salt - I just used regular table salt
1 Tbs fresh thyme leaves, chopped
1/4 cup sherry vinegar
1 1/2 cups Guinness
6 cups beef stock
6 slices country bread cut 1/2-inch thick, toasted - I used croutons
1/2 pound Irish Cheddar, sliced thin - I used swiss



Make the soup

• Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over high heat
• Add garlic and cook briefly
• Add onions, season with salt and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring often
• Reduce heat to low and cook for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally until the onions are golden brown
• Add the thyme, vinegar, and beer
• Reduce beer by half and add the beef stock
• Bring to a simmer and cook for 10 more minutes

Prepare to serve

• Preheat the broiler
• Transfer soup to an ovenproof serving dish or individual ovenproof soup bowls
• Top with toasted bread slices and sliced Cheddar
• Broil until cheese melts and starts to brown slightly
• Serve piping hot