Hello, readers! I’m Katrina, from over at Bite Buff. My blog shares my dining adventures as I navigate the restaurant scene in Cleveland. I’m a terrible cook, and have been known to burn water out of pots, set the smoke detector off using the toaster oven, and ruin even the simplest things in the kitchen. Luckily, my handsome boyfriend, fondly called “R”, is a wonderful cook and we have fun trying new recipes all the time. I recently started sharing some of these recipes on my blog, and Crystal asked me to guest post today with one of them. This recipe is from the April 2012 issue of Cuisine at Home magazine. It’s our favorite cooking magazine. So, here we go…
Boursin Potato Soup with bacon and chives (makes 4 servings, total cook time: 45 minutes)
Cook:
- 4 strips thick-sliced bacon, halved on the bias (Note: for bite-sized garnish, dice it before cooking and just sprinkle it on top)
Sweat: Note: if you don’t know what it means to “sweat” vegetables, then look it up first
- 1 cup diced onions
- ½ cup diced celery (Note: we cut them larger and removed them because I dislike cooked celery)
- ½ cup diced carrot
- 1 Tbsp. minced fresh garlic
Add:
- 4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
- 1 cup water
- 2 lb. gold potatoes, peeled and diced (6-8 cups) Note: We used about 7 cups.
Stir In:
- 1 package Garlic and Fine Herbs Boursin cheese, crumbled (5.3 oz.)
- Salt and pepper to taste
- ¼ cup minced fresh chives
Cook bacon in a large pot until crisp. Transfer bacon to a paper-towel-lined plate, and reserve 1 Tbsp. drippings.
Sweat onions, celery, carrot, and garlic in drippings in same pot over medium heat until onions soften, 5 minutes.
Add broth, water, and potatoes and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and simmer until potatoes are fork-tender, 10-12 minutes.
Pulse soup with a handheld blender until partially pureed.
Stir in cheese until it melts. Simmer soup for 1-2 minutes more; season with salt and pepper.
Garnish each serving with bacon and chives and serve.
This recipe gave us a nice, classic potato soup on a chilly fall-like evening. We’d tweak a few things, like adding the peas that we had purchased and are still sitting in the refrigerator (oops). “R” also said that he would reduce our 7 cups of potatoes to just 6 cups, and he’d add more carrots. He also pureed the soup a bit too long, and we would have liked more chunks in the soup. However, this was overall a winner if you’re in the mood for a hearty, classic potato soup.
We served it with Braised Brussels Sprouts with apple, bacon, and mustard. They were fantastic, and unique. You’ll have to head over to my blog today to check out that recipe!
Thank you, Crystal for allowing me to guest post over here today.
Best wishes to the happy couple from one Cleveland foodie to another!
- Katrina