Yesterday I made Tortellini, White Bean, and Sausage Soup on Talk of The Town (CLICK THIS LINK TO VIEW) It was a great experience as always — you couldn’t find a nicer group of people. They make you forget you’re on TV and just think you’re cooking lunch for the gang.
A lot more prep goes into getting a recipe ready to be a TV star than you might imagine. Knowing the segment is only about four minutes long makes serious organization a necessity - sadly, not my finest skill. Plus one batch of every recipe has to be made before the show to be ready for it’s “glamor shot.” That meant we got to eat a lot of soup at home this week, so I was moderately surprised when my guys requested soup again tonight. (Must be the weather) I had been planning chili stuffed baked potatoes, mostly because baked potatoes are one of my favorite lazy girl foods, and the quest to turn them into a complete dinner never ends! So that was the problem, my guys wanted soup and I wanted a baked potato. Sigh…the things we do for love – I made Loaded Baked Potato Soup!
Everybody was happy. It had all the important food groups, bacon, cheese, potatoes, even a taste of beer because, well, why not - beer cheese dip is good too. It was easy to make. I baked potatoes and scooped them into a soup base made with butter, flour, and milk. It would have been simple to just mush the potatoes up in the soup, but somebody got an emersion blender for Christmas!!! A little seasoning, a little cheese, a little beer and it was dinnertime. It would be fun to serve this soup to company with a selection of toppings. I had green onions, bacon, sour cream, and cheese, but I’m sure you could add things like sundried tomatoes and croutons – endless possibilities!
According to my soup-cooking partner on Channel 5, the weather is perfect for soup this weekend. My prediction is you’re going to love this recipe!
Ingredients
4 large baking potatoes
¾ cups butter
¾ cups flour
7 cups milk, whole or low-fat (hint: if you warm the milk in a sauce pan it is easier to combine with the butter/flour mixture.)
1 cup sour cream (more for serving)
1 cup grated cheddar cheese (more for serving)
2 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
Several drops of hot sauce – to taste
¼ cup of dark beer (more for a stronger flavor)
For serving: crumbled bacon, sour cream, cheese, green onions, and extra hot sauce
Directions
Preheat oven to 450 degrees and bake potatoes for an hour.
Allow potatoes to cool slightly.
As the potatoes cool, melt butter in a large pan or Dutch oven over medium high heat.
Stir in flour and cook for about two minutes to remove some of the flour taste.
Add milk and cook for several minutes to thicken.
Scoop the baked potatoes from their skins and add to the soup. (save skins for a yummy snack later)You can smash the potatoes up a bit with a fork or potato masher, or use an emersion blender for a smoother texture.
Add, sour cream, cheese, salt, pepper, hot sauce and beer.
Taste for seasonings, cook until cheese melts, serve and enjoy!
