BAKED POTATO SOUP

What could be more comforting than a bowl of potato soup topped with cheese and bacon?  I'm telling you how velvety this feels in your mouth is almost as luxurious as it tastes.  Great recipe!

5 medium Russet potatoes
3 c. whole milk
½ c. Half and Half
1-1/4 t. fennel seeds
½ c. sour cream
1 c. shredded cheddar cheese
½ t. chives
½ t. salt
¼ t. fresh ground black pepper or more to taste
2-1/2 TB butter
¼ t. celery salt
1 green onion diced
5 strips of bacon, diced and fried crispy

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Wash and scrub potatoes; pat dry. Rub potatoes with butter and place in a baking pan; bake about 1 hour and 15 minutes or until done. Remove from oven and cool slightly. While the potatoes are cooling, add fennel seeds to milk and half and half, and scald the milk. Scalding is heating the milk at a medium temperature just until boiling point but not boiling and quickly removed from heat. The outer edge of the milk will start to form teeny bubbles so watch it carefully. Another way to tell is if you run a spoon across the top of the milk it should put a coating on the spoon, and that coating will also be a thin layer on the top of the milk. Let the milk cool slightly with the fennel seeds in the mixture.

When the potatoes are cool enough to work with carefully cut 4 in half and spoon out the cooked potato and place in a food processor. (Save the potato skins for baked potato skins later.) The potatoes should measure about 1-1/2 c. processed potato. Peel and finely dice the 5th potato. To the processed potatoes add sour cream, chives, salt, pepper, celery salt and ½ c. plus 1 TB cheese. Strain the fennel seeds from warm milk and discard seeds. Carefully pour some of the milk into the potatoes in the food processor * and process until smooth. Place the rest of the milk and potatoes into a sauce pan; add butter and the diced potato and simmer on very low setting until it reaches the desired consistency, about 15 minutes. When ready to serve ladle into individual bowls and garnish with cheese, bacon, and diced green onion.

*The first time I made it I poured all of the milk into the food processor and a lot of the milk poured out of the bottom – you can’t put liquids over the height of the hole in the middle or it will come out – what a mess – plus you don’t know how much liquid you added. So if you have a submersible blender/mixer appliance I would just put the processed potatoes and milk in the saucepan and use it until they are smooth and then add the diced potatoes. If not, add only as much milk as you can and then stir the rest together in your saucepan.