Baked Potato Soup

It's kind of cold and miserable here today, and all my friends on Twitter and Facebook were talking about making homemade soup. It sounded like a good idea to me, so I whipped up one of my favourites - cream of potato soup. I jazzed it up a little by tossing in some classic baked potato toppings, and it turned out perfectly! (William even loved it, minus the green onions.)

BAKED POTATO SOUP

1 head of garlic

1 tbsp. olive oil

6 slices of bacon, chopped

2 shallots, finely chopped

4 c. broth (I used some homemade turkey broth I had in the freezer)

5 medium potatoes, chopped (don't peel them)

1 c. whole milk

green onions & grated cheddar cheese, for garnish

Chop the top of the garlic off so that the cloves are exposed. Lay on a piece of tinfoil and drizzle with olive oil, then wrap it up in the tinfoil. Roast in the oven at 400 F for about 30 minutes.

While garlic is roasting, cook bacon in a large saucepan. Once it's crispy, set it aside but keep the bacon grease in the pan. Add the shallots and sauté over medium heat until soft. Set the shallots aside in a separate bowl. Add a little broth to the pan and deglaze it, scraping up the brown bits on the bottom. Pour in the rest of the broth and bring to a boil. Add potatoes and simmer for 10-20 minutes, until potatoes are soft. Squeeze out the roasted garlic and add it to the potatoes along with the shallots. Use an immersable blender to purée soup until fairly smooth. Stir in bacon and milk and mix well. Serve in bows with green onions, cheese, and some salt & pepper.