Latitude 48-Loaded Baked Potato Soup {SRC Orphan Rescue}

I'm on Orphan-detail again today for the Secret Recipe Club - for a Group C orphan last week! - and I am so excited about cooking from Eat Laugh Love - a cooking and baking blog written by Denise. One of the reasons I always volunteer to help out an SRC orphan is to meet new foodie bloggers. I had never come across Denise's blog and I, happily, lost several hours of my life perusing and drooling over her recipes and posts. I love that she has a culinary to-do list. Me, too. I just haven't published it. Maybe that's a good 2014 project!

There was no doubt in my mind what I was going to make from Denise's blog. Soup. The weather was turning colder, the skies were gloomier, and she has an amazing variety of soups from which to choose. The Best Lentil Soup Ever. Cream of Celery. Healthy and Heavenly Sausage and Shrimp Gumbo. SuperFoods Soup. And more. Seriously. If you need some soup-pot inspiration, check out this blog. In the end, I decided to go with her Loaded Baked Potato and Veggie Soup because it was unlike any that I've made before.

Latitude 48-Loaded Baked Potato Soup

inspired by  Eat Laugh Love's Loaded Baked Potato and Veggie Soup

3 lbs potatoes (I used Yukon gold), cut into chunks

a drizzle of olive oil

1 leek, trimmed and thinly sliced

1 fennel bulb, trimmed and thinly sliced

2 carrots, thinly sliced
1 red pepper, thinly sliced

3 T corn starsh

8 C broth (I used an organic mushroom broth)
1 Samuel Adams Latitude 48 IPA

4 C shredded cheese (I used Monterey Jack)

freshly ground sea salt
freshly ground pepper
1 T paprika

1 C organic sour cream

cooked and crumbled bacon for garnish

fresh, rough-chopped chives for garnish
fresh, rough-chopped dill for garnish

In a large souppot, heat a splash of olive oil. Add in the leeks, fennel, carrots, and red pepper and cook until softened and beginning to caramelize. Add in the potatoes and pour in the broth and the beer. Bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat to a simmer, and cook until you can pierce the potatoes easily with a fork.

Using a potato masher, smash the potatoes until they are the consistency you want. I left some chunks for a rustic feel. Season with salt, pepper, and paprika. Blend the corn starch with a tablespoon of water until completely dissolved. Stir into the potato soup and cook until thickened to the consistency you desire.

Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the sour cream and shredded cheese. Stir until melted and smooth. Taste and add more salt if needed.

To serve, ladle soup into each bowl. Place a dollop of sour cream in the center. Top with bacon, dill, chives, and a sprinkling of salt and pepper.