The quest for the perfect potato soup began almost two years ago...in this embarrassing blog post where I was still at the mercy of my point and shoot camera. Since that post, I never made homemade potato soup again, but did sample potato soup from practically every chain restaurant on the East Coast (thanks boyfriend.)
I decided that with the crisp weather and my somewhat improved photography skills, this weekend would be a perfect time to try a different potato soup recipe. I browsed the internet for so many potato soup recipes, and was struggling between a copy-cat chain restaurant recipe, and Paula Deen's southern potato soup recipe, and ultimately sided with the Queen of Southern Cooking. I am so glad I did. The soup was better than any restaurant's I've had, and was full of bacon AND cheese...what more could a girl ask for?
P.S. Don't forget that we're giving away an Anthropologie apron! Click here if you'd like to enter!
What you'll need:
For the soup...
1 1/2 sticks butter
1 medium onion, diced
1/2 cup flour
3 14.5 ounce cans chicken broth
5 potatoes (baked, peeled, and diced into bite-sized pieces)
8 strips cooked bacon
1 teaspoon dried parsley
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
8 ounces sour cream
1 cup sharp cheddar cheese, grated
For the garnish...
6 strips bacon, cooked and crumbled
1 bunch scallions, diced
1/2 cup sharp cheddar cheese
In a large pot, melt butter over low heat, taking care not to burn. Add in onions, and cook until tender. Add in flour, and stir constantly for one minute. Gradually add the chicken broth, continue to stir. Heat until the mixture has thickened and is bubbling. Next, add in potatoes, bacon, parsley, and heavy cream. Continue to cook for ten minutes. Stir in sour cream and cheese. Before serving, garnish with bacon, scallions, and more cheese if desired.
Today marks the two year blogiversary of A Bitchin' Kitchen!!!
Annie and I are so tremendously appreciative of each and every one of our readers, and we want to thank you all for your visits, comments, and support by doing a celebratory giveaway today!
We bought the above apron from Anthropologie a few months ago in anticipation of our blogiversary. It is so cute that I have been tempted to take it for myself numerous times, but I have managed to resist! It is even more adorable in person than the picture depicts. Annie and I both love fun aprons, and actually gave each other aprons for gifts back at Christmas 2009:
The Rules and Other Important Things:
- There are two ways to enter, both listed below. You must leave a separate comment for each entry, and you may only enter each way once.
- The contest is over at 11:59 p.m. EST on Monday, November 28, 2011. The comment section will be closed at that time, and the winner will be notified Tuesday morning.
- I will be using Random.org to determine the winner. I will contact the winner, and they must respond within 72 hours or they will forfeit the prize and I will draw an alternate winner. After contact with the winner has been made, we will formally announce it here.
- We love our readers from all over the world, but we can only ship to the United States and Canada.
- This contest is sponsored by A Bitchin' Kitchen. Much to our dismay, Anthropologie does not know who we are.
- Last, and most importantly: I cannot see what your email address is when you comment, even if you're using a Blogger account. Please be sure to include an email address in the body of your comment, or a link to your blog (if you have one) if contact information is easily accessible on there.
How to Enter:
Required Entry:
- Leave a comment on this post telling me your plans for Thanksgiving, or what you did for Thanksgiving if you're entering after the holiday. If you don't celebrate, just say hello, or say I like turtles, or tell me a fun fact about yourself!
Optional Bonus Entry:
- "Like" us on Facebook, and come back and leave a comment letting us know that you did. If you already like us, just let us know!
Thanks in advance for entering, and if any of these rules are unclear please shoot us an email and we'll clear things up!
I made this pumpkin pie cake two Friday nights ago. Jeff was over, and we decided to stay in instead of going to a late movie as planned. He was exhausted, and I was having flashbacks to the two previous, very, very bad times Jeff and I saw a movie together.
Back in April, Jeff and I went to see Scream 4 in Chinatown. You'd think that a rated R movie at dinnertime would be full of other adults, right? Well, you'd be wrong. The theater was full of loud teenagers, and every other seat was illuminated by a cell phone screen. Worst of all, during the pivotal scene of the movie, two young girls "snuck" in (I use quotation marks because the word "snuck" inaccurately implies that they were quiet) and one of them proceeds to call up a friend, and asks the friend to catch her up on the first hour of the movie that she missed.
Well, I was not about to let that happen. I didn't wait 11 years to find out Sidney Prescott's ultimate fate to have it ruined by a cell phone conversation. The girl on the cell phone was probably not even eating solid food when the first Scream movie came out. After politely asking her to hang up the phone twice, a scene similar to this ensued, with me being Dr. Evil, and rude cell phone girl being Scott Evil.
Of course, this was nearly as disruptive as her cell phone conversation. In hindsight, I kind of wish I'd had the cojones to pry her cell phone away and hurl it at the wall.
Nearly six months went by without Jeff and I seeing another movie together. He was probably afraid I'd go ballistic on another rude movie patron.
Last month we decided to see Paranormal Activity 3. We both loved the first two, and were unwilling to wait for the DVD. This time we ventured out to a theater in the 'burbs, where I fully expected a more adult clientele.
I was wrong. There was a group of about 15 teenagers in the front row of the theater, who were talking, texting, and only paying attention to the movie for the purpose of providing loud, inane, commentary throughout the entire thing. It was awful, and it completely ruined the movie. People near them were shushing them the entire time which didn't help. No one seemed to want to go get a theater employee and risk missing part of the movie.
Anyway, as I mentioned before I went on my rambling tangent about rude movie theater patrons, I made this pumpkin pie cake last Friday, in lieu of going to a movie with Jeff. After our lazy night in on Friday, we decided to risk it and head to the movie on Saturday instead. We both wanted to see the Harold and Kumar 3D Christmas movie. I am now sensing that our immature taste in movies may be part of the problem. Anyway...it was glorious. We were two of about 20 people in the entire theater - 20 people who remained silent throughout the entire movie except for laughter.
As happy as I am that our terrible movie going streak is over, I'm even happier that we stayed in Friday night and got to eat this. This is super quick to throw together, thanks to the inclusion of a cake mix, and is extremely delicious warm from the oven, or chilled. To compensate for using a cake mix as the base, I made the whipped cream from scratch. If you want to do the same, just use an electric mixer to beat 1 cup of whipping cream with 2 1/2 tablespoons of granulated sugar for about 3 minutes on medium high, or until stiff peaks form. Easy peasy, and better than Cool Whip!
This recipe is a great Thanksgiving dessert if you want to deviate from the traditional pumpkin pie. It also makes a yummy breakfast. Don't judge, you know you want this for breakfast too.
Unrelated announcement: To celebrate A Bitchin' Kitchen's 2-year blogiversary, we're having our first giveaway here on Thursday! Make sure to come back and enter!
Here's what you'll need:
1 box yellow cake mix
3/4 cup softened butter, divided
4 large eggs
2 15-ounce cans pumpkin
1 1/2 cup sugar, divided
2/3 cup evaporated milk
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 cup chopped pecans
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 13 x 9 inch baking pan. Remove 1 cup of the cake mix from the box, and set aside.
In a large bowl, beat remaining cake mix, 1/2 cup of the butter, and 1 egg. Evenly press into the prepared pan. In the same bowl, beat the pumpkin, the 3 remaining eggs, 1 cup of the sugar, the evaporated milk, and cinnamon. Pour mixture over crust. Using the same bowl (wipe it out first if necessary) combine the reserved cake mix, 1/2 cup sugar, and 1/4 cup butter with a pastry blender until crumbly. Sprinkle evenly over the pumpkin filling. Sprinkle the pecans on top. Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until filling is set. If you want to eat it warm, cool for at least 30 minutes before cutting into it. Serve with whipped cream!
