Star's Baked Potato Soup

[treeskin]

Star's Baked Potato Soup
Saved off of Star's lj back in Oct 2005.

Makes about 2 gallons

Bake 8-10 pounds potatoes
wash and lightly coat with olive oil and sea salt, prick with a fork and bake @ 350 for an hour

chop one lb of bacon (I like hickory smoked) in sixths and cook
remove bacon and drain on paper towels
add one medium onion, finely chopped, to the bacon drippings and cook until well done.

while the potatoes are cooling...
in a LARGE pot mix together the following
1 QT heavy whipping cream
1 QT sour cream
1 can Cream of Mushroom soup
1 cup excellent chardonnay
1/2 lb butter
1/2 lb mozzarella cheese - grated
1 T salt
2 t pepper
1 t granulated garlic
the bacon and the onion including all the bacon grease

cut the potatoes length-wise and scoop out the pulp into the pot. heat on low until nice and hot. if it's too thick, thin with milk.

I prefer to serve it in the potato skins, but bowls work just as well.

toppings:
chopped gr onion
sliced mushrooms
grated cheddar cheese
more bacon, if desired

serve with crusty bread, and the rest of the chardonnay ;-)