Baked Potato Soup a la Station Square

Several years ago while visiting Station Square in Pittsburgh, I had lunch at a restaurant there.  One of their signature appetizers was their baked potato soup.  If you go there, the restaurant still exists and they still serve this delicious soup.  Here is my version of that soup.

Ingredients:

4 large potatoes
12 strips bacon (reserve ½ c. for garnish)
4 green onions
2/3 c. butter
2/3 c. flour
7 c. milk
1¼ c. shredded cheddar cheese (½ c. additional for garnish)
1 c. sour cream
salt and pepper to taste
chives

Rinse potatoes under cold water and dry with a paper towel.  Poke the skins with a sharp instrument.  Place them on an ungreased baking sheet and put in a 400º oven and bake for 45 minutes to an hour, or until the potatoes are soft.  Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely.

In a skillet, fry 12 strips of bacon.  Remove from pan and drain on a paper towel.  Once cooled, crumble or cut into small pieces and set aside.

 

Once the potatoes have cooled, slice them in half and scoop the potato out into a bowl.  Discard skins.  Roughly chop the potatoes into bite-sized pieces.

 

In a large dutch oven, melt butter and sauté green onions until tender.  Add flour.  Using a whisk, stir until all of the flour has been absorbed into the butter. Simmer for approximately 3-4 minutes, to eliminate the raw flour taste.

 

Begin slowly adding the milk.  Turn heat up to medium and stir constantly until the sauce is thickened.

Add the chopped potato and slowly bring to a boil, stirring constantly.

 

 
Reduce heat and stir in the cheese, sour cream, salt and pepper, and bacon (except for the half cup reserved).  Simmer for an additional 5-10 minutes before serving.  If the soup is too thick for your taste, you can thin it with additional milk.

Serve in a bowl and garnish with reserved bacon, cheese and chives.

Pasta Aglio e Olio with Mushrooms

We've enjoyed this dish at several of our favorite restaurants, yet I've never made it myself.  After researching several recipes, I've come up with my own version.  It's easy, delicious and I hope you will like it!

Ingredients:
2 bell pepper
½ large sweet onion
1 c. mushrooms
1-2 cloves garlic
8 basil leaves
12 oz. pasta of your choice
4 Italian sausages (hot or sweet)
pinch of red pepper flakes
1-2 c. reserved pasta water
2 T. olive oil (you will use a little more, throughout)
1 T. butter

Parmigiano reggiano or Parmesan cheese
salt and pepper, to taste


Useful tip: I like to pre-boil my sausage to remove some of the grease.  This is optional, but it makes for a leaner and less greasy dish.

 

 
In a small pot, add 2 qts. of cold water and bring to a boil.  With a fork, pierce the casings of the sausages.  Place them in the boiling water and cook for approximately 5 minutes.  Remove to a plate and set aside to cool.  Discard water.

Wash and rinse the bell peppers and remove seeds.  Slice into thin strips.  Using half of a sweet (vidalia) onion, slice thinly and set aside.  Coarsely chop mushrooms and set aside.  Peel 1-2 cloves or garlic and slice thinly.  Wash basil leaves and dry thoroughly.  Cut into thin strips.

Bring 2 qts. of salted water with 1 T. oil to a boil.  Add pasta.  In this demonstration we used farfalle, but you can use any pasta of your choice.

 

 

 
In a skillet, add 1 T. butter and 2 T. olive oil over medium high heat.  Add peppers and onions.  Season with salt and pepper and sauté until vegetables are soft.  Add garlic and mushrooms and continue cooking until all vegetables are tender.

Add a pinch of hot pepper flakes.  Cut the sausages into small slices and add to the skillet.  Continue to sauté until the sausage is thoroughly cooked.  Add basil.  Allow to simmer.

Reserve 1½ c. pasta water, then drain in a colander.  This water will be used to thin the sauce.

 

Add pasta to the skillet along with enough reserved pasta water to thin the sauce.  Drizzle approximately 3-4 T. olive oil.  Stir until combined.

Serve with freshly grated parmigiano reggiano cheese.

Yields 4-6 servings.