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  • Wendell's Potato Soup

    1 vote
    Wendell's Potato Soup
    Prep time:
    Cook time:
    Servings: 4
    by Wendell Smith
    2 recipes
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    Back 16, plus or minus a year or two, years ago we were returning to our home in Jackson, MS from a short beach vacation to Orange Beach, AL. (We have now moved down here. Not to Orange Beach itself, but just a short 15 to 18 minute drive to the beautiful white sand beaches of Gulf Shores and Orange Beach.) On or way home we stopped at a restaurants named Chesterfields in Hattiesburg, MS. It was located at the intersection of US-98 and Hardy Street, across from the University of Southern Mississippi. Chesterfields was very popular place to eat. A couple of years later it burned and there is a chain drug store in that location now. For lunch I had soup and sandwich which included a cup of the best potato soup that I had ever eaten. I asked for the recipe, but came away with only a smile from our female wait person. Once I arrived home I started trying to develop a recipe for the soup and came up with one that while not quite as good was very good and have been cooking that recipe every since. Chesterfields stayed closed for a few years, but has risen from the ashes and rebuilt just west of I-59 (also US-98 bypass) again on Hardy Street. We passed through Hattiesburg a couple days before Christmas and made it a point to stop at the new Chesterfields for lunch. Again we had a cup of the soup and it was so much better than what I had been making the last few years that I was almost ashamed. Today I modified my recipe and now have a soup that I would be happy to serve even to the folks that cook the potato soup at Chesterfields. I think that adding the onion and cooking the potatoes and onion in chicken stork is what made the big difference.

    Ingredients

    • 2-3 Baking Potatoes, medium to large, or enough to make a little more than 3 Cups
    • 1/3 Cup Onion, finely diced
    • Chicken Broth, about 2 cups or a little less, just enough to cover the Potatoes
    • 5 Tablespoons Butter, divide into one 2 Tablespoons and one 3 Tablespoons pieces
    • 3 Tablespoons Milk
    • 3 Tablespoons Flour
    • 2 Cups Milk
    • 1 Cup Chicken Broth, reserved from cooking the Potatoes
    • 6-8 Tablespoons Cheddar Cheese, grated
    • 2-3 Tablespoons Ham, diced into 1/8 inch cubes
    • Salt and Fresh Ground Black Pepper to Taste
    • TOPPINGS FOR SOUP
    • Crumbled Bacon, about 1 tablespoon per serving
    • Chopped Chives, about 1 teaspoon per serving
    • Grated Cheddar Cheese, about 1 tablespoon per serving

    Directions

    1. Peel and dice Potatoes in to 1/2 inch cubes. Place Potatoes and Onions in a medium to large sauce pan cover with Chicken Broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook for about 12 to 15 minutes or until the Potatoes are fork tender. Drain reserving the Chicken Broth in which the Potatoes were cooked. Remove 1/4 of the Potatoes to a small bowl. Add 2 Tablespoons Butter to the remaining Potatoes and mash with a potato masher much like making mashed Potatoes. Add three tablespoons of Milk and finish mashing the Potatoes.
    2. In a separate sauce pan make a medium white sauce by melting the remaining 3 tablespoons of Butter over medium heat. Add the Flour and whisk until the Butter and Flour are well blended. Cook over medium heat for 2 to 3 minutes, Add the 2 cups of Milk and continue to stir until the mixture starts to get thick. Add the cup of Reserved Chicken Broth and 3 tablespoons of Grated Cheese. Continue to stir until the Cheese has melted. Add the diced Ham and stir to mix. Add the cooked diced Potatoes that were reserved and stir until the soup is nice and thick. Add the Salt and Fresh Ground Black Pepper to taste.
    3. Ladle the soup into either soup cups or small bowls. Add the toppings to the soup and serve with fresh Saltine crackers.

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