Get Your Irish (And Cajun) On - Potato and Leek Soup with Andouille Sausage

Yes, actual present. It's growing on me although
it has a slight odor of cheap Chinese acrylic. Petal
wants it badly, but I'm not caving.

Soup season continues....sunny San Diego has been downright frosty the past few days. If temps duck below 50 degrees, our placid infrastructure just shuts down. Why risk being outdoors in that condition? Best to stay in and cook something! And cuddle up with the Hello Kitty snuggie you received for Christmas, watching a Jane Austen movie marathon.

Dad made very good potato soup, simple and tasty, but his baby girl likes to kick it up a notch. So in homage to the original Kick It Up A Notch guy, Emeril Lagasse, we present Potato and Leek Soup with Andouille Sausage. I miss the days of the early Food Network, when Emeril had a couple of shows and it wasn't taken over by Paula Deen wanna-bees and silly contests.

Mangia!

Potato and Leek Soup with Andouille Sausage

12 oz. andouille sausage, sliced into 1/4" pieces
2 tbsp. butter
3 tbsp. olive oil
3 leeks, cleaned, halved, white and a little of the green parts sliced thinly
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
Red pepper flakes, to taste
2 bay leaves
2 lbs. scrubbed yellow potatoes, cut into 1/2" chunks
5 cups chicken stock
1/2 cup half and half
Salt and pepper

Brown the sausage in 1 tbsp. oil over medium heat. Transfer to bowl.  Add the remaining oil and butter and saute the leeks and onions until translucent. Add garlic, red pepper and bay leaves, and cook for another couple of minutes.

Add potatoes, stock and sausage, and simmer until potatoes are tender, about 20 minutes. Taste and adjust seasoning and add half and half. Garnish with chopped green onions. Serve with crusty bread and wine in front of a roaring fire. Or warm glowing telly.