This is Jaques Pepin's version....I do pretty well what he does....but don't puree and don't chill....just stir in the cup of cream. Sometimes I use milk and add a 3 oz package of cream cheese......did that once when I didn't have any cream.....and now I add cream cheese to a lot of creamed soups.

Jacques Version:
2 tablespoons canola or corn oil
4 cups sliced leeks, trimmed and rinsed
1 1/2 cups sliced onion, 1 inch pieces
6 cups hot chicken broth, homemade or low sodium canned broth
4 cups peeled, diced potatoes, 2 inch chunks
Salt to taste
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Heat the oil in the saucepan, stir in the leek and onion pieces and saute for 5 minuts, over moderate heat to soften.
Add the chicken stock and potato chunks, and season with salt to taste and the pepper. Bring the soup to a boil over high heat, cover the pan, and adjust the heat to maintain a gentle boil. Cook for about 20 mintues, until the potatoes are tender.
Mash, blend or puree to the desired consistency and adjust the seasonings. Serve the soup right away or set aside until serving time. To make Vichyssoise: Puree the soup base through a food mill or other applliance then chill thoroughly. Before serving stir in 1/2 cup to 1 cup heavy cream or a mixture of cream and milk, and a tablespoon or two of chives. and adjust the seasoning. Sprinkle more chopped chives over each serving.

This one is excellent from Williams Sonoma.

Leek and Potato Soup

Ingredients:
1 lb. leeks (about 3 medium)
2 Tbs. unsalted butter
1 lb. baking potatoes, peeled and cubed
2 carrots, peeled and sliced
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
1/4 cup heavy cream if serving hot or 1/2 cup
cream if serving cold
4 thin lemon slices
Fresh chives for garnish

Directions:
Trim the leeks, leaving about 1 inch of the tender green portions, then rinse them. Cut crosswise into slices 1/2 inch thick.

In a large saucepan over medium-low heat, melt the butter. When foaming, add the leeks and sauté, stirring occasionally, until they have wilted a little, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the potatoes and carrots, then add water just to cover the vegetables. Increase the heat to medium and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer, uncovered, until the vegetables are tender when pierced with the tip of a knife, about 30 minutes.

Fit a food mill with the medium disk and set the mill over a large bowl. Using a ladle or a large spoon and working in batches, transfer the cooked vegetables and their liquid to the food mill and turn the handle to puree.

If serving the soup hot, return the pureed vegetables to the saucepan and season with salt and pepper. Set the saucepan over medium-low heat, stir in the 1/4 cup cream and heat to just under a boil. Add a little water if the puree is too thick. Taste and adjust the seasonings.

Ladle into warmed bowls and float a lemon slice on top of each serving. Using scissors, cut the chives into pieces 1/4 inch long and sprinkle the chives on the lemon slices. Serve immediately.

If serving the soup cold, do not return the puree to the saucepan. Instead, cover the bowl and refrigerate the puree until well chilled. When ready to serve, season with salt and pepper and stir in the 1/2 cup cream, mixing well. Taste and adjust the seasonings.

Ladle into chilled bowls. Float a lemon slice on top of each serving and garnish with the chives as directed above.

I use the same recipe as LindaC, but I usually do not puree nor do I add the cream. (I would love to add the cream, but I've got to cut back where I can.) It is a yummy recipe either with or without cream and pureed or chunky.

This is one of my most favourite soup recipes and one I serve often ( maybe too often!) to guests. Absolutely delish!

Potato, Leek And Stilton Soup

1 Tbsp butter
1 shallot chopped finely
1 cup leeks thinly sliced ( I only use the white and a wee bit of the green)
1 cup potato diced
2 cups chicken stock
1 to 1 1/2 cups cream
salt and pepper to taste
pinch nutmeg
few drops lemon juice
2 oz Stilton or other blue cheese

Melt butter, add shallot and leek cooking until soft but not browned.

Heat the chicken stock and add to the leeks, add the potatoes. Cook until potatoes are just tender. Cool and puree in the food processor. Separately heat and reduce the cream. Stir in the blended leek mixture.
Bring to a gentle boil. Add seasonings and lemon juice.

Pour into bowls and top each with 1/2 ounce crumbled Stilton. ( I add the cheese to the actual soup with the lemon juice and seasonings)

I make my potato leek soup similarly to chase's recipe but with less cream.

Melt the leeks in butter, add the potatoes and enough chicken stock to cover plus a couple of inches. Simmer until the potatoes are falling apart. Then put the leeks and potatoes in a blender, add some but not necessarily all of the stock, and puree. Adding the stock carefully allows you to get the right consistency - thick or thin as you wish. Save the un-used stock for something else. Return the puree to the pot, mix in cream or half & half, salt, white pepper, and butter to taste. Also add horseradish, wasabi, or hot sauce - a drop at a time - for just a hint of heat, this is otherwise sometimes a bland soup. Before serving, strain soup through a fine-meshed sieve or chinoise or cheesecloth, to get a completely smooth texture. Garnish each bowl with a single curl of parsley.

Ah...I knew there would be some great options here!

As much as I love the sound of the Stilton recipe I just cannot bring myself to like blue cheese. I have tried it in so many things and just don't like it. but I like feta....go figure...

Well, I have everything I need so I'll probably take a little from all of these recipes. Hoping to make it on Saturday. The weather is warm here now but is supposed to take a turn for the worse after tomorrow.

Thanks all!

Linda