Is there anything cozier than being home for the holidays? Yes: a pot of Bin Vivant chef Scott Lents’s creamy comfort soup.

Leek and Potato Soup
Serves eight

Ingredients
1 tbsp. butter
2 bunches leeks, sliced thin crosswise
1 sprig fresh thyme
3 russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks
2 c. vegetable stock
Salt and pepper to taste
2 c. cream
½ c. goat cheese

1. Melt the butter in a heavy casserole dish or stockpot.

2. Add leeks and thyme. Cook over low heat until soft.

3. Add potatoes and vegetable stock.

4. Season with salt and pepper.

5. When the potatoes are soft, add cream and bring to a boil.

6. Transfer contents to a blender in batches and carefully blend until smooth. (Make sure to cover the blender lid with a kitchen towel.)

7. Add goat cheese to the last batch of soup to be blended.

8. Strain soup to remove lumps.

9. Add more salt and pepper if needed. If soup is too thick, thin with water.

10. Garnish with lemon zest and lobster meat. Other possible garnishes are black truffles or sliced smoked duck.

11. Pair with a chardonnay (Bin Vivant wine tender, Yashar Shayan, suggests the 2006 Buty from Columbia Valley).

12. Prepare for things to get steamy.

Need to get away? Visit Bin Vivant, 1200 Carillon Point, Kirkland (425-803-5595 or thewoodmark.com).