Cover the potatoes just barely with water and add salt to taste (usually about a teaspoon). Bring to a medium boil, cover just a bit to keep all of the water from steaming away. You want some reduction of liquid, say by 20%. When the potatoes are tender and cooked through, taste the water. If it tastes too weak and doesn't look a bit starchy, reduce for a few minutes with a rolling boil on high heat. You should have something that looks like lumpy mashed potatoes with too much water. Add the rest of the ingredients and heat them until well mixed and heated through. Add milk until you get the desired consistency. Some people like thicker soup, some don't. Garnish with bacon bits, parsley, fresh ground pepper is must. You can reserve some of the cheese for topping as well.
This converts to "baked potato" soup by substituting sour cream for heavy cream. Jazz up the fresh ground pepper a bit if you choose this option.
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