Canadian Chowder aka Great White North Chowder

A wise man once said "All good homemade soups should have bacon and beer in them!" and I couldn't agree more.  This delicious soup comes from a good friend of mine, Jason Gordon who has his priorities straight when it comes to selecting fine ingredients for a soup!  While I am a huge fan of beers from the UK this recipe is Canadian all the way so stock up on some Molson's, some Canadian Bacon and don't forget the flavourful Old Cheddar ... Jason used Wilton Old White Cheddar and I couldn't be happier with his selection!  The quantities are vague as Jason was going from memory so play around as you go but don't deviate from the Canadian flavour trifecta ... Beer, Bacon, Cheese

Ingredients
1-2 lbs of thick cut Canadian Back Bacon cut into 1" pieces
4 large white potatoes peeled and cubed
3/4 of a large butternut squash, peeled and cubed
2 leeks chopped, but not too fine
1/4 cup of butter
4-6 cans of chicken broth or 1L carton
2 Bottles of Canadian Beer (Molson)
500ml of heavy cream
Shredded Old White Cheddar (from the Wilton Cheese Factory of course)
Salt and Pepper to taste

Open the first bottle of beer and enjoy while preparing the soup
Add the back bacon to a large stock pot and cook covered until it is cooked half way, drain off excess grease (a little is ok but not too much)
Add potatoes, butternut squash, leeks, butter, salt and pepper to the pot and cover.  Do not add liquid yet just let the steam do the work until the potatoes start to soften (approximately 10 minutes)
Add the chicken broth and the other bottle of beer .... assuming you didn't drink it yet, and bring to a boil, let it roll for 5-10 minutes until potatoes are soft.
As it is boiling, stir in the cream a little at a time until the soup begins to thicken, depending on amounts of ingredients used it may take the whole carton but usually you only need about 3/4 of it.
Once the cream has been added allow the soup to simmer for at least 15 minutes on a low temperature ... the longer the better ... have another beer while you wait!
Ladle into bowls and top with fresh ground pepper and a pile of Canadian Cheddar Cheese!
Enjoy your soup "Eh"!