Thinking Soup Outside the Bowl

Every year Mr.F. and I throw a cocktail party for Festivus, and every year I serve 10 to 12 fairly labour intensive appetizers. I fall into the trap of too much time in the kitchen and not enough time with my guests. To correct this problem, I planned only a few appetizers and a full buffet style meal. I just needed to come up with a few apps. served in a really creative way.

We had attended a wedding back around Thanksgiving and one of the courses was a Pumpkin and Squash soup served in oversized shot glasses. I loved the presentation! Simple and different.

I found a recipe in Food Network Magazine by Ted Allen that was for White Bean soup with Bacon and he actually served it in shot glasses so I knew it would work.

White Bean Soup Shooters with Bacon

2 strips bacon diced and divided
1 tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon butter

2 shallots chopped

2 15 oz cans cannellini beans - drained and rinsed

6 fresh sage leaves

4 cloves garlic chopped

3 cups low sodium chicken broth

1/2 cup heavy cream

Kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)

ground black pepper

Brie or goat cheese

Fry 1/2 of the bacon in a medium sauce pan, over medium heat until halfway done (3 min.) Add olive oil, butter and shallots, saute until soft (6 min.) add the beans, sage, garlic and broth. Bring to a simmer and cook for 15 min more.

Transfer the soup to a blender or food processor in batches. Puree until smooth. WARNING : Hot items tend to explode when whipped so do this in SMALL batches or give yourself an extra 45 min. and let it cool before blending.

Return the soup to the sauce pan and stir in the cream, cayenne and salt to taste. If you let the soup cool, bring it back up to a simmer, reduce heat and stir in the cream, cayenne and salt. Cook off the remaining diced bacon to be used as a garnish

I used a turkey baster to get the soup into the shot glasses, the ladle I had was too big and messy. Garnish with the cheese, pepper and bacon and serve!

Now the recipe I used as a guide, garnished the soup with 3/4 inch croutons smeared with goat cheese. Since goat cheese is not my favorite, I opted to use and herbed Brie and rather than use a crouton, which seemed a bit bulky for a shot glass, I used diced bacon.

The results were wonderful. My guests were wowed by the presentation, the brie in the hot soup gave it an additional creaminess and of course you can't go wrong with more bacon.

This recipe can easily be adjusted for Vegetarians. Just replace the chicken stock with vegetable stock and you can use a small amount of a product called "liquid smoke" in place of the bacon.

The Rise and Fall of Bacon Mashed Potatoes

On the Sunday before Thanksgiving, we gather with friends to do what has become known as "Thanksgiving Run Thru". This is this a great opportunity to see as many of our friends as possible, and the leftover potential is awesome.

We also get chance to try out new recipes before serving them to our families at the big event. My addition to the menu was Bacon Mashed Potatoes and I have to say that they were just "good". I used a recipe from Food Network's 50 Mashed Potatoes booklet and it had me drooling in anticipation, but left me wanting more once we made them.

Bacon Mashed Potatoes:

2 lbs. Yukon golds or russets

1/2 stick of butter

1 cup hot milk

1/2 lb. chopped bacon

2-4 tablespoons bacon drippings

salt & pepper

Cover 2 lbs of whole potatoes with cold water; simmer 45 minutes.

Cook bacon until crisp then chop. Retain 2 - 4 tablespoons of drippings. Set bacon and drippings aside.

When potatoes are fork tender (stick a fork into one, if it goes in easily, they are done) drain, peel and add butter, milk, bacon drippings and 3/4 of the chopped bacon and mash until smooth and fluffy. Season with salt & pepper to taste. Put into a bowl and garnish with the rest of the bacon.

I made my dish with the Yukon golds which I happen to prefer over the russets. I find the russets to be a bit grainy. Since I was timing the dish around the standing time of the deep fried turkey, I cut the potatoes into cubes to have them cook faster and left the skins on as well. I ended up adding almost a full stick of butter and an extra tablespoon of the drippings. I used a hand masher rather than a hand mixer to keep a bit of texture (read as "slightly lumpy") although either method will work when mashing.

The end product was less than stellar. The flavor just was not there. I expected the salty smokey bacon and the creamy butter to blend into a mouthwatering delight that would have me undoing my belt and loading up the seconds, but alas no. So needless to say we had regular mashed on Thanksgiving. Since we all know everything is better with bacon, I plan on trying this dish again and tweaking the ingredients a bit to hopefully get better results.

Who knows, maybe a thick cut maple bacon, peeled potatoes and a hand mixer will do the trick.

The Bad Boy of the Culinary World-Anthony Bourdain

Last week, Mr. F and I went to see Anthony Bourdain at the Buell Theater. For those of you who do not know who he is, he is the Bad Boy of the culinary world--cigarette smoking, rot gut swigging, rock and roller. When he is traveling, he eats what the locals eat and drinks what the locals drink, and usually in great quantities. For example, he once famously ate a cobra heart, as detailed by his television show, yet he prefers not to talk about it.

After reading several of his books, and watching No Reservations on the Travel channel, I knew I had a good idea of what I was in for. What a good show! Bourdain is very entertaining and funny, although he sometimes can be a bit crass. As a fan, I would have liked to see him in his standard Ramones tee but the one he was wearing was from a local joint so I won't be too hard on him.

He talked about what he wants to do next, now that the Food Network has purchased the Travel Channel. His main thoughts at this time revolve around spending time with his 2-year-old daughter and eventually living in Italy. Bourdain commented negatively on a few topics: Food Network stars Rachel Ray, Sandra Lee, and the Food Network (not surprisingly) in particular. He complimented Denver on its beer selection. To sum up what I learned: he has a high opinion of Vietnam and a low opinion of vegetarians. He encourages sustainability, although he is not sure of the best way to go about it. If there was only one tuna left in the world, he admitted he would eat it.

Bourdain related well to this audience, which seemed to consist mostly of the rank and file of the restaurant industry. The audience was fun and raucous at times, with cheers and applause breaking out frequently, due to his wit, and stories about his extensive travels. The members of the audience who participated in the Q & A were clearly fans who asked questions specific to his books and television shows. Bourdain seemed to enjoy himself, and at one point commented on how much he was enjoying the questions (especially the ones about the various countries he has been to). I heartily suggest you check out "Kitchen Confidential" or put the No Reservations series on your Netflix list and find out for yourself why Anthony Bourdain should be a staple in your diet.

(photo courtesy of TV.Com)