Creamy Brussels Sprout Soup with Bacon

This started as a craving for butter beans although I'm not entirely sure why. They weren't in season, there were no limas or fava beans or anything similar I could find in the local Von's that was fresh so I began hunting the frozen aisle. Finally on the shelf I saw a tag for frozen limas but the space above it was blank. My eyes combed the shelves in frustration and I came upon Select brand frozen baby brussels sprouts and felt slightly intrigued. I went back to the fresh department and looked over their assortment of fresh brussels but they were all quite large and dry in appearance so I went back and snatched 2 bags of the frozen baby cabbages.

I've never made a brussels sprout soup but felt a need to try. I had a huge bag of uncured bacon ends I bought at our local health food store and that combination seemed right. If you don't have a Lassen's and can't find this product, first look for a natural, nitrate-free bacon.

Ingredients:
6 Strips of Uncured or Nitrate-Free Bacon
1 Frozen Bag of Baby Brussels Sprouts
1 Small or 1/2 Large onion cut lengthwise with the grain so it's in strips
2 Cups of Filtered Water
2-4 Cups of Milk or Rice Dream or Chicken Stock
1 tsp. Sea Salt
1/2 tsp. Cracked Black Pepper

Over medium heat in a heavy-bottom sauté pan cook the bacon and onions together. Watch them closely and keep stirring them with a wooden spoon until the bacon is cooked and the onions are starting to turn golden. Turn off the heat and carefully remove 3 strips of 4 strips of bacon from the pot, and put them on a paper towel to drain. Then add 2 cups of water and your frozen brussels sprouts, stir and cover. Cook this mixture on medium for 10 minutes.

Turn off heat and remove 2 cups of brussels sprout mixture, put on a chopping board and roughly chop. Take the rest of the mixture and blend in small batches until smooth. Return all the brussel sprouts to the pot and add the 2 cups of milk or chicken stock. Stir and add seasonings to taste. If you want a thinner soup, add more liquid. When you serve, take the remaining bacon strips and crumble on top of soup.

Other additions: White pepper, cayenne flakes, mustard powder may all be used sparingly but go slowly with these! Each takes a while to really 'appear' in full flavor in your dish and you might overdo!

God Bless Haagen-Dazs

Hail and jubilation, I've been sampling one of the new HD feature flavors and two of their limited flavors. What a tough tough job! HD released their ad campaign for two of their flavors over a year ago in magazines and I've been looking for them in stores ever since. Finally I found them AND some other amazing surprises.

This weekend called for :::drum-roll:::::: Banana Split, Caramelized Pear & Roasted Pecan, and Mayan Chocolate. I barely controlled myself enough to leave the Belgian Chocolate behind on the shelf but I wanted one of me to be writing this review rather than two. Besides...is it fair to pit the Belgique ice cream against that of a lost civilization? Sacrilege!

First the Banana Split ~~ I've had several varieties of Banana Split ice-cream but this is by far my favorite brand of it. Well actually Haagen-Dazs is my favorite ice cream brand period but especially in this flavor. The creamy, rich banana and whipped cream ice-cream has large swaths of rich fudge ribbons throughout it and bits of marchino cherries and strawberries. Often a banana split ice-cream doesn't have enough chocolate to keep me interested and the banana-flavored ice-cream is quite weak. Not so with H.D., the banana/cream ice-cream is almost even pungent and aromatically strong in banana flavor but mellowed by the cream and the rich, fudgy chocolate is the highlight. The small pieces of frozen banana really just add texture for me while the fruity marchino and red-berry strawberry flavors make it come alive.

Next Caramelized Pear and Roasted Pecan: This ice-cream won Gourmet Magazine's flavor search award by beating out 4,999 other flavors. It's pear ice-cream with chunks of caramelized pears and toasted pecans. First, the pear ice-cream is advertised as a "deep pear flavor" and it is but there is more to it. The more I eat of this ice-cream, the more I also taste an almost sour cream or buttermilk flavor. And there is that small, grit of pear to it also which gives it tooth and texture. The pear chunks are icy and the roasted pecan loses part of its natural crunch in the freezing process but still has a good texture from the freezing.

Finally the Mayan Chocolate. Oh how long have I waited to come across it in stores! First tastes: mmmm rich, chocolate ice-cream then....is it getting richer? It was. There are also fudge swirls in it. Next -- a cinnamon finish -- almost to the point of leaving a bit of fire in the back of my throat. You don't need much and I tend to eat this in small spoonfuls than many ice-cream flavors but it is that rich and flavorful.

Perhaps the most interesting point to make is how these ice-creams have changed or mellowed as I've left them in the freezer and tasted them again--not so much the banana split, it has remained virtually the same. But the Pear Pecan ice-cream got a little more sour and the Mayan Chocolate, a bit less spicy and the texture of it changed from being so so creamy to almost tasting more like a chocolate ice.

Finally, I recommend trying ALL of these flavors and I recommend a tasting party with a spoon of each in small bowls for your friends. I would personally start with the Banana Split, move on to the Pear Pecan and finish with the Mayan Chocolate. Give them a couple of minutes on the counter to come to the right consistency before serving and voila!! A perfectly exotic dessert with a unique balance of flavors!