Amber’s White Bean, Bacon, and Rosemary Soup

I spent the better part of 7 years in the south. While I try to lead a healthy lifestyle, I’ll admit, I have a penchant for bacon. There is just something about it -- I’ve always liked it, but it is amazing for infusing flavor. Oh lard, how wonderful you are. This soup uses the touch of bacon to go the extra mile. My friend Amber introduced me to it back in my Vicksburg days. This is my version of her version of the White Bean and Bacon soup that was originally published in Food and Wine.

Ingredients
½ lb bacon
Olive oil, as needed
1 celery heart, coarsely chopped
¾ bag of baby carrots, coarsely chopped
1 medium sweet onion, coarsely chopped
1 carton chicken stock
2 cans canellini beans, drained and rinsed
Rosemary
Thyme
Salt & Pepper to taste

Methods
In the bottom of your large stockpot or dutch oven cook the bacon until crispy. Remove the bacon and drain. Remove the majority of the grease, leaving a couple of teaspoons at the bottom of the pot.

While the bacon is cooking chop the vegetables -- the idea is to have somewhere around equal parts carrots, celery, and onions. After the bacon is done add olive oil as needed and cook the vegetables for a few minutes until soft.

Add the chicken stock, beans, rosemary, and thyme to the pot. I think that Amber’s recipe called for about 2 tbl of each -- I think these are some of the stars in the recipe, so I add as much as I feel like. Bring the mixture to a boil and then simmer for 30 min (or longer). Salt and pepper to taste prior to serving. Garnish with chopped up bacon and enjoy!

Verdict
OK, a little commentary. This recipe is absolutely nothing new to me. However, it is probably one of my favorite foods at this time of year. I love the beans, the bacon, the rosemary, and the thyme. I am a soup girl and this is one of my soups. The one thing I’ve toyed with is actually adding the rosemary and thyme to the olive oil and bacon renderings mixture prior to adding the veggies. I think this could really make this soup even more amazing, which I previously thought was impossible. If you try just one soup this winter, I might heartily recommend this one. I’m not sure if this was better than previously, if it always this good, or perhaps being in real wintery weather made it even more comforting and delicious.

Recipe 10: Bacon and Pineapple Flatbread Pizza

I made this one a while ago, but haven't had time to get it uploaded. For me, pizza is comfort food, serious comfort food. No need to hook me up with grandma's fried chicken, bring me some cheese covered, tomato based goodness. When I think of Fridays during childhood I think of Gus's Pizza, preferably cheese or italian beef. One day I was introduced to bacon pizza (food of the gods perhaps?), and later in life we discovered pineapple and canadian bacon on pizza. My tastes are more mature now, but I still adore pizza. This was my take at a slightly more adult, and slightly less unhealthy version of the good stuff.

Materials
~ 1 large tortilla (I have fallen in love with some tortillas that they sell at the Fresh Market)
~ Olive oil spray
~ tomatoes (roma or grape)
~ 3 slices canadian bacon
~ 1/2 cup fresh pineapple
~ shredded mozzarella
~ shredded Parmesan
~ oregano

Methods
Preheat oven to 350. Place tortilla on a baking sheet and spray lightly with your olive oil spray. Thinly slice the tomatoes and place them in a layer on the tortilla. I prefer the grape because they are bite sized. I used enough tomatoes to fully cover the tortilla. Cover with mozzarella cheese (about 1/4 cup). Chop canadian bacon and pineapple into bite sized pieces. Place bacon and pineapple atop the cheese. Drop a little more mozzarella and some parmesan atop the pizza. Season with salt/pepper/oregano as desired. Bake until the tortilla is crispy and cheese is melted.

Verdict
Obviously not the full-on real-deal, but still pretty darn good! I enjoyed the pizza, particularly the fresh tomatoes rather than a tomato sauce and the fresh pineapple. Fresh is definitely key for the pineapple. The tortilla was a little difficult to cut, but that might be an artifact of the super fiber rich tortillas I'm currently loving on.

Note: I have a picture of this somewhere.... my computer and my camera just don't seem to be very friendly today.