Apple Soup with Smoked Bacon and White Cheddar Croutons

Yield: 6 people

Apple Soup:
½ cup chopped onions
½ cup chopped leeks
½ cup chopped fennel
¼ cup chopped celery
1 Tbs. chopped garlic
¼ cup Calvados or cognac
8 Fuji apples (peeled, sliced)
2 Tbs. butter
1 tsp. cardamom powder
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. clove
8 cups chicken stock
1 cup heavy cream
Melt the butter in a large soup pot over a high heat. Add in the onions, leeks, fennel, celery and sauté until soft. Add in the garlic and spices and let them toast. Deglaze with Calvados and add in the apples and allow them to cook for 5 minutes. Add in the chicken stock and reduce by one fourth of the volume. Add in the heavy cream and blend. Season the soup with salt and pepper to taste.


Smoked Bacon and Croutons:
3 granny smith apples (small diced)
½ pound smoked bacon (cook over a medium heat until crispy)
6 slices of sour dough bread
¼ pound great white cheddar
2 Tbs. butter
Make sandwiches of the shredded cheddar, apple and bread. Warm the butter in a skillet over a medium high heat until slightly browned. Place the cheddar cheese bread down and sauté on both sides like making a grilled cheese sandwich. Remove the bread and cup them sandwich into bite size croutons. Scatter these in each soup bowl with some of the bacon and serve with the soup.

3030 OCEAN
RESTAURANT
Marriott's Harbor Beach Resort & Spa
3030 Holiday Drive, Fort Lauderdale,
Florida, FL 33316
Phone 954-765-3030

A unique, creative and passionate combination of flavors await at Chef Dean James Max’s 3030 Ocean Restaurant, a candlelight filled oceanfront casual chic dinner bistro serving stylish American Cuisine seafood and special meats, with live flamenco and jazz entertainment, located at the Marriott’s Harbor Beach Resort & Spa in Fort Lauderdale. The 3030 Sea Bar is the ideal meeting place for business or pleasure.