Roasted Red Bell Pepper Bisque

Makes 8 soup-course servings, or 4 entree portions. Prep time: 1 hour and 15 minutes, almost all of which is just getting the grill ready, charring the peppers, peeling, and seeding them, most of which is spent waiting for the grill to be ready, waiting for the peppers to char, etc., which means you can do other things during this time. If you char the peppers under the broiler, they won't be as flavorful, but it'll take about half an hour less time because you don't have to get the grill going. Cook time: 15 minutes.

The ingredients:
5 red bell peppers
4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 clove garlic, coarsely chopped, optional
1 cup water
1 cup heavy cream
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp paprika, optional
1 sprig thyme, optional
2 bay leaves, optional
salt and pepper to taste

The algorithm:

Char peppers over open flame (either on grill, or if you have a gas stove, set peppers directly over flame) or in the oven (on top rack, set oven to broil) until all of the skin is black. Peel and seed peppers, and coarsely chop. Pour chicken broth and water into 5-quart pot or larger, and set on high heat. Once boiling, add chopped peppers, garlic, and thyme to boiling broth and water. Let boil until peppers are fully softened, about eight minutes. Remove thyme sprig and bay leaves and discard. Puree soup in blender or food processor (in batches if necessary) until smooth, then pass through a fine-mesh sieve back into the pot. Add paprika and sugar, and simmer until ready to serve. Can be prepared ahead and refrigerated until ready to serve, reheating before serving. Just before serving, stir in chilled heavy cream.

Variations:

• Roasted corn, about 1/4 ear per soup-course serving (2 ears if serving all of the soup). Cut corn off cooked ears, and divide among bowls of soup. If you're grilling the peppers, grill the corn, too. Otherwise, boiling is fine.

• Crab, about 2/3 pound. Divide in half, one half consisting of all the larger lumps. Add the less lumpy half to the soup at the same time as the chopped peppers. Puree as usual. Add remaining lumpy crab to bowls and ladle soup over top. This will change the flavor of the soup quite a bit, but it is awesome.

• Bacon, thick cut, crisped using your favorite bacon method, about 1/2 strip per soup-course serving, or 1 strip per entree portion. Crisped bacon can be cut into small squares, or served in entire strip in attractive presentation. If using bacon, chopped parsley as a garnish will help add brightness and cut through the meatiness.

• Sea scallops, one per soup-course serving of soup, or two per entree portion, about 2/3 pound if serving all of the soup. Sear scallops in 1 tbsp butter on very high heat. Let pan fully heat up before adding butter, then let butter stop sizzling before adding scallops. Leave scallops on first side for one minute, without moving them at all. Then turn scallops over with tongs. Don't move scallops for full minute on second side. Then remove scallops directly to bowls full of soup, one scallop per bowl.

• Basil, either as a flavor component of soup (tear up 10 or so leaves of basil and place in soup at same time as peppers), or as a garnish (basil leaves, torn or left whole, and sprinkled on top of soup, to taste).

• 1 yellow bell pepper for contrast color, julienned thinly and sauteed in 1/2 tbsp butter.