Only use white and light green parts of leeks.
Try deglazing bacon pan with a slosh of white wine and adding 1 Tbs bacon grease and 1 Tbs butter to soften vegetables.
Try garnishes, like fresh parsley sprig.
Try either mashing the finished soup in pot to thicken or puree the batch.

This soup is a terrific first course complement to beef, roasted pork, duck, goose, venison, rabbit, wild meat, roasted fowl or lamb dishes. I don’t think it pairs well with most seafood or fish, but who knows. The recipe makes enough for four servings as an entree or six as appetizer. I would recommend doubling the recipe: soups are supposed to feed people, and you can save/freeze leftovers. I found the original recipe in a Cooking Network magazine and played around with it a bit. If you want the soup for a main dish, I would recommend including a salad of greens that lean into the bitter/peppery side: maybe escarole, endive, and romaine along with crunchy, peppery veggies like julienne carrots, cucumbers with radish bits and croutons with a simple vinaigrette. Maybe some toasted Havarti cheese on baguette rounds that first have been brushed with Dijon mustard as a side: food to play against the soup’s richness.

• Use only the white and light green parts of the leeks, remembering to thoroughly rinse any mud from them.
• Two 5” caps are 8 oz. and six medium caps (about 2”) are 6 oz.
• I prefer the Madeira for it’s nutty overtones.
• I doubled the recipe keeping only the 1 C. half-and-half and it was fine.
• If you are doubling the recipe, three 14-1/2 oz. cans of chicken broth works fine.
• Use a center-cut ham steak that has no additional flavorings. I tried pre-cooked diced ham and it was a bit rubbery. Don’t use salt-cured ham; smoked is fine.
• Chop the mushrooms to about ½ inch.
• See Variations with regards to puree.

The soup is great as a puree. Consider making the soup without the puree step; make it as a “rustic” soup: big bits of mushrooms and pieces of leeks. But the broth will need more thickening, which could be handled with a bit of sour cream stirred in at the end and maybe some finely chopped scallions on top as a garnish with a dollop of sour cream.