Sunday Soup Day: Butternut Squash

It appears as though I'm no longer the only person who reads my blog pages. I've had comments (both complimentary and satirical) from a handful of people, so I thought I would give "my readers" an opportunity to have some say in what I'd make today on Sunday Soup Day.

I updated my status on Twitter and Facebook by mentioning my pumpkin cheesecake from yesterday and welcoming suggestions for soup today. My only prerequisite was that it had to be orange. I had three responses and they all suggested butternut squash. In addition, our cousin-in-law, Kim, sent me a tremendous recipe. I made a few adjustments and it turned out to be a pot of creamy goodness.

The first step was to bake the butternut squash. I thought I would get a head start on this because Sunday mornings I go to church (Five Oaks in the Hudson movie theatre--awesome) and knew that I would be short on time before the Packers game started. So, at 9:30pm last night, I put the squash in the oven. The directions indicated 50-60 minutes for the squash (face down) at 400-degrees, but I wasn't able to take it out until 11:20pm. Needless to say, the squash was cooked beyond recognition. It left a pungent smell throughout the entire house that interrupted my sleep cycle all night. I finally opened the windows at 5:00am this morning to get rid of the odor.

I went to the store early this morning and purchased two more squashes. I preheated the oven at 400 so I could bake them immediately. Remember, I was short of time because of church and the Packers. I baked them for 60 minutes and took them out before leaving for church. When I got home, I put the squashes in the oven again until they were warm.

In the meantime, I put Isaiah down for a nap (Liz was at work) and got to work on the soup. I chopped the onion, shallots and garlic before sauteeing them in butter. I added the sugar as Kim directed followed by the cream and chicken stock. I put in a little more stock than she suggested because I was cooking for 5-6 people.

After taking the skin off the squashes, I pureed them separate of the liquid in the pot. Once again, I added chicken stock in order to puree the squash. I did this two separate times because my food processor wasn't big enough for all of the squash. I put the puree in the cast-iron pot with the rest of the ingredients and stirred everything together until it was the creamiest texture possible. Then, I garnished it with dried green onions. Perfect.

When I dipped my spoon into the smoothest soup I had ever manufactured, I felt like a gourmet chef. Tasting it made me feel like I should have my own soup-making television show on the Food Network between Giada de Laurentiis and Rachel Ray. It was that good. I can't take all the credit, though. Kim's recipe did the trick. Afterall, her husband is a real gourment chef. I made a few adjustments of my own and everyone was surprised by how fabulous it was. By the way, the Packers won, too.

Ingredients:
2 butternut squashes (halved, cored, and sprinkle seasoned with salt and pepper)
1 cup heavy whipping cream
32 ounces organic free range chicken stock
1 stick salted butter
2 cloves garlic (chopped)
1 whole yellow onion (chopped)
2 shallots (chopped)
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons pepper

Directions:
1. Take halved squashes and bake on sheet pan face down for 45 minutes-1 hour (or until fork or knife tender)
2. Using a hot pad hold squash in hand and scoop out cooked center into large pot (no skin)
3. On medium-low head, using a spatula, mix in butter, onions, shallots and garlic. Mix until butter is melted and onions are translucent.
4. Mix in brown sugar, stir until fully incorporated.
5. Pour in chicken stock, stir until warm
6. Pour in cream, stir until simmering.
7. Cook on medium heat being careful not to scorch the cream for 7 minutes.
8. Pour mixture into blender, or food processor, and puree until smooth. Or if you have a hand blender (immersion blender) you can leave it in the pot and blend, just take it off the heat first. 9. Return to heat cook 5 minutes to thicken soup.
10. SERVE.

Mind blowing. For serious.

Music: Addison Road - Hope Now
Weather: 48-degrees, gloomy