My two-year anniversary of being a fledgling food blogger is coming very soon. In two years I have challenged myself to make recipes that are very new to me. I've also set my mind to seeing if my palate has matured a bit, and so I'm challenging myself to try certain foods that I have avoided for most of my life. Butternut squash has been one of my greatest challenges. For some reason, it always left a bitter and overpowering flavor in my mouth. I've tried making recipes from butternut squash lasagna to slathering it with buckets of honey (well, not quite but I gave it a go). My palate rejected it, but I didn't give up.
I'm sure many of you have seen the blogosphere buzz on the Foodbuzz Blogger Festival, in San Francisco. I've only shared a handful of the 200 plus photos. I'm holding back uploading them, for fear you've seen enough. However, there was a tasting of these two products at the Tyler Florence Booth at the Taste Pavilion-- which is were 350 food bloggers (including lucky "me") spent last Saturday. We were at the Metreon Theater in San Francisco to sample lots of sweet and savory dishes from purveyors. I stopped at the Tyler Florence booth and this is what I saw...
If it's a Tyler Florence recipe, is a pretty safe bet that it's going to be good. I took a sample taste, and I liked it! Butternut squash and apple go perfectly together. I also liked the shortbread. So, I made a mental note that I would try making my own version of this squash and apple pairing that works so well. After researching dozens of recipes (and, no, this recipe is not on Tyler's websites. Of course it isn't! He sells this!)
I was pleasantly surprised to find this bag of prepared butternut squash at Trader Joe's. The price was just a tad more than buying a fresh squash. After careful consideration, I decided that repeating the rubber mallet hitting the chef's knife, after peeling butternut squash didn't thrill me at all. After all, I had no idea if I was going to like my idea, so I decided to enjoy a shortcut by someone else doing the hard work. Most soup recipes use raw apples and vegetables and cook them in the broth. There isn't a thing wrong with that! But, after the success I had in making a Roasted Carrot-Ginger Soup, I decided that roasting the squash and the apples might kick up the flavor a few notches. I do think that roasting vegetables brings out a nuttier and richer flavor. So, that's what I decided to do:
First, I lined a baking sheet with foil (parchment paper will do, too). I seasoned the squash with coarse salt & some freshly cracked pepper. Last, I drizzled a bit of olive oil and tossed the squash with my hands to coat it evenly.
I am loving my Apple Peeler-Corer-Slicer! In 10 seconds I peeled two apples. One was a Granny Smith and the other was a Gala apple. I drizzled a little olive oil but decided not to season them. I like to add garlic to most of my homemade soups. But I didn't want the garlic to overpower the flavor I was hoping my soup would be. So, I wrapped 4 cloves of garlic and drizzled with a little bit of olive oil. I wrapped the garlic with foil and stuck it on the same baking sheet as the apples. Why two baking sheets? I guessed the the squash would take longer to become fork tender. The squash and garlic was roasted at 375F for about 20 minutes. The apples got 15 minutes.
I make a lot of soups. My soup holy trinity is typically onion, carrots and celery (mire poix). But, I wanted this soup to be different. I debated between using shallots or leeks. I decided I would use Leek-zilla. This leek was 9" long (after cutting off the green ends) and it looked like a weapon! (This is a G-Rated blog, so be nice...)
I cut the whole leek and cut them into half-moons. Most are stored for another use, and I set aside a handful... about a cup to a cup-and-a-half.
I decided to use apple cider-- not sweetened apple juice, with high fructose corn syrup! I had a gallon of fresh pressed gala apple cider, with no sugar added. I measured 1/2 cup of juice. I also wanted to add white wine for some acidity. I use Sauvignon Blanc for most of my cooking-- 2 ounces. Last, I decided to use 1 1/2 cups of low-sodium chicken broth. (You could also use vegetable stock, to keep this vegetarian.) I figured I could always add more, but this was a good start. The roasted garlic was squeezed and cooled. I cut some fresh thyme from our garden. Sage would have been delicious, but my beloved plant had died:
I like to make a "bouquet garni". Quite simply, I wrapped two bay leaves around fresh thyme and I save rubber bands that come with celery (or you could use kitchen twine). I like being able to easily remove the herbs. You could chop the thyme, sure. But I didn't want to see specks of green in my soup. Minor details, I know. The prep work took about 45 minutes, but most of it was waiting for the veggies to roast. It's time to make soup! Once again, I put a little olive oil and one pat of unsalted butter into a Dutch oven. I cooked the leeks until they were just tender-- 2-3 minutes. I almost forgot! I like to use a potato to thicken my soups. It's a little trick I learned that works great. I diced one small Yukon Gold potato, unpeeled.
Next, I added the roasted garlic You could use fresh garlic, but be careful that it doesn't burn. Cook it for 30 seconds, or until fragrant. To me, roasted garlic takes on a lovely sweet and nutty flavor. Try it, sometime.
Next, I added the roasted butternut squash, the roasted apples, the white wine and the unsweetened apple cider...
Last, I added the potatoes, the chicken broth and the bouquet garni. I covered the pot and let the soup simmer, on low, for about 30 minutes. I removed the herbs and tossed it. Now you can use a blender to puree this, in portions. But, why?
Meet my dear friend, Mr. Immersion Blender. I've had this inexpensive version for 15 years and it hasn't failed me yet. Isn't it easier to puree soups in the pot you cooked it? I think so!
The soup is fairly thick. This is all a matter of personal preference. Now to taste for seasonings...
My first taste was surprisingly good. The soup wasn't bitter at all. Whew! A little more salt was needed, though. The apple flavor was evident, and I was glad that I didn't add nearly as much apple cider as most other recipes did. My husband sampled it and he said it was good, but the sweet was a little more than the savory. I decided to gamble and to add...
About 1/8 teaspoon of curry powder. Guess what? It worked! I ended up adding another cup of chicken broth, to thin the soup out a bit more.
Ladies and gentleman-- I present to you Roasted Butternut & Apple Soup with a light curry. It's healthy, too.
VERDICT: This soup is not bitter, in the least. It's creamy and it doesn't have my beloved heavy cream. The acidity of the white wine and apple cider, balances out the savory of the butternut squash. The curry marries the sweet and savory with a very subtle "what is the wonderful flavor" in the background. . My husband and son liked it. I'm taking some to work tomorrow and looking forward to it. I did make shortbread crackers, but I'll post that recipe next
I really, REALLY, liked this soup!
I thank Tyler Florence's delicious soup sample that trained my palate to LIKE butternut squash. Next, I plan to replicate a salad that was made the Foodbuzz Blogger Festival. It had-- gasp-- goat cheese. That was another aversion of mine, and our hometown local chef (Todd Fisher) made me a believer that goat cheese is good!
I'm going to make this salad, next.
I'll be working on Fakesgiving recipes to enjoy for the next couple of weeks. I've decided, this year, to go out to a restaurant (where my son happens to work) to let someone else do the cooking and cleaning. That doesn't mean I won't be making some of our favorite holiday recipes so that we don't miss out on our own pumpkin pies and I can always roast a turkey breast for sandwiches.
As always, a printable recipes is at the bottom of the post.
I am submitting this soup recipe to Deb at Kahakai Kitchen for her weekly Souper Sunday recipe roundup. I love to create soups, salads and stews and her roundup is a great place to find inspiration
My blogger friend, Stacey (of Stacey Snacks), left a comment a couple of posts ago that I should rename my blog "The Weekend Cook". For those of you who are new to my blog, I wish you a warm welcome. My two year anniversary is coming up at the end of this month, and I am planning a celebration/giveaway. Until this July, I was blogging several times a week. Everything has changed, since I'm at a new school site, working at an Adult School. That means I'm working a split shift and am gone for 13 hours a day, during the week. So, as Stacey pointed out, it's the weekend and this is where I do my marathon cooking and baking. I'm still editing and organizing last week's Foodbuzz Blogger Festival, and I hope to find a way to share some of it with you. In the meantime, I'd like to share with you some recipes from last Fall that are worthy of an encore in my own home:
This Rainbow Salad has been featured on my header for some time. I made this with roasted golden beets and . I'm fortunate to live in the Salinas Valley, where I can buy beautiful salad greens from Fresh Express. Another salad that I serve for holiday tables is:
While this soup doesn't wouldn't win for it's looks, it's has a mild flavor from a very ugly vegetable-- celeriac. This is a Creamy Celery Root & Yukon Gold Potato Soup. It's comforting and makes a beautiful starter to any dinner party.
Pumpkin takes center stage this time of year. I've made this Pumpkin pasta with fried sage pasta dish for several years. When I first saw this recipe, I couldn't bond with the idea of pumpkin in a pasta. It changed my mind and I'm going to recreate this very soon. The pasta is made with Italian sausage, white wine, spices, red pepper flakes and is served with a savory pumpkin cream sauce. Trust me, it's a winner.
Speaking of pumpkin... I do stock up on canned pumpkin for lots of recipes. Last year, I decided to learn how to make my own pumpkin puree. It was easier than I thought, and I was able to enjoy pumpkin year-round. (Just click on the bold and highlighted recipes names, to be see how I made this)
I created a Pumpkin Ice Cream that turned out even better than expected. It would be delicious as an ice cream cake.
This is one of the first food shots I ever took for my new blog. The photo is grainy and was shot in flash-- since then I've learned not to use flash photography or it muddies out the colors. It has zero comments, which also shows that it takes time to develop friendships with other food bloggers. I will remake this so I can re-shoot it and show how I did it. The picture does not do justice to the Pumpkin Brulee recipe. Trust me, it's delicious and makes for a nice alternative to pumpkin pie.
I'm not sure if this is a dessert or a side dish. The Pioneer Woman posted this recipe, and I'm going to make it again and again. If you love sweet potatoes and pecans, here's a great Sweet PotatoCasserole side dish/dessert for you.
For pie recipes, Pumpkin and Apple Pie are top on the list. Making your own pie crust is easier than you think. I'll show you how by clicking here. I'm making my pie crust dough, this weekend, so I can freeze some and store some in the refrigerator. I found two recipes I hope to make, and I'll share it with you.
Fruit Crisps are "Cheater Pies". This is a Cranberry & Pear Fruit Crisp that offers a sweet-tart cooked fruit combination, with a brown sugar & pecan topping that makes you want to eat seconds.
Of course, the Thanksgiving Turkey is what most of us look forward to. I've made many turkeys over the years, but I pay extra for Diestel Turkeys that are fresh and always turn out juicy. I've evolved into buying range-free, hormone-free turkey that aren't injected with vegetable oil or any other kind of fats. I don't brine my turkey, either. Somehow, I think that the turkey takes on a rubbery texture and even Alton Brown's recipe didn't appeal to us. Ina Garten's Roast Turkey was easy to make and very flavorful.
I made King Arthur Flour's Buttered pull-apart rolls. I blew it the first time I made them, and I show you what happened. I also share how my second attempt yielded tender and buttery rolls. Store-bought rolls cannot compare with these! I show you how to make them, and you can do it!
There are folks who don't like to eat turkey. I don't understand it, but another alternative is a Greek Stuffed Pork Lointhat I created.
It's stuffed with fig jam, feta cheese, garlic and spinach. I made this the night before company was to arrive and it worked perfectly! I made a port-wine reduction sauce, and it was outstanding and worthy of another gala dinner entree.
The weekend flies by so fast, that I need to get up and running. I have a house to clean, errands to run and some new recipes to make. Someday, I'll return to working a daytime shift. Until then, I'm temporarily The Weekend Blogger!
Remember, all you have to do is click on the recipe names in each paragraph, and you will be linked to the post that shows you how I made the recipe and you will also find a printable recipe at the very bottom of each post.
I need to work on my Two-Year Anniversary Giveaway. Thank you for not giving up on me. I love to cook and bake, and my food blog has led me to meeting so many of you who share the same passion as I do.
Three days of non-stop noshing with 350 Food Bloggers from all over the country-- and a few from parts of the world-- has come to a close. I'm sitting in my room at the Sir Francis Drake, hoping that the rain will stop long enough to stroll down to Union Square to visit my favorite Williams Sonoma store. Here are just a few of the goodies that was presented to me when I arrived on Friday afternoon. I don't have time to edit or organize the 300 plus photos, but here are a few shots to give you a taste of a fabulous weekend, sponsored by Foodbuzz.
San Francisco Dungeness Crab was our pre-dinner snack for Friday night...
My blogger buddy and roommate, Monica (Lick the Bowl Good)checked in to the Sir Francis Drake Hotel and readied ourselves for the Welcome Dinner.
That evening, we traveled by bus to Fort Mason, for a Street Faire food event. It was almost sunset, and the setting was inside a building with local food purveyors preparing their signature dishes for us to enjoy.
Mini cupcakes, anyone?
The internet at our hotel is being so slow (undoubtedly 350 foodbloggers are clogging up the bandwidth), so I can't upload the photos of the food. My particular favorite was a sandiwch of pork loin brined in Jalapeno pickling liquid, crusted in corn meal, beans, onions and coriander aioli with a buttery sesame bun-- served with a side of chicarrones that were fluffy, and melt-in-your-mouth, with a delayed hint of chili powder. Here's what I had to do, to survive the rest of the night...
We attended the photography workshop...
I am beginning to bond with my new camera...
...and then I ate the evidence. The pumpkin cupcake was my favorite.
I took Monica over the Golden Gate Bridge, feeling grateful that the weather was clear and perfect.
We had a lovely Gala Dinner, hosted by The Cooking Channel.
It's time to check out of our room, and we're headed to the Ferry Building, Union Square and then I'm taking the two hour drive back home to my family. I've collected quite a few Food Blog cards, and I plan to visit my new friends online. There'll be more photos and details.
