B is for Butternut Squash Soup

I've had plenty of mediocre butternut squash soups.  They often need salt or lack some type of seasoning and typically they're too watery.  Why do so many chefs add apples and baking spices to butternut soup?  It's not dessert!  In my opinion, it should be more savory and less sweet.  I've ordered squash soup at restaurants before feeling confident that I'm making a smart, healthy choice, but after a few spoonfuls I feel disappointed.  Anyone else felt this way before?  In my mind, butternut squash soup might as well be called "jealousy soup," because I'm usually envious of the appetizers other people ordered.        

Many butternut squash soups disappoint, but this is an absolutely fantastic recipe.  I've made it a dozen times and for some reason, we don't tire of it quickly.  Peter and I like to have a small bowl as a first course to our meal and sometimes we pack it in our lunch bags with half a sandwich.  The flavors from roasting the squash and caramelizing the onions make it very special and give it the savory quality that I crave in a soup.  The blend of herbs--parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme--is absolutely perfect.  Fresh herbs are essential!  If you want to cut back though, at least use fresh rosemary and thyme.  When I prepare this soup, I use homemade chicken stock, but I'm sure the canned version would be just fine as long as you get the low-sodium version to control the saltiness.  If you want to make this vegetarian friendly, substitute vegetable stock for the chicken stock.  Now, as a disclaimer: this recipe is not low-fat.  There will be heavy cream involved.  However, this soup is so rich, flavorful, and creamy, a relatively small serving is satisfying.  Expect to see empty bowls!  

Butternut Squash Soup
adapted from Tim Douglas' Seattle Kitchen

3-4 lb. butternut squash
olive oil for brushing squash
1 Tbsp. butter
2 Tbsp. olive oil
4 c. thinly sliced onions (about 2 onions)
3 c. chicken stock (or vegetable stock)
1/2-3/4 c. heavy cream
1 1/2 tsp. chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1/2 tsp. chopped fresh sage
1/2 tsp. chopped fresh rosemary
1/2 tsp. chopped fresh thyme
1 tsp. sherry vinegar or apple cider vinegar
kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
creme fraiche and thyme sprigs for garnish

Preheat the oven to 400 F.  Cut the squash in half and scoop out the seeds.  Brush the cut edges with olive oil and place on a baking sheet, cut side down.  Roast the squash until very soft, about 80 minutes.  Remove from the oven.  When cool enough to handle, scoop the squash out of the skin and set aside.

While the squash is roasting, caramelize the onions.  Heat the butter with the olive oil in a sauté pan over medium heat.  Add the onions and cook slowly, stirring occasionally until they are soft and golden brown, 20-30 minutes.  Do not let them burn or become crispy.  Set aside.

In a food processor fitted with a standard chopping blade, process the squash, onions, and 1 cup of chicken stock until smooth.  This may need to be done in two batches, depending on your food processor.  Pour the puree into a large pot.  Add the remaining 2 cups of chicken stock and heat the soup to a simmer, stirring occasionally.  Add the heavy cream, chopped herbs, and vinegar.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.

To serve, ladle the hot soup into bowls and serve with a swirl of creme fraiche and a thyme sprig.  This soup can be made a few days before you plan to serve it; just store it in the refrigerator and reheat before serving.     
 

R is for Roasted Chicken

Roasting a chicken takes a bit of time, but the payoff is completely worth it.  The house smells divine.  It impresses guests that you'd dare to cook a whole chicken instead of the ever-convenient chicken breasts.  If you try, you can make a 5 lb. roasted chicken stretch out into at least three meals and span a few days by working the leftovers into chicken salad, a quesadilla, or chicken and dumplings.  After the effort to roast a bird, Peter and I always make stock with the leftover carcass.  I know you can easily buy cans of chicken stock, but I love making it at home and storing it in a variety of freezable containers so that I'm ready for a soup, risotto, a sauce, or whatever takes a bit of chicken broth.        

I've tried several roasted chicken recipes from Barefoot Contessa, Williams-Sonoma, and Better Homes and Gardens, but they all send across the same message: lube up the bird with butter or olive oil, shove some aromatics inside, and include herbs.  Sorry.  That was crude.  But honestly, fixing up a whole chicken to be roasted is one of the nastiest things that happens in the kitchen!  Wash the bird, pull the neck and organs out of the body cavity, pat it dry, tie it up with twine, twist its wing tips around into an unnatural position to avoid burning, push things inside its body...it's all a mess!  I'd much rather bake a cake.  

In spite of the mess, roasted chicken is so good.  My most recent bird went a little like this:

Lime Tarragon Chicken

5 lb. chicken
2 limes
1 onion
1 Tbsp. garlic
1 handful of fresh tarragon
chili lime seasoning
2 Tbsp. butter, room temperature
salt and pepper

Wash the chicken and pat dry with paper towels.  Set it in a roasting pan and put a quartered onion, garlic, and tarragon inside the body cavity.  Rub the room temperature butter all over the bird, especially getting the wings and "thin" parts that might be prone to burning in the oven.  Sprinkle with chili lime seasoning and salt and pepper.  Squeeze the juice from the limes over the top of the chicken and then push the halves inside the cavity to help flavor the meat.  Use kitchen twine to tie the legs together and then tuck the wing tips under the body to prevent burning or drying.  (I forgot to tuck the wings!)    

Roast at 375 for at least 1 and 1/2 hours if you have a 5 lb. chicken.  Generally, cook it 20 minutes for every pound of chicken or until a meat thermometer reads 180.  If you have time, use a baster to moisten the chicken and redistribute the juices roughly every twenty minutes.  It helps keep the meat from drying out and crisps up the skin.  Once the chicken is done, tent it with aluminum foil and let the meat rest for several minutes before cutting.

What can you do with all that chicken?

Day One.
Start by pulling off the legs and wings and eating those for dinner with your favorite grilled vegetables and some risotto or a baked potato.  After dinner, push up your sleeves and carve the chicken.  If you're scared, watch this how-to video.  You'll want to save the breast meat and keep it intact for another meal, but then use your hands and fingers to remove all the little shreds of tender white and dark meat that cling to the carcass or get left behind after you've sliced off the large pieces.  I set out a glass dish to drop all the small pieces of chicken into because I'll use these pieces to make a single serving of chicken salad later in the week.  

Day Two.
You can make a chicken quesadilla with whatever vegetables you have on hand.  I love to throw in spinach, asparagus, zucchini, tomato, peppers, grilled onions, or green beans.  I spray a tortilla with a bit of butter flavored spray Pam and then pile up diced chicken breast, veggies, and cheese (mozzarella, pepper jack, white cheddar).  I season with salt and then to make it wonderfully delicious, sprinkle on a bit of chili lime seasoning.  Spray another tortilla with nonstick spray and then cook it in a large skillet over medium heat, turning once after about 4 minutes.  Don't put it in your skillet until it's already hot, because you don't want to wait a long time and liquify your cheese in the process.  It's a nasty mess to clean up!

This is a Chicken, Spinach, and Red Pepper Quesadilla I made Peter with mozzarella cheese.  We love to turn leftovers into quesadillas because it transforms them into another meal instead of just reheating.

Day Three.
Use the shreds of chicken meat and leftover breast meat to make a chicken salad.  I typically add a squirt of mayo and some diced celery to make a quick lunch with crackers or toast.  Sometimes I add grapes or almonds or I might use the meat to make a curried chicken salad with apples and raisins.  I like to toss the meat and mayo into the mini food processor that works as an attachment with my stick blender.  It's quick and easy to make a single-serving using this tool, but you can also make a chunky chicken salad and skip the food processor altogether.

 

B is for Butternut Squash Sauce

For Christmas, my mother-in-law gave me an awesome jar of butternut squash pasta sauce that she picked up at Trader Joe's.  It came with our Le Creuset Dutch oven (yay!!!) and an oversized spatula I've come to love.  Peter and I devoured the sauce with cheese ravioli and a green salad and I loved the spicy kick that made it so memorable.  Since we don't have a Trader Joe's, I decided to create my own squashy pasta sauce and if I can say so myself, it was a success!  We enjoyed it for dinner and again for several packed lunches.  It thickens up a lot after the first day, so you might want to thin it with some chicken stock if you're planning to reserve it.

Spicy Butternut Squash Pasta Sauce

from Rachel  

1 butternut squash, sliced in 1/2 lengthwise

1 onion, quartered

1 red pepper, cut in quarters and deseeded

2 tsp. red pepper flakes

1 Tbsp. minced garlic

2 c. chicken stock

4 Tbsp. butter

salt & pepper to taste

Roast the butternut squash in the oven at 350 for 1 hour.  After the squash has cooked for 30 minutes, add a cookie sheet with the onion and pepper to the oven and let it roast for 1/2 an hour.  After the squash has cooled a bit, scoop out the orange flesh with a spoon.  Puree the squash in a food processor and put it into a large pot (I used my Dutch oven).  Puree the onion and red pepper and then mix in with the squash.  Stir the red pepper flakes, garlic, stock, butter, and salt and pepper into the vegetable puree.  I used my stick blender to further smooth out the sauce as it was still a little lumpy, but this part is optional.  Let the sauce simmer on low for about 10 minutes and then serve with cheese ravioli, fettucini, or shells.  I shaved a little asiago cheese on top and served the pasta with a salad.  Enjoy!