Butternut Bisque

Fall is in full swing and winter is just around the corner. I live for soup when it's chilly out and this is my absolute favorite. I first started making this when I worked in a restaurant a billion years ago. There is no "official" recipe or exact process to follow, so feel free to take some liberties. I tweak this each time but the core ingredients stay the same, which are below. It's great topped with creme fresh or mascarpone cheese, maybe some bacon bits or fresh chives. It goes great with turkey, chicken or by itself. 

The most challenging/frustrating/tedious part of this soup is the skin of the squash. I typically bake the squash first and remove the flesh with a spoon. If you like burned fingertips, this would be the method for you (or if you have the patience to let it cool, but who are we kidding, that will never be me). So, this time, I skinned it like the wild animal it isn't, cubed it, and baked. SO much better, but was still time consuming.

2-3 med/small butternut squash

chicken broth (32oz)

1 stick butter

garlic

(2-3 cloves finely chopped/2 tbsp)

2 med shallots, finely chopped

1/2 &1/2 or heavy cream (pint size)

2 tsp cinnamon

4tsp nutmeg

1 tsp pumpkin pie spice

s&p

1-2 c brown sugar

Preheat @400.

Peel, gut, and cube squash

 Bake squash with 2c. chicken broth 45mins - 1 hour or until tender

meanwhile...

melt butter over medium heat, cook shallots and garlic for about 5 minutes.

 add remaining 2c chicken broth, bring to boil, reduce to simmer, add cooked squash.

Remove from heat, using an immersion blender, puree soup until smooth and resembling baby food (no other way to describe it :) Add pint o' cream, 1/2 & 1/2 (I used fat free 1/2&1/2 to cut back on calories)

Add remaining ingredients.

Simmer for 30 minutes, serve to anticipating family/friends.

 

Tomato Dill Soup

I owe props for this amazing soup to my amazing Grandma. I grew up with this recipe and it never gets old. There's nothing quite like homemade tomato soup with grilled cheese on a cool fall day, and nothing beats this soup.

Here's what you'll need...

1 stick of butter, divided in half

1/2 cup flour

1 medium white onion, finely diced

diced garlic, fresh or out of a jar

(I like the jar stuff because the peel on garlic annoys me like no other)

4 cups chicken broth

1 large can (28oz) tomato puree

1 large can whole peeled tomatoes, roughly chop tomatoes, reserve juice

3 tbsp honey

1 tbsp (or more) dill weed

1 tsp basil

(I used dry but fresh is always better)

1/2 tsp ground black pepper

1/2 tsp chili powder

1/8 tsp ground red pepper

(didn't have this, so I used red pepper flakes, same thing-ish)

3 dashes (or more) hot pepper sauce

(Frank's Red Hot, my personal fave)

salt & pepper to taste

Start here:

Roux-

If you've never made roux before, it can be a little tricky. The first couple times I made it, I ended up with a ball of what looked like beige play-doh. But don't worry, it will still work, you'll just get a great wrist work out when whisking it in. The secret I've learned is to keep the heat low and even, which can be difficlut on an electic stove.

Melt 4 tbsp butter in a small saucepan

add the flour, a little bit at a time, constantly stirring until a thick paste forms

remove from heat, and set aside.

Next:

Melt the remaing butter in a large heavy pot. Add onion, cook gently 5 minutes. 

Add garlic, cook 2 minutes.

Add chicken broth, bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer.

Whisk in roux until thick and smooth.

Stir in tomato paste, chopped tomatoes, and reserved juices.

Add remaining ingredients.

That looks like a lot of dill/basil but it's really not. Blame it on the camera or it could be because I didn't use the measures for spices... just a dash of this and that and taste, add a dash of this, taste again, rinse and repeat. I included the exact measurements in the above ingredient list but since I've made this SO many times before, I kinda know, and nothing beats the taste test!

Can you smell that? Ah-ma-zing!

Simmer 30-45 minutes, stirring often (don't let the bottom burn!)

Enjoy!

*pair with the perfect full bodied grilled cheese sandwich.