Butternut Squash Soup

It's getting chilly outside!  Time for some soup, not the usual soups you would think of like chicken noodle, vegetable beef, or chili.  Oddly enough I had on hand a beautiful butternut squash.  (I had planned to peel, chop, toss with olive oil, salt & pepper and roast it to have as a side dish.)  Not so fast, this is going to make a savory soup that I've never made before.  So here goes.

 

This recipe is from the Whole Foods website:

• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 carrot, diced
• 1 celery stalk, diced
• 1 onion, diced
• 4 cups cubed butternut squash, *fresh or frozen
• 1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
• 4 cups low-sodium chicken broth (I used homemade stock)
• 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

*Butternut squash is kinda tough to peel and chop!  Be careful!  Peel the squash with a vegetable peeler, then using a sharp knife, chop into segments and then into chunks.  The squash has seeds that will need to be cleaned out.

Heat oil in a large soup pot. Add carrot, celery and onion. 

Cook until vegetables have begun to soften and onion turns translucent, 3 to 4 minutes.

 Stir in butternut squash, thyme, chicken broth, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until squash is fork-tender, about 30 minutes. (Note, I also added two bay leaves)

Use an immersion blender to purée soup. 

Alternatively, let the soup cool slightly and carefully purée in batches in an upright blender. 

Lastly, I stirred in a little half and half to make it creamier.  

Serve warm as a starter--how about for Thanksgiving Dinner?

This is yummy!

Enjoy friends!

Mushroom Asiago Chicken

We were in Wisconsin recently and one must buy and bring home cheese!  I bought a nice wedge of asiago cheese and then proceeded to find a recipe in which to use said cheese.  And here it is!

Courtesy of The Midnight Baker Blog.

Mushroom Asiago Chicken

• 1 lb boneless skinless chicken breast (about 2 large)
• 2 cups mushrooms, cut in half
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 3 springs fresh thyme
• 1 1/2 cups dry white wine
• 1/2 cup seasoned flour
• 2 tbs butter
• 2 tbs olive oil
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1/4-1/2 cup shredded asiago cheese
• 1/2 tsp salt (or to taste)
• 1/4 tsp pepper (or to taste)
• seasoned flour:
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper

Pound chicken breast with a meat mallet between 2 sheets of waxed paper or plastic wrap until meat is uniform thickness; about 1/4-inch. Cut into serving-sized pieces (2 or 3 pieces per breast)

Heat the butter with *1* tbs of olive oil in deep, heavy skillet or saute pan over medium heat.

Dredge chicken in seasoned flour.  Add to hot oil/butter in skillet.  Saute until golden on each side, about 5 minutes per side.  Remove from pan.

Add remaining olive oil to hot skillet.  Saute mushrooms and garlic until mushrooms begin to brown.

Add white wine to skillet, scraping up all the browned bits that are at the bottom of the pan (this is called "deglazing"). Bruise the fresh thyme by twisting it between your fingers or hitting it with the dull side of a knife in a few places.  Add thyme to mushroom/wine mixture in pan.

Add the chicken back to the pan.  Bring to a boil, then reduce heat, cover and simmer for 15-20 minutes.

Remove chicken from pan.  Add the cream and heat through. Add the asiago cheese (if you like it strongly flavored, use 1/2 cup; not as strongly flavored, use the 1/4 cup--asiago is a powerful cheese and you can even use less for just a whisper of flavor.  I like it strong so I used 1/2 cup).

Cook, stirring constantly over low heat until cheese melts. Continue cooking until sauce is reduced by about 1/2.  If you wish to skip the reduction step, you may thicken the sauce slightly with about 1 tbs instant flour or 1 tbs cornstarch mixed with 2 tbs water...however, the reduction will taste better.

Add chicken back to pan and heat through.

Garnish with sprigs of fresh thyme.  May be served over any pasta.

About 4 servings.

Here is how it looks courtesy of The Midnight Baker Blog!

Enjoy friends!!