I hated squash as a kid - pretty much hated all vegetables - especially the demonic green pea! When served them I always made sure I sat with my back to the nearest heat register on the floor...peas went on the spoon, and when no one was looking, down the register! All done! 
Enough about peas...let's talk squash - my new favorite food. I like it baked, mashed with butter and especially as a base for soup. 
There are as many kinds of squash soups as there are squash - which makes sense - and believe me, that's a lot...but all soups are not created equal....oh no....some are more "squashy" tasting, while others, like this recipe, has some depth to it.
This recipe is from Nicole Aloni, via Sur La Table - she was a guest chef at a class a few years back. She suggests making this soup a day or two ahead of time as the flavor improves and if serving this for Thanksgiving or Christmas or any other special occasion - yes, it's "holiday worthy" - then making it ahead of time frees up the kitchen.
This takes about an hour to make, not including cooking time, but it's well worth it - like I said, it has depth!
Back to me....I was once served squash, as a kid, by my Uncle Grant....he was a squash-eating man, as were his children - and even if they weren't they would never dare to tell him so!
At one family gathering he was in charge of dishing up the food....as he was putting squash on my plate I boldly told him that I didn't like squash....and he laughed - stopping the conversation all around - and he said, "Not like squash? How can anyone not like squash?" And he continued to laugh and shake his head and plopped down a HUGE amount of squash onto my plate and told me to "EAT IT!" I looked around for a heat vent but alas, we were at a park and there wasn't even so much as a dent in the ground - no where to stuff the stuff! I pushed it all around my plate, hoping someone would come to my rescue...but no one did. Uncle Grant kept his eye on me....he was going to make sure I ate the squash...
I pushed it from one side to another - and watched as my cousins got up, one by one, with their clean plates and headed off to play....I tried to get up but I was given "the eye" so I sat back down and continued pushing the squash around.
Fortunately, my older brother managed to cause some sort of altercation, and in a split second I was up and off the bench and headed to the trash can - the squash went flying and I ran as fast as I could out of sight....and that is as close as I ever came to eating squash as a kid. For what seemed like years after this traumatic event in my life, my Uncle Grant would call me the "kid who doesn't like squash."
He would be so proud of me now!
I LOVE squash!....but even if I didn't I would love this soup because of all of the different flavors....leeks, onion, thyme, apples, butter, cider, nutmeg and a smidgen of cayenne...and while it may look like a lot of steps, it really comes down to peeling the squash and the apples, and chopping everything up - so it's not too bad.
When ready to serve, a dollop of the whipped cream topping is just the thing to finish off this wonderful soup - the whipped cream has freshly ground nutmeg and an apple cider reduction folded in.
If you don't have the handiest tool in the kitchen - an immersion blender - then putting small amounts of the soup into a regular blender will do the trick - so all of the veggies are blended into a smooth and creamy soup.
Butternut Squash Soup With Nutmeg Cream - from Nicole Aloni and Sur La Table
Serves 8 to 10 - can be made 3 to 4 days ahead of time
5 tablespoons butter
2 1/2 lbs. butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cut into 1-2" cubes
2 cups chopped leeks (white and pale green parts only)
1/2 cup chopped peeled carrot
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 small Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, chopped
1 1/2 teaspoons dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg, plus 1/4 teaspoon
1 tablespoon fresh minced ginger
1/8 teaspoon cayenne
5 cups chicken stock or canned low-salt chicken broth
1 3/4 cups apple cider
Topping:
1/2 cup whipping cream
chopped fresh chives
1. Melt butter in a heavy, 4-qt. saucepan over medium heat. Add squash, leeks, carrot and onion, saute until onions are softened, about 15 minutes.
2. Mix in apples, thyme and spices. Add stock and 1 cup cider and bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium-low. Cover and simmer until squash is tender, stirring occasionally, about 30 minutes. Cool slightly.
3. Puree soup in pan with immersion blender or working in batches, puree soup in blender.
4. Boil remaining 3/4 cup cider in heavy small saucepan until reduced to 3 tablespoons, about 5 minutes. Cool. Whip cream and 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg to a soft peak, fold in concentrated cider.
Bring soup to simmer. Ladle soup into bowls. Drizzle with cider cream. Top with chives.
