Pots and Pins

Bacon and Triple Cheese Quiche...

Tomorrow, New Year's Day, will probably start late for us - we'll be up celebrating with Dick Clark till at least 12:15 a.m. - actually Dick will be sound asleep by then because we will have watched him at 9:00 EST....but we'll stay up - with toothpicks propping up our eyelids - to watch the Space Needle explode with fireworks....and this year "they" promise bigger and better....we shall be the judges!  So, with bleary eyes, cooking a big feast tomorrow morning is not my idea of how to start the new year - but popping this little beauty into the oven and dining on something wonderful is the perfect way ....and it will take the sting out of writing the same old resolutions....one year, we just might keep them!   

One year we actually went out on New Year's Eve...some friends rented a boat on Lake Washington - it sounded fun!  I think we boarded the boat around 9:00 pm...which is usually our bedtime....but we were all dressed up and we were going to have F U N !!!  The boat sailed around Lake Washington - past Bill Gates house - always a highlight on any water tour - and over into Lake Union where were were supposed to arrive right before midnight.  We were on time - but Mother Nature was not.  We heard the fireworks exploding over our heads....then the clouds lit up with beautiful shades of yellow, orange, red and blue....but we did not SEE one stinkin' firework!   Did I mention that it was raining?  So, in the rain, our little boat chugged back to the dock in Kirkland - we tied up at 2:00 am....TWO am and NO fireworks!  I think there were 30 of us on that little cruise - so yes, it was a big boat, but after 5 hours it seemed much smaller!  I do have to admit it was fun and if nothing else, interesting - I have never seen clouds that color before!   And that was the one and only time we have ever gone out on New Year's Eve....exciting people we are not!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bacon and Triple Cheese Quiche - adapted from Great American Home Baking - 1982

Crust: 

1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup chilled butter, cut into small pieces

2 to 3 tablespoons cold water

Filling:

10 strips lean bacon

4 large eggs

1 1/2 cups light cream

1/4 teaspoon dried thyme

1/8 teaspoon white pepper

1/3 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1/3 cup shredded Swiss cheese

1/3 cup crumbled Bleu cheese

To prepare the crust, in a large bowl, mix together the flour and salt.  Using a pastry blender or 2 knives, cut in the butter until coarse crumbs form.  Add water, 1 tablespoon at a time, tossing with a fork, until a dough forms.  Shape into a disk, wrap in plastic wrap, and chill in refrigerator for 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  On a lightly floured surface, using a lightly floured rolling pin, roll the dough into an 11-inch circle.  Fit into 9-inch pie pan.  Trim edge, leaving 1/4-inch overhang.  Fold under to form stand-up edge.  Prick dough with a fork all around the sides and bottom.  Bake for 10 to 15 minutes or until lightly golden.  Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Meanwhile, prepare filling.  In a medium skillet, cook the bacon over medium heat until crisp, 8 to 10 minutes.  Transfer to a paper towel to drain.  In a small bowl, whisk together the eggs, cream, thyme, and pepper.  Pour into crust.  Crumble bacon.  Sprinkle the egg mixture with the bacon, and the three cheeses.  Bake until golden and custard is set, about 30 minutes.  Serve warm. 

This can be baked, cooled and wrapped tightly in plastic wrap and kept frozen for up to 1 month.  Let thaw in refrigerator and then reheat in microwave.   This quiche is also great served for brunch, pair it with fruit and/or a salad and you're good to go!  It's got a great flavor and not at all eggy....which is nice for me because I really don't like eggs!

 

Bub-bye 2007!

As it turns out, this past year was one for our record books....we certainly had our share of misfortunes during the last 12 months but for the first time in many years, the good things - the blessings - outshined the bad.  We have much to be grateful for, too - so it's with a few tugs at my heart that I say good-bye to 2007.  Surely the new year won't be as wonderful.....or maybe it will!  Maybe we're on a roll!  Maybe this is the big upswing that we've been waiting for!  Maybe our ship, that's been circling the harbor, will finally come in - and not sink before it docks!  Maybe, maybe, maybe!  Oh please, please, please....let this be the year!  Oh please, I've been good....sort of...most of the time....oh please, let the ship dock, let it dock, LET IT DOCK!  Oh well, whatever happens in 2008, I've got family and friends and a loyal pooch - what more could I need to deal with whatever is dealt?!? 

Happy New Year to you and yours!  Here are a few parting shots of our Holiday - which ended way too soon!

 

Zezza's Spaghetti and-a-Meat-a-Balls.....

Put on Dino or Frankie and get out da big pot - tonight's itsa Spaghetti and-a-Meat-a-Balls!  Being 1/4 quarter Italian (and 3/4's United Nations) I do love spaghetti and so does the mister.  We must eat it at least once a week - maybe more, if there are leftovers - which is rare.  Even Caesar Beezer The Wonder Dog loves spaghetti....he'll fly off his perch and come running when he smells it cooking and I'm constantly having to banish him from the kitchen - but his banishments never last long - his attention span is as long as the mister's...who is always hovering when the pasta is cooking so he can do the "done test"....which he does about 10 times - just to make sure.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I like my meat-a-balls to be about the size of tennis balls....and this recipe makes a nice even dozen.  Of course, you can make them smaller and get more of them but why?  I have an uncle who can get 13 sandwiches out of one SMALL can of tuna fish...thirteen!  Everyone ends up with an "introduction" to tuna on a piece of bread - what's the point of that?  And making small meatballs is like making 13 sandwiches from one can of tuna - who's going to to say, "Now, thatsa Meataball!" when you put a few paltry meatballs on their plate?!?

I like to use fresh tomatoes in my sauce - it really does make a difference in taste, but you can use canned if you must.   

I also use Madiera in my sauce - which is said to have been Thomas Jefferson's favorite wine - and if it's good enough for one of our founding fathers...blah, blah, blah...(but a good dry wine will work in place of Madiera.)   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The addition of cream at the very end of the cooking gives this sauce it's lucious color and taste...it's been our family's favorite for as long as I can remember.  This recipe is a compliation of several different family recipes - tweaked until we got it just right.  This is also our Christmas Day dinner - and we always take a minute to salute my Italian Grandpa Zezza who loved a good plate of spaghetti.

Zezza's Spaghetti and-a-Meat-a-Balls

For the Meatballs:

4 slices Italian bread

1 cup milk

2 beaten eggs

2 lbs. ground beef chuck

1/2 lb. hot Italian sausage

3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

4 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

2 tablespoons olive oil

4 teaspoons chopped garlic

2 teaspoons grated lemon peel

1 1/2 teaspoons grated fresh nutmeg

1 teaspoon each salt and pepper, or to taste

Soak bread in milk for 5 minutes then squeeze and discard milk.  Combine bread, eggs, beef, sausage and remaining ingredients except olive oil in large bowl.  Knead with hands until smooth and mixed.  Shape into balls, tennis ball size.  Put meatballs on tray, cover with plastic and chill for 1 hour. 

Pur olive oil in large skillet and fry meatballs on all sides until browned.  Put in 350 degree oven for 30 to 40 minutes until done.  Meanwhile, make the sauce.

For the Sauce:

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 cup chopped onion

1 tablespoon chopped garlic

4 cups fresh tomatoes, chopped (prefer Roma's)

1 can, 15 oz., tomato sauce

1 tablespoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon basil

2 bay leaves

2 teaspoons sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon pepper

1/4 cup Madiera or dry red wine

1/2 cup cream

Put olive oil in large skillet over medium-high heat, saute onions until tender and soft, about 10 minutes.  Add garlic and saute for 2 to 3 minutes, but do not let garlic brown.  Add tomatoes and liquid, tomato sauce and all spices and Madiera.  Bring to boil and boil for 1 minute.  Turn heat down and simmer, with lid off for 1 hour, stirring occasionally.  Add cream, do not boil, but heat thoroughly.  Serve hot over pasta and meat balls.  Serves 4 Italians.....or 6 of any other nationality.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

'O SOLE MIO
G. Capurro / E. Di Capua

Che bella cosa na jurnata 'e sole,
n'aria serena doppo na tempesta!
Pe' ll'aria fresca pare gia' na festa...
Che bella cosa na jurnata 'e sole.

Ma n'atu sole cchiu' bello, oi ne'.
'o sole mio sta 'nfronte a te!
‘o sole, ‘o sole mio sta 'nfronte a te!
sta 'nfronte a te!

Lùcene 'e llastre d'a fenesta toia; 'na lavannara canta e se ne vanta
e pe' tramente torce, spanne e canta lùcene 'e llastre d'a fenesta toia.

Ma n'atu sole cchiu' bello, oi ne'.
'o sole mio sta 'nfronte a te!
‘o sole, ‘o sole mio sta 'nfronte a te!
sta 'nfronte a te!

Quanno fa notte e 'o sole se ne scenne,
me vene quase 'na malincunia; sotto 'a fenesta toia restarria
quanno fa notte e 'o sole se ne scenne.

Ma n'atu sole cchiu' bello, oi ne'.
'o sole mio sta 'nfronte a te!
‘o sole, ‘o sole mio sta 'nfronte a te!
sta 'nfronte a te!

 

Cocoa and Spice Slow-Roasted Pork with Cocoa Cherry Sauce

A while back I saw Michael Chiarello's show, Easy Entertaining,  where he made this pork tenderloin with cocoa powder - I thought it sounded kind of crazy but he said it was great and he's usually spot on....so I printed out his recipe and stuck it in my "to make" file...

just for the record, Chiarello called his recipe, Seared Pork Tenderloin with Cocoa Spice Rub......in this month's issue of Bon Appetit I saw a recipe called Cocoa and Spice Slow-Roasted Pork With Onions, credited to Michael Chiarello, and I remembered his recipe that I had printed out.  There are a few differences...differing amounts on salt and peppercorns and after reading the reviews on Food Network about his recipe, almost everyone said there was way too much salt.  So I used Bon Appetit's recipe and changed a few things and added the sauce - which I think was divine inspiration!  Who wouldn't like chocolate and cherries on pork?!?

I made enough for a crowd - and was worried that I would have too much but the leftovers were great, if not better than the night it was served.  (Sorry about the picture - I did get a new camera but have yet to figure it out!)

Cocoa and Spice Slow-Roasted Pork with Cocoa Cherry Sauce - adpated from Bon Appetit, December 2007,  and Easy Entertaining With Michael Chiarello

Spice Rub:

1/2 tablespoon whole white peppercorns

1/2 tablespoon whole coriander seeds

2 tablespoons plus 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 tablespoon coarse sea salt

2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

1 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

Pork and Onions:

2 large yellow onions, thinly sliced

1 5-lb. pork tenderloin

For Spice Rub:  Stir peppercorns and coriander in small skillet over medium heat until spices are darker in color, about 5 minutes.  Transfer to spice grinder, grind finely.  Place in small bowl, mix in remaining ingredients.  This can be made one week ahead.  Cover and let stand at room temperature if made ahead.

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.  Sprinkle spice rub on large sheet of foil.  Roll pork in rub, pressing to coat.  Set pork on rack in large roasting pan.  Top with 1/2 of the onions; scatter remaining onions around pork in pan. 

Roast pork until very tender and thermometer inserted into center registers 165 degrees, stirring onions in pan occasionally, about 6 hours.  Transfer pork to platter. Let stand for 10 minutes before slicing.  Serve pork with onions and Cocoa Cherry Sauce. 

Cocoa Cherry Sauce:

1 jar (20 oz.) Morella Tart Cherries (I purchased mine at Trader Joe's)

1/2 cup Hot Fudge Sauce (I used Hershey's)

In small saucepan, combine cherries and hot fudge sauce.  Cook over medium heat until heated through, turn heat down to simmer and keep warm until ready to use, stirring occasionally.

Salami Crisps...

When you need an appetizer in a hurry, this will do the trick....and it's a little different than the usual fare. We invited some neighbors over last weekend and I had planned everything down to the last crumb....or so I thought...everything except for the appetizers.  I'm typing appetizers because I have no idea how to spell hors de ovaries! 

A few hours before our guests were to arrive I realized that I needed something for them to nosh on while dinner was finishing up....I had a smoked salmon in the fridge and that would certainly suffice but I wanted something else - then I remembered Giada De Laurentiis making this little number and since I have a growing boy in the house I always have salami on hand. 

I liked these a lot - and they would be good with different toppings, too, like shredded cheese or an olive tapenade. 

Salami Crisps with Sour Cream and Basil - from Giada De Laurentiis

24 (1/8-inch to 1/4-inch) slices Italian dry Genoa Salami (about 4 ounces)

1/3 cup sour cream

3 tablespoons thinly sliced fresh basil leaves

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line 2 heavy large baking sheets with aluminum foil.  Arrange the salami in a single layer over the baking sheets.  Bake until the salami slices are amber brown, watching closely to ensure they brown evenly, about 15 minutes.  Transfer the salami crisps to a paper towel-lined baking sheet to absorb the excess oil.  Set aside to cool.  Spoon a dollop of sour cream on top of each salami crisp.  Sprinkle the basil over and serve.  Can be made up to 8 hours ahead, store in airtight container.  Makes 24.

At a dinner party one should eat wisely but not too well, and talk well  but not too wisely."  Sommerset Maugham

Grandma's Steamed Christmas Pudding...

This recipe is as old as recipes can be - my grandmother got it from her mother and she probably got it from hers....and if you still have your grandmother then I'll bet she has eaten this pudding or something very close to it.  I make it every Christmas - mainly for me and the memories it brings - the mister hates it and my kids just pretend to like it but I don't think they've ever actually tasted it....all the more for me!

Come to think of it, I don't remember eating this as a child - perhaps you need "grown-up" taste buds to appreciate this...or maybe because it's made with vegetables it gives kids the willies....but it is so good and so .... comforting...yes, it really is comforting and....I know I said this about the gingerbread pudding but this, too, tastes like Christmas!

  You can use a special tin to steam this in, like the one I have on the left - it has it's own lid and fluted sides so the pudding looks very pretty when it's unmolded.  Or you can use any size can - like the coffee can that is pictured on the right, with the rubber band around the foil.  It's a little large but this recipe makes about 3 quarts or enough for 25 people.  You can use smaller cans, like a 15 oz. green bean can or something like that, but you will need 3 or 4 of them.  That's okay because this would be a lovely gift to give as well. 

After securing the tins with foil, lids or rubber bands, you put them into a water bath - simmering water that comes up the sides about 2 inches and you cook the puddings for 2 to 3 hours or until firm in the center.

I like to serve the pudding with vanilla sauce or brandy sauce, depending on who we're serving it to, even a nice Hard Sauce is good too.  The recipes for those are below.

Now just because there are fruit and nuts in this pudding, don't make the mistake of thinking it's a fruitcake - it's not....it's moist and soft and has the wonderful flavors of cinnamon and nutmeg and cloves.  My Mom and Grandma called this Carrot Pudding...but I call it Christmas Pudding...I like to hide the fact that it's made with veggies!

Grandma's Steamed Christmas Pudding - from Annie Merle Conners

2 1/2 cups flour

1 1/4 cups white sugar

2 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

2 1/2 teaspoons nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon cloves

1 teaspoon salt

2 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon

zest from one large orange

1 1/4 cups brown sugar

2 1/2 cups grated carrots, about 6 carrots

2 1/2 cups grated potatoes, about 4 large potatoes

2 1/2 cups grated apples, about 6 small to medium apples

2 1/2 cups currants, optional

1 1/3 cups chopped pecans, optional, but I always add them

1 3/4 cups melted butter or 1 1/3 cups suet, finely ground (I use butter as suet is not on my diet!)

Combine dry ingredients and sift together three times.  Add remaining ingredients and blend well.  Pour into pudding molds or cans.  Two 3-pound shortening cans or one shortening can and two or three smaller cans will do.  They should be well-greased then filled no more than 2/3's full.

Cover cans with lids or use foil secured with rubber bands.  Place on rack in large kettle containing about two inches of water.  Steam for about 2 hours or until pudding is light and dry.  Makes about 3 quarts, about 25 servings.

Serve with Vanilla Sauce or Brandy Sauce.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Vanilla Sauce or Brandy Sauce

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup heavy cream

1 cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla or 3 tablespoons brandy

In a sauce pan or top of double boiler place over boiling water, combine butter, sugar, and cream.  Stirring occasionally, cook until smooth.  Remove from heat, and stir in vanilla or brandy.  Serve warm sauce over Steamed Christmas Pudding.  (The sauce will solidify when it is cooled, to reheat put in microwave for 1 minute.)

Makes enough for 6 to 8 servings.

Hard Sauce

2 sticks softened unsalted butter

1 1/4 cups confectioners sugar, sifted

3-4 tablespoons brandy

1 tablespoon orance juice plus 2 teaspoons grated rind

In a bowl with an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.  Beat in the brandy, a little at a time.  Beat in the orange juice and rind.  Transfer to a serving dish.  Sauce may be chilled, covered, but bring to room temperature before serving.  This is very much like a buttercream frosting, some people like the "frosting" on top, I prefer the sauce.

Makes 1 cup.

                             "Never eat more than you can lift."  Miss Piggy

Happy Christmas To All!

I wish you all a very merry Christmas - we'll be celebrating at home this year - and while we won't have a White Christmas - we will have "Seattle Snow" - rain - but that's okay as we're surrounded by Christmas trees at every turn, inside and out!  We'll watch our favorite Christmas movies tonight....Christmas Vacation and Holiday Inn...and we'll read the Christmas story in the Bible before opening one present - new pajama's as always....cookies and milk will be left out for Santa - with carrots for Rudolph and the team, too!

We'll try to hold Christmas in our hearts all through the year and may God Bless us ....every one!

                                                  Merry Christmas!

Mascarpone-Parmesan Polenta Stuffed Tomatoes....

Two years ago, for my BIG birthday, my friends took me to New York City ... yes, I have fabulous friends....and while there we had lunch at Balthazar's on Spring Street in Soho - a wonderful place to "see and be seen".....I remember everything from that meal - the food was so good - especially the polenta.  Mari gave me the cookbook from Balthazar's as a b-day gift and I have used it many, many times - as the sticky pages can attest.  Polenta is my favorite comfort-food - and this polenta, made with mascarpone and Parmesan cheese just makes it the best ever!

So, with my Balthazar recipe in hand, I decided to do something a little different.....stuffed tomatoes sounded good - roasted on the outside, steaming hot on the inside...with the juice from the tomato just enough to keep the polenta moist and soft. 

Don't get me wrong - this polenta can stand on it's own and really needs no other accompaniment, but I had all these tomatoes and needed something to do with them!

Scoop out the insides of the tomatoes, saving for use later (I will use them in my spaghetti sauce on Christmas day - we always have spaghetti on Christmas!)  I also cut a very tiny piece off the bottom of the tomato so they will sit straight in the pan.

Let the tomatoes sit upside down for 10 minutes to drain, then invert them, put in a 9-inch x 13-inch baking dish and stuff with polenta. 

Tomatoes Stuffed with Mascarpone-Parmesan Polenta - adapted from The Balthazar Cookbook

2 cups chicken stock or broth

2 cups whole milk

1 cups half-and-half

2 cups dry cornmeal polenta

8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut in pieces

1 cup mascarpone

1/2 pound grated Parmesan cheese (about 1 cup)

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

olive oil to drizzle

16 tomatoes, tops sliced off, insides scooped out

Bring the stock to a boil in a saucepan.  Keep warm over a medium flame.

In a medium saucepan, bring the milk and half-and-half to a foamy simmer.  Reduce the flame to medium and add the polenta to the foaming milk mixture, stirring contiuously.  When the mixture begins to thicken, begin adding the hot stock, 1/2 cup at a time.  As with risotto, let the stock absorb completely before adding the next 1/2 cup, stirring all the while. 

When all of the stock as been added, reduce the flame to low and add the butter, mascarpone, and Parmesan, stirring well to blend.  If the consistency overall is too thick, add a bit of milk or stock.  Stir in the salt and pepper.

Carefully fill the scooped-out tomatoes with the polenta, mounding a little on top.  Drizzle olive oil over the tops and bake at 350 for 35 to 40 minutes, or until tomatoes are soft on the outside and polenta is lightly browned on top.  (Cover with foil if tops are getting too browned.)

Serve immediately.   Makes 16 stuffed tomatoes.  If just making the polenta and not stuffing the tomatoes, you will get 6 generous servings.  You can serve polenta in many different ways...I also like to spread the soft polenta in a buttered casserole dish or sheet pan and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, or overnight.  Then I cut 3-inch circles from the cooled pan and pan fry the polenta in 2 tablespoons of oil - they make great little "rounds."

Gingerbread Pudding With Brandy Cream Sauce

We have 5 days before Christmas...and then another 7 until New Years's....and then, another 4 days until the end of the "official" holiday - January 5th or the 12th Day of Christmas....so, let's add that up...5 + 7 + 4 = 16 days of feasting to go!

Hopefully you'll be able to try this recipe on one of the remaining 16 days....it reminds me of my mom and my grandma and gift boxes from Auerbach's Department store and Christmases long ago....it tastes like ... Christmas!

Gingerbread Pudding With Brandy Cream Sauce - Midwest Living Magazine, December 1994

(This recipe was originally served at Quivey's Grove in Madison, Wisconsin, known for their fine holiday dining traditions.)  Makes 8 servings (I doubled the recipe.)

1/3 cup sugar

1 egg

1/3 cup butter, melted

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

3/4 cup hot water

1/3 cup molasses

3 tablespoons honey

Brandy Cream Sauce or sweetened whipped cream

Ground nutmeg, optional

1.  In a mixing bowl, beat sugar and egg with electric mixer for about 4 minutes or till fluffy.  Add butter; beat well.

2.  Stir together flour, ginger, cinnamon, baking soda and salt.  Combine hot water, molasses and honey.  Add dry ingredients to egg mixture alternately with liquid ingreidents, beating after each addition till just combined.

3.  Lightly grease eight 6-ounce custard cups (or tins;) fill 2/3 full with batter.  Cover each cup tightly with lightly greased foil.  Place in a baking pan on an oven rack.  Pour boiling water into the baking pan around the cups about halfway up the sides of the cups.

4.  Bake in a 350 degree oven for about 45 minutes or till the pudding springs back when touched, adding more boiling water to the pan, if necessary.  Let cool on a wire rack for 5 minutes.  Unmold the puddings; cool for 15 to 20 minutes.  Serve warm with Brandy Cream Sauce or sweetened whipped cream.  Sprinkle with nutmeg.

Brandy Cream Sauce

In a bowl, beat 3/4 cup whipping cream and 1/4 cup sifted powdered sugar till soft peaks form.  Stir in 1 tablespoon brandy flavoring or brandy.  Cover; chill till serving time.  Makes 1 1/2 cups dessert sauce.

 

Butternut Squash Soup With Nutmeg Cream...

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.