We had a very simple but good dinner, and I thought I'd lay out the recipes for a couple parts: soup, sandwich and cake.
Butternut Squash Soup:
(a modified recipe from Earthbound Organic; mostly we left out the truffle oil & brown sugar)
2 medium butternut squash
3 tablespoons melted butter
3 tablespoons butter
2 large yellow onions, diced
2 tablespoons minced shallots
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon dried thyme
5 cups chicken stock
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup unbleached flour
1 cup heavy cream
sea salt, to taste
pepper, to taste
Slice the butternut squash lengthwise, and clean out seeds and stringy bits. Brush cut surfaces with melted butter, and salt and pepper. Put the squash in a shallow pan, buttered surfaces down. Pour about half and inch of water into the bottom of the pan. Place on a rack in the bottom third of oven preheated to 350 degrees, leaving there for about 45 minutes, but really until it is soft when you poke it with a finger.
Remove and let cool, then scoop the flesh from the skin.
Melt the butter in a what they describe as a "large, heavy bottomed pan;" we used cast iron. Add the onions, garlic, shallots and thyme. Use medium heat until the onion becomes translucent.
Add the squash and stock to your butter and bits, and bring everything to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, and let simmer for about 30 minutes.
Seperately, mix your half cup of softened butter with flour to make a paste.
Use a food processor to puree the squash, and return to a saucepan. Whisk in the butter and flour paste, simmering on low heat until it thickens.
We decided to couple our soup with individual servings of large grated pecorino cheese (as seen in the black cellars), pepper and parsley.
Turkey Sandwich:
toasted basic whole wheat bread
pea sprouts
tomato
bacon (crispy, for a certain snap)
sliced chilled turkey
swiss or jarlsburg cheese
Fresh and a little decadent at the same time, with the bacon.
Cream Cheese Coffee Cake:
Found in the January//Febuary Issue of Cooks Illustrated, though unfortunately not yet listed publicly online. I will post the recipe as soon as it makes it onto the web. The were no substitutions or other alterations to the recipe as listed in the printed magazine.
In the meantime, check out how lovely Steven's version was:
And throughout, we were drinking a good Austrian red, named Sepp.
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1 comment:
Love it! :-) Fabulous meal and you did a great job on the chandelier. :-)
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