Squash soup and other Fall delights

[Defensive_Indifference]

Yummm. Squash.

My missus and I just collaborated on butternut squash with wide egg noodles. One of the better meals I’ve had in a while. It was a gorgeous color, and the presentation was especially impressive when it was garnished with a couple of whole sage leaves. And it just tasted awesome. One of the key ingredients was brown butter, which added a bit of nuttiness.

I also love acorn squash stuffed with cornbread stuffing. That’s one of our Thanksgiving dishes.

Spaghetti squash is fun to cook with as well. I find the taste of the spaghetti squash itself a little bland, but used in place of noodles, it can be interesting.

Also, I love saying the word “squash”. Squash squash squash squash.

Squash.

[Harmonious_Discord]

I made up this recipe in 2007. Everybody I have try it loves this.

Pumpkin Pound Cake

Ingredients
2&3/4 cups Granulated Sugar
1 cup - Softened Butter
5 Eggs (large)
1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract

Instructions
Heat oven to 350F.
Grease 2 one pound bread pans with shortening, and flour them.

Using a large bowl, mix all the above on low speed for 30 seconds scraping bowl constantly.
Mix for 5 minutes on highest speed. Scrap bowl as needed to ensure all ingredients are well blended.

Ingredients
1/8 teaspoon Ground Cloves
1/4 teaspoon Ground Ginger
3/4 teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon Salt
1&1/4 teaspoons Baking Powder
1 cup Canned Pumpkin
1 cup Evaporated Milk

Instructions
Add in the above.
Mix on medium 30 - 90 seconds until blended.
Ingredients
3 cups All purpose flour

Instructions
Add in the flour on low speed 1 cup at a time.
Scrape the bowl until all the flour is incorporated.
Don’t over beat the batter at the flour addition.

Pour into two 1 pound bread loaf pans.
Smooth the batter out.
Bake for 70 to 80 minutes until a tooth pick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Cool for 20 minutes.
Remove from pan and finish cooling.
Wrap the loaf in plastic wrap while still slightly warm to retain moisture.

[Harmonious_Discord]

I’m bumping this up for Halloween.

[Chefguy]

@Shayna

Butternut Squash Soup

Ingredients
32 oz butternut squash
3 cups fat free vegetable broth
2 cups water
1 stick cinnamon
1 tsp salt
1/16 – 1/8 tsp nutmeg
2 tbsp butter or margarine
1 large red onion
4 anjou or bartlett pears (or a combination of both)
2/3 cups dry white wine
pepper to taste
lowfat yogurt
crumbled, toasted walnuts

Preparation

Peel, seed and cube the squash (or buy pre-cut from Trader Joe’s)
Peel and slice the onion
Peel, core and thinly slice the pears
Crumble walnuts, if whole

Instructions

In a large pot, combine the squash, vegetable broth, water, cinnamon stick, salt and nutmeg. Bring to a slow boil, reduce heat and simmer until tender (about 40 minutes).

Place crumbled walnuts in an even layer on a cookie sheet. Bake at 400 for about 5 minutes (until lightly browned). Set aside.

Melt the butter or margarine in a large pan. Add onions and gently cook, stirring occasionally, until they soften and begin to caramelize.

Add the pears to the onions and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring often.

Add the wine to the pears and onions, cover and simmer for about 10 minutes.

Remove the cinnamon stick from the squash and discard.

Add the pear and onion mixture (including all the liquid) to the squash.

Puree everything in batches until smooth.

Reheat slightly before serving, if necessary. Add pepper to taste.

Serve garnished with a dollop (about a tablespoon) of low fat yogurt and sprinkle with crumbled toasted walnuts.

Printable version

I finally got around to making this recipe and it’s outstanding. A couple of things I did differently (I can’t resist tweaking): I didn’t have a cinnamon stick, so substituted a tsp or so of Vietnamese ground. Didn’t have vegetable stock, so used chicken boullion (actually Better Than Boullion, which is far superior). I added a sliced up fennel bulb to the mix. At the end, after puree-ing it all, I added about a quarter cup of half & half to add some richness. I also sauteed the walnuts in some butter. Good stuff.