Butternut Squash Soup

 When I was a little girl, I didn't like butternut squash at all.  It was that bland, orange thing on my dinner plate that I either tried to eat as fast as possible to "get it over with" or attempted to surreptitiously feed to the dog.  In more recent years, I have come to truly enjoy the versatility of this winter squash, and now use it in soups, sauces, and stir fries among other things.  It pairs just as beautifully with cinnamon as it does garlic, and lends itself well to both sweet and savory foods.  And besides, it just wreaks of Autumn.

With Thanksgiving coming to a close, I felt that a few lighter meals were in order.  Now in my experience, butternut squash soups are either rich with cream or sweet and apple-filled.  I wanted a soup that was instead light and savory, while still rich with flavor.  A soup that you could eat a whole bowl of without feeling like you were either drowning in cream or saccharine sweetness.  

What I found was a soup that works beautifully as the opening to a meal, but can also stand alone.  It manages to feel decadent while still being light.  If fills your house with Autumn and warms you up on a cold night without feeling like you just had dessert for dinner.  Oh, and it's easy, too.  

Butternut Squash Soup 

Adapted from Cooks Illustrated

Serves 6

2 1/2 pounds Butternut Squash

2 tablespoons butter

1 leek, sliced thin and washed thoroughly (about 1 1/2 cups)

3 cups vegetable broth (or 1 bouillon cube in three cups hot water)

1 sprig rosemary

Pinch cayenne pepper

Pinch of cinnamon (optional)

Salt and pepper

1 to 2 cups water

Cut butternut squash in half, remove seeds, and place on a foil-lined baking sheet.  Roast at 400 degrees Fahrenheit until it can be easily pierced with a knife, about 30-40 minutes.   Alternately, if you do not wish to oven roast squash, you can peel, seed, and cut squash into chunks.  You can then place squash in bowl, cover, and microwave 14-18 minutes, stirring halfway through.  Using either method, squash is ready when easily pierced with a knife.  It does not have to be cooked through, just softened.

Melt butter in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat.  Add sliced leeks, squash, and one teaspoon of salt, stirring occasionally until squash begins to break down and leeks begin to soften, 10 to 13 minutes.  

Add vegetable broth, and stir to release the brown fond that has developed at the bottom of the pot.  Add rosemary sprig, cayenne, and cinnamon if using.  Bring mixture to a simmer and simmer soup for 6 to 8 minutes, or until leeks are fully softened.  

Remove and discard rosemary sprig.  To blend soup, either puree in batches in a blender, or blend using an immersion blender, until it reaches the desired consistency.  Add water to thin soup as desired.  Adjust salt and add pepper to taste.  Garnish with pumpkin seeds or sprinkle with soft goat cheese.

Rustic Apple Tart

I have to admit it: I love this time of year.  I love the air, the colors, and I love the holidays that come with it.  It doesn't seem fair that the two biggest holidays come within a month of one another, but I have trouble complaining when it begins with cinnamon, pumpkin, and apples, and ends with cranberries, chocolate and peppermint.  The potential menus are endless, and if you really enjoy cooking, you probably have a huge stack of "holiday someday" recipes to try.  Right now, I imagine, if you don't already know what your Thanksgiving menu is this year, you are frantically trying to finalize it.

 While I know that apples and desserts are quickly becoming a repetitive theme here, I do feel like this recipe can be a lovely addition to your Thanksgiving menu.  As sad as it makes me, there are indeed people who are not fans of pumpkin pie (who could these people be?) who would welcome a different option for a Thanksgiving dessert.  And even for those of you who do love pumpkin pie, I don't think you will complain too much if you get to try both this year.

If you are one of those people who are afraid of making pies in general, galettes and free-form tarts are a wonderfully easy introduction to the whole fruit/crust thing.  They provide you with a great deal of flexibility and room for creativity.  If you like nuts?  Lightly toast some chopped pecans or walnuts and toss them in with the apples.  Cranberries?  Sure!  Raisins...why not?  (Although I would stay away from a mixture of the two!)

 This particular tart is minimally sweet, highlighting the apples, and as such, seems lighter than many others.  It begins with the flake of crust, a zip of cinnamon, and finishes with those oh so lovely apples, so make sure to get good ones.  It lends itself to an elegant meal while still being reasonably simple to make.  And for those of you on a holiday cooking schedule time crunch?  It comes together pretty fast, too.  

So here's to a lovely week of family, friends, and lots and lots of baking.  And if you have time?  Add this one to the holiday rotation.  Or to the Tuesday-Afternoon-I-Would-Really-Like-Some-Pie-But-Don't-Want-To-Make-A-Whole-Pie-And-Eat-It-All-By-Myself rotation.  Either way, you won't be disappointed.

Rustic Free Form Tart serves 6-8
Adapted from Cooks Illustrated


A note on pie crust:  most veteran pie makers I know have a signature crust that they prefer to use.  If this is true for you, then by all means substitute your own recipe in here.  I'm sure this would be just wonderful with a whole wheat or mixed grain crust!  If you do substitute your own recipe, make a half recipe (enough for an open-top pie), or be prepared to increase the number of apples used.


Crust:
1 1/4 cups All Purpose Flour
1 tablespoon white sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
Pinch of cinnamon
8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter
2-3 tablespoons ice water


Filling:
6-7 medium apples, peeled and cored
1/8 cup sugar (can be increased to 1/4 cup if preferred)
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg (optional)


Topping:
1 egg white, lightly beaten
sugar for sprinkling


To make crust, whisk together flour, sugar, salt, and cinnamon.  With a knife, slice cold butter into pieces and quickly toss with flour.  Cut the butter into the dry ingredients by using either your fingers or a pastry blender.  When you are through, the butter should be evenly incorporated with pea-sized pieces scattered throughout.  Next, pour ice water over mixture, quickly cutting water in with either a spatula or your fingers until the mixture is evenly moistened and begins to form a ball.  If the mixture is too dry, add more ice water, one teaspoon at a time.  Press dough into a rough ball, then flatten into a disc, wrap tightly in plastic, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or up to two days.


Meanwhile, peel and core your apples.  Then, thinly slice apples (make slices no wider than 1/8 inch thick).  If you prefer a "loose" look, separate the apple slices and toss evenly with the cinnamon sugar mixture.  If you prefer a tighter look, as in the apple spiral shown above, leave the sliced apples together as they will be easier to arrange.  


Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.  Once your pie dough has been chilled, remove from the fridge, and roll out onto a floured surface, until it is about 15 inches in diameter.  Once your dough is rolled out, cut the ragged edges off  and set aside to be used as decoration, if desired.  Place rolled out dough on a parchment-lined baking sheet, and arrange apples on the dough, leaving a 2-3 inch border of dough.  Once the apple slices are arranged as desired, sprinkle with cinnamon-sugar mixture (if you have not already done so), then fold dough border up over filling, pleating dough to fit snugly around apples. With cupped hands, gently press dough to filling, reinforcing shape and compacting apples.  You can then bake tart as is, or if you want to put a decorative border, roll scrap dough out, cut shapes, and arrange on tart before baking.


Bake until pale golden brown, about 30 minutes. Then, remove tart from oven, and place the pan with tart onto a second pan of about the same size to insulate bottom crust.  Brush crust with beaten egg whites and sprinkle with remaining sugar. Return to oven and bake until crust is a deep golden brown and apples are tender, about 30 minutes longer. Cool tart on pan 10 minutes, loosen parchment where it may have stuck to pan, then, using parchment lining, slide tart onto cooling rack and let cool completely.  Enjoy!

Local Harvest

With Thanksgiving looming near, I just wanted to take a moment to share an awesome link with all of you.  This link is for a website called Local Harvest, a site dedicated to getting you in touch with your local farming community, CSA programs, and Farmer's Markets.  

I am a firm believer that the food you prepare is only as good as the ingredients you start with.  Keeping this in mind, Paul and I always make an effort to buy fresh, local produce.  Our weekly jaunt to the Farmer's market is not just another errand - it's fun.  It gives us a chance to interact with our local agricultural community, and it also gives us a chance to buy fresh, local (and delicious!) produce at very reasonable prices.  

I realize that words like "carbon footprint", "sustainable", and "locavore" are kind of hot-button terms right now, but I have to say, considering the environmental impact of the food you consume is important.    It is also really wonderful to take an opportunity to support your local farmers.  We continually complain about jobs being outsourced, and jobs in agriculture are part of that.  Supporting local farmers gives us a chance to take a stand on how we feel about outsourcing agriculture, and at the same time keeps us in touch with our local community.

Ok, soapbox aside, the quality of fruits and vegetables available to you when you buy local produce is far better than if it was picked unripe and then shipped half way around the world to land on your table.  So here's to using delicious, fresh ingredients.  I know I have some recipes coming up that showcase produce, and as such, rely tremendously on the starting quality of the ingredients.  And while I know that some of you live in places with very short growing periods, I hope that you take advantage of the resources found at Local Harvest and get to know what is available to you.  Happy baking!

Autumn Apple Crisp

Ok, so I know you are probably wondering if I know how to make anything that does NOT include apples, but it's so hard to care when the smell of baking apples and cinnamon waft through your home.  After all, I only have twenty or so a few more apple recipes to share with you this year.  And besides, this recipe came by special request.  I received an email a few days ago from a friend requesting a good apple crisp recipe.  Which is why I then had to sheepishly acknowledge to her that I don't have a recipe for apple crisp.  Instead, crisps tend to be made with whatever apples I have at the time with whatever ingredients I want on top.  There is always butter, and a touch of sugar, but the rest usually comes out of necessity.  When is it done you may ask?  Umm...when it smells done?  When it looks done?  I don't know, I just know its done.  Then, I just shrug my shoulders and smile.  Everyone I discuss recipes with hates when I cook like that because it is rarely, if ever repeatable.

This same friend then kindly sent me her mother's apple crisp recipe.  I LOVE recipes like that.  You know - the ones that have been passed down through families for generations on a 5x7 inch recipe card.  The ones with stains on them from every baker who has ever used them.  The ones with the cryptic directions scribbled below because every baker using this recipe already knows how to make it because her mom/grandma/great-grandma taught it to her when she was twelve.  There is so much history and love in recipes like that.  My favorite line from the directions in this particular recipe read "Serve hot with whole milk".

Thankfully, this lovely friend didn't mind my tweaking and tampering with her mother's recipe.  I must warn you - if you ever want a recipe to stay intact, then don't share it with me.  I notoriously make changes to any recipe I find - including my own.  In fact, I can list on the fingers of one hand the number of recipes that I refuse to make alterations to.  That aside, I truly enjoyed adapting this one, and once and for all being able to reply, "yes, I do have an apple crisp recipe".  So with this, I encourage you to make an apple crisp tonight and bring the smell of Fall into your home.  And if you alter it?  I won't mind.  Fair's fair after all.

Autumn Apple Crisp (Serves 4-6)
Inspired by Betty Webb's Apple Caramel

Note: If you like crisp sweet, then use 1/2 cup of brown sugar.  Otherwise, use less sugar (I suggest 1/3 cup).  I like my desserts to be sweet, but not aggressively so.  I would rather use sweeter apples with less sugar then use tart apples with a lot of sugar.  


Also, if you prefer a higher crisp-to-apple ratio, then I would recommend using 5-6 apples for this recipe.  If, however you prefer more apple, then by all means go for 7-8 medium-sized apples.  I did not specify an apple variety, as people have very strong (and different) opinions about what type of apples they enjoy baking with.  Personally, I enjoy using a mix of varieties. I prefer using sweet apples like Golden Delicious rather than a high quantity of sugar, but I also like to balance these texturally with varieties such as the Winesap and Arkansas Black.


Filling
5-8 medium apples
1 tablespoon white sugar (optional if using apple cider or sweet apples)
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 cup apple cider or water


Topping
1/2 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/3 - 1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup coarsely chopped walnuts
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt
4-5 tablespoons butter


Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Peel, core, and thinly slice apples.  In a medium size bowl, mix apples, white sugar (if using), all-purpose flour, cinnamon and 1/4 cup apple cider together.  Pour the apple mixture into a lightly greased 8x8 inch baking dish.  Set aside.


To make the topping, mix oats, whole wheat flour, brown sugar, walnuts, and spices together in a bowl.  Melt 4 tablespoons of butter, add to flour mixture, and mix either with a fork or with your fingers, until the butter is thoroughly distributed.  Sprinkle the topping evenly over the apple mixture.  Slice the remaining tablespoon of butter into small pieces, and evenly spread these over the topping.  Bake at 350 degrees F for 45 minutes or until the apples are tender and bubbling.  Serve with fresh whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.  Enjoy!