Roasted Butternut Squash Soup

Sorry for so many soup posts, I just can't help it, this is such a perfect time of year for soup! I've never had or made butternut squash soup before, so I was kind of flying blind here. But, as soon as I pulled the roasted butternut squash out of the oven, I knew it was going to be delicious. This thick and velvety soup will definitely be perfect for a nice cold winters day, Enjoy!

Ingredients:

• 4 pounds whole butternut squash (about 2 medium), halved lengthwise, seeds removed and reserved
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter (1/4 stick)
• 1 medium Granny Smith apple (about 8 ounces)
• 1/2 medium yellow onion
• 8 fresh sage leaves
• 2 1/2 cups low-sodium vegetable or chicken broth
• 2 1/2 cups water
• 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt, plus more as needed
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more as needed
• 1/3 cup heavy cream

Directions

Heat the oven to 425°F and arrange a rack in the middle.

Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Place the squash pieces cut-side up on the baking sheet. Melt 1 tablespoon of the butter and brush all of it over the tops and insides of the squash halves (alternatively, you can rub it on evenly with your fingers). Season generously with salt and pepper. Roast until knife tender, about 50 minutes to 1 hour.

Clean off the reserved seeds, toss them olive oil to coat. Spread them out evenly over a baking shit, sprinkle with salt. Bake until toasted. 

Meanwhile, peel, core, and cut the apple into medium dice. Cut the onion into medium dice. Melt the remaining tablespoon of butter in a large saucepan or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the apple, onion, and sage, season with salt and pepper, and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 7 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and set aside.

When the squash is ready, set the baking sheet on a wire rack until the squash is cool enough to handle. Using a large spoon, scoop the flesh into the saucepan with the sautéed apples and onions; discard the skins.

Add the broth, water, and measured salt and pepper, stir to combine, and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to medium low and simmer, stirring occasionally and breaking up any large pieces of squash, until the flavors meld, about 15 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the cream.

Using a blender, purée the soup in batches until smooth, removing the small cap from the blender lid (the pour lid) and covering the space with a kitchen towel (this allows steam to escape and prevents the lid from popping off). Alternatively, use an immersion blender. Taste and season with salt and pepper as needed. Serve garnished with the butternut squash seeds, if using.

Fish n' Chips

This is the fish course that I made for the grand dinner event last month. I wasn't pleased with how it turned out at the actual event (you would understand if you saw the kitchen I had to work out of) so I decided to try it again at home to try to get it perfect. This time it definitely didn't disappoint! This is a recipe I adapted from Thomas Keller's The French Laundry Cookbook. This dish features Rainbow trout, a parsley coulis, garlic palette, a potato chip (yes it's there!) topped with a parsley and shallot salad. Bon Appétit!

Ingredients

For Palette's:

• 6 medium heads garlic, cloves separated and peeled
• 10 hard-boiled egg yolks
• 3 tablespoons butter
• Kosher Salt
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 cup panko bread crumbs

 For Parsley Coulis:

• 2/3 cup chicken stock
• 2 bunch of parsley, stems removed
• 1/4 cup cooking white wine 
• Salt and Pepper to taste 

Parsley Salad:

• 1/4 cup Italian parsley leaves
• 1 tsp finely minced shallots
• Extra virgin olive oil
• Pinch of kosher salt

 Potato Chip:

• 2 Large Idaho potatoes, peeled
• Peanut oil, for frying
• Kosher Salt

 Fish:

• 6 large trout filets, separated
• Salt & Pepper
• Canola oil 

Directions

 

For Garlic Palettes: Place the garlic cloves in a small sauce pan and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil. Drain the garlic through a fine mesh sieve and run under cold water. Return to small sauce pan and repeat process twice. The third time, let garlic boil until easily pierced with a knife. Drain the garlic cloves and place them in a small food processor and slightly puree. Measure out 1/2 cup of the garlic puree for the garlic palettes. 

 

Place the garlic puree, egg yolks, butter and salt in a food processor and blend until smooth. Line a small baking sheet with parchment paper. Place a 1 1/2" circular mold on the baking sheet and add enough of the garlic mixture into the mold to come 1/2" up the sides. Carefully remove the mold and make 5 more disks with the garlic mixture. Cover and freeze for several hours, until mixture is solid, or up to a few days.

 

After mixture is solid, place the flour, cream and crumbs in three separate bowls. Dip each disk into the flour, patting off any excess, then completely coat with cream and dredge in the crumbs, being careful to coat each round completely. Re-dip a second time in the cream and crumbs and return the palettes to the freezer. I recommend making these the day before you want to make this dish, that way the are nice and solid before you pan fry them.

 

For Parsley Coulis: In a sauce pan, bring the chicken stock up to a boil. Remove from the heat. Pour into a blender along with the parsley and white wine. Puree until smooth. Remove and keep warm.

 

For the Parsley Salad: Toss the parsley leaves and shallots with a light coating of olive oil and the salt. 

  

To Complete: Heat about 1/2 inch of canola oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat (there should be enough oil to come about halfway up the sides of the fish). Season the trout with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Add the fillets skin side down and saute, pressing down on the pieces of fish with a narrow spatula or small skillet to keep them flat. When the fish is almost cooked, after about 1 minute, turn the pieces to "kiss" or briefly cook, the second side. The total cooking time will be about 1 1/2 minutes. Remove the fillets to paper towels. Add the frozen palettes to the pan and brown for about 1 minute on each side, until crisp and warmed through. Be careful for two reasons 1) turning the palettes because they will be very fragile and 2) There will be a lot of bubbling with the heavy cream reacting with the hot oil. Just keep an eye on it and don't let it boil over cause it will cause one heck of a mess. 

 

Cut each filet in half, it will be one filet per plate. Place a spoonful of the parsley coulis on each serving plate. Center a palette on the sauce and crisscross the cut trout filet on top. Top with a potato chip and parsley salad. The potato chip and parsley salad is intended to be eaten in one bite, almost like a built in amuse-bouche.

 

Kitchen Word of the Day 

 

Amuse-bouche is a single, bite-sized hors d’œuvre. Amuse-bouches are different from appetizers in that they are not ordered from a menu by patrons, but, when served, are done so according to the chef's selection alone. These, often accompanied by a complementing wine, are served as a little tingler for the taste buds both to prepare the guest for the meal and to offer a glimpse into the chef's approach to cooking.

The term is French, literally translated to "mouth amuser". The plural form is amuse-bouche or amuse-bouches. The French word amuse-gueule is also employed in France, although amuse-bouche is more often used on menus in fine dining restaurants, as the word gueule is an impolite way of saying bouche.

 

 

Cajun Sweet Potato Soup

I have been in a soup kind of mood lately, as you can tell with my back to back soup posts. Since I didn't have time to celebrate Mardi Gras last weekend, I decided to honor it this past weekend with this delicious Cajun Sweet Potato soup. It's creamy, sweet and has a nice kick of heat at the end with the hot sauce and sausage (in my case chorizo). Then for the side I made a Charred Cajun Bruschetta. Bon Appétit!

Ingredients

• 1 Lbs Andouille or Chorizo sausage
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 6 Tablespoons all-purpose flour 
• 1 large onion; diced
• 1/2 red pepper; diced
• 4-5 ribs celery; diced
• 3 cloves of garlic; minced
• 1.5 quarts chicken stock
• 2 large sweet potatoes; diced
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 1/4 cup spinach; chopped
• 1/4 cup parsley; chopped
• 1/4 cup chives; chopped
• Hot Sauce; to taste
• Salt & Pepper; to taste

Directions

In a large stock pot, brown sausage links until cooked through. Remove, wrap in tin foil and reserve.

Add butter to the pot and melt, add flour in with butter and whisk to make a roux. Add in onions, celery, red pepper and garlic, saute until soft. Once vegetables are soft, add in warm stock and bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Add in sweet potatoes, cover, and simmer for about 20 minutes or until sweet potatoes are tender.

Transfer to a blender and puree until smooth. Return soup to the stock pot and mix in cream, chives, parsley, spinach and hot sauce (to taste). Dice sausage links into large chunks and mix into the soup. season with salt and pepper (to taste) and serve warm.