Butternut Squash & Green Apple soup *melissa

 If you happen to be reading this and you find yourself basking in the sun of California or some other sunny place...good for you. Here on the east coast we've been subject to an onslaught of rainy chilly weather. What better to pull you out of the soggy grumpies than a creamy butternut squash soup!

Ingredients

2 tablespoons butter
2 large leeks (white and pale green 
    parts only), chopped
1 large onion, chopped
1 large potato, peeled and cubed
2 cups cubed butternut squash
1 cup diced carrots
1 Granny Smith apple, peeled, cored,
    and sliced 1/4-inch thick
1 quart chicken stock
1/4 cup dry white wine
1 can evaporated milk
1/2 cup sour cream
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
salt and pepper to taste

First chop and clean your leeks. I find that the best way to do this is to give them a quick rinse then chop them in 1/4 " slices....

Place in bowl of cold water and let them soak for a few minutes so that all the sand and dirt stuck between the layers can seep out. 

Then peel and chop your potato, apples, carrots and onion...

Time to attack that squash. Cut off the top, stem and all, then cut straight down from end to end with a large sturdy knife. Don't be scared of the seedy, stringy bit on the inside (but doesn't it look like it should be featured in The Alien movies with Sigourney Weaver?)

Now take a sharp edged metal spoon and scoop away the seedy innards of your squash until it's nice and clean like this..

 OK, now chop chop chop into about 1" cubes....and you're ready to begin the sauteing...

Melt butter in heavy stock pot, add onions and sauté until translucent. Add leeks and sauté for another two minutes (season with salt and pepper.) 

Add potato, squash, carrots and apples along with the chicken stock. Bring to a boil and then reduce to medium heat and simmer for about 20 minutes or until potatoes are fork tender.

Carefully puree soup either with wand blender (if you don't have one...put it on your Christmas list---if you do a lot of pureeing this gadget will save you LOTS of time and clean up.) After soup is pureed add can of evaporated milk, sour cream and white wine. 

Serve with shredded cheddar, a dollop of sour cream and some good sourdough bread. Enjoy and sooth those soggy grumpies away.

Creamy Corn "Chowdah" with Chicken *melissa

We've entered into one of my favorite seasons of the year - FALL - I love this season for many reasons but one of the reasons is that I love making soups and my husband loves eating soups. My husband, a Bean Town native, would call this soup "corn chowdah." Being my first attempt at making "chowdah" I consulted a number of different recipes and came up with this conglomeration of ingredients that yielded  a result that actually metered on my husbands, "A+" scale...and for a native Boston, Red-Sox lovin' guy, that's saying a lot.


1 red bell pepper chopped
1 jalapeno chopped (seeds removed to desired hotness)
2 medium potatoes chopped with skins on
1 medium onion chopped
2 cups frozen corn 
6 cups low sodium chicken stock
salt & pepper to taste
4 slices bacon   
2 cups cooked chicken
1 can evaporated milk
sour cream (for garnish)
sharp cheddar (shredded for garnish) 


In large pot cook 4 strips of bacon until mostly crispy. Remove bacon and set aside, drain all but 2 Tbsp of the drippings. Saute chopped onions in bacon drippings until translucent -- about 5 min. Then add chopped red bell pepper, jalapeno pepper and continue to saute. 

Add chopped potatoes to pot and continue to saute. Then add frozen corn.

Add chicken stock and simmer for about 20 minutes or until potatoes are fork tender. Then puree 3/4 of the mixture either carefully ina  blender or with a wand blender (I have one of these....and I lurve it...it makes life in the kitchen SO much easier.) After soup is pureed add can of evaporated milk and shredded chicken, simmer until incorporated. 


Serve with dollop of sour cream, sprinkled cheddar cheese and some crumbled bacon, a side of sourdough bread for dipping and soaking up every last drop is a must...I promise, you will like this soup.