Butternut squash soup

Ingredients:

6 T chopped onion

4 T butter

6 cups peeled and cubed butternut squash

3 cups chicken broth

1/2 t dried marjoram

1/2 t ground black pepper

1/8 t ground cayenne pepper

2 (8 oz) pkg cream cheese

In a large saucepan, sauté onions in butter until tender. Add squash, broth, marjoram, black pepper and cayenne pepper. Bring to boil, cook 20 minutes or until squash is tender.

Purée squash and cream cheese in a blender or food processor in batches until smooth. Return to saucepan and heat through. Do not boil.

Butternut Squash Coconut Curry Soup

From Kristin:

This is another one of the great soup recipes I discovered this fall. The recipe also comes from the Madison CSA cookbook. I love how hearty winter squash is paired with Asian ingredients to create a velvety soup with warm, mellow flavors. The taste reminds me of my favorite Thai dishes like Tom Ka Gai soup and Squash Curry. I’ve discovered there’s nothing more comforting than curling up with a big bowl of this soup on a crisp, fall day.

Butternut Squash Coconut Curry Soup (From Deb Boehm, Deb and Lola’s Restaurant; Makes 4 servings)

1 tablespoon peanut oil
1/2 large onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic
3 1/2 cups chicken or vegetable stock
1 medium butternut squash, peeled, seeded and chopped
1 small jalapeno pepper, chopped
1 can coconut milk
1/2 cup chopped lemongrass
2 citrus/kaffir lime leaves
1/2 cup bottled fish sauce
sugar to taste (start with 1 tablespoon)
juice of 1/2 lime

Heat oil in saucepan; add onions and garlic. Saute until lightly browned. Add stock, squash, and jalapeno; simmer until squash is tender, 10-15 minutes. Add coconut milk, lemongrass, lime leaves, fish sauce, and sugar. Simmer (do not boil) 10-12 minutes. Puree and strain through fine mesh strainer. Add lime juice and adjust to taste with sugar and lime juice. Makes 4 servings.

Spicy Sweet potato and coconut soup

One of the good ideas of having Tim cook on Saturday nights is that he will pick recipes that I might pass over. This is one recipe that I would not have given a second thought and I would have missed out on an incredibly delicious soup.

Tim found this recipe on Allrecipes. It was submitted by Lynn. He made the soup exactly as stated but the second time we modified the recipe by putting the cooked sweet potatoes in a food processor before adding to the soup. I didn't care for the chunky sweet potatoes floating in the soup the first time. I felt food processing the potatoes blended the flavors better.

Ingredients:
11/2 pounds orange fleshed sweet potatoes
1 T vegetable oil
1 onion chopped
1 (2 inch) piece fresh ginger root, thinly sliced
1 T red or green curry paste
1 (15 ounce) can unsweetened coconut milk
3 Cups vegetable broth
3 1/2 T fresh lemon juice
1 t. sea salt
1 T sesame oil
1/2 Cup chopped fresh cilantro

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place the sweet potatoes directly on the rack and bake until tender enough to easily pierce with a fork, about 45 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool.

Heat the oil in a large saucepan or soup pot over medium heat. Add the onion and ginger; cook and stir until tender, about 5 minutes. Stir in the curry paste and hear for 1 minute, then whisk in the coconut milk and vegetable broth. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer for about 5 minutes.

Remove the skins from the sweet potatoes and cut into bite size chunks. Add to the soup and cook for 5 more minutes so they can soak up the flavor. Stir in lemon juice and season with salt. Ladle into bowls and garnish with a drizzle of sesame oil and a little bit of cilantro.

Union House Squash Soup

The other day in the You Asked For It column of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, The Union House restaurant in Genese Depot published their famous Squash Soup recipe. Since I love acorn squash, I was anxious to try this recipe. I modified it a little bit since I still had some pumpkin in the frig from my last recipes. Great recipe for a fall or winter evening.





Ingredients:

1 large acorn squash, halved lengthwise, seeds removed
6-8 T brown sugar
1/2 C butter
6-8 T Maple syrup
2 cinnamon sticks or 1/2 t. ground
4 C chicken stock (if you are a vegetarian use vegetable stock)
Salt and Pepper to taste\

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place squash halves on a sheet pan. Divide brown sugar, butter and syrup between the two squash cavities and bake in over until tender (1-2 hours). Time depends on your size of squash. Remove from oven, cool slightly and remove skin. Put squash and the cinnamon into a 1 gallon soup pot. Add chicken or vegetable broth and bring to a simmer. Season with salt and pepper. Remove from heat and cool slightly. Puree in batches in a blender or with a hand held mixer. Serve in individual bowls garnished with ground cinnamon.

The modifications I made. I cut down on the amount of sugar and butter used. I felt as though it was too much for us. I added one cup of pumpkin to the recipe.

Two years ago I went with my sister-in-law, Cathy, to the Wisconsin Club and had lunch. This recipe reminds me of the great soup I had there.

Stuffed Cabbage Soup

While Tim was growing up, his mom made stuffed green peppers. He hated that meal. He said if I ever made that meal he would divorce me. I know he was just kidding around. For the past couple of months I have been hearing people rave about stuffed green pepper soup. Knowing Tim hates green peppers, I found a soup from Rachael Ray that used cabbage. I served it with some fresh bread that I made that afternoon. Great meal.

4 T olive oil, divided
1 C raw rice
1 quart plus 2 cups chicken stock, divided
1 1/2 pounds of meatloaf mix
1/2 t allspice
1 1/2 t coriander
2 t smoked paprika (i used just the regular paprika)
salt and pepper to taste
1 bay leaf
1 onion chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 - 3/4 Savory cabbage, thinly sliced (savory cabbage is the wrinkly cabbage)
1 (28 oz) can diced tomatoes
1 cup tomato sauce
handful of flat leaf parsley, chopped
3 T dill, finely chopped

Heat a sauce pan over medium heat with 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Add the raw rice and toss to coat in oil. Add 2 cups of chicken stock and bring to simmer, cover and cook for 16-18 minutes or until the rice is tender.

Heat a deep pot over medium heat. Add the remaining olive oil, add meat and begin to brown, 2 to 3 minutes. Season the meat with allspice, coriander, paprika, salt and pepper. Add bay leaf, onions, and garlic. Cook veggies 2 to 3 minutes to begin to soften them, then add cabbage and wilt it down a bit. Add tomatoes, tomato sauce and remaining stock and cover the pot. Raise the heat to high and bring the soup to a simmer. Simmer for about 10 minutes. Once the rice is cooked, add to the soup and continue to simmer for 2-3 minutes. Stir in parsley and dill, adjust salt and pepper to your taste and serve.

FYI: The original recipe does not say to drain grease after browning meat, I did.

Brett Favre's Cream of Sweet Potato Soup

From Brett Favre's restaurant. Thought I would include this recipe today in honor of Brett and the Green Bay Packers.

8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter (divided)
1/4 medium Spanish onion, diced
2 1/2 pounds cooked sweet potatoes, peeled and pureed
1 quart water
1 pint heavy whipping cream
1 pint whole milk
3 tablespoons chicken base
1/2 pound packed dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Pinch of ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon white pepper
4 tablespoons flour

Melt 4 tablespoons butter in a soup pot over medium heat. Add onion and saute until tender. Add cooked sweet potatoes and heat through. Add water, cream, milk, chicken base and sugar. Bring soup to a boil. Add seasonings.

To make a roux: Melt remaining 4 tablespoons butter and mix with flour; whisking until smooth. Add to soup gradually to thicken. Adjust seasonings, then serve. Makes about 1/2 gallon or 16 small servings.

Note: This soup is very thick. For a thinner version, reduce the amount of roux.

Kegel's Inn New England Clam Chowder

Kegal's famous clam chowder recipe was printed in the Milwaukee Journal

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
4 ribs celery, diced
1 small onion, diced
2 quarts water
1/2 tsp dried thyme
3/4 tsp dill seed
1/2 tsp black pepper
8 pink peppercorns
2 bay leaves
1 baked potato, peeled and diced
1 tsp clam base
1 can (13 ounces) chopped clams (see note)
4 C powdered potato cream soup base (see note)
Chopped fresh parsley for garnish

In medium saute pan, melt butter. Add celery and onion and saute until tender. Set aside.

In soup kettle bring water to boil. Add spices, potato, clam base, clams and their strained juice and cream soup base. Let simmer 30 minutes. Add reserved vegetables and heat through if needed. Remove from heat. Remove bay leaf, then serve garnished with parsley. Makes about 12 servings.

Notes: Drain, then rinse clams well, but do not discard liquid. Strain liquid through a fine sieve to remove any sand.

Soup base is available in packets or 2-pound containers. Packets hold around 21/2 cups. Using this amount of cream soup base will produce a very thick soup as prepared at the restaurant. For a thinner soup add less of the cream soup base.

Clam chowder

Serving Size: 4-6

2 C. Russet Potatoes (peeled and cubed 1/2" X 1/2" pieces)
1 Stick Butter
2 Tbsp. Diced Green Onion (bulb only)
1/4 C. Flour
2 Cans Minced Clams (6.5 oz, with juice)
1 tsp. Salt (or to taste)
16 oz Half and Half
1/2 C. Whole Milk
1/3 C. Clam Juice
Fresh Parsley minced for garnish

Preparation:
Place potatoes in saucepan and cover with water, cook on medium heat until tender. Remove potatoes from heat, drain and set aside. In 2 quart saucepan on medium low heat melt butter, add diced onions, cook until onions are slightly clear in color. Add flour to butter and stir briskly. Mixture will start to thicken. Add half and half a little at a time while stirring briskly. Mixture will be creamy and will look like thick cream. Place salt, clams and juice, potatoes, bottled clam juice and milk with mixture. On medium low temperature bring chowder to a slow boil. Turn temperature down to low and let chowder simmer gently for 15 minutes, stirring frequently.

Boulevard Inn Onion Soup

Boulevard Inn Onion Soup

2 quarts water
2 large sweet onions, sliced
1 tablespoon beef base
Pinch of dried thyme
3 bay leaves
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
1/2 to 2/3 cup flour
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
2/3 cup Parmesan cheese, plus additional for garnish
Seasoned salt and pepper to taste
Toast to top each serving of soup
Freshly grated Swiss cheese for garnish (about 3 ounces per serving)

In large pot, combine water, onions, base, thyme and bay leaves; boil until onions are transparent. Strain onions from stock and reserve both.In small pot, melt butter. Add flour, stirring until smooth, and cook about 2 minutes, to make a roux.Return stock to large pot and bring to boil. Slowly add roux to stock, stirring until soup has thickened slightly.Add onions to pan along with Worcestershire sauce, 2/3 cup Parmesan cheese, seasoned salt and pepper.Preheat oven to 350 degrees.Pour soup into individual serving bowls, cover with piece of toast and top with Swiss cheese plus additional Parmesan cheese to taste. Set in preheated oven and cook 4 to 5 minutes or until cheese melts. Makes 8 to 12 servings.

Tony Roma's Baked Potato Soup

2 medium potatoes (2 cups chopped)
3 tablespoons butter
1 cup diced white onion
2 tablespoons flour
4 cups chicken stock
2 cups water
1/4 cup cornstarch
1 1/2 cups instant mashed potatoes
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon basil
1/8 teaspoon thyme
1 cup half and half
Garnish
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/4 cup crumbled cooked bacon
2 green onions, chopped (green part only)


1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees and bake the potatoes or 1 hour or until done. When potatoes have cooked remove them from the oven to cool.
2. As potatoes cool prepare soup by melting butter in a large saucepan, and saute' onion until light brown. Add the flour to the onions and stir to make a roux.
3. Add stock, water, cornstarch, mashed potatoes, and spices to the pot and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes.
4. Cut potatoes in half lengthwise and scoop out contents with a large spoon. Discard skin. Chop baked potato with a large knife to make chunks that are about 1/2-inch in size.
5. Add chopped baked potato and half-and-half to the saucepan, bring soup back to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer the soup for another 15 minutes or until it is thick.
6. Spoon about 1 1/2 cups of soup into a bowl and top with about a tablespoon of shredded cheddar cheese, a half tablespoon of crumbled bacon and a teaspoon or so of chopped green onion. Repeat for remaining servings. (http://www.topsecretrecipes.com)
Serves 6 to 8.