I have really been craving soup these past couple weeks. Maybe it’s all the snow we’ve been getting and chilly temperatures! I happen to love butternut squash. What better to use it for than a soup?

I found this recipe from Bon Apetit, but realized I didn’t have all the ingredients, nor did I want to use heavy cream or milk. I did however have similar ingredients (i.e. sub parsnips for carrots, celery root for celery). While I was unsure of how this would turn out with the substitutions and my own spin, I decided to press on. Boy, am I glad I did. This soup turned out to be amazing!

Butternut Squash & Roasted Garlic Soup

WHAT I USED:

2 heads of garlic, tops removed
1 teaspoon olive oil
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter
3 cups chopped onions
3/4 cup peeled, chopped parsnips
1/2 cup peeled, chopped celery root
4 pounds butternut squash, peeled, seeded, cut into 1-inch pieces
6 cups canned low-sodium chicken broth
3 tablespoons chopped fresh sage

kosher salt & fresh ground black pepper to taste

light sour cream for garnish

WHAT I DID:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place each head of garlic on it’s own foil sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and wrap tightly. Bake about 40 minutes, or until tender. Cool in foil.

2. Melt butter in heavy large pot over medium heat. Add onions, parsnips and celery. Cook until onions begin to soften, about 5 minutes. Stir mixture so it does not brown. Add squash, broth and 2 tablespoons sage. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer uncovered 25 minutes or until squash is tender.

3. While soup is simmering, unwrap peeled garlic. Squeeze into a small bowl, discarding papery skins. Mash garlic with a fork into a smooth paste.

4. Stir garlic into soup. Using a hand blender, puree soup until smooth. Season with kosher salt and pepper to taste.

5. Ladle soup into bowls. Garnish with a dollop of light sour cream, remaining sage ( if desired ) and a little kosher salt and black pepper.

** Soup can be frozen ( without sour cream ) up to 4 weeks. Freeze in individual portions for quick meals. Thaw in refrigerator. Reheat on the stove over medium low heat.

This is a fabulous soup perfect for a simple meal at home or a night of entertaining. A perfect first course! Serve with bruscetta for dipping or your favorite yummy bread. Garnish with a dollop of light sour cream to counter the sweetness of the squash. Yum!!

I’ve never used celery root before, but it worked very nicely with the meal. It seemed to be milder than celery to me. Maybe it just married perfectly with the flavors so I didn’t notice. It was easy to work with and a nice substitution. Don’t be afraid to try new ingredients. You might be surprised!

Helpful Link:
How To Roast Garlic

Recently, I tried making my own pizza dough from Martha Stewart’s Baking Handbook. It turned out so nicely that I have made it several times since! It’s so rewarding making things like this from scratch. I simply make a batch and freeze half to use at another time. It’s worth the little effort to have something fresh and tasty. Here is a similar recipe to the one in the book. Frozen Pizza Dough.

For this Margherita Pizza, I use one container of Domino’s Marinara sauce (we had one leftover), fresh mozzarella slices and fresh basil leaves. First, I roll the dough out. I like mine on the thinner side. Sprinkle cornmeal on your cookie sheet. Place rolled dough onto sheet. Brush with olive oil, top with marinara, mozzarella slices, basil leaves and salt & pepper. I also grated a little asiago (or any hard cheese) I had in my drawer, just to add a little more flavor. Bake in a 450 degree oven for 12-15 minutes. Throw a few more basil leaves on top and enjoy!

If you don’t want to make your own dough, buy some to use. You could also make your own pizza sauce. I just haven’t gotten around to perfecting that. Might be next on my list of things to learn.

This is such a tasty dinner. It has become a staple in our home. Try it! There are so many combinations of flavors out there. I favor simplicity, but these would be super tasty with meats if that’s your thing.

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We’re enduring a record-breaking snowstorm here in the Baltimore-D.C. area. Will post updates of the snow! It’s just lovely.
Have a warm and happy weekend!

While in El Paso, we went to this sushi place called “The Sushi Place” which specializes in a Mexican Roll, among other tasty off-beat rolls. My favorites were the The Dragon Roll and The Sushi Place Roll. You’ll find the descriptions below the photos. Can’t wait to visit again for this tasty sushi! If you’re in El Paso, try it!

The Dragon Roll :: Shrimp Tempura, carrot and cucumber, covered with eel, avocado, masago and eel sauce. Isn’t it lovely? So colorful.

The Mexican Roll :: Manchego cheese, avocado, surimi, seasoned jalapenos and tampico paste. Covered with chicken breast. SMOTHERED in Sriracha Sauce!

**WARNING** MAY CAUSE TEARY EYES AND SEARED TASTE BUDS **

The Sushi Place Roll :: (tempura) Cream cheese, avocado, crab, shrimp, furikake, chives and seasoned jalapenos covered with eel and sprinkled with sesame seeds.

Don’t be afraid of sushi! It simply means “wrapped in rice”. Doesn’t have to be raw. You can always find some interesting (fully cooked!) rolls out there. Have a great weekend!

Recently, my husband took me to see It’s Complicated. In the movie, Meryl Streep’s character makes these incredible looking cheesy, toasty bits of goodness. I had never heard of these French sandwiches before, but I couldn’t get them out of my mind! After some research, I came across this recipe from Simply Recipes. I adapted it to my tastes, but holy moly these things are amazing! I can’t even begin to describe how each mouthwatering bite of creamy, cheesy goodness tasted. Perfection. These are going to become a staple in our household.

I believe the key to making the Croque Monsieur was to buy quality ingredients. Truly, I think it made a difference. Somewhere in my research I came across a comment that was made, “It’s just an expensive ham and cheese sandwich.” Oh no, no, no! Sure, it’s bread, cheese, ham, but does your ham and cheese come bathed in a Béchamel sauce? It is just so satisfying to make meals like this at home. For me, the cost of the ingredients is still far below what I’d pay for a mediocre (at best!) restaurant meal. Really, it’s just the cheese that is “expensive”, but they will last you longer than more lackluster cheeses will. With so much flavor, a little goes a long way. Although, I did indulge tonight on the cheese front!

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Croque Monsieur (adapted from SimplyRecipes.com)
Makes 10 pieces or 2-3 servings.

WHAT I USED
2 Tbsp butter
2 Tbsp flour
1 1/2 cups 1% Lactaid, warmed (I can’t handle real milk, funny the cheese doesn’t get to me)
Salt & Pepper
1 1/2 cups Gruyère cheese, grated
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, grated and packed
Crusty French bread loaf, cut into 1 inch thick slices (sandwich size, not skinny baguettes)
8 ounces Black forest ham, thinly sliced
Dijon mustard

WHAT I DID
1. Preheat oven to 400°F.

2. Using a small saucepan, melt butter over medium heat until melted. Slowly add flour while whisking constantly. Continue cooking and whisking until mixture turns a light blonde color, a couple minutes. Keep color light, do not let brown. Slowly pour in warmed milk, while whisking. Keep a light simmer and continue to whisk until sauce starts to thicken. Add Parmesan and 1/4 cup Gruyère cheese a little at a time while stirring. Do not add all at once, or sauce will clump. Once you’ve combined cheese into sauce, salt and pepper to taste. Need help with your Béchamel? Links below.

3. Turn heat to low under sauce. Lightly toast your bread slices on a baking sheet in the oven, turn once. Do not let brown.

4. Spread a very thin layer of Dijon mustard over each toasted slice. Add about 2 slices of ham to each piece. Sprinkle each slice with the Gruyère cheese reserving about 1/4 cup. Spoon Béchamel over each slice, then top with remaining Gruyère cheese.

5. Bake for 5 minutes. Rotate pan front to back, then turn broiler on High for 3 minutes. Cheese will be bubbling and lightly browned when ready. Be sure to keep a close watch while broiler is on, they can burn quickly.

6. Remove from pan, plate up and enjoy!

Traditionally, this is more like a sandwich, but I enjoyed these quite a lot without the top portion of bread. I feel it would have been too crusty and hard, especially for me. (Braces!) I probably shouldn’t have been crunching on the one crusty piece as it is! My Orthodontist would be unhappy with me. Shh! You won’t tell, right?

Have an outstanding weekend and indulge a little!