Roasted Butternut Squash & Ginger Soup with Herbed Croutons

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What is it about soup that is so comforting? Is it that it warms you all the way through from heat to toe to your soul? Or that it naturally slows you down because it’s hard to eat a hot soup fast. One of the reasons I love soup is because it is usually pretty easy to make, there is not a whole lot of planning involved, it’s quick, and most of the times you can make soup out of leftovers.

I remember as a kid my mom was very good at repurposing leftovers, and we had learned that by the third day if she hadn’t come up with something more creative, she was going to turn it into soup!

Even my daughter in kindergarten said her favorite food is soup. Not pizza, not pasta, not ice cream, soup. That’s my girl!

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I am labeling the difficulty level as “intermediate” but that’s only because this recipe is not your typical throw-in-the-pot-all-the-ingredients-and-let-it-cook kind of soup. There are a few parts to prepare separately and you will need an emersion blender or blender to puree it. I do have a quicker, easier version in the Variations sections below.

Serves 6       Difficulty level – intermediate

Ingredients:

For roasting the butternut squash:

  • 1 large butternut squash – about 1.5 – 2 pounds
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • ½ teaspoon sea salt
  • pinch of freshly ground pepper

For the soup

  • 1 tablespoon butter
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 1-2 garlic cloves, chopped
  • 3 tablespoons peeled and chopped ginger, separated into 2 and 1 tablespoon portions
  • 1 carrot, cut into ½ “ pieces
  • Crème Fraiche and pumpkin seeds for garnish – optional

For the croutons

  • about 2 cups cubed hearty bread like baguette or french bread
  • 1-2 tablespoons olive oil
  • ½-1 teaspoon dried thyme

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 425°. Cut, seed, peel, and chop the butternut squash into cube-ish pieces. The shape doesn’t matter so much, as long as they are about the same size so they will cook evenly. Toss with 2 tablespoon olive oil, salt, and pepper.

Roast in the oven until soft and slightly brown about 25-30 minutes. Lower the heat to 375° for the croutons.

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In the meantime, melt the butter in a large pot. Add the chopped onion, garlic, and 2 tablespoons of ginger. Sauté in the butter until the onion is translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the carrots and sauté for another 5 minutes.

Add the roasted squash and enough vegetable stock to cover the vegetables. Bring to a boil.

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Lower heat to low and use an emersion blender to puree the soup. Alternatively, puree in a Vitamix. If using a Vitamix, 1, be very careful because the soup will be hot. And two, you will need to do it in 2 batches. Keep warm.

Toss the cubed bread with olive oil and thyme. Bake in the 375° oven until crisp, about 5-7 minutes.

Add the rest of the chopped ginger, stir, and serve hot with the herbed croutons.

Butternut squash soup

Variations:

  • Use chicken stock instead of vegetable stock. In a pinch, you can also use water.
  • Add about ½ cup cream or crème fraiche right after you puree the soup for a richer flavor and texture.
  • Short on time? Instead of roasting the butternut squash, throw it in the pot after the onions and carrots are sautéed. Add the stock, cover with a lid, and cook until soft, about 15-20 minutes depending on the size of the cut.
  • Instead of butternut squash, use Kabocha squash, acorn squash, pumpkin, or sweet potatoes.

Do Ahead:

  • Butternut squash can be roasted 5 days ahead. Keep refrigerated.
  • The whole soup can be made 5 days ahead. Keep refrigerated.
  • The croutons can be made up to one day ahead

 

Just for Halloween…

 

Frisée Salad with Bacon & Poached Egg

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Lyonnaise is another name for this popular French bistro salad since it is from Lyon, France. Warning: Although a salad, it is not diet food. Warning #2: Your tummy and taste buds will be doing the happy dance after just one bite!

The curly, crunchy, yet delicate lettuce is tossed with crisp bacon, (Traditionally, lardons are used.) and crunchy croutons that are cooked in the bacon fat. Finally, it’s topped with a creamy poached egg.

The lemon vinaigrette creates a perfect balance as it cuts through the heaviness of the fat from the bacon and the croutons.

This is a semi-recipe. Meaning I am listing the ingredients, but no the amounts.

Difficulty level – Intermediate

Ingredients:

  • Frisée lettuce
  • bacon, cup into strips and cooked until crispy
  • baguette, cut into cubes and cooked in bacon fat
  • Poached egg
  • For the dressing, combine 1 clove of garlic, minced, 1/2 teaspoon sea salt, 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, 3 Tablespoons lemon juice, 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil.

Variations:

  • Make it light by baking the croutons instead of cooking them in bacon fat
  • Make it a warm salad – after cooking the bacon and the croutons, toss the lettuce and dressing in the pan and let it heat through and until the lettuce is a little soft. Add the bacon and croutons to the pan and toss. Serve on a plate with the poached egg on top.

Do Ahead:

  • The dressing can be made about one week ahead and kept in the refrigerator.
  • The bacon can be cooked a few days ahead. Bring to room temperature before using.
  • The croutons can be made up to one day ahead. Bring to room temperature before using.

Edamame & Kale Quiche

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When you mention quiche, most people probably think brunch or tea party. Personally, I like to eat quiche any time of day. Breakfast? Of course. Lunch? Yum. Dinner? You got it. Snack? Bring it on! It’s also great for picnics and potlucks. You can even cut it into bite-sized pieces and serve as an appetizer. Is there anything a quiche can’t do? I think not!

Technically you should blind bake the dough partially, but oops! I forgot when I was doing my video. I was going to remake it and redo the video, but when I baked it, it was still pretty great! The egg part wasn’t overcooked even after letting the dough get nice and brown.

I still say for a perfect quiche – like if you were entering into a quiche-making contest or something – blind bake the dough partially. But I’ll leave it up to you. I wonder what I will do next time I bake one…

Serves 4-6          Difficulty Level: Intermediate

Ingredients:

  • 1.5 cups edamame
  • 1.5 cups kale, chopped and blanched (Click here to see a video on how to blanch)
  • 2 Tablespoons fresh tarragon, roughly chopped
  • 4 eggs
  • 2 cups half & half
  • ½ teaspoon sea salt for vegetable mixture, 1 teaspoon for egg mixture
  • ¼ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper for each mixture
  • 8 ounces goat cheese
  • 1 pie dough for 9” pie, homemade or store bought
  • sour cream or yogurt for garnish – optional

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350°. Cook the edamame until it’s soft, but still has some texture or is al dente.

Blanch the chopped kale until bright green, about 30-40 seconds. Drain and Mix with the edamade and tarragon in a small bowl. Season with salt and pepper.

In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs with the half & half. Mix in the goat cheese, until combined but not complete incorporated. Leave some chunky pieces. Season with salt and pepper.

Roll out the pie dough to fit your pie dish. Make sure it’s large enough to come up the sides as well. Spread the edamame mixture evenly at the bottom of the dough. Then gently pour the egg mixture on top.

Bake until the crust is golden brown and the center is only slightly giggly, about one hour to one hour and 15 minutes.

Let cool for at least 15 minutes before cutting. You can serve it warm, at room temperature, or even cold. I wouldn’t necessarily plan to serve it cold, but if you came home from work late and are starving, you can grab a piece right out of the fridge and devour.

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Variations:

  • Skip the dough and make it a frittata. You don’t need to bake it as long, about 30-40, but still look for the slightly giggly texture in the middle. Let it cool down for the same amount of time, 15 minutes.
  • Use any combination of vegetables you like. Just stay away from things like tomatoes. It might make it too soggy. Unless you seed the tomatoes. (Click here for a video on how to peel and seed tomatoes.
  • If you are not concerned about keeping it vegetarian, add some cooked chicken, bacon, or sautéed pancetta. Yum!
  • Use different herbs like parsley, thyme, or chives or a combination.
  • For a little crunch and extra added fiber, protein, and magnesium, when your quiche (or frittata) is halfway cooked, sprinkle some pumpkin seeds on top.
  • Use other kinds of cheese like Gruyere, Brie, Parmigiano Reggiano, feta, Gouda, or Havarti.
  • Cut into bite-sized pieces and serve as an appetizer.

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 Do Ahead:

  • The fully cooked quiche can be kept in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
  • If making the dough yourself, you can keep it in the refrigerator for up to 5 days, or freeze for up to 3 months.
  • The vegetables can be cooked/blanched up to 3 days ahead.
  • The egg mixture, along with the vegetables, can be made a day ahead.

Turkey Bolognese

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This is an old video from 2009!

Does anyone remember this show? Unfortunately, it’s not on anymore, but it was a local weekday variety show on ABC called The View From the Bay, hosted by Spencer Christian and Janelle Wang. It was a live show that featured Bay Area attractions and interviews and also had a cooking segment every day. I had the pleasure of doing the cooking segments a total of five times!

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Did I mention it was live? Yikes!

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This one was about putting a twist on a recipe that a viewer had submitted. Her recipe was Turkey Bolognese. I wanted to keep the integrity of her recipe and didn’t want to change it too much. So my twist was adding some pesto sauce and making it into lasagna rolls instead of a traditional layered lasagna.

The recipe is in the video. Leave a comment if you have any questions or if you want more detail. It’s been 9 years so I may need to make a couple of adjustments. Please also see below for Variations and Do Ahead.

I had so much fun doing this show. I hope you enjoy watching it.

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Variations:

  • You can make the sauce the traditional way with a combination of ground beed and pork for a more robust flavor.
  • Use the sauce for regular spaghetti or any shape noodle you like.
  • Make a layered lasagna.
  • Add some grilled and chopped zucchini or eggplant to the sauce. If making a layered lasagna, I recommend keeping the vegetables in slices (not chopped) and layer with the sauce, cheese, and noodles.

Do Ahead:

  • Make the sauce and keep in the refrigerator for 5 days.
  • The sauce also freezes well. Make a double batch and freeze for that rainy day – literally – for the day that is pouring rain and you don’t feel like stopping at the store.
  • The rolls or the layered lasagna can stay in the refrigerator for about 3-4 days. When ready to eat, just add some cheese on top and bake in the oven as normal.

 

 

“Angry Shrimp” – Spicy Shrimp in Tomato Sauce Over Polenta

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My friend Tracey had this dish at a restaurant and loved it. I don’t blame her. It is pretty delish. So I created this recipe based on her description of the meal.

The video is us genuinely trying the recipe without practicing or rehearsing. We are figuring it out as we go. Obviously I had some idea of where to start based on Tracey’s description. My point, I tested the dish again and honed it some more after the video. So the list of ingredients below is more complete and has a couple of ingredients that I did not use on the video.

Don’t forget to scroll down for ideas on Variations and Do Ahead tips. I am also including links for some of the products I used for you to purchase through Amazon with just a click.

Serves 4          Difficulty Level – easy-intermediate

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups cooked polenta
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 pound medium or large shrimp with tail on, seasoned with salt
  • 1 small shallot, chopped finely, about 3 tablespoons
  • 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
  • 1 teaspoon, or to taste, red pepper flakes
  • 2 teaspoons smoked paprika (not in the video)
  • 1 cup chopped tomatoes, either fresh, canned, or boxed. I used Pomi brand chopped tomatoes
  • ½ cup white wine
  • ½ cup chicken stock
  • ¼ cup parsley, roughly chopped
  • 1 ½ tablespoon of butter, cut into chunks
  • sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
  • squeeze of lemon (optional) (not in the video)

Heat a sauté pan on medium-high heat. Add the olive oil and give it about 30 seconds to heat up. Once hot, add the shrimp. Sauté until they turn pink, about 1-2 minutes. Do not overcook them! Take them out of the pan and set aside.

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In the same pan, sauté the shallot and garlic until soft, about 1 minute. Add the red pepper flakes and smoked paprika. Stir to combine. I did not use smoked paprika in the video. It was an afterthought, but it definitely adds another dimension of flavor to the dish.

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Add the chopped tomatoes, wine, and stock. Deglaze the pan and let the sauce reduce and thicken, about 5 minutes.

Add the shrimp back to the pan and heat through, about 1 minute. Add the butter chuncks one piece at a time and whisk to combine. Turn off the heat and add the chopped parsley and squeeze of lemon, if using.

Serve hot over polenta.

The difference between coarse and fine ground polenta.

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Variations:

  • If you don’t like spicy, you can completely omit the pepper flakes or use less.
  • You can substitute more wine for chicken stock.
  • Substitute shrimp for chicken, sausage, or a combination. Kind of like a jambalaya without the rice.
  • OMG! How about mussels or clams or both! Include the shrimp and you have 3 angry shellfish!
  • Make it lighter by not adding the butter at the end when finishing the sauce.
  • Make it lighter by adding chicken stock to the polenta to make it a creamy texture instead of butter and milk.
  • If calories are not your concern, you can add a few tablespoons of half and half or heavy cream to the sauce. It will give it a creamy texture and cut back the heat a little from the red pepper flakes. If using this option, no need to use butter at the end.
  • Serve as a pasta sauce, or serve with mashed potatoes, rice, or baguette.

Do Ahead:

  • The sauce without the shrimp can be made up to 3 days in advance. But save whisking in the butter until you want to use it. When ready to serve, heat the sauce on the stovetop on medium heat. Meanwhile, sauté the shrimp separately and add to the sauce when ready to serve. Whisk in the butter, one piece at a time.
  • The polenta can be made up to 3 days in advance. You can reheat on the stove or in the microwave. I don’t mention using a microwave often, but starches like pasta, rice, mashed potatoes, polenta, etc. heat up nicely in the microwave. Whether on the stovetop or microwave, you want to add some liquid, like water, chicken or vegetable stock, or milk when reheating.