Butternut Acorn Squash Bisque

I couldn't resist visiting this favorite. Butternut Squash soup is truly one of my favorites. In passing I came across a recipe that mixed acorn squash and butternut squash. Who can resist the flavors of autumn. This soup I put bought all the ingredients and literally just put the soup together. Although, after I made the soup I listened to The Splendid Table and heard more scrumptious items to put into the bisque.  My soup was very thick and creamy.

Butternut Acorn Squash Bisque
About 1 2 lb butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cut into 1 inch chunks
About 1  3/4 lb acorn squash, peeled, seeded and cut into 1 inch chunks
3 cups chicken stock
1 white onion, chopped
1 carrot, peeled and chopped
2 stalks celery, peeled and chopped with leaves
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 clove garlic, chopped
3 teaspoons curry powder
salt and pepper to taste
1 cup almond milk
Place sauce pot on heat to warm over medium heat, and add olive oil to heat. Add celery, carrots, and white onion and saute until translucent. Add the garlic and brown slightly. then add the chicken stock and squash. Add the curry. Turn the heat down to low and cook for 20 minutes or until heated through. Once heated through, process the soup in a food processor until blended smooth, or blender, or with a hand blender.

I headed back to school like many of kids. I headed off to school online with Quinnipiac University. This is my first time heading to school online and I can say it is quite an adventure.

Quinnipiac University (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Enjoy the soup,

Ratatouille and Podcast to Feed the Soul

I ate very healthy this weekend, and actually was able to get my boyfriend to try ratatouille. He is a meat and potato guy. If he had it his way he would have hamburgers and hot dogs every day of his life. (To me that would be a very boring food life). I had my ratatouille with polenta.

Here is the finale container. I did not use a mandoliue to make mine. I followed Smitten Kitchen's recipe for ratatouille.

I have been listening to a lot of Podcasts on my IPhone. I can't seem to get enough of them. I am listening to

The Splendid Table has interesting tidbits about food, restaurants and recipes. Listeners also ask questions. All their information can be found here.

And if you haven't heard Jacob Nawrocki at Operation Self Reset. You should start listening to him. He has lots of energy.

Information about his podcast can be found here.

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Orange-Balsamic Glazed Chicken

For dinner last night I settled down to a nice Orange-Balsamic Glazed Chicken, some leftover brown rice, and baby carrots with which I dipped in ranch dressing. It was Curry and Comfort's recipe and it was wonderful.

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My Pork Creation

Pork roast with a butternut squash crust #pork #butternut #squash #roast via caseygoduti

Have you ever had a moment of inspiration that turned itself into something totally amazing. That was what it was like for me, in the creation of the dish above. I literally created this dish at the grocery store, while thinking of the leftovers I wanted to use in the refrigerator.

This meal was made in two parts.

The first part was the butternut squash mixture, where I roasted the butternut squash, mashed it, and added ginger, Chinese 5-spice, Duck Sauce, Soy Sauce, celery and garlic.

"Let's see, I have half a butternut squash mash mixture I used for stuffing potstickers Asian style. What do I want to do with it?"

The only meat that came to mind to me was a pork loin.

Putting the pork loin in the pan, I poured sesame oil over the top and placed the butternut squash mixture on like a crust. I then stuck a thermometer into the pork and put it into a 350f  oven. I put 1/2 cup white wine into the button of the pan and cooked the pork until it reached 170F.

When it was done it was moist and juicy and a real treat.

It is not that often that I come up with such a creative meal. I was really proud of myself.

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Fettuccine With Salami And Zucchini

This dish is simple and rustic. The recipe comes from one of the first chefs I started watching on PBS - The Jeff Smith 'The Frugal Gourmet'. I was interested in the recipes and stories around the dishes he made. This, of course, is one of them.

This recipe comes from Jeff Smith's Uncle Vic. When his Uncle Vic fed him this dish he thought his Uncle just must be so wealthy. You don't have to be wealthy to eat this dish.

Fettuccine With Salami And Zucchini

2 small zucchini (I actually used organic yellow squash)
2 cloves garlic
2 tbsp. olive oil
1/4 lb. Italian salami, sliced thin, cut matchstick style (I bought a 6-oz Genoa salami stick)
1 tbsp. capers, chopped
Fresh ground pepper
1/2 c. whipping cream (1/2 a pint)
Salt to taste
1/2 lb. fettuccine, cooked
Grated Parmesan or Romano cheese
Slice the zucchini; put several slices together and slice again into matchsticks. Slice the garlic very thin. Saute the garlic in the oil until barely browned. Add the zucchini and saute for 3 minutes. Add the salami, capers, pepper and cream. Simmer until all is very hot. You will need little or no salt in this dish. Serve over the hot pasta. Top with the cheese.

It was pretty tasty!

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Baccala Salad

I am of Italian heritage. No Christmas Eve is complete unless you are serving a Baccala salad. My uncle was born in Italy and he can't go without having a traditional Christmas Eve dinner. We had to have those seven fishes. On our table growing up we had baccala salad, squidgy salad, shrimp cocktail, linguine with clam sauce and lobster tails. This is the Baccala salad from Rao’s Restaurant which is from the Food Network site.

Baccala Salad
Recipe courtesy Rao’s Restaurant
2 pounds salt cod cut in 3-inch pieces
1 cup olive oil
4 cloves garlic (I sliced them)
1/2 cup lemon juice
2 cups hot and sweet vinegar peppers
1 cup Gaeta olives (I stoned mine)
1/4 cup capers
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
Salt and pepper, to taste
Soak cod for 2 to 3 days, refrigerated, changing water regularly. In large pot, bring 6 quarts of water to a boil, add cod and cook until fish breaks off easily. Strain and cool. After it cools, remove skin and bones, if there are any, and break into bite size pieces. In medium saute pan heat oil and saute garlic for 2 to 3 minutes. Cool. In a bowl, add cod, pour oil and garlic over, add lemon juice, peppers, olives, capers, parsley and salt and pepper, to taste. Place in serving platter and serve at room temperature.
Copyright 2012 Television Food Network G.P.

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