Best Tips for Cooking Turkey

I don’t know how much wine this woman had but she has the best advice on how to cook a turkey!

Roasted Squash Soup

Soups and autumn. It goes together like peas and carrots. A couple of weeks ago I had lunch at Rhapsody and had to try the soup that was featured on our local news. It was as good as I had expected. Smooth, velvety and perfect for fall.

That inspired me to take my first crack at making a roasted squash soup. I didn’t really have a recipe and just winged it. I should’ve known it was going to produce alot of soup. Like, ALOT. But I didn’t and now I have enough soup to last me until next autumn.

I used my 5 quart stock pot and didn’t have room to add any more liquid to thin it out so it’s a bit on the thicker side. It still tastes great and I’ve separated it into different pots so it’ll be easier to thin out later.

1 butternut squash, sliced in half and seeded

1 acorn squash, sliced in half and seeded

1 kabocha, sliced in half and seeded

1-2 tbsp butter

1 cup chopped onion

1 cup chopped carrots

1 cup chopped celery

1-2 tbsp ginger, peeled and diced

1 ripe pear

1 box Trader Joe’s chicken broth

Salt to taste

1. Preheat oven 400. Place squash sliced side down and roast for 45 minutes. Once cooked, scoop out the squash and set aside.

2. Melt butter in a stockpot. Cook onions, carrots, celery, ginger, and pear until soft. By the way, I know it sounds weird but a friend adds a banana into her soup for some natural sweetness. I didn’t have a banana but I had a pear that was on its last legs. It’s ok to omit.

3. Add chicken broth and the squash and bring to a boil. Use a hand blender and puree soup mixture.

4. If you have room in your stockpot, you may want to add more liquid to thin it out.

5. Add salt to taste

This is a good base to be creative. You can throw in some parmesan cheese, add a dollop of greek yogurt, and sprinkle some chopped sage. Or you could add a little curry powder and some roasted pepitas for a different take.

“Slow Baked” Bean and Kale

“Slow Baked Beans and Kale.

Beans baked very slowly for several hours develop a creamy texture, while the liquid they cook in, which thickens to a syrup, acquires a caramelized flavor. The kale practically melts in this casserole, going from bitter to sweet. I love using lima beans in this dish because they’re so big and their texture is so luxurious.”

– NY Times

2/1/2011

New Lens

Comfort Food

Some of my favorite things that have crossed my plate lately.

Fate.

Whoever said it’s “better to have loved and lost than to have never loved at all” never had their heart broken.

LA Eats