Dreaming From Scratch

A few days ago I made my favorite fall meal – butternut squash soup – and served it with homemade biscuits. The soup was OK; the biscuits were amazing.We had them with a bit of my strawberry jam. Turns out it isn’t burned after all! Woo hoo!

It was the first time I’ve made the soup without following a recipe. This is a major step for me. Though I don’t break out the cookbook for everything I make, I need to feel very confident in my knowledge of a dish before I’ll attempt it on my own.

Todd is completely the opposite. He hates recipes. To him, the kitchen is another place for adventures. As a result, his victories are much sweeter (when he gets it right, it’s really right); but sometimes the results are less than desirable. We won’t talk about those…

My downfall on this soup was quite simple. I got creative and added some ground cloves. That is a strong spice! I think in the right proportion it would have added complexity and spiciness. I overdid it, and the squash was overwhelmed.

I have another butternut on my counter. Looks like I’ll have to try again. Here’s roughly how I made it.

Roast 1 large butternut squash for 2 hours at 275. Make sure to rub the whole thing with butter and a bit of salt.

Meanwhile, sauté 1 large onion and a couple cloves of garlic in a bit of oil. Once they’re softened, add 6-7 cups of homemade chicken stock. Bouillon powder or cubes aren’t as good. Too salty. If my vegan friends were visiting, I’d make a vegetable stock and that would probably be even better.  Bring the stock to a simmer.

Scoop the roasted squash out of the shell and plop it in the simmering stock. Add salt, pepper, a touch of nutmeg, ginger, and ground cloves. But not too much! Salt and pepper are pretty forgiving (don’t dump in the whole shaker and you’ll probably be fine). Maybe 1/4 teaspoon of the nutmeg and ginger and 1/8 tsp of cloves at first. (Unfortunately, I started with about 1/2 tsp cloves, and there was no going back.) Taste it and add whatever you think is missing. Todd would encourage you to add something totally random. Like chili powder. [[Todd's Note: I don't know about chili powder.  Just keep in mind you have to eat it and add what you want!]]

Blend the soup until smooth. I am lucky enough to have a stick blender. Before I had that I had to transfer the soup in batches to a regular blender. That was awful and messy, but totally worth it if you love butternut squash soup.

I think the soup is much better when it is savory than sweet. I’ve tried it both ways, and the latter tastes like baby food. Butternut is a very sweet squash, so the key to making it savory is increasing the proportion of stock to squash, using a large onion and plenty of garlic, and going easy on the nutmeg and ginger.

I added a couple tablespoons of cream to my bowl at dinner. I wish I could say it was awesome, but those darn cloves! I’ll let you know how it turns out next time.

Oh! I almost forgot. The biscuit recipe is here. They were perfect.