Soup 2

Soup 2
Originally uploaded by Tara H.

This is the second Winter of Soup soup. It is Roasted Garlic and Butternut Squash Puree, from the Williams-Sonoma "Soups" cookbook. It was easy to make, but time-consuming. I stuck to the recipe until the very end, when I could see that the squash to liquid ratio wasn't going to work unless I wanted soup the consistency of paste. So, I used less roasted squash and added some water. I thought it was too rich and squashy, so I added some nutmeg, cinnamon, all-spice, and a little cayenne, plus some cream. Then it was better (thanks to Kev for being my taster/spice advisor). I still didn't love it though. I thought it was a good appetizer soup, but not a good meal soup. It was still too squashy for me. But Kev liked it and ate three bowls. Daphne tried it, made a yuck-face, and had some fruit and cheese for dinner. It is definitely not a very kid-friendly soup.

I was disappointed, because I was trying to recreate the delicious butternut squash soup I had at "Jane" in New York City last month. Theirs was served with a big blob (I hate the word "dollop") of mascarpone cheese and some spicy pumpkin seeds. Our lame grocery store didn't have mascarpone cheese or spicy pumpkin seeds, so I whipped some heavy cream and bought a six-pack of David's snack-size packets of salted pumpkin seeds. It just wasn't the same. Oh, how I miss Central Market!

This was my first time using leeks, which was kind of fun.

Time to choose Soup Number 3!