The Best Soup Yet: Curried Butternut Squash

Howdy.

I finally cooked tonight. It felt like a decade. Cooking is such a stress reliever for me; to get my mind off the fact that I'm unemployed and broke. So when I unable to do things like cook...I get a little depressed. On the bright side, I have an interview tomorrow so we shall see what happens!

Hope everyone had a GREAT Christmas! I have to say Christmas 2010 has been the best yet. Great family, friends, and I received everything I wanted and more. This includes....A NEW LAPTOP! A Mac! My crappy Sony Vaio has been on it's last life for a while now, so I am ecstatic to get a computer that will last longer than...a year. I also got a gorgeous KitchenAid mixer, Frye boots, DJ Hero (which I can't stop playing), the Pioneer Woman's cookbook, Guy Fieri knives

(my Dad wants to be him), and so many other great things. One really expectingly cool gift was Demy: a digital, touchscreen recipe reader.

You are able to add any recipes on this via internet! It also has a converter option, a list of substitutes, and 3 timers. Totally cool, tanks Momma D :)

Anyways, tonight I made the greatest soup ever. EVER. Butternut squash, curry, pancetta, jalapeño...everything I love in one soup. I've been wanting to make this forever but my boyfriend wasn't too keen on it, so I made it by myself tonight while watching the 16 & Pregnant reunion (he's going to be REALLY happy he's not here tonight). I am sometimes a little wary of making soups, as a lot of them I have made have been bland. I made one recently with cauliflower, asparagus and leeks, and to be honest it was gross. I hated it. So this was a pleasant surprise! The butternut squash and curry go great together as they have that sweet and spicy combination that never fails. The original recipe calls for bacon but I used leftover pancetta from Christmas. The bacon would have probably been better with its smoky flavor, but it was still a good substitute.

I splurged and bought myself a dutch oven yesterday. It's not those $300 ones but a very good knockoff. I love it; it was so easy to make this soup in it. The other pot I have is way too small and every time I made soup it was overflowing. If you need a nice but cheap dutch oven, head to Target and get one of these bad boys. Only $60!

Here's the recipe...so make this soup asap. So yummy and great for winter hibernation.

Curried Butternut Squash Soup

Ingredients:

• 1 large butternut squash, halved and seeded
• 1 jalapeño chili (or Serrano if you don't like heat)
• 2 slices of bacon (or pancetta)
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 1 large carrot, diced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• White wine or dry vermouth
• 1 1/2 tsp curry powder (the original said sweet curry powder...I just used regular)
• 1/2 tsp dried thyme
• Hearty dash of paprika
• 1 large bay leave (or 2 small)
• 1 quart of chicken broth (4 cups)
• Whole milk or heavy cream (optional but highly recommended)
• Salt
• Pepper

Directions:

1. Heat your oven to 350 degrees and adjust the rack to the middle position. Place both halves of the squash FACE DOWN on a baking sheet(I missed this part). Roast until tender, 45-60 minutes. Place the whole chili pepper on the same sheet, or on another pan, and roast until tender, about 20 minutes.
   
   
2. Meanwhile, cook the bacon in a dutch oven or large soup kettle set over medium heat.
   When the bacon is crispy, remove it from the pot and set aside. Add the onions and carrots to the pot and saute until barely tender. Add the garlic and saute until fragrant, about another minute. Deglaze the pot with a splash of white wine or dry vermouth.
   
   
   Add the curry, thyme, paprika, bay leave(s),
   
   and about 3 cups of chicken broth.
   
   
3. When the squash and pepper are done, remove from the oven and allow them to cool until you can handle them comfortably. Using a spoon, scoop the flesh from the squash into your soup kettle. Remove the stem and seeds for your pepper, roughly chop it, and add it to the pot as well. Crumble bacon and add it back into the soup.
4. Using a large wooden spoon, mix and mash it all together. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Remove the bay leave(s).
5. Working in batches, puree the soup in a blender or food processor until smooth (or if your lucky enough to have one...the immersion blender). Return the soup to the pot, adding a splash of milk or cream and more chicken broth to bring the soup to your desired consistency (I added an additional cup). Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve.
   
   Enjoy babes!

Here's the link: http://threemanycooks.com/recipes/soups-and-salads/curried-butternut-squash-soup/

Update

I've been meaning to update this thing for a while now. We've been cookin a little but really, the holidays are leaving our lives pretty hectic; lots of commuting to the burbs, shopping and wrapping. On top of this all, I've temporarily lost my camera. As many of my friends know I'm ALWAYS losing cameras. I hope it's at my parents house.

Anyways, updates are coming. After new years, I'm going to start updating this thing at least twice a week. It's one of my many new years resolutions. Not to mention I completely enjoy doing this.

Mark also wants to do this "ingenious" idea that he thought of for my blog: Fried Fridays. His thought was that on every Friday that we cook, we should fry something. I personally think that neither of us should ingest any fried food since we are trying to lose weight...but because he thinks that this is the best idea ever created and I wanna keep the peace, we're going to try it.

Along with this, we're probably going to do Meatless Monday's too. I'm not the biggest meat eater anyways so this is not really a big deal, but I think Mark might suffer. However I think cutting meat consumption is very important as we all know about the environmental and health benefits of a vegetarian diet.

Lastly, I will try my hardest to make this thing prettier; logos and what not. Computer stuff and HTML is extremely overwhelming to me but I neeeeeed to learn it. If anyone can help...I'd appreciate it :)

Get ready for some food, babies!

Glen Prairie

Last night was my mother's birthday and big girl Kimberlee Dudek picked the restaurant to celebrate! For the past few years I've been reading Chicago Magazine and kept reading about Glen Prairie; local "Americana" food right in Glen Ellyn. I've been trying to get my parents to go there (who live a whole 10 minutes away). Of course, they are creatures of habit and always go to the same 2 restaurants alllll the time. However, I FINALLY told my parents..."we are going to Glen Prairie for Mom's birthday, whether you like it or not." So we did...woo! And guess what...it was delicious. My parents, boyfriend and I loved it. One of the best Suburban restaurants yet!

When we got there at 7p.m. on a Saturday, there was hardly anyone there. The restaurant was small, but quaint and homey. The tables had large comfy chairs and the table was a little small for 4 people, but we managed. We first ordered wine of course, which was a Riesling because my mother only drinks Riesling and well...it was her birthday. To my surprise, it was a dry Riesling, which is rare; I feel like every one I've had has been unbearably sweet. 2 1/2 glasses went down reaaaal easy. Because we were starving, we ordered 2 appetizers; sweet corn bruschetta and onion rings. The bruschetta was great! Corn, tomatoes, mozzarella, onions with a jalapeño sauce which I'm going to try to re-create at home. And the onion rings were PICKLED! That's in caps because pickled anything is TO DIE FOR!!! They were "out-of-bounds" as Guy Fieri would say. Like, I want pickled onions on everything from now on.

After a glass of wine, dinner came out. I had a quarter of a chicken with mashed potatoes and heir covert (French green beans). My mom had pork tenderloin with rice pilaf, my father had a cheeseburger and fries(as always), and Mark had short ribs with mashed sweet potatoes (which i kept eating) and brussels sprouts. Everything was DELICIOUS! Chicken can have a tendency to be dry and boring, but it was so flavorful and juicy. And the chicken stock sauce was delicious. The green beans were cooked perfectly...forget about that frozen crap.

Mark's sweet potatoes were to die for. I am a sweet potato freak soooo...no surprise there! And his short ribs...butter. I'm not even kidding. No knife needed. My family was literally eating off his plate. My mom's pork tenderloin was juicy as can be. I'm not a huge pork tenderloin fan but it was pretty good! And my father's dinner...I only got to try ONE fry. That's it. So I can assume it was pretty good?!

Dessert time came and I made sure to save room. As always, I picked vanilla bean creme brulee. It's my weakness, can't help it. There were 3 other things that I would have LOVED to try but creme brulee is always #1 in my book! Luckily, Mark decided to get caramel apple pie, my mom got pumpkin cheesecake, and my father got a brownie sundae. I tried everything...and it was soooo yummy. I could have just had dessert and been satisfied to be honest. My creme brulee was super creamy with raspberry and blueberries on top; just the way I like it :)

So GO TO GLEN PRAIRIE! It's great food, inexpensive and a great time! We are going back asap. Here's the link http://glenprairie.webs.com/

Rigatoni Aurore with Pancetta

Ok I'm sorry. I completely suck at updating this thing. In my defense however I've been super sick all last week, been getting ready for the holidays, and began job searching all over again (meeehhhhh...). Needless to say it hasn't be the greatest two weeks. And I honestly haven't cooked anything that good. I made some pasta that did not turn out at ALL, which is ridiculous because it's pretty hard to screw up dried pasta and some sauce. I also made some pork chili for my Dad which he devoured and literally left me a spoonful. Tanks, Dad!

So last night I was so happy to cook something good. A post-cold meal full of carbs and fat. And lots wine. And that's just what I did. Let me tell you this meal wasn't just good, it was great. Possibly the best thing I have ever made. Mark agreed. He had two FULL bowls and two large pieces of garlic bread. It was just that kind of meal that you pig out too and don't even care how bad it is for you...because it's just too good. So seriously make this. It's super quick and amazingly good. Serve with some Trader Joe's garlic bread and two-buck-chuck and you are set for a great food coma.

The recipe is below and let me apologize now for the lack of pictures. I just totally forgot to be honestly. Again, I suck. Sorry.

Penne Aurore with Pancetta

(It said to use penne, but I used rigatoni)

Ingredients:

• 1 lb of rigatoni
• 1 T olive oil
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 1 jar (23.5 oz) tomato sauce
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 1 cup whipping cream
• 1/2 cup fresh chiffonaded basil leaves (those long strips)
• 1/4 cup pecorino romano cheese (or more)

Directions:

1. Cook pancetta in a large skillet over med-low heat until crisp, about 8 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer pancetta to paper towels to drain.
   
   
2. Add olive oil and garlic to the pancetta drippings and saute for 30 seconds. Add tomato sauce, wine and cream. Bring sauce to a boil; reduce heat to medium and simmer until sauce is slightly reduced, about 10 minutes. Stir in basil. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
   
   
3. Meanwhile, cook pasta in a pot of boiling salted water until tender but still firm to the bite. Drain pasta and divide amount 4 plates (or 2 haha). Spoon sauce over pasta.
   
4. Sprinkle pasta with grated pecorino romano cheese and pancetta.

Here's the link: http://thepioneerwoman.com/tasty-kitchen/recipes/main-courses/penne-aurore-with-pancetta/

Obsession: Zara

Look at me posting daily! Home again with a recovering boyfriend...watching the Bears kicks some ass hopefully.

Anyways I'm bored again and decided to dedicate a post to my new favorite store Zara. I'm completely obsessed with it. I went there a few weeks ago with my friend Adrienne and bought these adorable boots:

this cute sweater:

and this dress:

There is a little bow around the waist that you can't really see it the picture...it's totally adorable.

Next time your out shopping, make sure you stop in. You'll be pleasantly surprised...both men and women. Their prices are reasonable too!

I hope to take some pictures of my outfits once I stop being a bum and wearing sweatpants everyday. Gotta love unemployed life...not. I love fashion and putting outfits together but lack of a money and schedule has left me totally lazy and bummy.

By the way, I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving! Forgot the mention that in my other post. Hope everyone is ready for Christmas....It's coming up fast :)

Vanilla Bean Shortbread

Well today sucked to say the least. Mark woke up puking at 8am and hasn't stopped all day, poor guy. I totally woke up in the Christmas spirit too; ready to put up the tree, lights, bake gingerbread. But nope, instead I sat around with sicky ALL day, listened to him complain, acted as his servant, and watched a plethora of decent movies. I'm such a great girlfriend.

Around 7 p.m. I couldn't even take sitting around any more...I had to do something. So I decided to do my most favorite thing ever: BAKE! Seriously, If baked goods weren't so packed with fat and calories I'd be baking all day, everyday. Mean it. So I picked up a bottle of wine and some vanilla and made these babies I've been eying in my "Cooking Light: Quick Baking" magazine. I was supposed to make these with vanilla bean, however I could not bring myself to buy ONE vanilla bean for $13. So I replaced the bean with extract. It's definitely not the same as using the bean but still pretty yummy. If I had the money I would totally use it and would suggest you splurge for the beans...the flavor is so much better.

As for my wine...$4.99 Turning Leaf Pinot Grigio. Nothing special because I was too broke for a really good wine. It's not bad though, kind of sweeter than most pinot grigio's I've drank. Much better than the other cheap wines I've had recently!

Vanilla Bean Shortbread (Vanilla Shortbread?)

Ingredients:

• Cooking spray
• 2 cups of all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• 1/4 teaspoon of salt
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 cup canola oil
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise (or 2 1/2 teaspoons of vanilla extract)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Line bottom and sides of a 13x9 metal baking pan with foil; coat foil with cooking spray and set aside.
   
   
3. Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour, cornstarch, and salt in a bowl; stir with a whisk.
   
   
4. Place softened butter in a medium bowl, and beat with a mixer at medium speed 2 minutes or until light and fluffy. Add canola oil, and beat with a mixer at medium speed 3 minutes or until well blended.
   
   Gradually add sugar, beating well. Scrap seeds from vanilla bean, and add seeds (or extract) to butter mixture; discard bean. Add flour mixture, beating at low speed just until blended. Spoon dough into prepared pan. Place a sheet of heavy-duty plastic wrap over dough, and press to an even thickness.
   
   Discard plastic wrap. Bake for 30 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Cool shortbread in pan 5 minutes on a wire rack; cut into 32 pieces (mine were more like 20). Carefully lift foil from pan and cool squares completely on a wire rack.

They were pretty good...even Mark scarfed one down after not eating all day! Monday I'm going to be making pasta so look forward to that. I'm going to try and cook more at home while I'm still unemployed so hopefully the posts will keep coming :) Now to watch Fargo and listen to more complaining...

Country Captain

About a month ago I bought the "Throwdown" cookbook. As cocky as Bobby Flay seems (is?) I still love that show. After flipping through it I saw country captain and HAD to make it. I saw the Throwdown a while back and it looked so weird, but yummy. Raisins, carrots, curry, bacon altogether...what?! I didn't even want to make Bobby Flay's to be honest; the Lee Brother's (winner) looked 10 times better! So finally tonight, my boyfriend and I made it...and it was just as delicious as I expected. And I have tons of leftovers. I can't wait to eat it as it sits for a few days! I would highly suggest this to everyone, especially if your a curry virgin. And no wine today...limeade instead. I have to give myself a sober day every once in a while :)

Country Captain

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup of chicken stock
• 1/2 cup of dried currants or raisins (I wanted to use currants but couldn't find them)
• 1 T curry powder
• 1 T garam masala
• Salt and pepper
• 4 oz of slab bacon or fatty country ham, chopped (bacon won of course)
• 12 skin-on, bone-in chicken thighs
• Canola oil, if needed
• 1 large dried chile, split and seeded
• 2 1/3 cups thickly sliced carrots
• 2 cups diced yellow peppers
• 2 cups diced onion
• 3 garlic cloves, unpeeled (I used the bottled, minced garlic)
• One 28oz can crushed tomatoes
• 2 T fresh grated ginger
• 4 cups cooked, white rice
• 2/3 cup slivered almonds
• 1/2 cup chopped flat-leave parsley

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Pour the stock into a small saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat. Put the currants in a small heatproof bowl and pour the hot stock over them. Set aside to plump.
3. In another small bowl, combine the curry powder, garam masala, 1 1/2 t of salt and 1/2 t of pepper.
4. Scatter the bacon in a 4- to 6- quart enameled cast-iron pot or Dutch oven set over med-high heat. Stir the pieces around occasionally until the bacon is firm and just golden brown, about 5 mins. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the bacon to a small bowl.
5. Pour off all but 2 T of the fat in the pot, reserving the excess fat in a small bowl (it lasted FOREVER). Brown the chicken thighs, in batches, over med-high heat, taking care not to crowd them in the pot, until they are golden brown, about 5 mins per side. If the pot becomes too dry, add a little of the reserved bacon fat, 1 t at a time. Remove the chicken to a medium bowl.
6. Add 2 t of the reserved bacon fat to the pot (if there is none left, use canola oil). Add the chile and toast until very fragrant, about 30 seconds per side. Add the carrots, bell peppers, onions, and garlic, and cook until slightly softened, about 6 mins. Add the tomatoes, curry powder mixture, ginger and the currants and their stock. Reduce the eat to med-low and simmer until the tomatoes have cooked down to a puree and the sauce has thickened around the vegetables, about 8 mins.
7. Nestle the chicken thighs gently in the sauce so that the skin side faces up and is above the surface of the sauce. Tent the pot loosely with foil and transfer it to the middle rack of the oven. Back until the country captian resembles a roiling stew around the chicken thighs, about 20 mins.
8. Remove the foil and back until the sauce has thickened further and the chicken skin is just beginning to crisp, about 15 mins.
9. Remove from the oven, skim any excess fat from the surface, and season to taste with salt and pepper. Discard the chile (or you could eat it like Mark did haha).
10. Spoon 1 cup of white rice into a bowl. Use tongs to arrange 3 thighs on top. Spoon the sauce over the chicken and rice, and garnish with the reserved bacon, almonds, and parsley (I was soooo hungry i just put the almonds and bacon on top).

P.S. This is me and bacon. Big deal since this is the first time I've eaten/cooked bacon in years. Mark was so proud.

Caramelized Onion Flatbread with Spiced Olive Oil

Hey babes,

Tonight I was sort of depressed...so I decided to buy a bottle of wine and cook some yummy food! I saw this recipe on Food Network last year and attempted to make it for Christmas Eve with my parents. Well...it turned out horribly. We couldn't eat it. The bread was bumpy and unevenly cooked. I was so upset; my father was looking forward to it so much! (He puts caramelized onions on absolutely EVERYTHING.) I saw it the other day again and said you know...I'm going to try this again. I couldn't let this recipe defeat me. Annnnnd....it was a success! I would suggest making this for more than one person. It would be a great appetizer for the holidays! I also drank Alamos 2009 Malbec from the Mendoza region of Argentina. It's a very dry red wine but very good. As you will come to find out...I loveeeee South American wines.

Happy cooking!

Caramelized Onion Flatbread with Spiced Olive Oil

Ingredients:

• 2 medium yellow onions, quartered and sliced
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced (I used the bottled garlic...lazzzzzy)
• 1/4 cup of butter
• 1 lb of refrigerated pizza dough at room temperature (I used Pillsbury. It was like...13.9 oz or something. It worked fine though)
• 2 T chopped fresh herbs (The recipes says to use a combo of thyme, rosemary and oregano, but I used DRIED thyme, basil and oregano. About 1/4 t of each)
• 1/4 cup of grated cheddar
• 1/4 cup of grated parmesan or pecorino
• Salt and pepper
• 1/2 cup of balsamic vinegar
• 1/4 cup of olive oil
• 1 T crushed red pepper flakes

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
2. In a large skillet, over medium-low heat saute the onions and garli in butter for 20 minutes or until golden brown and caramelized, stirring with a wooden spoon, throughout the cooking process. Remove from the heat and set aside - Mine took longer than 20 minutes...more like 30
   
   .
3. Turn dough onto a lightly greased 12-inch pizza pan. Press the dough out into a circle about 10 inches in diameter with your hands; (this does not have to be perfect). Using the handle end of a wooden spoon handle, make deep indentations about 1-inch apart on top of the dough.
   
   Top with the caramelized onions and sprinkle with fresh herbs and cheeses. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Drizzle with olive oil and bake at 400 degrees F until golden brown, about 18 to 20 minutes
4. Meanwhile, pour the balsamic vinegar into a small saucepan, over medium heat and simmer until reduced by half
   
   
   .
5. Combine the oil with chili flakes in a small bowl. Let sit for 15 to 20 minutes to let the chili flavor infuse into the oil
6. Remove the pizza from the oven and drizzle with the balsamic reduction and chili oil before serving
   
   .

Here's the link: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/robert-irvine/caramelized-onion-flatbread-spiced-olive-oil-recipe/index.html