Butternut Squash Bisque with Granny Smith Apple and Maple Bacon

Today is a gross, rainy day in Boston and I'm still sniffling from a cold I got two weeks ago. Yuck. Tis the season, I suppose. In the midst of my sickness and feeling very under the weather, I decided to cheer myself up by making this soup. One of my favorite things about fall is butternut squash, and I've been meaning to make a roasted squash soup for a while. Since I don't have a food processor at school yet (wink wink Mom and Dad...) this came out as more of a bisque, which I actually liked better. Pureeing the vegetables too much creates a runny consistency, so blend or puree on low to achieve a thicker base.

You can easily make this recipe vegetarian by replacing the chicken stock with vegetable stock and nixing the bacon. If you aren't a vegetarian though, I strongly recommend the maple bacon. The sweetness accompanied the green apple very nicely and it gave the soup a little extra texture. Also, if you plan to make a big batch and freeze it, hold off on adding the sour cream until the soup is reheated and ready to serve.

Butternut Squash Bisque with Granny Smith Apple and Maple Bacon

Serves: 6-8  Prep: 30 minutes  Total: 1 hour, 30 minutes

Ingredients
1 butternut squash
1 granny smith apple (cored, peeled and chopped)
1 yellow onion
1 carrot
3 tbs butter
Salt and pepper to taste
1 tsp red pepper flakes
2 cups chicken stock
3 tbs low fat sour cream (plus more for garnish)
6 strips maple bacon

Directions
Cut the butternut squash in half, brush with olive oil, and roast on the top rack at 400 degrees for 30-40 minutes, or until the squash is tender. Remove and let cool.
Melt butter in a large saucepan on medium heat. Add the chopped onion and carrot and cook until the onion is soft, about 4-5 minutes. Add the chopped granny smith apple and cook for another 3-4 minutes. While the apple is cooking, scoop the contents of the butternut squash out of its skin, removing the seeds in the process. Add squash to the saucepan and season with salt, pepper and red pepper flakes. Mix well.
Remove the squash mixture from the saucepan and place into a food processor or blender. Mix on low until the mixture develops a bisque consistency, well blended but not smooth.
Place the squash mixture into a pot and add the chicken stock. Cook uncovered on low heat for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. While the soup is simmering, fry the maple bacon on the stove, then remove and drain the grease on paper towels. When cooled, chop the bacon for garnish.
Add sour cream into the soup and stir well. Remove from heat and serve. Garnish with 1 tablespoon of sour cream and 1 tablespoon of crumbled maple bacon.

Chicken and Squash Quesadilla with Mango Salsa

When I hear "quesadilla", these are the words that come to mind: grease, cheese, sour cream, guacamole, and more grease. Also, consequent stomach pains and caloric regret. I decided to try my own hand at a healthy quesadilla, using whatever I had in my fridge. The result?  A chicken and butternut squash quesadilla with a tangy mango salsa. The mango salsa is absolutely the standout in this dish; prepared only an hour before serving, it was a refreshingly light alternative to store-bought tomato salsa, but with the same spicy kick. Save the leftovers and serve over rice as a meal, or eat as a snack with tortilla chips the next day.

Mango Salsa
Serves: 6  Prep: 15 Total: 1 hour 15 minutes

Ingredients
1 mango
1 red pepper
1 jalapeno
1/2 red onion
1/3 cup cilantro
1 lime
Tabasco sauce

Directions
Chop mango, red pepper, red onion and cilantro and combine in a medium bowl. Cut jalapeno in half and dice; add to mixture.
Squeeze lime into a small bowl. Add 10 drops of Tabasco sauce. Whisk and pour over mixture. Toss well, cover and refrigerate for 1 hour. Serve immediately.

Chicken and Squash Quesadilla
Serves: 2  Prep: 20  Total: 30
Ingredients
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
4 whole wheat tortillas
1 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded
1 cup butternut squash, pre-cubed
Salt and pepper

Directions
Turn oven to broiler setting. Spray a light coat of olive oil on a baking sheet and lay down chicken breasts. Cook directly under broiler until no longer pink on the inside, about 10 minutes. Slightly cool and cut chicken into long strips; set aside.
Slice squash cubes into strips. Cook in olive oil on a large skillet until soft. Add chicken strips to skillet to reheat. Sprinkle mixture with salt and pepper and toss. Remove from heat.
Set oven to 350. Lay two tortillas flat on a baking sheet. Cover tortillas evenly with chicken and squash mixture. Add several spoonfuls of mango salsa, then sprinkle with cheese. Add top tortilla on each and bake in the oven for 10 minutes until cheese is fully melted.
Cut into fourths and serve with mango salsa on the side.

Thursday Fiests: October

This year, my girlfriends and I started the tradition of Thursday night dinners. Sometimes we stay in and make food, and sometimes we go out in search of new restaurants in the city. This past Thursday, I wanted to try a recipe I found in October's Bon Appetit magazine. It looked a lot harder than anything I'd made before, but I really wanted to tackle it. Four hours and several sliced fingers later... ta-da!

Click Here to try it!

Ok, so this is clearly not my picture but I couldn't get a great one while cooking and I was having too good of a time with my friends to worry about capturing it. Even though I spent hours in the kitchen that I should have spent writing a paper, it was well worth it. My friends raved about this dish the entire evening, and not gonna lie I did a pretty damn good job. I think I'll appreciate homemade pasta way more now after making it myself. The only bad thing about this recipe when it comes to college cooking is it called for a potato ricer. (I still don't really know what that is.) But with a little Google searching I decided that it looked like a garlic press for turning potato into pasta, so I ended up chopping the potato into little cubes and pushing it through our garlic press. Time consuming but it got the job done. Another key to this recipe is in the Parmesan. I made sure to get the freshest grated Parm possible, and it definitely made a difference. So, if you have a day with not much to do and are feeling ambitious, I certainly recommend you try this out! The final product is rewarding and absolutely worth the effort.

Oh, and to top it all off, why not a four layer pumpkin cake with cream cheese frosting?

We might need to institute Friday night gym dates next...