Butternut and bacon soup

Last week, my mother-in-law sent me home with a gorgeous box of vegetables from her garden. There were peppers and eggplants, those staples of late summer from which my husband made the most wonderful ratatouille. And below those purple and green gems lay the hardier, firmer fruits of autumn: squash.

Acorn and butternut, we have been waiting for you all summer.

Last night, I officially welcomed fall into our home with a dinner of butternut and bacon soup (and grilled cheese on the side). You can, too! As long as the winter squash purée is already prepared, you can whip up this soup in less than 30 minutes.

Butternut and bacon soup

8 ounces bacon, cut into 1/2-inch pieces

1 large onion, minced

4 cups butternut squash purée (canned is fine here, but you may need to add more stock)

3 cups chicken broth (or more, as needed)

8-10 ounces chopped frozen kale (use lots of fresh kale if you have it; I only had frozen kale)

1 sprig rosemary, leaves removed and torn or chopped roughly

In a saucepan or dutch oven (it doesn't need to be huge, but something with a heavy bottom is preferable), fry the bacon until crispy. This usually takes 5 minutes.

While the bacon is frying, mince the onion. Remove the crispy bacon bits and set them aside on a paper towel-lined plate. Drain all but a tablespoon of the bacon fat and add the onions to the pot. Sauté until softened, 4-5 minutes. [Note: if you're using fresh kale, you'll want to add it here and make sure it's wilted before you continue.]

Add butternut purée and chicken stock. If soup is too thick, add additional stock until you reach the desired consistency. Bring to a boil, then add frozen kale. Bring to a boil, then turn off the heat and serve this steamy soup topped with bacon bits.

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Pizza Mexicana

I love a nice, traditional pizza. But this is nothing like that. Nor is it authentically Mexican in any way. It's just a pie of sweet and spicy deliciousness that I cooked up, inspired by the flavors of Mexico and the U.S. Southwest.

Here's the cast of characters:

1 pound fresh (not dried) Mexican chorizo, casings removed

12 oz. can tomato sauce

1-2 teaspoons ground cumin

3 cups pepper jack cheese, shredded

2-3 red, orange, or yellow bell peppers, sliced

1/2 red onion, thinly sliced

Here's how it plays out:

Prepare your favorite pizza dough recipe (make sure you allow time for it to rise). I make two 12-inch pizzas at a time (leftovers, baby), so you'll want to make sure you have enough dough for that.

Heat the oven to 450 degrees (or the temperature indicated by your pizza dough recipe) and move racks to the upper- and lower- thirds of the oven. In a large nonstick skillet, brown the chorizo over medium heat. Stir frequently, breaking up sausage with the back of the spoon, until it is no longer pink. Remove from skillet and drain on a paper towel-lined plate. Set aside.

In a small bowl, mix tomato sauce and cumin. Add salt to taste. Spread sauce on two prepared pizzas (use as much or as little as you like -- sometimes I have some left over and I just freeze it for another time). Divide the cheese between the two pizzas, followed by the chorizo, peppers, and onions.

Bake pizzas for approximately 20-25 minutes, switching racks halfway through, until cheese is thoroughly melted and onions and peppers begin to brown.

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Orecchiette with Broccoli, Sausage, and Roasted Peppers

It seems like it should be super easy to just make something new and blog about it. Right? Not always. Inspiration can be lost on current events or something like the lack of necessary ingredients.

I thought I was out of fresh recipes to share — and then I found this! I didn't want to raid the "probably not" folder — the rejected recipes that didn't taste good or that didn't photograph well. I went straight to my trusted cookbook and had happy people around the dinner table.

This recipe definitely won't go into the rejected recipe file.



What You'll Need


table salt

1 pound orecchiette

4 ounces sweet Italian sausage, casing removed
9 medium cloves garlic, pressed through garlic press or minced (3 tablespoons)

1 cup roasted red peppers (8 ounces), cut into ½-inch squares

½ teaspoon ground black pepper

2 pounds broccoli, florets cut into bite-sized 1-inch pieces, stalks peeled, halved lengthwise, and cut into ¼-inch thick pieces

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

1 cup grated Pecorino Romano cheese (2 ounces)



What to Do

1. Bring 4 quarts water to rolling boil, covered, in stockpot. Add 1 tablespoon salt and pasta, stir to separate, and cook until al dente. Drain and return to stockpot.

2. While pasta is cooking, cook sausage in 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat, breaking it into small pieces with spoon, until browned, about 5 minutes. Stir in garlic, roasted peppers, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and pepper; cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 2 minutes.

3. Increase heat to high; add broccoli and 1/2 cup water, then cover and cook until broccoli begins to turn bright green, 1 to 2 minutes. Uncover and cook, stirring frequently, until water has evaporated and broccoli is tender, 3 to 5 minutes longer. Add broccoli mixture, oil, and cheese to pasta in stockpot; toss to combine. Serve immediately.

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