Puréed Squash and Pear Soup

I always passed on salad in favour of soup growing up. Always. When there was an option, mine was clear. And when the months on the calendar changed to autumn or winter, my decisions were more steadfast than ever. My parents could order for me with reckless abandon knowing that I'd be happy with any bowl of soup showing up at my table. Wait, not that fast. I had my limitations.

While there were a few soups that I turned my nose up (after all, I had the palette of a sixth-grader) most were perfectly welcome on my table. There was something especially comforting about the aroma and flavours packed in each round serving vessel. Something that always felt like home, no matter where I was.

As time has passed and the months on the calendar have given way to years, my love of soul-warming, mouth-watering soup has only flourished. I love experimenting with flavours and spices and seasonal goodies. It doesn't always turn out the way I want but when it does, I'm rewarded over and over again.

This is a play on one of my favourite cold-weather soups. It's easy to make, ridiculously tasty and it's popular with my family. The pear is tart and refreshing and balances the sweetness of the squash perfectly. There is a deeply satisfying warmth that carries you through the day.

I love roasting the vegetables with a liberal amount of seasoning and butter. Once roasted, the soft, almost mushy vegetables are the perfect shape for a trip through the blender. With a bit of help from the stock, the puree is liquefied and ready for the stockpot. 

Once inside the hot confines of the pot, I allow the heat to delicately reach every ounce of the soup. I can play with the thickness that suits my palate on this day and adjust as necessary. A quick pass through a sieve and I'm ready for the table

I love this soup as is or I'll serve it with a dollop of sour cream and some toasted squash seeds and chives. I also love to escape to a corner of my home with a good book and a moment of solitude and relax and enjoy the moment.

From my kitchen to yours, happy eating!

All set up and ready to go!

Pureed Squash and Pear Soup

The Goods:

• 1 cup diced butternut squash
• 1 cup diced Bartlett pear
• 1 cup chopped white onions
• 3 garlic cloves, smashed
• 1 celery, chopped
• 4 tbsp. butter
• 1 tsp. all-spice
• 4 cups chicken stock
• 1/4 cup sour cream, garnish
• 3 tbsp. toasted squash seeds, garnish
• 1 bunch fresh chives, chopped, garnish

Prep:

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
2. Place the squash, pear, onions, celery and garlic on a baking sheet and season with coarse sea salt and pepper and spread bits of butter throughout. Bake for 30 minutes.
3. Move to a blender and puree until completely liquid, adding as much of the stock as necessary.
4. In a stockpot,combine the puree with the rest of the stock and heat. Find the correct thickness and bring to a simmer for 15 minutes. Season to taste.
5. Pass through a fine sieve and set aside.
6. Serve with a dollop of sour cream and chopped chives. Place the toasted seeds on top.

It's showtime! 

**This post made Foodbuzz Top 9! 

Mac and Cheese

Soul food. Heaven in a bowl. Southern classic. These are just some of the ways I describe my favourite childhood food that has grown up over the years. This isn't your grandma's macaroni and cheese we're talking about. It doesn't come out of a stiff cardboard box with faux-powdered cheese in a package. In Canada, Kraft Dinner is a household name, and for many, many years it fed my journey through adolescence and into my college days. Those days are gone.

I have grown up since then and so has my palette, but I still seek out comfort food for those colder days and longer nights. I need something that will feed my soul and appease my taste buds. What I really need is a new spin on an old staple and a recipe to pull on the cozy nostalgia of my younger days. Mac and Cheese fits all that criteria. The one thing I love about this dish is how simple and comforting it is. It's my lunchbox revival on an iconic classic.

These days making Mac and Cheese is like an after-school project. Each time I make it I'm trying to do it with more flavour, more comfort and more cheese. It's rich, smooth and velvety, and I can spend hours experimenting. I try different types of cheese, the addition of bacon or pancetta, onion or lobster and play with creating a crunchy golden-brown crumb and cheese topping. It's a perfectly reasonable way to spend an afternoon.

I've tried several variations over the years but I've finally come to the version I love best. To me it's about the cheese sauce first and foremost and it starts with butter, flour and milk, thyme and grated sharp cheddar added in. It's also very important to make it in stages. Butter melted in a pan and flour added in to make a paste. Milk and garlic and thyme heated up and left to infuse, eventually strained and added to the roux and cooked until thickened. Adding the cheese and making a sauce so rich and delicious that you'll want to sip it. Believe me.

This is the way I like to make it. It's the perfect medicine for whatever your ailment happens to be that day.

Golden delicious Mac n' Cheese

Mac and Cheese

Yields: 4

The Goods:
Kosher salt
3 tbsp. butter
3 tbsp. flour
1 tbsp. mustard powder
1 tsp. cayenne
2 cups milk, heated
1 sprig fresh thyme
2 garlic cloves
1/2 lb. elbow macaroni
1 1/2 cups grated sharp Cheddar (optional-1 cup white Cheddar and 1/2 cup Monterey Jack)
2 white bread slices, large breadcrumbs
1/2 cup grated Cheddar

The Prep:
1. Preheat oven to 375. Bring a pot of salted water to a boil over high heat and cook pasta until al dente. Drain and reserve for later.
2. In a heavy pot, heat the milk with the thyme and garlic. In a separate saucepan, melt the butter and whisk in the flour and cook for a minute, stirring often, to prevent lumps from forming.
3. Strain out the solids from the milk and whisk milk into the flour mixture. Whisk often and cook until the mixture is smooth and lump-free and coats the back of a wooden spoon, about 6 minutes. Stir in mustard and cayenne and 1 1/2 cups of cheddar and continue to cook and stir until cheese is melted. Season with kosher salt.
4. Toss in the pasta and fold until completely coated with cheese. Transfer to a baking dish and set aside.
5. In a food processor, pulse bread until large crumbs are formed. Toss with the 1/2 cup of cheese and top pasta with the breadcrumb mixture. Baked until top is golden-brown, about 30 minutes.
6. Remove from oven and serve.