Butternut Squash Soup

I had never tried butternut squash soup before, so when I saw the title of "The best butternut squash soup" over at Casual Cuisine; I decided to be adventurous and give it a try. The texture took a little getting used to, but the soup was very good. Walter commented that it looked liked baby food and that he'd like it even more if pork were added to it. Yes, meat must be served with every meal in our home :) I definitely encourage you to try this soup; it will not disappoint. It would be great served as a starter to a fall meal at a dinner party.

Ingredients:

• 1 Tbs unsalted butter
• 1 yellow onion, thinly sliced
• 1 medium-sized butternut squash
• 2 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and diced
• 2 cups chicken stock
• 1/4-1/2 cup pureed pumpkin (optional, but a nice addition if you have some on hand)
• 1/2 cup of half and half
• 1/4 teaspoon of coriander
• A nice, long squirt of honey
• 1/4 cup of brown sugar, or less (depending on taste)
• Salt, to taste

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.
2. Cut squash in half. Drizzle a little honey and oil, and sprinkle some salt and pepper over flesh side of squash halves. Wrap in foil, and roast for 1 hour. (Doing this the day before makes day of prep much quicker).
3. Remove from foil, and peel and chop squash into large chunks.
4. In a dutch oven or large pot, saute onion in 1 Tbsp. butter until tender and clear. Add chicken stock, peeled and sliced apples, squash, and pumpkin. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Reduce to low, and let simmer for 10 minutes or until apples are tender.
5. Puree in batches in a blender or food processor, or you can use an immersion blender.
6. Stir in half and half, coriander, honey, and brown sugar to taste. If soup is already pretty sweet, omit brown sugar.

Side Note: I ended up adding about a 1/4 tsp. pumpkin pie spice as I found the flavor to be a little bland.