Roasted Butternut Squash Chowder with Apples and Bacon

No spring nor summer beauty hath such grace as I have seen in one autumnal face.
~John Donne

Here's my welcome to Fall.  My favorite season of the year, with it's chilly nights, it makes staying in a pleasure - especially when there are simple, cozy meals to share with cherished family and friends.  

In my home, nothing brings more joy and comfort than a steaming bowl of soup, stew or chowder.  Lately, that seems to be what is keeping me busy in my kitchen.  Lots of soups, and I will be sharing all of them with you in the next few weeks.  When I saw this soup, I couldn't get to the store fast enough for all the ingredients.  
This one is a Mark Bittman winner.  Mark Bittman is an American food journalist and author. He writes a weekly column for The New York Times dining section called The Minimalist.  Bittman has written at least ten books on food and cooking, three of which won IACP/Julia Child awards, James Beard awards, or both.

Tuck into this oh so fantastic chowder, and I promise you nothing short of a delectable bowl of coziness waiting to be savored.  

Thanks Mark...your dishes are inspiring and very tasty!

Pairing Suggestion: A Spanish Sherry would be darling here!

Roasted Butternut Squash Chowder with Apples and Bacon
Serves 4-6

Adapted from Mark Bittman

Ingredients
1 Butternut squash, about 1 1/2 pounds, peeled, seeded and cut into cubes
1 large onion, chopped
2 large apples, peeled, cored and chopped
3-4 bacon slices, or one 1/2-inch-thick strip slab bacon, chopped
2 tbsp minced garlic
salt and black pepper
3 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp chopped fresh sage or 1 tsp dried
1/2 cup dry white wine or water
6 cups vegetable or chicken stock/broth or water
1/2 cup milk (this was my addition to this already fabulous soup)

Directions
Heat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

Spread the squash, onion, apples, bacon and garlic in a deep roasting pan or on a baking sheet.
Sprinkle with salt and pepper and drizzle with the olive oil.  Roast, stirring every now and then, until the squash, onion and apples are tender and browned and the bacon is crisp, which takes about 45 minutes.

Remove the roasting pan from the oven.  Stir in the sage and white wine and scrape up all the browned bits from the bottom.  (That's where all the goodies are hiding).
If you are using a roasting pan that can be used on the stove top, position the pan over 2 burners and put both on medium heat.  Otherwise, transfer the contents of the pan to a large pot or dutch oven and set it over medium heat.  Add the stock or water and cook until the squash, onion and apples break apart and thicken and flavor the broth, which takes about 25 minutes.  You can help the process along by breaking the mixture up a bit with a spoon.  Add the milk (or cream of you so wish) to the last 10 minutes of cooking. 

Serve hot with a little cream or sour cream drizzled over the top...OH MY YUM!

Enjoy!

This is most definitely Autumn in bowl!

Grilled Chicken BLT's

As summer approaches, it's only natural that we crave a light summer meal which would satisfy our hunger as well as our taste buds.  Barefoot Contessa's Chicken BLT looked superb with homemade thousand island dressing.  I made a few changes to my BLT.  Instead of white bread, I used lightly toasted fresh baked garlic bread where the garlic was finely chopped and backed right in. (YUM)!  I switched arugula for the green lettuce leaves and I grilled up some boneless, skinless chicken breasts instead of using a rotisserie chicken.  To top that off, I added some sliced avocados.  

This was delicious!  

Wine Pairing:  You could go white or red here with a light refreshing Sauvignon Blanc or Pinot Noir.

Grilled Chicken BLT's
adapted from Barefoot Contessa's CBLT's
Makes 4 sandwiches

Ingredients
12 slices smoked bacon
1/2 cup good mayonnaise (I agree with Ina here, that Hellman's is the best)
1/2 cup ketchup
8 slices of good white bakery bread, cut 1/2-inch thick, lightly toasted
a handful of baby arugula, washed and spun very dry
2 large ripe tomatoes, thickly sliced
2 ripe avocados, pitted and sliced
kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 thin chicken breasts, grilled (or rotisserie chicken)

Directions
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Place a baking rack on a sheet pan and arrange the bacon on the rack in a single layer.  Bake for 15 to 25 minutes, until the bacon is browned and crisp.  Drain on paper towels and set aside.

Combine the mayonnaise and ketchup in a small bowl and spread each slice of bread with about 1 tbsp of the mixture.  Cover that with arugula leaves.  Place 3 slices of bacon on top of the leaves and then add a layer of tomato slices on top of the bacon. Place the avocado slices on top of tomatoes, then place your chicken breast over that. Sprinkle liberally with salt and pepper.  Spread each of the remaining 4 slices of bread with 1 tbsp of the mayonnaise/ketchup mixture and place, dressing side down, on the sandwiches.  Cut in half and serve.  

This is also fabulous without the mayo/ketchup (thousand island dressing) mixture and simply using the standard mayonnaise that most BLT's call for.  

Enjoy!