Confessions of a Cookaholic

The roast chicken of Sunday night came full circle, last night. I’d decided to make a stock with the remnants of our delicious Sunday chicken – bones, meat, and all. What I didn’t realize at the time was that a chicken stock takes about 6-8 hours of slow simmering…which I began at about 9:30 pm., which meant the stock was ready at about 5:30 am. What is a cook to do in such circumstances? The thought of keeping the stovetop going for 8 hours while I slept down the hall made me nervous, but I decided that I must finish what I’d started. So I set my alarm to go off at 2-hour intervals and went to sleep, waking up, surely enough, every 2 hours, to stir the stock, skim off the foam, and make sure that there were no signs of the apartment being engulfed by a deadly fire. Now, that, my friends, is dedication. Imagine my roommate’s surprise to wake up, sleepily, in the middle of the night, to make a trip to the bathroom or whatnot, and discover their crazy cooking roommate at the stove at 3:30 am, stirring a pot on the stove – hair in a “I’m totally schizo” state of disarray from sleeping, mouth guard in, and pillow marks across my face. An attractive image, no? But there I was, stirring away, with, thankfully, not a witness in sight.

I am happy to say that the results were gratifying and absolutely justified my bizarre nighttime behavior. The stock came out beautifully…it was simply gorgeous. Now, what to make with it? I was anxious to try another (the last, I promise!) of Jamie Oliver’s risottos (which will be in my next post) but had made Mac n Cheese the night before and couldn’t justify another unabashed carb-fest. What to make, what to make…

So when my friend Kaitlyn invited me to her aunt’s swanky Upper East Side on-the-river apartment to dine with her and our good friend, Paley, I began to brainstorm. Kaitlyn was making pesto, so carbs were covered. A vegetable! What could I make with a vegetable and chicken stock? I pondered. And then! A soup! Brilliant! Of course! Done. After conferring with Kaitlyn we decided on a roasted butternut squash soup, and it couldn’t have sounded better!

I went home after work to roast the squash before heading uptown, grabbed a bottle of wine, took my stock out of the fridge and dashed into and out of Whole Foods. Which, I’ve got to vent for a minute, is ridiculous. I get the whole “we only sell organics” BUT with food getting so absurdly expensive, why can’t they carry all organics and ONE cheap, non-organic alternative?! Why do I have to pay at least $4 for a small bottle of apple cider vinegar? It’s so immoral. But anyways, back to cooking…

I’d asked Kaitlyn to buy the vegetables that make the flavor base, along with the squash, for the soup and to sauté them together while I walked the 20 minutes from the subway. Kaitlyn, bless her soul, had bought a leek, per my request, although she’d never seen one in her life and had to ask the guy which vegetable it was, and innocently tried to sauté the leaves instead of the root. I thus realized, that it might be necessary to pause for a moment and say that, when cooking leeks, dear readers, you only ever use the long white and pale green part.

With that said, the rest of the sauté was lovely, and the soup we ended up with was fantastic! I mean, really truly; It was we-were-all-wiping-the-bowl-and-licking-our-fingers delicious. Both Paley and Kaitlyn were used to a sweeter butternut squash soup, but I, always eschewing the sweet for the savory, went full speed ahead with a more savory version. We still sprinkled nutmeg on top, very sparingly, another thing you should know – when using nutmeg always use less than you think you need - its very potent stuff. The nutmeg on top was delicious and perfect, the cider vinegar added a nice sweet tang, and the stock – oh the stock! The stock was the best background one could have wished for and enhanced this one over a store-bought can by about 10 fold. I may have to start making stocks weekly…a home made stock really does just make that much of a difference. So here is the recipe for the most delicious savory butternut squash soup I’ve ever made….

1 large butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cut into chunks (dismantling a squash is hardly the daunting task it may seem)
3 tablespoons olive oil
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 cup small dice onion
1/2 cup small dice carrot
1/2 cup small dice celery
1 leek, chopped
2 tablespoons chopped shallots
1 tablespoon minced garlic
2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
1 1/2 quart chicken stock
1/2 teaspoon dried sage
A dash of nutmeg

Preheat oven to 425 degrees

1. Place the chopped squash in a medium-size mixing bowl. Drizzle the squash with 2 tablespoons of olive oil and season with 1/4 teaspoon of salt and 1/8 teaspoon black pepper. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper or aluminum foil and place the squash on top of the sheet pan. Set the sheet pan into the oven and roast for 30-45 minutes, or until the squash is lightly caramelized and tender. Turn off oven.
2. Remove the squash from the oven and set aside. Place a big pot over medium –low heat and add the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil to the it. Add the onions, carrots, celery and leeks in the pan and sweat, stirring often for 5 to 7 minutes.
3. Add the shallots and garlic to the pot and sweat for 1 minute stirring continuously. Deglaze the pot with the vinegar and add the chicken stock and sage to the pot.
4. Bring the pot to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Continue to cook the soup for 30 minutes, or until the vegetables are all tender.
5. Use an immersion blender to puree the soup to a smooth consistency and velvety texture. Alternately, you can puree the soup in batches using a blender. Taste the soup and re-season if necessary with salt and pepper.
6. Just before serving, sprinkle a little bit of nutmeg over the top and serve!