Menu Item Numero Uno

If I ever open my own restaurant I think I found the first thing that will definitely be on the menu, especially during the winter. This Butternut Squash Soup will warm you up on even the chilliest of days. It's the perfect menu item, no matter what type of restaurant - little soup and sandwich bistro, specialty baked goods and treats, five star gourmet. I could see people coming back again and again just for this soup.

Butternut Squash Soup with a Kick

It would be a great appetizer as it wakens all your taste buds. At first you taste the sweet butternut squash and coconut milk, then you get a hint of thyme and sour cream before the heat of the jalapeno fills your mouth. Every bite is a journey for your mouth.

Quick & Dirty

Changes:

• I didn't remove ALL of the jalapeno seeds because I wanted to make sure it had enough "kick".  I left about half of them in, and it was just about perfect for my taste buds
• Sprinkled some dry thyme on top, didn't have any fresh
• Also ate it with whole wheat crackers mixed in, very very tasty

Yuminess:

• The mix of sweet and spicy is my favorite, and this is a new combo of the two for me
• Both the warmness and the spiciness of the soup is perfect for a cold winter day
• I ate it all too fast to try it, but this would probably freeze well if you made a huge batch of it

Sadness:

• I was selfish and ate it all myself, next time I'll try to make enough to share
• Butternut squash is kind of a pain to work with, otherwise I would make this all the time
• Making soup like this makes me want to get an immersion blender...just what I need, another kitchen gadget!

My First Chutney

I had a leftover pork chop calling me from the freezer so I decided to browse through my recipes and the March 2009 issue of Cooking Light actually featured many mouth watering choices.  I chose this one because I've always wanted to make a chutney ("A pungent relish made of fruits, spices, and herbs") and because I'd get to use my new grill pan.

Spiced Pork Chops with Apple Chutney

I followed this recipe pretty closely, except for the fact that I made a single serving.  So I cut the chutney ingredients to a third of the original but wish I would've done more like half because it wasn't quite enough to have a bite of chutney with every bite of pork chop.  I still mixed together the same amount of spices for the chop and really coated it with the rub instead of just sprinkling.  Wow was it spicy but delicious!  The guy at Cub helped me locate the more obscure spices and almost $10 later I'm the proud owner of ground chipotle chile pepper and ground coriander (I have coriander seeds but no way to grind them).  Definitely worth it...I'm going to start searching for more ways to use the chiptole pepper as soon as I'm done with this.  Next time I'll probably cut back on the spice just a bit and make a different side dish; the green beans didn't really do anything for me.

The Quick & Dirty

Changes:

• Made one serving but didn't adjust everything accordingly, result was a very spicy chop and not enough chutney
• Used bottled minced ginger instead of messing with the stuff myself

Yumminess:

• A bite of spicy, juicy pork chop with a bite of sweet chutney...simply amazing
• Homemade vanilla bean ice cream to help with the heat...perfect dessert
• Only prep work is chopping up the apple and combining all the spices.....simply simple

Sadness:

• May have been a bit too spicy
• Pork probably could've used a little bit longer on the grill
• Made the side dish with fresh string beans instead of haricots verts, were still very crispy and didn't really have any special flavor

Light & Spicy Pasta

Last night I made a pasta that was so flavorful and delicious I couldn't believe it was good for me!  I subscribe to the Cooking Light magazine and have tried many of their recipes with mixed results.  This one has earned an average of 5 stars by 55 people and I can see why.

Ziti with Spinach, Cherry Tomatoes, and Gorgonzola Sauce

I made mine with whole wheat penne pasta because I couldn't whole-wheat or multi-grain ziti at Cub and I keep hearing that this is supposed to be healthier for you.  I wish I knew the difference between whole-wheat and multi-grain but my 30 second Google search failed to give me a straight answer so I guess I'll have to continue to wonder.  This is one healthy choice that's easy for me to make because I can't tell the difference in taste between this and regular pasta.  I'll definitely try this one again with variations suggested in the reviews such as adding chicken or prosciutto and blue cheese instead of gorgonzola.

The Quick & Dirty:

Changes:

• Whole Wheat Penne instead of Ziti
• Little more red pepper
• A lot more spinach
• Added flour to the half and half in attempt to thicken the sauce

Yumminess:

• Little prep (just have to halve the tomatoes)
• Easy to double and make lotsa leftovers
• Spicy, sweet, cheesy...doesn't get much better than that combo

Sadness:

• Burnt the garlic bread I attempted to make with it
• Very sad because the sauce is amazing and needs bread to wipe it all up
• Sauce didn't get very thick, will try adding more flour next time