From the look of things, there’s probably snow on the ground where a lot of you are.  It’s hard to believe we had a big enough snow here in the South to make a snowman, but it happens on occasion.  However, unless you’re from somewhere not too far below the Mason-Dixon Line you might need a lesson on how to build one.

I’ll tell you how to make some soup that will warm you to your toes after being out in the frigid air, though.  A Butternut Squash and Pumpkin Soup that is flecked with tiny bits of bacon and warmed by a splash of sherry will do the trick nicely.  Sprinkle a few toasted pumpkin seeds and bacon pieces on top and you’ll forget all about the snow.

Butternut Squash and Pumpkin Soup

from Shortbread

makes 6-8 servings

Ingredients

• 1 medium butternut squash
• 1 small pumpkin
• 4 slices bacon, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
• 1 medium yellow onion, diced
• 3 green onions, sliced
• 1 small clove garlic, minced
• 3 sprigs of fresh thyme, or 1 teaspoon dried
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 6 cups chicken stock
• 1/4 cup cream sherry
• 1 1/2 cups heavy cream

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Peel squash and cut off top and bottom. Slice lengthwise and scoop out seeds with a spoon. Chop into 2 inch pieces. Repeat with the pumpkin.
3. Pile squash and pumpkin chunks into a baking dish and add 1/2 cup water. Bake about 1 hour until tender when pierced with a knife.
4. Put the bacon pieces in a large pot and turn on the heat to medium-low. Cook until bacon is deep brown and crisp. Remove to a plate, leaving the drippings in the pot.
5. Add the yellow and green onions and the garlic to the pot and sauté over medium heat until softened. Strip the leaves from the thyme sprigs and add them along with the bay leaf, salt, pepper and nutmeg. Stir for about one minute.
6. Add the roasted squash and pumpkin and sauté 5 minutes longer, then add the chicken stock and bring to a simmer. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 20 minutes.
7. Remove the bay leaf from the pot, and puree the soup in a blender, food processor, or with a stick blender until smooth. Return the soup to the pot and bring back to a simmer. Add the sherry and simmer gently for another 3-5 minutes. Pour in the cream and heat through.
8. Add additional salt and pepper if needed. Serve with a sprinkle of nutmeg and top with  the reserved bacon pieces.

Printer Friendly Recipe

Meatloaf.  It’s what’s for dinner.  Or so I told my family.  They weren’t thrilled at the idea, the husband having flashbacks of dry, tasteless meatloaf, and the children having flashes of television shows where meatloaf is the enemy of child-kind.

But the rule is ‘you have to taste it’ at my house, so they did.  And guess what, Mikey?  They liked it.  This Ina Garten recipe for Individual Meat Loaves for this week’s Barefoot Bloggers turned out to be surprisingly delicious.

Here’s what I think made the difference:  First, you begin with sauteed onions, cooked until soft so they melt into the meat instead of staying crunchy.  Secondly, chicken broth is mixed in along with the other ingredients which keeps it from being too dry, like meatloaf sometimes tends to be.

Want to hear your husband say “this is the best meatloaf I’ve ever had”?  Click here to get the recipe a give it a go.

Ahhh, it’s March.  I don’t think I’ve ever seen a time when people were more sick of winter.  Did you ever think there could be too much snow?  And the disastrous things going on with the Earth – I know we are all praying that they will come to an end soon.

In my area we have had a cold, wet winter, and though not nearly as bad as other areas, it’s all relative to what you’re used to, I think.  Even though March is always a tease – one warm day followed by a week of cold ones – at least there is a light at the end of the tunnel, the tunnel named winter.

So today I bring you some sunshine in the form of bright, lemony, and garlic-y Baked Shrimp Scampi.  This dish comes from Ina Garten’s Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics, her most recent cookbook.  In a fun twist on traditional scampi, the shrimp is briefly marinated and then covered in a butter, herb, and breadcrumb mixture and baked.  What you find after baking is a wonderful dish of shrimp scampi with a delicate, crispy topping.  Very different and very delicious.

From the Barefoot Bloggers February selections, this recipe can be found here.