Butternut Squash Saturday (BNS)

Well, well. Welcome messy chefs from everywhere. Today I am making something I have never made before....butternut squash soup.

Now I am sure you are asking yourself ..why butternut squash soup .. and why now. Well I live in south florida ( the miami/ft lauderdale area) and today it was only 45 degrees for the HIGH. Hello, this is waaaay to cold for me. It was actually snowing in Orlando earlier this afternoon. Therefor I decided to make a delicious cold weather meal. Went through a list..clam chowder, chili, chicken noodle soup etc. But it was suggested to me that BNS might be the ticket. I said what the heck why not...well let me tell you why not. Hard to cut, peel and chop. OMG wish my publix grocery store sold precut BNS, but NOOOOO.

I am in the simmering stage now. Eventually I will have to use my immersion blender to make smooth and creamy. (This could to lead to a huge mess throughout my kitchen. We shall see.)

So the soup and toasted bread slices with gruyere cheese is done. My oh My!!

A bit sweet and creamy and a pinch of spice. ( I added about 1/4 c cream and pinch of cayenne pepper). I immersion blended like there was no tomorrow ( and very little mess..surprise..surprise.) Really tasty and creamy. Who knew. This is a very nice, comforting and tasty cold weather meal. Other than having to cut and peel the damn squash the rest was just cooking 101. Of course thats about all I can ever handle anyway. :)

Don't think for a moment that just because the immersion blending went well that there is no mess in my kitchen. In true messy chef fashion, I have BNS peelings everywhere. I don't understand. I peel over the garbage can and yet the peels just seem to fly all over. Guess you just can't fight messiness.

New year res...Try more new and different recipies and let the mess fall where it may.

Best messes to all
MMC

Happy 2010 Messy Chefs

Happy new year!! 364 more days to make a mess. Have had some sucesses and some failures the last month.

Did Parm crusted chicken breasts. I cooked on med and took my time. Extra crispy and yummy. Next night made salmon with couscous and veggies. Waaay to much oil to saute the zucchini..not my best effort for sure. I have decided the salmon and couscous are decent. Maybe a bit too much oil. Walking around my kitchen today saw 2 small pieces of zucchini hiding near the stove. Hence the messy chef title.

Tonite am doing Mac and Cheese. Bought the wrong cheese, but decided to make do. Tastes OK for now, will see when it is finished.

I hope you all have had a messy and wonderful holiday season. I am proud to say, I am about to enter the 21st century. Got a 1080 HD 42 inch flat screen for christmas. Just got a blu ray player and direct tv will be out next week to hook up the HD. I have had a 36" zenith for twelve years. Still works great, but the difference....oh my goodness.

Now I can see Rachel, Paula, Giada Ina, Guy, Tyler and all the rest in HD. I can only imagine how awesome their food must look. I am so psyched. These cooks/chefs have given me the courage to try new and different foods today. I can't wait to see it in HD

Merry Merry and Happy Happy

MMS