That magic time of year has come. A time when temperatures dip, the fair comes to town, guys in pee wees, high school, college and pros strap on the pads, and stew simmers gently on the stove top.
Today saw all of those things come to fruition. After a cold front assaulted the Big Country the temperature dropped from the sweltering 105* high yesterday to a lovely 66* this morning. UMHB kicked of their football season with a 34-7 victory over Kean University; and a trip to the farmer’s market brought bell peppers, jalapeno’s, banana peppers, pears, red onions and butternut squash, the latter of which made a costarring appearance in dinner tonight. I love this time of year, and I love it more when the temps dip into the 50s and stay for a while, but one step at a time.
Next weekend brings another cold front, andfor those of you looking for a soup to make when the temperature drops here is a recipe for tonight’s dinner:
A fantastic choice for a cool evening when stew or soup sound yummy.
Butternut Squash and Beef soup
Ingredients:
3 slices of thick cut bacon diced
2 Tbsp Butter
1c each diced onion, carrot, celery, bell pepper
3 cloves of garlic minced
1-2 Roasted Butternut squash (I used a little less than 1 1/2) cut into 1-2 inch cubes
2 lbs of beef cut into 1 1/2 inch cubes (I cubed country style beef ribs) and remove most of the fat
4 sprigs of fresh rosemary
fresh thyme ( I used 2 stems appx 4″ long )
56 oz of chicken stock (I used HEB reduced sodium)
salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 400*
1/4 and remove the seeds of the butternut squash
brush with Olive oil and sprinkle with pinch of salt
When the oven is ready, place squash on a half sheet pan and roast in the oven for 25 minutes or until beginning to soften
when finished cut off the peel and cube
In a large dutch oven over a medium heat, brown the bacon and render the fat
When the fat is rendered, add 2 Tbsp of butter and melt
Next add the onions, carrots, celery and good pinch of salt and cook them until the celery begins to become translucent
Remove the veggies to a bowl
Next, brown the beef in the dutch oven seasoning with salt and ground pepper
When the meat is browned and the beef fat is beginning to render, add back the veggies, add the garlic, the fresh herbs, the bell pepper, the stock and finally the butternut squash
Stir everything together and turn up the heat to high
Bring the soup to a boil and lower the temperature to simmer
Simmer until beef is tender, tasting and adjusting the salt and pepper levels to taste
We served the soup with a loaf of hot ciabatta bread and I added hot sauce because I like a little spice. The butternut squash served as the starchy element in the soup and added a subtle sweetness to it. It tasted a bit like sweet potatoes. All in all, it was a lovely hearty soup, and truth be told, I could dring the broth by the gallon.
Good Eating friends
Prelude and Coda 