I Love Ina

I love Ina Garten. I have watched her cooking shows for years....and have followed her since she was on the Martha Stewart Show. She is so at ease in the kitchen and casual. She makes cooking look like a breeze. I like her style. White plates, simple centerpieces, casual table coverings, silver bowls with snacks instead of elaborate appetizers, basic recipes with good ingredients. She has what the French call joie de vivre.....always excited about her next project. I have a couple of her cookbooks and when I was eliminating some of my cookbook hoard...I was sure to keep hers. I always go to her cookbooks when I am puzzled about what to make. I've been reading about squash soup lately and I have eaten it at restaurants...but never have I made it. I gave her recipe a try.

A Variation of Ina's Squash Soup:

2 tablespoons unsalted butter 

1 tablespoon good olive oil 

2 cups chopped yellow onions (2 onions) 

1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin purée (not pumpkin pie filling) 

11/2 pounds butternut squash, peeled and cut in chunks 

3 cups homemade chicken stock or canned broth 

2 teaspoons kosher salt 

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 

1 cup half and half 

I baked two butternut squashes in a 350 oven and let them cool before taking the meat out of the shells. I sauteed the onions in butter and olive oil in my dutch oven.When they were just about to get browned I added the squash and the can of pumpkin. Then the chicken broth and seasonings went in and I cooked it for a little while. I added a touch of cayenne pepper. I then used my immersible blender and blended it just a little...I wanted the soup to have some texture. Last I added the half and half. I used a little more than she did in this recipe. It made a few quarts. Two are in the freezer and one is in my tummy :)

Balisha