05 Feb
Butternut Squash Soup and Pork Chop With Apples
I own and love both of these. One was bought with a wedding gift card, the other was given to me by That Sister for Christmas (thanks Shay Shay!).
Using these two cookbooks I was able to make my best meal ever! (Except the potatoes. Apparently potatoes are my arch nemesis in the kitchen.) This was my first time cooking pork and although I’ve never really liked pork, I liked it this time. So I must have done something right. If you like pork chops, or apples, or butternut squash, or delicious things, you have got to try these recipes.
Williams & Sonoma Butternut Squash Soup
Adapted by That Wife
Yields approximately 6 servings
Ingredients
2 lb butternut squash
3 Tbsp olive oil
Kosher salt and pepper
4 fresh sage leaves (we are poor so I did not use this)
4 small unpeeled cloves garlic (I used 6 cloves since we love stinky breath)
2 large yellow onions, diced
4 cups vegetable sock or water (I used chicken stock cuz we ain’t no vegetarians in That House)
1/2 tsp ground mace (will you be surprised if I tell you I didn’t use this either?)
1/4 tsp ground cloves (funny story about cloves in a second)
1/2 cup heavy double cream, plus cream for garnish (well of course the recipe is delicious if you use cream. I used fat free half & half and it was still delicious, so there W&S)
Directions
Preheat the oven to 375 F. Cut and gut the squash. Coat with 1 Tbsp olive oil and season with slat and pepper. Place the halves cut side down on a baking sheet and slip 2 sage leaves and 2 garlic cloves under each cavity (isn’t this step genius? A darling little roasting cavity! I was just delighted by this step, and I don’t get delighted by recipes very often). Roast the squash int he oven until the flesh is tender to the touch, 40-50 minutes.
Let the squash cool completely. Who has time to let things cool completely? Not me. I just flipped those babies over and let them cool for a few minutes before I did a happy hot dance around the kitchen while attempting to separated the steaming hot innards from the flesh. Get all the guts out and chop up and set aside. Squeeze the roasted garlic from its skins and reserve.
Heat the remaining 2 Tbsp olive oil in a soup pot over low heat. Add the onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender and translucent, about 15 minutes. Add the squash, garlic, chicken stock, mace, cloves, and salt and pepper to taste. Stir. Cover partially and and simmer, stirring often, for about 20 minutes.
Remove from heat and let cool slightly for easier handling. Ladle into a food processor or blender in small batches and process until very smooth. Return the soup to the pot and stir in the half & half. Serve at once.
Pork Chop with Apples from How to Cook Everything
Adapted by That Wife
Yield: 2 Pork Chops
Ingredients
4 shoulder or center-cut loin pork chops, about 1 inch thick, trimmed of excess fat (I used 2)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil (I used one)
1/2 cup dry white wine (I used 1/4 apple cider vinegar)
1 teaspoon minced garlic (I used 1 garlic clove)
1/2 cup chicken, beef, or vegetable stock (I used chicken)
1 Tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice.
Directions
Sprinkle the chops with salt and pepper. Put a large skillet over medium-high heat for 2 or 3 minutes. Add the olive oil; as soon as the first wisps of smoke rise from the oil, add the chops, and turn the heat to high. Brown the chops on both sides, moving them around so they develop good color all over, no longer than 4 minutes total and preferably less.
Reduce the heat to medium. Add the wine (vinegar in my case, although can someone please explain why adding vinegar to a hot pan caused an explosion. So yeah I would advise proceeding carefully with this step) and the garlic and cook, turning the chops once or twice, until the wine/vinegar is all but evaporated, about 3 minutes. Add the stock, turn the heat down to low, cover, and cook for 10 to 15 minutes, turning the chops once or twice, until the chops are tender but not dry. When done, they will be firm to the touch, their juices will run just slightly pink, and when you cut into them (which you should do if you’re at all unsure of their doneness), the color will be rosy at first glance but quickly turn pale.
Transfer the chops to a platter. Cook 2 cups peeled, cored, and sliced apples in the remaining liquid, stirring and scraping the bottom of the pan as the apples cook. Add more wine/vinegar/stock if necessary. When apples slices are soft, after about 5 minutes, stir in 1 Tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice (I forgot this step and I’m pretty sad about it). Taste and adjust the seasoning if necessary. Pour over the chops, and serve.
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I could go on and on about how proud I am of myself for making something so delicious, but that might get annoying, so I will end this post by telling you to make this for yourself. And leave you with two funny stories from the experience.
1. About the cloves in the soup. As soon as I set the bowl in front of That Husband he said “What is that smell, what is in this soup?” I told him it was full of butternut squash (duh), but he kept pushing for more ingredients until I said “cloves”. Apparently in Poland they use the smell of cloves for part of a routine cleaning, so poor TH spent a large part of the meal feeling like he was at the dentist. He asked that I not use cloves in the soup again, or ever really. Not sure what I’m going to do with that $3 bottle of cloves I just bought.
2. As I mentioned above, when I added the garlic/vinegar mixture to the pan after I had finished browning the chops, there was an explosion. Actually there were about 15 explosions. Covering my stove, microwave, the walls the floor, and almost up to the ceiling with a garlic/chicken stock/vinegar mixture. Can someone explain why this happened and how to prevent it? The vinegar worked really well as a substitute for the white wine and I would like to use it again.
I'm a farm-raised almost-crunchy stroller-pushing picture-taking lifestyle-blog-writing gastronomy-obsessed divine-seeking thrift-store-combing cheese-inhaling pavement-pounding laughter-sprinkling lover of individuality and taking chances.
Ah, this looks so darn good! I came directly here instead of viewing through my Reader, but I will have to star and print this for future reference. However, I do have to agree with TH about the cloves. When I had my wisdom teeth out I got dry sockets and they packed them with clove-soaked gauze. The mere memory of it does make me gag a bit. (Sorry). Anyways, this seems like a great take on the porkchops and applesauce I ate as a kid
Way to go Jenna!
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1Mmm, I loves me some butternut squash soup. We tried to make a pumpkin soup after having an extra can or two floating around but it was not quite up to the task.
And potatoes are a small pain in the side sometimes. They take forever to boil, but mashed potatoes are so worth it.
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2Yum. I’m defrosting some pork chops for dinner tonight. I think I’ll try that!
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3Hrmm… my guess is that the vinegar superheated when it hit the pan. (If you’re not quite sure what that is google “why one does not stick water on a grease fire”.) Or a smaller example is: you know when you’re wanting to see how hot oil is, you flick some water into it, right? If it sizzles, then the oil is hot. When it sizzles, the water goes from liquid to gas really quickly, creating a mini ‘explosion’. So, did you have any oil remaining in the pan when you put the vinegar in? I would maybe suggest letting it cool slightly before adding water based liquids.
(Wow. I just labelled myself as a really big nerd. Oh, how I love your thermodynamics.)
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4I love butternut squash. We have an awesome recipe for a butternut squash and caramelized onions timbal at home, I usually end up transforming the left overs into a soup.
Pork chops, I like eating them at other people’s place, my husband however is vegetarian so I don’t bother cooking meat at home.
No clue for the vinegar… maybe it was a temperature thing? Try warming it up before you pour it. Or else it’s more chemical in which case I can’t be of much help.
I love cloves in spiced cookies… You just can’t use much of it, it’s very strong. And indeed dentists use it because it helps with the pain and something else.
Food looks wonderful.
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5I have a foolproof delicious potato recipe, but I’m sure it’s not good for you! Peel and dice potatoes, drizzle them with olive oil and put them in a well-greased baking dish. Sprinkle parmesan cheese (lots), garlic powder and a little seasoning salt on top. Bake them covered for 10-15 minutes, Flip them and put some more of the cheese mixture on the opposite side and bake for an additional 10-15 minutes. When the potatoes are tender and cooked through put them under the broiler to really make the cheese crispy. Ohh, so good! But like I said, use a well-greased baking dish!
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6And pork and apples is like ice cream and cake for me - you can never go wrong! When I make pork roasts I always put some chopped onions and apples in with it!
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7That sounds delicious! If you’re looking for a variation on the soup, I make one where you roast the squash. Dump it in a pot with 3 carrots, peeled and chopped, 3 apples, peeled and chopped, and an onion, peeled and chopped. Add some broth and a teaspoon or two of curry powder, and simmer until everything is mushy, then run through the blender. Totally delicious, a great creamy consistency with no cream at all!
Also, what is the problem you’re having with potatoes? I’ve found that the secret to mashed potatoes is a ricer (too much smashing makes the starches break down and they get too gluey) and milk and butter, and the secret to baked is to wash them, prick them 4 or 5 times, coat the skins with olive oil and a sprinkling of kosher salt, and then bake (straight on the rack, put a pan underneath to catch anything) for an hour or so on, I think, 400. Works every time, and they’re AMAZING.
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Erin Reply:
February 5th, 2009 at 2:48 pm
Also, for the porkchops if you don’t want to mess about with apples, just spoon some applesauce over them in the pan when they’re about done, and cook for a few more minutes turning over and over until the sauce gets a little sticky - delicious and maybe simpler? That one’s courtesy of Jamie Oliver (incidentally, if you like cookbooks I HIGHLY recommend Jamie’s Ministry of Food - full of delicious and fairly simple recipes, I use it non-stop. That and Martha Stewart’s Everyday Food are my go-to cookbooks)
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They use the wine to deglaze the pan- to get all the yummy brown bits of flavor off the pan (the alcohol is supposed to evaporate off, just leaving the flavor)! I don’t use wine for cooking (or drinking) so, I use chicken stock in place, the water will evaporate (definitely leave it at the high temp!).
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9Yum yum on the soup, unfortunately McDreamy and I keep a kosher home, so we can’t have the pork chops but I have made butternut squash soup before and it’s super yummy… because I am all about the easy, I buy frozen butternut squash, defrost and then basically proceed with the above recipe plus a few extra touches….variations include coconut milk and some curry and it is out of this world! But trust me on the frozen squash…major time savor, as are frozen chopped onions which I use all the time!!!!
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10Can I just say that I adore you….I seriously adore you! Your blog is the most amazing, wonderful, and entertaining blog I have ever seen. I know I don’t comment very often but I am always reading your posts. You just amaze me! Love ya girl
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Jenna Reply:
February 6th, 2009 at 12:19 am
I love you too darling. I hope you are enjoying newlywed life as much as I am.
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Sounds like a case of hot oil and water don’t mix - much like you shouldn’t add water to a chip-pan fire. Turn the heat down and let the fat cool a little, then carefully add the vinegar.
All sounds so yummy, I must try both recipes!
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