Food!

So I don't usually write about food. But I love food. A lot. Probably more than I should for a triathlete... but I have to say, I REALLY enjoyed packing on a few pounds this holiday season. It wasn't the eating.. it was the cooking. During the racing season I'll limit my diet and remove the excess fat - butter, cream, cheese (yes.. giving up cheese for racing sucks!). During the holidays.. I enjoy it every bit I can get my hot little hands on... so here are some recipes which aren't exactly "race friendly", but easily top my list of the best ever...

I'm not a soup gal. I don't order them at restaurants, I don't make them at home, and I occasionally eat them when presented with soups at a meal. But this soup.... I could eat it breakfast, lunch & dinner....Here's a dinner menu for you.. guaranteed to add an extra pound, but a meal you won't forget!

Gingered Butternut Squash Soup
6 servings
1 large butternut squash, halved lengthwise & seeded
extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup pecans (1 ounce)
1 T unsalted butter
1/2 large onion (or 1 small onion), cut into 1/2 inch dice
1/2 fennel bulb (anise) - cored & cut into 1/2 inch dice
3/4 inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled & finely chopped
3 cups chicken stock
7 ounce unsweetened coconut milk, shake/mix prior opening
3/4 cup chilled whipping cream
1/2 t hazelnut oil
pinch cayenne pepper
Kosher salt
3/4 t fresh lemon juice

1. Preheat oven to 350. Rub cut sides of squash with olive oil and set them, cut side down, on a large rimmed baking sheet. Bake for ~1 hr or until very tender. Remove from oven & let cool until you can handle the cooked squash. Once cool, spook the squash flesh into a large bowl & discard skins.
2. In a pie plate, toast pecans for about 5-8 minutes until lightly browned & fragrant. Set aside & let cool.
3. In a large pot, melt butter & add onion, fennel and ginger. Cook over moderate heat until softened, about 10 minutes. Add squash & chicken stock, cover & simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Uncover the pot and continue cooking until the squash starts to fall apart, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat & stir in coconut milk.
4. While the squash is cooking, finely chop the pecans in a food processor. In a medium bowl, beat cream until soft peaks form. Fold in the shopped pecans, hazelnut oil & cayenne pepper and season with salt.
5. Working in batches, puree the squash soup in a blender until relatively smooth. Stir in the lemon juice & season with salt. Ladle the soup into bowls, top with a dollup of pecan hazelnut cream and serve.
-Soup can be prepared up to 2 days ahead of time & stored in refrigerator. Reheat gently & add additional chicken stock to thin soup.
-Food & Wine, November 2007

The Perfect Tart to compliment your soup:
6 servings

Crust:
Do yourself a favor and buy uncooked pie crust (In the freezer section of Trader Joes or usually near the "doughs": cookie, cinnamon roll, pie doughs in the refrigerated section of your local market). Or search Epicurious.com and find yourself a pie crust recipe, just be prepared... crusts are time consuming and your kitchen post mortem will usually look like something in the flour factory exploded)
Filling:
5-6 thick-cut bacon slices
1 large onion thinly sliced
1 cup whipping cream (yep, more cream...)
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
1/4 teaspoon group black pepper
generous pinch of salt
generous pinch of ground nutmeg
1/2 packed cup coarsely grated Gruyere cheese

1. Set 1 crust out, overnight if possible. It will unfold/unroll without breaking if warmed to room temperature. Press dough in a shallow 9 inch tart pan. Pie plates will be too deep & crust will have a tendency to burn. Preheat oven to 400F. Pierce crust all over with fork. Freeze 10 minutes (if you have time). Throw some pecans in bottom of tart pan & bake crust until crust is set (~20 minutes). The nuts will keep the bottom from bubbling too much. Remove form oven & set aside. Maintain oven temperature.
2. Saute bacon in skillet over medium heat until crisp. Transfer bacon to paper towels & drain. Let cool. Once cool, chop bacon into medium size pieces.
3. Using remaining bacon grease in pan, add onion & statue until onion is deep golden brown, about 20 minutes. Remove onion from grease & set aside.
4. In the meantime whisk cream, egg, yolk, pepper, salt & nutmeg in small bowl.
5. Spread onion over bottom of baked crust. Sprinkle bacon, then cheese. Pour cream mixture over.
6. Bake until tart is puffed & filling is set, about 25 minutes. Cool ~ 10 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.

And for dessert:
Coffee Cream Brulee
yup... total sin, complete pleasure...
4 cups whipping cream (cuz cream is sooo good!)
1 cup sugar
8 teaspoons sugar for caramelized top
2 tablespoons coarsely ground espresso coffee beans
2 teaspoons instant espresso powder or coffee powder (Turkish coffee power is exceptionally good with this)
1 cinnamon stick
1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
6 large egg yolks
1 large egg

1. Place eight 3/4-cup custard cups in large roasting pan.
2. Combine cream, 1 cup sugar, ground espresso beans, instant espresso powder and cinnamon stick in heavy large saucepan. Using small sharp knife, scrape seeds from vanilla bean into mixture; add bean. Bring to boil, stirring until sugar and espresso powder dissolve. Remove from heat. Cover; let stand 30 minutes. Strain through fine sieve.
3. Preheat oven to 325°F. Whisk egg yolks and egg in large bowl to blend. Gradually whisk in cream mixture.
4. Divide among custard cups in pan.
5. Pour enough hot water into roasting pan to come halfway up sides of custard cups. Bake custards until center moves only slightly when cups are gently shaken, about 55 minutes. Remove custards from pan. Cool at least 1 hr prior to serving, refrigerate uncovered overnight if possible.
6. If you have a cooking torch, use it, it's easier than the broiler to make the caramelized sugar top. If not.. preheat broiler. Sprinkle sugar evenly over each custard covering surface. Place custard cups on baking sheet. Broil until sugar is brown and caramelized, rotating baking sheet to broil evenly and watching closely to avoid burning, 1 to 2 minutes. Chill & serve.

Enjoy!!