comfort food thursday: for mr. frederickson

the recipe choice for this comfort food thursday requires a bit of a backround, so let me fill you in a couple key insights:

1. i love soup. mr. frederickson loves soup. it gets cold in vermont. thus, hot, food in a bowl is our main source of sustainance from mid-october to mid-july.
2. i like to cook. mr. frederickson likes to eat. it is a good combo.
3. both mr. frederickson and i like to make the other person happy. i.e., there is a lot of this: "i don't know, honey, anything you want sounds good to me." and not a lot of "i don't like green beans, so please don't ever cook with them. but what i do love is that squash soup i bought the other day at price chopper..."

alright, so i guess you are probably catching on to the fact that there was a soup incident last night. and it lead to a bit of pouting on my part (sorry, honey!) but the aftermath and silver lining is that i have a new burning desire to make the best darn butternut squash & apple soup EVER. so, there price chopper, take that. you messed with the wrong chef.

so here it is folks, the recipe i am going to use in my first attempt at redemption. thanks to a very talented vermonter and food & wine contributing, jeremy silansky.

what you need:

• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 medium onion, halved and thinly sliced
• 3/4 cup apple cider
• One 1 3/4-pound butternut squash—peeled, seeded and cut into 1-inch dice (5 1/4 cups)
• 4 1/2 cups chicken stock or low-sodium broth
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• Salt and freshly ground pepper
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 McIntosh apple, cut into 1/2-inch dice
• 1/3 cup coarsely shredded smoked cheddar cheese (2 ounces)
• One-inch pieces of chives or thinly sliced sage leaves, for garnish

what you do:

• In a large saucepan, heat the olive oil. Add the onion and cook over moderately high heat, stirring occasionally, until golden, about 8 minutes. Add the apple cider and cook until syrupy, about 3 minutes. Add the butternut squash and chicken stock and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer until the squash is very tender, about 40 minutes.
• In a blender, puree the soup in batches. Return the soup to the saucepan and stir in the cream. Season with salt and pepper and keep warm.
• Heat a medium skillet. Add the butter and diced apple and cook over high heat until the apple is tender and golden around the edges, about 2 minutes. Remove the skillet from the heat. Season lightly with salt and pepper.
• Ladle the soup into warmed bowls; garnish with the smoked cheddar, sautéed apples and chives; serve.