My New Favorite Restaurant

Week Five! I'm so impressed with us. Four Girls Four Seasons Night is my new favorite restaurant. The menu is seasonal and always changing, the atmosphere is always inviting and three of my favorite ladies are always there! I'll gladly go there once a week. Tonight's menu:

Parmesan Cayenne Cookies by Joanna for appetizer, Endive Watercress and Almond Salad by Beth, Butternut Squash Apple Soup with Crostini and Beet Chips by me, and a side of melt in your mouth Sesame Green Beans by Jessica. I feel so proud of us and very satisfied by the healthy dinner we just ate.

Cooking this weekend was so much fun and I learned how to tackle a giant squash. I made Ina Garten's Butternut Squash and Apple Soup recipe a day ahead and had to use the last squash in Whole Foods, which was surely some farmer's prize specimen. At 5 lbs it was nearly the size of my cat! I followed the recipe closely (which thankfully required 5 lbs of squash) and my only comment is that I'll make sure to always make it one day ahead because it improved spending the night in the fridge and being reheated today. Yesterday the curry and apples seemed like two different flavor experiences in one bite, and today they worked together to make something greater than the sum of its parts!

I made the Beet Chips from the Power Foods book a day ahead as well, which also benefited from being reheated. Last night fresh out of the 350 degree oven, they were crispy but when I went back to them today they were chewy. About 30 minutes in the oven at 250 degrees to re-crisp made them crispier and lighter than yesterday. So a two step baking process is best for these in my opinion. I also couldn't understand the directions about stacking racks, so I just watched the chips closely and took them out of the oven as they were ready, sometimes individually.

Here are the recipes for the soup and the chips! Looking forward to the other recipe posts and comments on our dinner, Week Five!

Butternut Squash and Apple Soup by Ina Garten

• Ingredients
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2 tablespoons good olive oil
• 4 cups chopped yellow onions (3 large)
• 2 tablespoons mild curry powder
• 5 pounds butternut squash (2 large)
• 1 1/2 pounds sweet apples, such as McIntosh (4 apples)
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 2 cups water
• 2 cups good apple cider or juice

Directions

Warm the butter, olive oil, onions, and curry powder in a large stockpot uncovered over low heat for 15 to 20 minutes, until the onions are tender. Stir occasionally, scraping the bottom of the pot.

Peel the squash, cut in half, and remove the seeds. Cut the squash into chunks. Peel, quarter, and core the apples. Cut into chunks.

Add the squash, apples, salt, pepper, and 2 cups of water to the pot. Bring to a boil, cover, and cook over low heat for 30 to 40 minutes, until the squash and apples are very soft. Process the soup through a food mill fitted with a large blade, or puree it coarsely in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade.

Pour the soup back into the pot. Add the apple cider or juice and enough water to make the soup the consistency you like; it should be slightly sweet and quite thick. Check the salt and pepper and serve hot.

Beet Chips by Martha Stewart and Power Foods

Ingredients

• 2 medium beets
• 1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees, with racks in upper and lower thirds. Peel beets and slice 1/16 inch thick with a mandoline. In a large bowl, toss beets with extra-virgin olive oil.
2. On two rimmed baking sheets (or use one sheet and bake in two batches), arrange beets in a single layer. Stack another rimmed baking sheet on top of each. Bake until edges of beets begin to dry out, about 20 minutes. Uncover and rotate sheets. Bake 10 to 20 minutes, removing chips as they become lightened in color. Transfer to a wire rack; chips will crisp up as they cool.