Melanie's Butternut Squash Soup

I couldn't remember if I had ever eaten butternut squash soup, and since Lisa loved it I thought I'd give it a try. I didn't roast it the way Alton says to because I already had some leftover puree from another recipe I had made. Because I already had the puree, this was super fast and easy to make! The honey and nutmeg give it the perfect flavor. Butternut squash isn't my favorite soup so I don't think I'll make it very often, but, this was a perfect autumn meal.

I have really enjoyed making meals with winter squashes. Since I had never made or had spaghetti squash before, I went ahead and made some (just using a recipe from allrecipes.com). It was good, but I think I undercooked the squash. I'll have to try again!

Danielle's Squash Dumplings

This was kind of a weird recipe for me. In the end, the dumplings tasted pretty good. But the process was off.

Alton says at the beginning of the recipe (in the book) that this was not a favorite with viewers, but I decided to give it a shot anyway. The biggest complaint in the online reviews seemed to be that the dough was really wet and required way more flour than called for. In the book, Alton added weights to the amount of squash and potato you need, presumably to address the wetness issue. I weighed my ingredients, but I made a mistake and used double the potato I was supposed to (I was making a half batch and forgot to halve the potato). I don't know if that's why my dough ended up so loose, but like many of the online reviewers, I had to add TONS of extra flour... and I still had a wet dough that was difficult to work with.

After adding lots and lots of extra flour, I decided I better stop adding more because I was sure I had already overworked the dough. There was no way I was going to be able to roll out the dough so I just grabbed clumps of dough, rolled it in my hands, and plopped it in the boiling water.

My dumplings were kind of tough, but they tasted pretty good. I loved the sage flavor, but it was overpowering when I got an actual piece of sage in my bite. I think when I make these again (I have lots of dough still in the fridge), I'll add the sage to the butter while it browns but then skim it out before adding the dumplings.

One of the online reviewers said she squeezed her squash with paper towels before mashing it to get rid of excess water. She said she was able to get a good texture just with the amount of flour called for in the recipe. I wonder why Alton doesn't say to do this in his recipe...

Cami's Butternut Squash Pasta

I too had trouble getting a good picture of this dish. I don't know if it was the color or lighting or what. It doesn't matter though because it was really good. I love all the hearty squash recipes we've done! Squash is something I normally shy away from and now I don't know why.

This is a nice fall casserole type dish. I loved the mix of flavors. My 1 year old really loved it too. We called it squashy pasta and he ate most of the casserole. Like Deanna said, the ricotta cheese made it seem like a treat instead of diet food. I will certainly make this again.

Melanie W.'s Cheesy Squash Pasta

Just playing a little catch-up here.

I had every intention of making this recipe the week it was posted, but for some reason I couldn't find a butternut squash in Ecuador that week.

I'm glad I tried it, because I liked it. I had never cooked with butternut squash before. The extent of my experience with it is making it for my baby. I like that it's a sneaky way to get more veggies into your diet. Like Cami mentioned, I also think it would be great with another vegetable. The only thing I would change is to add a little more pasta because I thought it was too saucy. I'll be keeping this in my recipe files!

Cheesy Squash Pasta

I thought this was okay. I ended up with really thick sauce, so I must have cooked it a little too long. I added more milk and it seemed to help, but that decreased the flavor.

I love the way it looks. The bell peppers are great. If I were to make this again I would add some zucchini. I add zucchini to everything. Salsa would be pretty tasty as well.

Cheesy Squash Pasta

(Sorry this post is late. I just got back from Utah today.)

This is my slightly modified version of a recipe from Deceptively Delicious. Not only is it a great way to sneak in some veggies for your kids, the butternut squash flavor is awesome.

2 cups Bow Tie pasta

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon flour

1/2 cup milk

1 cup butternut squash puree*

1 chopped red bell pepper

1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

4 ounces cream cheese

1/2 tsp. salt

1/8 tsp. paprika

1/8 tsp. pepper

*Butternut squash puree: take a whole butternut squash, slice it in half, and bake it face down on a cookie sheet (juice is going to run out, so don't use a cookie sheet without sides). Bake at 350 for an hour or until tender. Scoop out flesh from squash and place in blender. Pulverize until smooth.

-Cook the pasta according to directions.
-While the pasta is cooking, coat a large suacepan with cooking spray and heat over medium heat. Add the oil, then the flour, and cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture resembles a thick paste but has not browned (1 - 2 minutes).
-Add the milk and cook, stirring every now and then, until the mixture begins to thicken (3 - 4 minutes). Add the vegetable puree, the chopped pepper, cheddar, cream cheese, and seasonings. Stir until smooth.
-Stir in the pasta and serve warm.

Q: When did you start baking / cooking?
A: I've been baking & cooking since I was young, but my family had pretty limited variety in their meals. Plus, we always did everything the hard way--everything from scratch. Grind your own flour, make your own butter, grow your own food, milk your own milk, etc. Plus when you're cooking for 12+ people, things are never easy. Needless to say, cooking was always quite the endeavor. I didn't really enjoy it because it was such a chore. Now that I'm married and only cooking for 3, I like trying out new recipes and new foods. I pretty much don't ever use an actual cook book, just allrecipes.com. (But sometimes Deceptively Delicious, of course.)

Q: What is your favorite kitchen tool?
A: My Bosch and my garlic press. I also really like my ice cream scooper, but I don't think that counts.

Q: Do you have a favorite spice? If so, what is it?
A: Crushed red pepper. And fresh garlic.

Q: What is your favorite book?
A: Hmmm. I guess I'll say The Hobbit today.

Q: If you could travel anywhere, where would you go?
A: Right now I want to go to Greece. It looks so pretty in all the movies.

Q: If you had to change your first name right now, what would you change it to?
A: When I was young I always wanted to change it to Alyse instead of Elise, because that way people wouldn't always say "Elsie" when reading my name off something. (It made me wonder just how many people out there are dyslexic. Seriously.) Now I like Elise better because it is French, and therefore cooler :). I guess if I HAD to change, I would just change it to Lise, because that's what most my friends and all my family call me anyway.

Q: Where do you currently live?
A: Chicago

Q: Where are you from?
A: Born in Houston, then moved to Saudi Arabia for seven years, a couple short spurts in Washington and Idaho, and finally to Orem, UT.

Q: If you could eat one thing for every meal for the rest of your life, what would it be?
A: Cafe Rio Chicken Salad.