Red Kuri Squash-Leek Soup

We should have carved our traditional pumpkins last night because it was Halloween, but instead, I ended up carving up a Red Kuri squash.  Actually, I didn't carve it up, because I couldn't get my damn knife through the thing!  So I had to wait for Justin to get home from work to cut it for me.  There was intoxication involved and I figured I should give up while I was ahead and still had all my fingers.  Those suckers are thick (the squash, not my fingers... or maybe my fingers too)!

Thoughts on Red Kuri squash: my favourite squash we've tried so far!  I had to taste it after roasting it for the soup, and with just some olive oil, salt and pepper, it had this rich, delicious, buttery flavour.  Not as sweet as some squash is, and I knew it was going to be perfect in soup. 

Exploring different types of squash this fall has been a lot of fun, and this Red Kuri's been sitting on our table, waiting to be used.  Squash-leek soup sounded great, but I didn't really want the thickness of traditional squash soup, I wanted a thinner, brothy soup.  I just happened to have the other veggies in the fridge and they needed to get used up, but they were a really great addition, I liked having something to chew instead of a smooth soup and I would definitely recommend them (though you could easily leave them out if you chose).  If you're looking for a thicker soup, you could very easily just cut the chicken broth back by half (or more, depending on the consistency you're looking for).  The soup was quick and basic, but perfect for the cold, wet night we had.  I wanted it to have just a little heat in it, so I used some white pepper and cayenne pepper, but if you're not into heat, you can leave them out.

I've been on an Against Me! kick for the last two weeks, and I had several of their albums thrown on my playlist on repeat while making this... so it was a no brainer for music!  This is one of mine and Justin's all-time favourites, "What We Worked For".  -jen

RED KURI SQUASH-LEEK SOUP
Prep Time:  1 hr, 15 minutes
Cook Time:  5-10 minutes

Difficulty:  Medium

• 1 Red Kuri squash
• olive oil
• salt & black pepper
• 8-oz crimini mushrooms, diced
• 1 orange bell pepper, diced
• 1/2 cup very small broccoli florets
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 3 large leeks, greens removed and whites diced
• 2 quarts chicken stock (or vegetable stock if you prefer)
• 1/2 teaspoon rubbed sage
• 1/2 teaspoon white pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

Quarter the squash and remove seeds and membrane.  Rub enough olive oil over the exposed flesh to coat, and then generously salt and pepper them.  Bake at 425 degrees for one hour.  Set aside.  Remove skin when squash has cooled enough to handle.

In a stock pot, heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil over medium-high heat.  Add mushrooms, bell pepper, broccoli and minced garlic.  Saute until softened, 5-7 minutes.  Remove from pan and set aside.

Heat 2 more tablespoons of olive oil in same stock pot, over medium-high heat.  Add leeks and saute until tender, 10-12 minutes.  Puree leeks, squash and broth together.  (If you have an immersion blender, you can add squash and broth to pot and blend.  If not, remove leeks from pan and place in a blender with the squash and enough broth to puree, then pour back into stock pot with any remaining broth.)  Add the sauteed mushrooms, pepper and broccoli.  Stir in sage, white pepper and cayenne pepper.  Heat to serve.

Crab-Stuffed Chicken Thighs with Pesto Alfredo Sauce

Justin's cousin Mike was visiting us from St. Louis and we'd had all these amazing things we wanted to cook for him, but it was his first visit to Northern California and we stayed busy (and lazy and purple hazy) and hadn't made anything after several days into his visit.  So I brainstormed some things I'd been craving and was originally going to make stuffed chicken breasts with a pesto ricotta, cheese, sun dried tomatoes, and olives.  Then Mike kindly reminded me how his mother's side of the family was Italian and his mom could make some mean Italian food.  I'm going to admit it... I chickened out of the challenge, at least part of the way.  What if after all the recipes he's seen, I try to make something "Italian", but really it comes off as a pathetic botched American version?!  Could I stand for him to go back to St. Louis and tell his mom?!  I wasn't sure.  So I compromised and changed it up to a little coastal crab stuffing!  Something he wouldn't get a lot of in the midwest, so it'd be both appropriate for his visit and it'd be something I'd been wanting to make for a while (crab stuffing).  But I was bound and determined to show him that I wasn't too much of a slouch in the ethnic cooking arena, and I kept the Pesto-Alfredo sauce.

Didn't take too long to cook for as "fancy" as it might have sounded, and it was delicious!  And we ate the hell out of it!  Oh!  And got some crab cakes out of it, too, the next night!  Sadly, we were too busy enjoying our company and food to take some nicer plated pictures.  :)

I don't even remember what we were listening to when we made this.  But I love the band Against Me!, and this song is so great, albeit the acoustic version.  No matter how many times I hear this line, "...and we'll dance like no one was watching... with one fist in the air," I get chills.  Actually the whole damn song gives me chills.  Though I'm still trying to get behind their more recent sound, I really love their earlier years.  Good band.  Good song.  Good food.  -jen

CRAB-STUFFED CHICKEN THIGHS

• 8-10 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/4 cup shallots, diced fine
• 1 cup mushrooms, diced fine
• 1/4 cup sun dried tomatoes, diced fine
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
• 2 tablespoons minced garlic
• 1 pound crab meat 
• 3/4 cup green onions, chopped
• 1.5 cups panko bread crumbs
• 1/2 cup finely shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1/2 cup finely shredded parmesan cheese
• salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large skillet,  heat olive oil on a medium-high heat.  Add shallots, mushrooms, sun dried tomatoes, thyme, and Italian seasoning.  Cook until shallots and mushrooms are tender, about 5 minutes.  Add garlic and crab meat and cook for another 3 minutes.  Turn off heat and stir in bread crumbs and cheeses.  Season with salt and pepper, to taste.  Set aside.

Place chicken thighs between two sheets of plastic wrap and pound until 1/4" thick.  Place 1/4-1/3 cup stuffing into each thigh and fold over like a taco.  Place in a lightly oiled baking dish and bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes, or until chicken is thoroughly cooked.

PESTO ALFREDO SAUCE

• 12 tablespoons (1.5 sticks) butter
• 1/3 cup shallots, diced finely
• 2.5 cups heavy cream
• 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 cup grated Asiago cheese
• 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese, finely shredded
• 3 heaping tablespoons pesto

In a medium-sized sauce pan, melt butter on medium-high heat.  Add shallots and cook for 3-5 minutes, until tender.  Add heavy cream and bring to a boil.  Turn heat to a simmer and cook, stirring constantly, until cream becomes to thicken. Add a small handful of the cheeses and stir until cheese is entirely blended in before adding another small handful.  Continue until all the cheese is incorporated.  Then stir in the pesto and remove from heat.