Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Pumpkin Soup with Chili Cran-apple Relish

Yesterday, I hosted a little book swap party. It was a little bit of a fail since only my mother-in-law showed up, but that just meant more food for us! This is a plus because the food was delightful! Here's the menu:


Menu

Pumpkin Soup
with chili cran-apple relish

Mozzarella Grilled Cheese
with sliced roma tomatoes and basil pesto


Dessert:
Pumpkin Fluff
with cinnamon graham crackers


Beverages:
Diet Cranberry Soda
Apple Cider
Bottled Water

The spread of goodies!

And here's *one of* the recipes!

The Pumpkin Soup is something I've made once before, for a family Thanksgiving. By itself, it's slightly bland, but the relish is what really brings out the Wow! factor. I stole this one from Rachael Ray.

Ingredients:
(For Soup)
-1 tbs. extra-virgin olive oil
-2 tablespoons butter
-1 bay leaf
-2 ribs celery, finely chopped
-1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped
-Salt and Pepper
-3 tbs. all-purpose flour
-2 tsp. poultry seasoning (smells like Thanksgiving!)
-2 tsp. hot sause, or to taste (I used the 2 tsp. and it added a nice heat, but not spicy)
-6 cups chicken stock
-1 can pumpkin (28 oz.)
-2 cups heavy cream
-1/2 tsp. nutmeg
-1/2 tsp. cinnamon (because I can't have pumpkin without cinnamon)

(For Relish)
-1 Granny Smith apple, finely chopped
-1/4 red onion, finely chopped
-2 tbs. lemon juice
-1/2 cup dried sweetened cranberries, chopped
-1 tsp. chili powder
-2 tsp. honey
-1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

Directions:
-Heat a medium soup pot over medium to medium high heat. Add the oil and melt the butter.
-Add bay leaf, celery and onion. Season the veggies with salt and pepper. Cook for 6 or 7 minutes, until tender.
-Add flour, poultry seasoning and hot sauce, then cook flour 1 minute.
-Whisk in chicken stock and bring to a bubble.
-Whisk in pumpkin in large spoonfuls to incorporate into the broth. Simmer soup 10 minutes to thicken a bit.
-Add in cream, nutmeg and cinnamon.
-Reduce heat to low and keep warm until ready to serve.

-While soup cooks, assemble the relish: combine apple, onion, lemon juice, cranberries, chili powder, honey and cinnamon.

Serve soup with a few spoonfuls of relish!

5 star recipe for me!
3 from Studdly Hubby...so hard to please!

Coming soon: Mozzarella Grilled Cheese!

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