{"id":811,"date":"2014-11-23T14:59:59","date_gmt":"2014-11-23T20:59:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/pcandres.com\/?p=811"},"modified":"2015-11-06T11:11:41","modified_gmt":"2015-11-06T17:11:41","slug":"tales-from-the-silver-screen-spoon-acorn-squash-sausage-soup","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thesoupblog.com\/?p=811","title":{"rendered":"Tales from the Silver  <span style=\"text-decoration: line-through;\">Screen<\/span> Spoon: Acorn Squash &amp; Sausage Soup"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"wp_fb_like_button\" style=\"margin:5px 0;float:none\"><iframe src=\"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/plugins\/like.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fthesoupblog.com%2F%3Fp%3D811&amp;layout=button_count&amp;show_faces=true&amp;action=like&amp;font=arial&amp;colorscheme=light&amp;width=450&amp;height=30\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"0\" allowTransparency=\"true\" style=\"border:none; overflow:hidden; width: 450px; height: 30px;\"><\/iframe><\/div><div id=\"attachment_818\" style=\"width: 387px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thesoupblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/11\/acorn-Squash-movie1.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-818\" class=\"size-full wp-image-818    \" title=\"acorn Squash movie\" src=\"https:\/\/thesoupblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/11\/acorn-Squash-movie1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"377\" height=\"302\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thesoupblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/11\/acorn-Squash-movie1.jpg 649w, https:\/\/thesoupblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/11\/acorn-Squash-movie1-100x80.jpg 100w, https:\/\/thesoupblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/11\/acorn-Squash-movie1-300x240.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 377px) 100vw, 377px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-818\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Acorn Squash!<\/p><\/div>\n<p>In the past few months, I\u2019ve produced Charlie Trotter\u2019s (or was it Thomas Keller\u2019s) Acorn Squash soup three times.\u00a0 That\u2019s in addition to the indie soups I\u2019ve made for the blog every week.\u00a0 I cooked it twice playing sous chef for the Italian wine dinner my wife and I worked on and once as an extra for my mother-in-law\u2019s birthday party.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s a great soup.\u00a0 Really.\u00a0 You should try it.<\/p>\n<p>But as I\u2019ve said before, I\u2019m not crazy about stealing recipes from other chefs, especially chefs with blockbuster profiles.\u00a0 So you\u2019re not going to see that recipe here.<\/p>\n<p>Of course, that doesn\u2019t mean the acorn squash should suffer.\u00a0 This green-skinned winter vegetable has many fine qualities and doesn\u2019t deserve to be blacklisted just because yours truly has dropped a few names.\u00a0 Yet somehow, ever since I began working with the acorn squash back in September, it has been noticeably absent from the cast of any Soup Blog production.<\/p>\n<p>Until now.\u00a0 Presenting:<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Acorn Squash and Italian Sausage Soup<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Still not sure?\u00a0 Listen to what the critics are dishing:<br \/>\n<em>&#8230;a feast for the mouth&#8230;\u00a0 &#8230;the taste-good hit of the season&#8230;\u00a0 &#8230;puree genius&#8230;<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Not that reviews matter to this coconut-sized vegetable.\u00a0 It has a very thick skin after all.\u00a0 The acorn squash didn\u2019t even complain when I cast it alongside a non vegetable co-star.\u00a0 And even though it received top billing from its restaurant luminary friends, this hard-working squash got right to work in this feature role without a trace of diva-like behavior.\u00a0 Nor did it keep its fellow actors from getting the attention they deserved.<\/p>\n<p>Naturally I wish I could offer the acorn squash a grander stage, but I know the vegetable will not take offense.\u00a0 It is one of those rare players who just loves to perform and is happy to offer its unique flavor wherever it makes an appearance.<\/p>\n<p>Right, well, enough previews, it\u2019s time for the main attraction.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Note:<\/strong><em> Parental discretion is advised.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>The scene opens in a cramped kitchen with a ten-inch chef\u2019s knife poised to slice one of the stars in half.\u00a0 Before the violence concludes, two more squash have been split open and stuffed into a 350 degree oven.\u00a0 After which the squash are gutted and thrown into a pot with another character.\u00a0 One who has been put through a meat grinder\u2026<\/p>\n<p>Cut!<\/p>\n<p>On second thought, maybe the slasher genre is not the best way to present a recipe.\u00a0 (Just be grateful I didn\u2019t go into a Hannibal Lecter-esque description of removing the squash\u2019s flesh from its skin.)<\/p>\n<p>Oops.<\/p>\n<p>Maybe I\u2019d better just stick with a lightweight romantic comedy about a carbohydrate and protein who meet during a chance encounter in a soup pot, endure at least one very heated situation and wind up happily married.<\/p>\n<p>Yeah, that\u2019s the one.\u00a0 (We\u2019ll edit out the scene with the immersion blender in post production.)<\/p>\n<p>Coming soon to a table near you<em>.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>Acorn Squash &amp; Italian Sausage Soup<br \/>\n<\/strong>(serves 6-8)<br \/>\n3 medium acorn squash<br \/>\n1 lb mild Italian sausage, removed from skins<br \/>\n3 cloves garlic, minced<br \/>\n8 cups stock<br \/>\nSalt &amp; pepper to taste<br \/>\nParsley, minced<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Preheat the oven to 350\u00b0, slice the squash in half, set      face down on a cookie sheet and place in the middle of the oven until the      squash are soft (45-60 minutes).<\/li>\n<li>Set aside to cool.<\/li>\n<li>Combine sausage and garlic in a 3 quart pot and simmer      of low heat until the sausage browns nicely (7-10 minutes).<\/li>\n<li>Use a big spoon to remove the squash seeds (You may      bake these later, if you like.), then scrape the cooked squash out of its      skin.\u00a0 When you\u2019ve removed all of      the squash, place it in the pot with the sausage and garlic.<\/li>\n<li>Add the stock and seasoning to the pot, bring to a boil      and reduce to a simmer for about a half hour.<\/li>\n<li>Puree the soup with an immersion or bar blender until any      chunks of squash are broken up.\u00a0      There will still be chunks of sausage, but that doesn\u2019t bother me      if it doesn\u2019t bother you.<\/li>\n<li>Serve with a sprinkling of minced parsley atop the      soup.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><em>Image Credit:\u00a0 \u201cAcorn Squash, the Movie,\u201d Another clipart mashup by the author.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>I don\u2019t know how many thumbs up Siskel and Ebert\/Roeper &amp; Ebert or any of those other guys would have given this soup.\u00a0 Personally, I\u2019d use a spoon.\u00a0 I\u2019d also rather hear your opinions about my latest feature.\u00a0 Leave a comment. \u00a0I\u2019ll be reading <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">and<\/span> responding.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In the past few months, I\u2019ve produced Charlie Trotter\u2019s (or was it Thomas Keller\u2019s) Acorn Squash soup three times.\u00a0 That\u2019s in addition to the indie soups I\u2019ve made for the blog every week.\u00a0 I cooked it twice playing sous chef for the Italian wine dinner my wife and I worked on and once as an [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[126,10,32],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-811","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-no-dairy-products","category-pork","category-squash"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thesoupblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/811","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thesoupblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thesoupblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thesoupblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thesoupblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=811"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/thesoupblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/811\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1305,"href":"https:\/\/thesoupblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/811\/revisions\/1305"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thesoupblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=811"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thesoupblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=811"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thesoupblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=811"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}