Roasted Butternut Squash Soup

3 lbs Butternut Squash 1/4 cup Canola Oil

3 Tea Kosher Salt

White Pepper

1/4 Cup Crushed Walnuts

1/2 cup Yellow Onion (Medium Dice)

1/2 Cup Cored, Peeled Pear (Medium Dice)

1/2 Cup Riesling or Full Bodied White Wine

5 1/2 Cups Vegetable Stock (Homemade or Store Bought)

2 Tea Honey

1/2 Cup Crumbled Blue cheese

Preheat the oven to 350 Degree.  Cut off the end of the squash.  Cut the squash in half lengthwise and remove the seeds and strings with a spoon.  Rub the cut sides lightly with the canola oil, season with salt and pepper, and place cut-side down on a cookie sheet.  Roast until tender about an hour tender to a knife tip.  When cool enough to handle, scoop out the flesh should have about 3 cups of squash.

Put the nuts in a saute pan and toast over medium heat, until fragrant, 2 to 3 mins. Set aside

Pour 2 Tbl of oil in a large pot and heat over medium heat.  Add the onion, pear, and pinch of salt  and cook without browning for 20 mins.  Pour in the Riesling and cook, scraping up any bits stuck in the pot, cook until wine is reduced by two-thirds about 5 mins.  Pour in the stock and bring to a boil over high heat. Add the roasted squash.  Lower the heat and simmer for 30 mins.

When soup is don, pour into blender in batches and blend until smooth.  Season with salt and add the honey.  Strain the soup through a fine mesh strainer; if a little thick, add a few Tbl of water to thin out the soup.  It should just coat the back of a wooden spoon.

Garnish soup with blue cheese and toasted Nuts

Celery Root and Chestnut Soup

1 medium onion, diced small 1 stalk celery, diced small

1 medium leek, white and light green parts only, diced small

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 teaspoon olive oil, plus more for sweating the vegetables

1 large bulb celery root, peeled and diced (about 2 1/2 cups)

4 cups milk

Salt

Pepper

Juice from 1 lemon (about 2 tablespoons, or to taste)

Sweat the onions, celery, leeks and garlic in a small amount of olive oil until soft without browning, for about 5 minutes. Add celery root and sweat for 4 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

Add milk and then add water to cover, and simmer for 45 to 50 minutes.

Puree the milk mixture in a blender with 1 teaspoon olive oil and lemon juice. Strain through a fine mesh strainer.

Prepare the chestnut puree. Saute shallots, garlic, thyme and chestnuts over medium heat for 1 minute. Deglaze the pan by adding the Calvados. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Add water and simmer until tender. Puree the mixture in a blender, adding water to adjust consistency.

To plate: Pour 5 ounces of celery root soup and 1/4 cup of chestnut puree into each bowl.

Cauliflower Puree

1 head of cauliflower (cut into 1 inch pieces) 2 small-medium Yukon gold potatoes (peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces)

2 cups heavy cream

Salt and white peppe

3 sprigs thyme

Place everything in a 1 quart pot and cover. Let come to a boil and simmer on low for about 35 minutes, until everything is soft. Discard thyme. Put cauliflower and potato mix in food processor. Reserve cream. Puree and add cream as needed. Continue pureeing until smooth. Season with more salt and pepper if needed. Keep warm

Sweet Potato Pot Pies

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil1 medium white or yellow onion, chopped 3 cloves garlic, chopped 2 1/2 to 3 cups sweet potatoes, peeled and diced into 1/4-inch pieces 1/2 teaspoon salt (plus more to taste) 1 tablespoon adobo sauce from a can of chipotle chilies (or more to taste) 1 cup corn kernels, fresh or frozen 2 cups cold whole or low-fat milk 2 tablespoons cornstarch 1 box puff pastry dough (thawed) 1 egg white

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

In a large pot over medium-high heat, add the oil, onion, garlic, sweet potato and salt. Saute, stirring occasionally, for about 10 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender. Stir in the adobo sauce and corn.

In a small bowl, combine the milk and cornstarch, then pour the mixture into the sweet potato pot. Leave the heat at medium-high for a few minutes to bring to a boil, stirring constantly, and cook until the filling starts to thicken, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat and season with more salt to taste. Pour the filling into small ovenproof bowls, each three quarters full.

Cut a piece of puff pastry dough to fit over each bowl, with some overlap. Place the dough on the bowls and fold over the edge of the dish. Brush the dough lightly with egg white (this creates a golden crust).

Using a fork, poke a few holes in the top of each pie to allow steam to escape, and bake until the crusts are tall and deeply golden, about 15 minutes.

Tip: Bake the potpies on a baking sheet lined with foil in case some of the filling bubbles over.

Butternut Squash Bread Pudding

1 Butternut Squash 5 cups Good Bread Cubed

3 Eggs

1 Cup Heavy Cream

4 Shallots Minced

5 Cloves Garlic Minced

1 Tbl Butter

2 Tsp Salt

2 Tsp Pepper

1 Cup Parmesan

Pre-Heat Oven to 350 Degrees

Poke the squash all over with a fork, then bake whole, in a pan, for 1 hour or until soft and collapsing; Remove and chill before preparing--this can be done one day in advance.

Meanwhile, cut the bread into bite size cubes and place in a mixing bowl.

Whip eggs and cream together, then pour over the bread cubes and let soak.

Sauté shallots and garlic in butter and add to bread mixture.

When squash is cool enough to handle-slice in half, scoop the seeds out with a spoon, and then scoop out the flesh (from the skin) and add to the bread mixture.

Season bread mixture (including squash) with salt and pepper. Add Half the Parmesan cheese and mix together with your hands until well mixed.

Spoon pudding into an oiled cake pan and top with remaining Parmesan cheese.

Bake in a pre-heated oven for 20 minutes (at 350) until golden brown with a crispy top