Roasted Butternut Squash Soup

So this is a recipe I got from a friend and twisted it a bit myself, and it is really good. Carl says he makes it by boiling the squash -- peeling it first, and cutting it into small pieces and then boiling it, and then adding the other stuff. I have found that I get better flavor if you roast it first with a bit of olive oil and salt and pepper. and its easier to peel because it softens in the oven. So I changed it a bit. You can use whatever winter squash you want, but I use butternut because I love the flavor of it. I use an immersion blender (one of those stick ones you put directly in the pot while it cooks) and it works great, but you can also do it in the blender. Just be careful you don't over heat your blender or it will shut off.

Roasted Butternut Squash Soup

1 butternut squash
1 -2 tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper
2 c half and half (or 1 c milk and 1 c half and half)
2 c chicken stock or broth
1 tsp curry powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
sour cream for topping

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut, quarter, and seed squash. Drizzle with oil, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast for 45 minutes. Remove from oven and let stand for about 20 minutes, it needs to be cool enough to handle. Once cool, scoop out squash flesh, and either put in blender, or in large saucepan over medium heat. Add chicken broth, and blend to combine. Add half and half, curry powder, and garlic powder. Combine again, till smooth, silky texture. At this point if you use a blender, move the soup to a saucepan on the stove, and heat thru, stirring occasionally to avoid burning. Serve with a bit of sour cream on top, and bread or toast on the side.

**Note**
Like I said I love the immersion blender for this because I can blend it and heat it at the same time and it works a lot like a whisk on steroids. Everything is smooth and heats at the same time, making it easier to blend together. Immersion blenders are also good for things like the egg nog recipe I posted here, and when you make stuff like instant pudding (yes, I use instant pudding occasionally--the sugar free variety). Even though I like the immersion blender, you dont have to go out an buy one--a normal blender will work just fine, you will just have to heat it again afterward--if you blend everything while it's hot it will overheat your machine and you might end up with a broken blender.