This soup is delicious with just a few simple main ingredients: one butternut squash, one apple, and one onion. It’s really easy yet amazingly delicious, and the flavor gets better the second and third day - so it’s a great make ahead appetizer for your Thanksgiving feast! 

BUTTERNUT SQUASH AND APPLE SOUP - serves 6

1 Butternut Squash (2-3 lbs)

Extra Virgin Olive Oil 

1 medium yellow onion, chopped

1 large apple, peeled, cored and chopped 

2 cloves garlic, minced 

8 sage leaves, chopped

2 cups chicken stock (plus more to adjust texture of soup)

8 ounces sour cream 

Salt & Pepper to taste 

Preheat your oven to 375 Degrees F.  Cut your butternut squash lengthwise down the center, and remove the seeds.  Drizzle with olive oil and generously salt and pepper. Place the squash face down on a rimmed baking sheet lined with foil or parchment, and roast for about an hour, or until the squash may be pierced with a knife.  Allow to cool.  

Meanwhile, heat 1 TBSP olive oil over medium heat in a large pot, and sauté the onion, apple, and garlic with some salt and pepper until soft, about 8 minutes. Add the sage and sauté for one minute more. Scoop the squash away from the skin and add it to the pot, stirring to combine the ingredients.  Add enough stock to just cover the ingredients in the pot, and bring to a simmer.  Cover, and simmer for about 15 minutes.  Then, it’s time to blend!  Either transfer to the soup carefully batch by batch to a blender, or use an immersion blender to blend the soup until smooth and creamy. If you would like it thinner, simply add more stock, 1/2 cup by 1/2 cup until you reach your desired consistency. Stir in the sour cream, and taste for seasoning.  Adjust the salt and pepper accordingly.  Serve with a garnish of your choice, perhaps some sour cream, some chives, or sage.  

Enjoy!  

Mulled Hot Apple Cider is literally fall in your mouth.  It’s warming on a cold day, and it has the flavor of the holidays in every sip.  Lots of fancy kitchen stores sell expensive mulling spices, but honestly,  they go bad after a 6 months, and you probably won’t finish all of them before apple cider is out of season and hard to find.  As long as you have some fresh ginger, cinnamon sticks, cloves and oranges, you can mull cider that will have the freshest flavor possible.  And the good news is, these are all ingredients you’ll most likely have around for holiday baking and recipes! Check out the video and recipe, posted below. 

Mulled Apple Cider Recipe 

• 1/2 Gallon Local Apple Cider (look for no preservatives added)
• 3 Cinnamon Sticks 
• 3 Whole Cloves 
• 2” Ginger, sliced 
• Zest of 1 orange
• 1.5 ounces whiskey per mug of cider (optional)

Combine all the ingredients in a saucepan and bring to simmer.  Keep it simmering for 15 minutes and then serve! Garnish with orange wedges or extra cinnamon sticks.  If you want to keep it warm all night long, heat it up in a slow cooker then leave it on low- it’s the perfect way for party guests to help themselves to warm cider all night long! And of course, the cider is delicious when spiked with your favorite whiskey.  Now THAT should warm your soul!