Happy Halloween!

My kitty, Audrey, likes Halloween, too!

Today, I'm giving you the most delicious soup recipe! It is great on a chilly day, like Halloween! Fresh vegetables, fresh herbs, a hint of crushed red pepper, and awesome homemade croutons really make it sing. Even my carnivore husband loves it!

(Oops! I forgot the fried sage leaves in the picture!)

Superb Squash Soup with the Best Parmesan Croutons

Serves 8, great leftover for lunch!

Ingredients:

For the soup:
Olive oil
16 fresh sage leaves
2 red onions, peeled and chopped
2 sticks celery, trimmed and chopped
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
4 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped
2 sprigs fresh rosemary
1/4 teaspoon crushed red chile pepper
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 1/4 pounds butternut squash, onion squash, or musque de Provence, halved, deseeded and cut into chunks
2 quarts good-quality chicken or vegetable stock

For the croutons:
Extra-virgin olive oil
16 slices ciabatta bread
1 chunk Parmesan, for grating

Directions:

In a very large saucepan on medium heat, add a couple glugs of olive oil. Add the sage leaves and fry for around 30 seconds or until dark green and crisp. Quickly remove them with a slotted spoon to a bowl lined with paper towels - you'll use these for sprinkling over the soup at the end. In the pan you'll be left with a beautiful flavored oil.

Add the onion, celery, carrot, garlic, rosemary, chile  and a good pinch of salt and pepper to the pan. Cook gently, for about 10 minutes, until the vegetables are sweet and soft.

Add the squash and the stock to the pan, bring to a boil and simmer for around 30 minutes.

While the soup is cooking, make the croutons. Drizzle a little olive oil over the ciabatta slices, and press some grated Parmesan onto each side. Place in a non-stick pan, without any oil, and fry until golden on both sides.

When the squash is soft and cooked through, remove the rosemary sprigs and whiz the soup with an immersion blender or standard blender and pulse until you have a smooth puree. (Be careful when blending hot liquids.) Most importantly, remember to taste and season it until it's perfect. Divide the soup between your bowls, placing 2 croutons on top of each. Sprinkle with a few of your crispy sage leaves and drizzle with a swirl of good-quality olive oil.

Recipe adapted from "Jamie at Home" by Jamie Oliver.

Devilishly Good Chicken!

Foods that are highly seasoned (e.g., mustard, chilies, etc.) or sinfully rich (e.g., chocolate cake) have been referred to as "deviled" since the 18th century. In 1868, The William Underwood Company began selling a mixture of ground ham with seasonings which they named "deviled ham." In fact, their devil logo is one of the oldest trademarked logo still in use today. While I love highly seasoned food, canned ham is not my kind of thing. Trust me. I used to audit food processing plants (like Ballpark Franks), haven't eaten one since!

The original Underwood Deviled Ham logo.

With Halloween almost here, I want to share this wickedly addictive recipe from Williams-Sonoma for "Chicken Thighs Diavolo." Diavolo means devil in Italian, but only dishes invented by Italian-Americans use the term. In Italy, they would refer to a spicy dish as all-arrabiata meaning "angry-style." I digress. Anyway, these chicken thighs are marinated in a wonderful blend of cider vinegar and five different chili spices, then grilled to juicy perfection. Delicious! I love this marinade so much! In addition, you could use it on practically any cut of chicken or even pork. I don't know who created this spice blend, but they must have sold their soul to the devil to create it!

Chicken Thighs Diavolo

Serves 6

Ingredients:

For the marinade

1/4 cup cider vinegar

2 tablespoons paprika

1 tablespoon cayenne pepper

1 tablespoon granulated garlic

1 tablespoon coarse salt

1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper

2 teaspoons chili powder

1 teaspoon Thai chili paste or red pepper flakes (I use Chili Garlic Sauce by Huy Fung Foods, Inc.)

1 teaspoon hot-pepper sauce (I use Cholula.)

1/2 cup water

For the Chicken Thighs

3 pounds bone-in chicken thighs, trimmed of any excess skin and fat

1 or 2 handfuls wood chips, soaked in water for 30 minutes. (I use mesquite.)

1 large disposable aluminum roasting pan

Directions:

In a bowl, combine marinade ingredients and whisk until the salt and granulated garlic dissolve. Taste and adjust the seasonings; the sauce should be bright red and very spicy. Pour half the sauce into a small serving bowl and set aside.

Rinse the chicken under cold running water and pat dry with paper towels. Using a sharp knife, score the chicken to the bone in several places to expose the flesh. Place the chicken in a large disposable aluminum roasting pan, pour the remaining sauce over the top and turn to coat well. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or up to 4 hours. Remove from the refrigerator 10 minutes before grilling.

Prepare a charcoal or gas grill for indirect grilling over medium heat.

For a charcoal grill: Sprinkle the wood chips over the coals. Place the pan with the thighs on the cooler side of the grill, cover and cook until cooked through, about 30 minutes. Transfer the thighs to the grate directly over the coals, brush with the marinade from the pan and grill, turning often, until nicely charred on all sides, 3 to 5 minutes more.

For a gas grill: Increase a burner to high. Heat a smoker box half full of chips until smoking, then reduce the heat to medium-low. Place the pan with the thighs over unlit burners, cover and cook until cooked through, about 30 minutes. Transfer the thighs to the grate directly over the heat, brush with the marinade from the pan and grill, turning often, until nicely charred on all sides, 3 to 5 minutes more.

Transfer the chicken to a platter. Serve immediately and pass the reserved sauce alongside.

Roosters and Truffles

The last time I visited my daughter in Florence, we took a wine tour through Tuscany and Siena. Our tour guide told us why the black rooster is the symbol of Tuscany and Chianti wine. During the Middle Ages, Tuscany and Siena had to settle a land dispute between the two cities. The two cities decided to each send a knight to ride until they met, which would became the border. The start time for each knight was to wait for a rooster to crow. However, clever Tuscans chose to starve their black rooster, resulting in the rooster crowing far earlier than that of the well fed Siena rooster. The result was that the Tuscan knight rode out far earlier than the Siena knight. The knights met within 12 km from Siena, giving Tuscany most of the Chianti region.

After a lovely yet long day, we arrived back to Florence starving! We stumbled into Osteria Giglio d'oro to enjoy some pasta and Chianti. I ordered the mushroom ravioli with truffle cream sauce. So delicious! In fact, this is a common option in many Florentine establishments, such as Trattoria Za Za. Haha! (IYKYK) When I got home I did a quick search and found this astonishingly easy recipe from Food52 for Ravioli with Truffle Cream Sauce! The recipe calls for salsa tartufada. In America, you may find it called truffle sauce. Also, I prefer tartufada made with some mushrooms, as some versions use some black olives. So read the label. Also, I prefer this recipe with mushroom ravioli. Mangia!

Ravioli with Truffle Cream Sauce

Serves 2

Ingredients:

2 Tablespoons butter

1/2 cup heavy cream

1 Tablespoon salsa tartufada (truffle sauce)

1/4 cup grated Parmigiano Reggiano 

8 fresh ravioli (I prefer mushroom ravioli and use 10 for two people.)

Directions:

In a saucepan, melt the butter over medium-low heat. Once melted, add the cream and tartufada. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Add the Parmigiano and stir.

Meanwhile, cook ravioli according to package recommendations. When done, add to the sauce with 1-2 tablespoons pasta water. Simmer one more minute. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve on plates.