Roasted Butternut Curry Bisque

Wow, it's been awhile! But never fear Internet, I'm still here, and still doing some cooking. So as a "back to blogging" treat, you get a recipe created from my very own brain! I've made this type of soup/sauce before, and figured it was high time to get it written down. This is terrific as a soup, but my favorite way to eat it is as a sauce for cheese tortellini. So with the dulcet tones of Golden Girls playing in the background, here we go!

Roasted Butternut Curry Bisque

Ingredients
2 medium sized butternut squash, peeled and cubed
3 Tblspn olive oil
Curry powder to taste
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 head of garlic, peeled and cloves separated
Salt and pepper to taste
2 Tblspn butter
1 large onion
1/8 cup brown sugar
2 cups half and half
1/2-1 cup chicken stock

Directions
1) Toss the butternut squash, olive oil, curry powder, 1/4 cup brown sugar, garlic and salt/pepper in a large bowl until evenly coated. Pour onto a greased roasting pan and roast @ 425 degrees for 30-40 minutes.

2) When veggies have ~ 20 minutes left, heat butter in medium sized pot, and saute onion until translucent (about 5-7 minutes). Add 1/8 cup brown sugar and cook for 1-2 min. When the veggies are done, dump the onion mixture on that pan, freeing up your pot for the upcoming puree.

3) In a food processor, puree the squash mixture, onion mixture and half and half, and pour into the pan, heating on low. This is usually done best in batches, and you want the mixture really smooth. Add chicken broth as needed to get the desired consistency. Serve immediately.


This is a super forgiving recipe, so change it up as you wish! Don't like curry? Skip it! You can also skip the brown sugar and go in a more savory direction with more garlic, or seasonings of your choice. And the amount of ingredients are suggestions, and can easily be changed for your tastes/what you have on on hand. There are no mistakes with this recipe, just happy accidents. 😁

New Orleans Corn Bisque with Smoked Sausage

So this soup turned out SUPER yummy...NOT however enough for the proposed 8 servings, and pretty high on the calorie count for frequent consumption. I would say it makes closer to 4 -6 servings. The hubby actually made this one and he's very good at following recipes as directed, so there aren't any changes made this time. My future changes are below. :)

New Orleans Corn Bisque with Smoked Sausage

Ingredients
Original recipe makes 8 1-cup servings

 1 (16 ounce) package Hillshire Farm® Smoked Sausage
 1 medium onion, chopped
 1/4 cup butter or margarine
 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
 1/2 teaspoon salt
 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
 1 (15.25 ounce) can whole kernel corn, drained
 4 cups milk
 2 cups cubed potatoes, cooked, drained
 Chopped parsley (optional)
 Shredded Cheddar cheese (optional)

Directions

1) Cut sausage into 1/2 inch cubes.
2) Melt butter in large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion; cook and stir until tender. Add flour, salt and pepper; cook, stirring constantly for 1 minute.
3) Add milk. Increase heat to medium-high and bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Boil and stir 1 minute. Add corn and sausage; return to a boil.
4) Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer 10 minutes. Stir in potatoes; heat through.
5) Top each serving with parsley and cheese, if desired.

So, for me, the potatoes kind of over-powered the soup. I'm not sure if that's because they were in pretty large chunks, or whether it seemed like there were too many chunks compared to the amount of soup. In order to make enough for 8 people, I think I would add some chicken broth- maybe a cup or two. And possibly another 1/2 can of corn - but I really love corn, so that could be a contributing factor. ;) In order to make it more of a bisque, once I added everything but the sausage, I would blend it until mostly smooth, then add the sausage at the end. We did not add the cheese or parsley, and I think it was excellent without it.

Hubby and I just returned from my most FAVORITE ice cream treatery....Maggie Moo's! If you are in the Jackson, MI area, I highly recommend it. Speaking of which...it's BIRTHDAY week! So as an extra treat for you, I am going to share my project that I have been working on today. I have compiled a list of all the freebies (mostly food related) available in the Jackson/Spring Arbor area that one can get on their birthday! But I'm making it it's own post...so go check it out! :)

Southwestern Shrimp Bisque

This recipe is Taste of Home magazine, the 2012 April/May issue. After trying it once, it has become a fast favorite at my house, and even makes great leftovers...if there are any, that is. :) I highly recommend doubling the recipe from the get-go. It says that one recipe makes 3 servings, but unless you're referring to the world's smallest bowl of soup, I say double it, and you'll get 3-4 bowls worth.

Southwestern Shrimp Bisque

      Ingredients

1 small onion, diced

1 Tbsp olive oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 Tbsp all-purpose flour

1 cup water

1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

2 tsp chicken bullion granules

1 Tbsp chili powder

1/2 tsp ground cumin

1/2 ground coriander

1/2 pound medium shrimp, peeled and deveined  (you can use cooked or uncooked) 

1/2 cup sour cream

Chopped fresh cilantro and sliced avocado, option

       Directions

1. In a small saucepan, saute onion in oil until tender. Add garlic; cook 1 minute longer. Stir in flour until blended. Stir in water, cream, bullion and seasonings, bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 5 minutes. 

2. Cut shrimp into bite-sized pieces if desired. Add shrimp to soup. Simmer 5-10 minutes until shrimp is pink. (if you are using cooked shrimp, cook just until the shrimp is warm.) Place sour cream in a small bowl; gradually stir in 1/2 cup of hot soup. Return mixture to the pan, stirring constantly. Heat through (do not boil). If desired, top with cilantro and/or avocado. 

Follow as directed! I haven't used uncooked shrimp, just the frozen pre-cooked ones, so I usually just add the shrimp at the same time as the sour cream mixture. I haven't had any issues with them getting rubbery. Excellent served with crisp green salad and crusty french bread for dipping!