Butternut Bisque Redux

There are still tomatoes on the windowsill but I felt the need to usher in autumn with a favorite of ours, this butternut bisque.  It was nice to find butternut, acorn squash and pumpkins nestled in with great pots of mums at the Saturday market.  Delicate summer squash is always welcome on the table but the heartier squashes lend themselves to bolder preparation.  The combination of squash and apples is a marriage made in soup heaven!!  As the days grow colder and we draw indoors, it's a great comfort to know that there's something in the freezer just in case of a blizzard.  Hmmm, it is just early, early fall and now I'm thinking blizzard??  Here's what I'm getting to--double the recipe and freeze half.  Just omit sherry and cream before freezing and make a note on the container to add it before serving.  This is a bisque worthy of a starter for company or for two in front the fire on a Sunday afternoon.

Butternut Bisque adapted from a Chicago Tribune Magazine 
(six servings)

2 medium butternut squash (about 1 1/2 pounds)
4 Tbsp butter
1 large sweet onion, peeled and chopped
1/2 tsp powdered ginger
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 quart of chicken stock
2 medium Granny Smith apples peeled, cored and diced
1/4 cup dry sherry
1/2 cup heavy cream
Salt and pepper to taste

1.  Heat the oven to 400 degrees.  Cut butternut squash in half, scoop out seeds and rub with olive oil.  Place, skin side down, in a pan and roast for about 45 minutes until slightly softened.  Cool.  Cut away  the skin and rough chop.
2.  Melt the butter in a heavy Dutch oven over medium heat.  Add onion, ginger and cinnamon.  Saute, stirring constantly, until the onions are translucent.
3.  Add the chicken stock, squash and apples.  Bring to a boil then lower to a simmer.  Cook until the squash and apples are very soft.
4.  Cool the mixture slightly.
5.  Puree the mixture with a stick blender or a regular blender.
6.  Stir in the sherry, heavy cream and salt and pepper to taste.
7.  Return all to the pot and heat through.

ENJOY!