Roasted Butternut Squash Soup

Some recipes just make it a pleasure to be in the kitchen ... fun to put together and delightful aromas fill the kitchen. And then it all comes together in a good-to-great result at the table. This is one of those recipes.

Lots of butternut squash soups are bit too sweet for my taste, so I liked the savory and slightly spicy flavor of this soup. Squash, carrots, onions, and garlic are tossed in a mixture of EVOO, maple syrup, soy sauce, S & P, with a bit of cinnamon and a pinch of cayenne, and then roasted. Then it's out of the oven and into the soup pot with broth, some chunks of ginger and a star anise. After a 30 minute simmer, it's blended, and then plated with drizzled of apple-cider (i used a glazed version from the supermarket) and some heavy cream. Delicious and very pretty, even if I do need to work on making my drizzling skills more artistic. My taste buds are still a little wonky and I was afraid the cayenne had added too much heat, but my husband said it was just right.

Side was a butter lettuce salad with Panera's apple-poppyseed dressing, and some brown bread and honey butter. Served with a hard apple cider, and I liked that pairing.