Butternut Squash Soup

Heat the stock in a medium saucepan on low heat.

In a separate stock pot over medium-high heat, melt butter and add onions and shallot. Saute over medium-high heat until the onions are translucent. Add squash, thyme and sage and continue to saute, without burning the onions until squash is nice and hot.

Sprinkle flour evenly over the vegetables. It should combine with residual butter and become pasty. If your flour stays too clumpy, go ahead and a tablespoon or two of butter until the flour begins to mix. Continue stirring for about two minutes and be careful not to burn the roux.

Next, grab a whisk. One a ladle at a time, add your hot stock into the squash mixture, whisking constantly until your roux has completely dispersed throughout the stock. Once this has happened, add the remaining stock. Lower heat, and simmer until soup has thickened, about 20 minutes. Looking good, looking good …

Using an immersion blender, blend soup until it is completely pureed. Add lemon juice and salt and pepper to taste.

Heat the cream in a separate saucepan, just until hot. When ready to serve, whisk cream into soup until incorporated.

Garnish with balsamic glaze. How did I live this long without this soup? Geez …

Note: You can now buy diced, cooked butternut squash in the frozen food section at most grocery stores.