Fancy a Game of Squash?

My parents visited over Labor Day weekend, bringing great garden bounty. They didn’t grow the peaches, but I think everything else was a product of their garden: squash, bell peppers, chili peppers, pesto, and raspberry jam. My mom makes the best fruit jam ever, and if I were a better person, I wouldn’t hide it in the fridge behind the gochujang, so nobody else will find it, but alas, I am not that better person. I love her red raspberry jam. Phil and Ben, you’re on your own because I’m preserving those preserves.

The most notable garden gift was a butternut squash, and what a squash it was! Phil has been anti-squash his whole life, but if I spin it right, Ben will endure it. When I introduced the idea of making our squash pear soup (a fall staple) for Ben’s Day Wednesday, Ben just stared at me. I knew I had to sweeten the pot. “With… pigs in a blanket!” I blurted out.

Ben suddenly looked interested, but suspecting a trick, he said nothing.

“Do you know pigs in a blanket?” I asked.

“I know pigs in a blanket,” he assured me. He thought it over a few seconds and said, “Yes. Pigs in a blanket. That’s good. Pigs in a blanket for Ben’s Day Wednesday.” Something about his tone was like a mafia don approving a hit when he knows the wires are tapped.

“With squash pear soup,” I added lamely, knowing that I needed it on the record.

Butternut Squash and Pear Soup

2 tablespoons butter

2 large onions, diced

1 medium butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cut into 1-inch pieces

4 medium pears, peeled, cored, and cut into 1-inch pieces

1 teaspoon sugar (or more to taste)

1 quart reduced-sodium chicken stock

2 rosemary sprigs

1/2 cup half-and-half or heavy cream

Salt and pepper to taste

Garnish options:

Bleu cheese crumbles

Pepitas

Diced pears or apples

Balsamic vinegar

1. Melt butter in a large soup pot and sauté onions over medium heat until softened, but not browned.
2. Add squash and pears, and cook, stirring, about 5 minutes.
3. Add the stock. If vegetables are not submerged, add just enough water to do so.
4. Add rosemary (I often put the rosemary leaves in a tea-ball and suspend it in the soup while it cooks – I guess it would be a sort of bouquet garni. Rosemary leaves are tough, and if they escape into the general population, you’ll want to fish them out.)
5. Bring to a simmer and cook until the squash and pears are very tender, about 45 minutes. Discard rosemary.
6. Purée in the pot with an immersion blender until smooth. Taste and season with salt and pepper. Stir in half-and-half.
7. Serve with or without garnishes of your choice.

Pigs in a Blanket

4 hot dogs, cut in half

1 eight-ounce tube of crescent dough (ours was a solid sheet)

Condiments of your choice*

1. Preheat oven as directed on package.
2. Pop the tube of dough and spread it out like a blanket on a flat surface.
3. Cut dough into eight squarish rectangles.
4. Roll the dough around the hotdog halves and place on a baking sheet.
5. Bake according to package directions.
6. Serve with condiments of your choice. Our choice this time was curried mayonnaise.

*Curried Mayonnaise

3 tablespoons mayonnaise

1/2 teaspoon curry powder

Stir mayonnaise and curry powder until combined. Add more or less curry powder to taste.