Squash part duex

I wanted to take just a minute to share with you an even more delectable recipe for the buttercup squash I so raved about in my last post. Having roasted it a couple nights ago, the uneaten leftovers of my squash have been sitting lonely in their little tinfoil jacket, waiting for me to find some inspiration, and time, to turn them into something even lovelier. Two things came to mind when I was pondering the fate of my sweet little buttercups: the fresh sage in my garden and the fresh ripened raw milk cheese I was gifted last week from my friend Vicki (btw, she's amazing and I'll get to that some other day). I wanted soup! It was cold, I'd just started the first fire of the season and I wanted cozy food. Something I could snuggle up next to and sip with the fire. Something that would smell, taste and feel like the season that was upon us. So this is my cozy, warm, sweet, salty, creamy, smooth, hint-of-spice welcome to winter soup.

Sweet Onion and Buttercup Soup
will serve a hefty serving to four

1 medium sweet onion (small dice)
3T butter
2T fine chopped fresh sage
1T fine chopped fresh thyme
2 bay leaves
pinch of red pepper flakes, or a dash of your favorite hot sauce
3C vegetable stock, or so (please, pretty please, use homemade stock)
1C whole milk or half and half (this you can easily omit, just replace with more stock)
1/2 medium roasted buttercup squash, peeled and cut into 1 in. chunks (see previous post for instructions)

Melt butter in a heavy bottom stock pot, when bubbly and slightly browned add onions and herbs. Allow this to caramelize on medium heat till browned, 7-10 min. Add peeled squash, stir briefly, then add stock one cup at a time (you may not need all suggested liquid, or you may need more). Add milk until you've reach a desired creaminess, allow to simmer on med-low for 10 min. to allow flavors to meld. At this point you have a pretty chunky soup, you can do one of two things. If your wanting a very silky smooth texture, pour soup into a blender to puree for a minute or two. If your cool with a bit of chunkiness, mostly onions at this point, give it a quick whip with an immersion blender.
If your squash is already roasted, this can easily be a 20 minute soup.

I was lucky enough to have on hand some of the best fresh cheese on earth for my garnish, but creme fraiche, fromage blanc or even a nice parmigiana would suit just fine...