Recipes: Butternut Squash Soup and Cobb Salad - KMPH FOX 26 | Central San Joaquin Valley News Source

Chef Dave Edgell, from the Daily Grill, joined us in the Great Day Kitchen Wednesday morning to prepare a butternut squash soup and a Cobb salad.

Butternut Squash Soup

- 1/2 pound butter
- 5 pounds butternut squash – peeled & chopped approximately 1 inch chunks. (Note: the total 5 pounds should be after peeling and chopping).
- 2 cups onion – diced ½ inch
- 1 cup carrots – diced ½ inch
- 1 cup celery – diced ½ inch
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 tsp. fresh ginger – peeled and minced
- 1/8 tsp. ground nutmeg
- 1/2 tsp. fresh sage – rough chopped
- 2 tsp. fresh thyme – rough chopped
- 3 qts. vegetable stock – Swanson or similar
- 2 tsp. Kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp. black pepper
- 1-2 cups vegetable stock – for thinning out the soup if it becomes too thick

Step 1: Peel, seed and chop the Butternut Squash into 1" to 1 ½" pieces.

Step 2: Sauté the squash, carrots, onions, celery, cinnamon, bay leaves in butter for 25 minutes, stirring often. Add the ginger, nutmeg, sage, and thyme and sauté for an additional 10 minutes. Add the vegetable stock, salt and pepper and bring to a boil, reduce the heat to a simmer and continue to cook for an additional 35 minutes.

Step 3: Remove the cinnamon stick and bay leaves and puree till smooth with a hand held mixer or puree in small batches in a blender. Add the extra vegetable stock as needed to thin. The soup should be slightly thick.

To serve: Ladle into soup bowl and garnish with a dollop of Crème Fraiche; if not available thin out a little sour cream with milk.

*Yields 1 gallon and has a shelf life of 48 hours.

Daily Grill Cobb Salad

- 2 cups washed iceberg lettuce – julienne cut (thin slice)
- 2 cups washed Romaine hearts- julienne cut (thin slice)
- 1/2 cup poached chicken breast, diced ¼ inch (boned and skinned)
- 1/2 cup diced tomato, peeled and seeded – ¼ inch
- 1/2 cup diced avocado – ¼ inch
- 1/4 cup diced, hard-boiled egg (can be shredded)
- 1/4 cup bacon bits – ¼ inch
- 1/4 cup green onions chopped – ¼ inch
- 1/4 cup crumbled blue cheese
- 1/2 cup House Dressing

Step 1: Place washed shredded iceberg and Romaine lettuce into salad bowl. Place tomatoes, chicken, egg and avocados around the perimeter of the lettuce. Sprinkle scallions, bacon bits and blue cheese on the top of the lettuce.

Step 2: Add dressing and toss well.

House Dressing

- 8 each egg yolks
- 2 cups cottonseed or vegetable oil (can use a quart less)
- 1 cup red wine vinegar
- 1 tbl. sugar
- 1 tbl. salt
- 1 tbl. black pepper, ground
- 1 tbl. garlic powder
- 1 tbl. Coleman's Mustard, dry
- 1 tbl. Lea & Perrins Worcestershire Sauce

Step 1: Whip egg yolks in a blender; slowly add 2 cups of oil to the eggs until they begin to bind as to make mayonnaise. As you add the rest of the ingredients in, increase the speed of the mixer, but slowly add in the items. The dressing should be thick.