Winter Squash Soup with Gruyere Toasts

My friend Hilary came over last Saturday afternoon to make Winter Squash Soup with Gruyere Toasts.  We love winter squash and a discussion with her is what somehow made me start making soup all of a sudden.  The Gruyere "croutons" (we decided that they are really toasts) made this soup extra special.

This soup stood out to me a bit over some of the others I've been making.  One reason was the use of both butternut AND acorn squash - the acorn seemed to mute the excessive sweetness that butternut can have.  I thought the combination created an outstanding flavor.  This soup was also a bit thinner than the other soups I've made with squash - just a tiny bit thinner, but noticeably so, and somehow this made a big textural difference to me.  I finished the bowl pretty easily (with thicker soups I sometimes have to force myself through the texture, even if I'm still hungry).  The sage and thyme were perfect flavors for the soup and for the season, and carrying them over into the amazing little toasts tied it all together.  I LOVE Gruyere, so this might have been my favorite part, even more than the soup, but just a little.

This is a soup that I hope to come back to again!  Luckily I was able to stash a bit in the freezer, labeled with specific instructions to serve with Gruyere toasts.

Roasted Corn Pudding in Acorn Squash

I saw this Roasted Corn Pudding in Acorn Squash recipe a long time ago.  At the time, it looked interesting, but not appealing enough to try.  Now that I have so much winter squash, it came up again and I decided to try it.

I didn't find it particularly exciting.  It could be adapted to be so.  The recipe notes suggest a variation with coconut milk and curry - that's what I should have done instead.  The aniseed was not for me - I should have known when I opened it and smelled it.  That being said, I found the pudding kind of bland.  The only thing that really made it worth eating was the melted cheese on top!