WFD? A Fall Menu

What's For Dinner?
Well, this was my haul from the market this morning. So many gorgeous fall fruits and vegetables to choose from! Also, a new bakery opened up there, so I am trying out an assortment of their breads. It was easy to get inspired for tonight's simple menu:

Acorn Squash and Macintosh Apple Soup,
Candied Squash,
Roasted Garlic Crostini's with Rosemary Ham and Gouda,
7-Spice Deep-Dish Apple Pie

Here's the SOUP recipe. It's so fast to make:

1 small acorn squash, or other winter squash
1 apple, peeled and chopped
1 small onion, roughly chopped
1tbsp butter
1tbsp olive oil
chicken or vegetable stock, or filtered water
salt and pepper
½ cup 35% cream

Seed, peel, and thinly slice squash into two inch strips(like in the picture). In a large pot, melt butter and oil together until it bubbles. Add onion and sauté until onion is soft. Add squash and apple and just enough water or stock to cover. Bring to a boil and simmer until squash is tender. Transfer just the soup pulp into a blender, reserving the broth for another use. Puree the soup until smooth and velvety. Return to pot and add cream. Season with salt and pepper and heat gently. Serve.

For the candied squash, I just slow-roasted off a chunk in the oven with butter and brown sugar. Then I diced it up and dropped it in the soup for a little texture.

I make my own fresh apple pie spice using a blend of cinnamon, green cardamom, cloves, star anice, allspice, long pepper, and nutmeg. All spices are whole and I grind them just before using.
The result is an unforgettably perfumed pie.

This is the lazy-man's apple pie. Just fold the over-hanging crust back onto the pie for an easy old-fashioned look. Glaze with beaten egg and milk and sprinkle with vanilla sugar. Mmm.