Sunday Dinner

Sounds old fashioned, but some Sunday nights end up being perfect for a big, special meal. There was no special event this past weekend; I just had the time and inspiration to make a nice meal. My meal came together around the idea of butternut squash. I have a great recipe for butternut squash soup, and I decided fish would be nice with the soup. I went to Whole Foods to get the fish, and found an amazing loaf of bread to go with the meal. I think it was called "Seeduction Bread"-- obviously, it was really full of grains and seeds. At $5 for a small loaf it wasn't cheap, but it was worth it! A nice side salad rounded out the meal. There aren't many pictures for this entry... we were too focused on eating our delicious meal!

Salmon Baked in Foil from Giada's Everyday Italian

- 1/2 to 3/4 pint grape tomatoes, sliced in half
- 2 shallots, chopped
- 2 tbsp plus 2 tsp olive oil
- 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice (about 1/2 lemon)
- 1 1/2 tsp chopped fresh oregano, or 3/4 tsp dried
- 1 1/2 tsp chopped fresh thyme, or 3/4 tsp dried
- 1 tsp salt
- 3/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 4 salmon fillets (about 5 oz each)

These can me made in advance, and refrigerated for up to 6 hours.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

In a medium bowl, stir tomatoes, shallots, 2 tbsp oil, lemon juice, oregano, thyme, 1/2 tsp salt, and 1/4 tsp pepper. In the center of each of four large sheets of aluminum foil, spoon 1/2 tsp of oil. Place a piece of salmon on each piece of foil, and turn to coat with oil. Sprinkle each fillet with remaining salt and pepper. Spoon the tomato mixture over the salmon, and fold the foil up into a sealed packet. Place packets on a baking sheet. At this point you can refrigerate until ready to bake.

Bake until salmon is just cooked through, about 25 minutes. Use a spatula or large spoon to remove and plate each pack of salmon.



Butternut Squash Soup by Joanne Harris

- 1 butternut squash (approx 3 lbs)
- 4 tbsp butter
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 onions, chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tsp curry powder
- salt and pepper (to taste)
- 1 1/2 quarts (6 cups) veggie or chicken stock
- flat leaf parsley, finely chopped


Skin and cut squash into chunks. Heat butter and oil in a large saucepan; add onions and garlic and saute until soft.

Add butternut squash. Stir in curry powder, salt and pepper. Pour in stock, stir well, and bring to a boil. Turn to medium-low and simmer for about 35 mins, until squash is soft.

Blend soup in a blender or processor. Or, like me, make a huge mess with your immersion blender right in the pot. That thing splatters so much! :) Serve soup topped with parsley and a drizzle of oil.