Cider House Rules: Butternut Soup, Roast Chicken, Root Vegetables

In my house, there aren’t many rules. One condition is that you must be my guinea pig.

After a week of cold downpours when the sun took a vacation, my dear friends came over for a comfort supper. They are far too kind in their accolades (which by the way, I never discourage them from dispensing), but the best part for me is when they keep going back for seconds (and thirds and fourths) and I know that they have truly enjoyed the meal I have wholeheartedly prepared for them.

As you know, I love cooking seasonally…and tis the season for apples, squashes, and root vegetables. I went searching from some recipes and got inspired. I decided to use apple as my theme and found seasonal, organic, and local ingredients, a roasting bird raised with compassion and vegetarian feed. The trick for me is that I like to prep earlier in the day (all the chopping) and put them in little bowls back in the fridge so they are easy to pull out when ready. This meal needs a bit of planning but trust me, it’s EASY. Don’t let the long list turn you away – I’m just being wordy.

Just prep ahead: start the day (or night before) by brining and then chopping things that need to be chopped. Then when you’re ready to cook, start by roasting the butternut squash for the soup FIRST. When they’re done, roast your chicken and vegetables in the oven while you make the soup on the stove top. They both come up nearly the same time and ready to be devoured.

Cider Roasted Chicken with Root Vegetables
Adapted from Je Mange la Ville and Cooking Light

Make the brine in the morning, stick it in your fridge and you can forget about it until ready to cook supper. The brine makes the chicken oh-my-gosh-juicy. The juices from the chicken give the root vegetables this unbelievable flavor and heartiness.

The brine:
3 1/2 quarts water
1/2 quart apple cider
1/4 cup kosher or sea salt
1 TB peppercorns
1 bay leaf

The chicken:
2 cups apple cider
1 3-lb roasting chicken (organic or free-range tastes great)
1 red onion, chopped in large eighths
1-2 tsp dried rosemary
2 TB butter, softened
2 cloves garlic, chopped
Olive oil
Salt
Pepper

The vegetables:
3 carrots, chopped in 2-inch chunks
6 red potatoes, quartered
1 turnip, chopped in 2-inch chunks (I’m not a big fan of turnips, it turns out. You can use parsnips or other hearty root vegetables in place)
2 shallots, quartered
10 cloves garlic (peeled, whole)

1. Put all the brining ingredients in large stockpot that is big enough for the chicken but small enough for your refrigerator.
2. Bring to boil, then cool.
3. Put rinsed chicken into brine (make sure it sits under the brine), stick in the refrigerator for about 7-8 hours.
4. Drain chicken, rinse, dry, and toss out brine.
5. Preheat oven to 375F.
6. Put chopped vegetables on bottom of oven-proof casserole or roasting pan. I used a casserole dish and a metal trivet big enough to hold the chicken just high enough over the vegetables and it worked beautifully.
7. Drizzle vegetables with olive oil, season with salt and pepper.
8. Add garlic and dried rosemary to butter and add under the skin of the chicken breast. To ensure you don’t break the skin, use one hand to pull the skin taut and using the index finger of the other, gently use a hooking motion to tear the connecting fat tissues to loosen the skin.
9. Stuff the chicken with the red onion.
10. Putting the chicken wing side up on the trivet, drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
11. Roast for about 40 minutes (check and if need, cover loosely with aluminum foil so not to burn).
12. Meanwhile, boil apple cider and reduce to about 1/4 cup.
13. Turn chicken breast side up and drizzle the apple cider reduction and roast for another 30 minutes (thigh should be about 170)
14. When done, remove chicken from vegetables and let cool.

Your home will also smell amazing.

Roasted Butternut Squash Apple Soup
Adapted from Barefoot Contessa and ZomppaPatty

This soup freezes really well and perfect for cold days. The apples make it delectably sweet – don’t use as many apples or cider if you want it less sweet. The ginger and curry adds layers of flavors. While the squash doesn’t have to be roasted, it brings an extra depth and nuttiness that makes the soup something else. I also made some homemade croutons by simply chopping up sunflower bread and baking them in the oven until crispy and crunchy. Sunflower bread works perfectly with this soup because of the nutty saltiness.

2 medium-sized butternut squash
4 McIntosh (or other sweet cooking) apples
2 TB unsalted butter
2 TB olive oil
2 large yellow onions, chopped
2 TB curry powder
1 TB ground ginger
2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
3 cups organic chicken stock
1 cup apple cider
3 TB heavy cream
Parsley, chopped

1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. Peel and chop squash and apple to 2-inch chunks.
3. Lay butternut squash on two foil-lined cookie sheets, drizzle with olive oil and bake for 45 minutes or until tender (fork will pierce)
4. In large stockpot, add butter, olive oil, onions, curry powder and ginger, cooking over low heat for about 20 minutes until onions are translucent. Stir.
5. When squash and onions are done, add the squash, apples, and stock to the pot. Season with salt and pepper.
6. Bring to boil, then cover and cook over low heat for about 40-45 minutes or until squash and apples are really soft.
7. Mix immersion blender while on low heat and blend. Add apple cider until it is as smooth or thick as you want it.
8. Blend some heavy cream.
9. Season with salt and pepper according to taste and garnish with parsley.

Our meal didn’t end with apples, but my friends brought over a pecan-pumpkin pie from Whole Foods baked in a graham cracker crust. It was amazing. We topped it off with some tea I had bought in Oman – it was quite heavy at the first pour, but the second in the French Press was so smooth and perfectly steeped.

What a comforting way to spend a cold rainy week. As long as you’re willing to play by these rules.

Tags: Autumn, Barefoot Contessa, bring, butternut squash, butternut squash soup, Chicken, cider, cider house rules, cider roasted chicken, Cooking Light, crouton, food, Ina Garten, Je Mange la Ville, local, Mumtaz, Oman, organic, pecan-pumkin pie, pumpkin-pecan pie, recipe, Recipe Vault, Roast Chicken, roasted butternut squash apple soup, root vegetables, seasonal, sunflower bread, tea, turnip, Whole Foods

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