As I didn’t want to recommend dishes without having tried them first, I made the soup that I had previously mentioned, inspired by Christine from Phantom Of The Opera.  Perhaps I should have done that before recommending it, but such is life.  Or, at the very least, I should have waited to try it when others were going to be over, because the soup was strong.  Perhaps too strong – while it was an incredible flavor, the various flavors didn’t muddle at all, and it everything came through as bright as day. Having a whole bowl of this was probably not my best move; it overpowered a bit and I ended up wishing I only had a cup of it instead.

Even though I actually added extra stock and wine to the soup, it also came out with roughly the same consistency as mashed potatoes.  Now, it occurs to me that this is still a delightful side dish with that consistency, and I would whole-heartedly recommend it for that purpose.  I just was hoping that, when I recommended a soup, it actually had the consistency of a soup.  Anyhow, as I said at the beginning, not everything is going to work.

It kind of reminds me of when I tried to make cheesy oatcakes.  My idea was to make steel-cut oats, mix in some cheddar cheese, and then fry on a griddle (like pancakes) until they were firmed up.  I discovered that oatmeal doesn’t really firm up when baked like that – gluten plays a much bigger role in the process than I had anticipated.  It resulted in a loose pile of buttery, cheesy oatmeal. I did consequently discover that it meant that you could produce a savory oatmeal that works much like polenta/grits for a side dish to an entree, but it wasn’t exactly what I intended.  I think that’s what I’ve managed to do with the squash “soup”.