Creamy Butternut Squash Soup; Johannah's Roasted Garlic & Chèvre Pork Tenderloin; Green Beans & Pine Nuts Sautéed with Butter & Thyme

My parents are coming over for dinner tomorrow (technically, today). I'm making Creamy Butternut Squash Soup, Pork Tenderloin with Goat Cheese, Rosemary and Roasted Garlic, Green Beans with Thyme and Pine nuts, Wild Rice, and Meringue Nests with Strawberries and Vanilla Ice Cream for desert.

Groceries I still need

Butternut Squash
Marjoram
1 pack cream cheese
poultry string
green beans
Vanilla Ice Cream
make sure I have Chicken bouillon

Creamy Butternut Squash Soup

1. In large soup pot, sauté 6T onions in 4T butter until tender.
2. Add 6c peeled and cubed butternut squash, 3c water, 5 cubes chicken bouillon, 1/2t marjoram, 1/4t pepper, 1/8t cayenne pepper and 2 cloves of garlic.
3. Bring to boil and cook for 20 minutes, or until the squash is tender.
4. Pureé squash mixture with stick blender and add 1 package of cream cheese in batches.
5. Serve warm with heavy/table cream to garnish.

Johannah's Roasted Garlic & Chèvre Pork Tenderloin

2 Pork Tenderloins
3 Bulbs of Garlic
2 pachages of Soft Unripened Goat Cheese
1/3c Olive Oil
2t Ground Rosemary
Sea Salt & Pepper
2T Cold Water
2T Whole Wheat Flour
(Side dish option: handful of new potatoes)

1. Preheat the oven to 325 F.
2. Heat the olive oil in a small pot over medium.
3. Peel the garlic cloves and toss into the olive oil. While the garlic is cooking, prepare the pork tenderloins.
4.. Place the pork tenderloins between two sheets of baking parchment. Use the flat side of a meat mallet (or rolling pin) to beat the pork out thinly and evenly. For very thick cuts, slice the meat lengthwise (but not all the way through), then beat flat. It should be very flexible - at least 1/4 inch thick.
5. Baste the flattened tenderloins with the olive oil, then sprinkle gently with ground pepper and sea salt.
6. In a small bowl, combine the rosemary with the goat cheese. Apply to the tenderloins in a thick layer (save time - just use your fingers).
7. Line the roasted garlic cloves down the tenderloins.
8. Carefully roll the pork lengthwise and secure with cooking string. Tuck the ends in to make sure the stuffing stays put.
9. Place the rolled tenderloins in an overnproof, stovetop safe casserole dish, then baste with the leftover olive oil. (Side dish option: toss in a few new potatoes and dust with rosemary)
10. Bake covered for 45 minutes, basting every 15 minutes.
11. Uncover, increase to 400 F, and bake for an aditional 30 minutes, or until baked thoroughly. Continue basting every 15 minutes.
12. Remove the tenderloins, cut off the strings, then slice into medallions.
13. Place the casserole dish on the stove and heat the drippings on medium.
14. In a small bowl, whisk the flour into the water, then whisk the mixture into the drippings. Continue whisking until the the gravy thickens.
15. Serve with gravy

Keep your eye out for rosemary-herbed goat cheese - it goes on sale more often than plain does.

Green Beans & Pine Nuts Sautéed with Butter & Thyme

(Decide beforehand how many green beans and pine nuts you want per serving, then multiply by the number of servings. That way you don't have enormous amounts of left overs, or skimpy portions)

Green Beans
Water
Butter (enough to coat green beans)
Thyme (crushed is more decorative than ground, but can be 'woody')
Pine Nuts (optional)

Optional - 1. Bake pine nuts until golden (about 2.5 minutes in a toaster oven. Be very careful not to let them go brown)
2. Rinse and trim green beans
3. Using an appropriate sized saucepan, add an inch of water and green beans, and set over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil.
4. Let boil for 3 minutes, then strain.
5. If your meal won't be ready in the next 5 minutes, rinse beans under cold water to stop cooking process.
6. Melt butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add thyme and green beans. Sautè Beans until heated though and just barely wilting. They should still be fairly crisp.
Optional - 7. Toss in toasted pine nuts to coat with butter & thyme
8. Serve immediately.

Wild Rice

Follow directions on Wild Rice container... cook for 45 minutes or something like that...

Meringue Nests

• 2 egg whites
• 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
  
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup white sugar

1. In a large bowl, beat egg whites, cream of tartar, and salt until soft peaks form. Add vanilla, and slowly beat in sugar until very stiff and glossy. Spread mixture into a 9 inch pie plate to form a shell.
2. Bake at 300 degrees F (150 degrees C) for 50 minutes. Turn oven off, and leave meringue in oven for 1 hour. Cool.

I was going to make eggnog with the egg yolks, but I accidently curdled all 12 yolks... Maybe next year...

I'm not feeling so hot. I *really* hope this queasiness is just from the grossness of dealing with a dozen curdled eggs in milk... Time to get some sleep :P