Curried Pumpkin Soup with Mini Grilled Cheese n Apple Sammies

(Originally from September 18, 2012)  
It's that time of year again: my favorite food time- fall! What goes better with chilly weather than soup n sandwiches? For this recipe, I used a pie pumpkin from my produce share for the soup and featured the (small) apples in the grilled cheese. Aw, poor apples. you did not have a good growing season, did you? That's ok, I'll slather you with cheese and eat you anyway.

Curried Pumpkin-Apple Soup, directly from Spoonful.com

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• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 1 cup chopped celery
• 1/2 large apple, peeled, cored, and chopped
• 2 teaspoons mild curry powder
• 3 cups chicken broth
• 1 1/2 cups solidly packed pumpkin mash or canned pumpkin
• 1/4 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
• 1 whole bay leaf
• 1/3 cup heavy cream
• 2 to 3 tablespoons honey

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1. Melt the butter in a medium-size soup pot. Stir in the onion, celery, and apple. Partially cover the pot and sauté the ingredients over medium-high heat until the onion is clear, about 8 minutes. Stir in the curry powder and sauté the mixture for another minute. Stir in 1 cup of chicken broth and cook it for 1 minute more.
2. Pour the contents of the pan into a blender or food processor, add the pumpkin, and puree the soup until it's smooth.
3. Pour it all back into the pot, then stir in the remaining chicken broth, the salt, and the bay leaf. Set the soup over medium-high heat and bring it to a simmer, stirring occasionally.
4. After 5 minutes, stir in the heavy cream and 2 tablespoons of honey. Taste the soup, adding more salt or honey if necessary to get the desired balance of sweet and savory. Simmer it for 2 minutes more, remove the soup from the heat, and serve it hot. For a pretty -- and tasty -- touch, garnish each bowl with a dollop of sour cream and a sprinkling of chopped chives. Makes 6 servings.

 

Apple and Aged Cheddar Grilled Cheese Recipe, directly from chow.com

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INGREDIENTS

•     1 tablespoon unsalted butter, softened
•     2 (1/2-inch-thick, 4-1/2-by-2-1/2-inch-long) slices walnut bread
•     1 ounce extra-sharp aged cheddar cheese, thinly sliced
•     3 thin slices crisp, tart apple, such as Granny Smith

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Heat a large frying pan over medium-low heat. Meanwhile, spread butter on one side of each slice of bread.
2. Once the pan is warm, add one slice of bread, buttered side down, then top with half of the cheese, all of the apple slices, and finally the remaining cheese. Close the sandwich with the second slice of bread, buttered side up.
3. Cook until the bread is toasted and the cheese is melted, about 3 minutes per side.