Rum Shrimp and Butternut Squash Ravioli Alfredo

Mom and dad invited the missionaries over for dinner tonight, so I offered to quickly throw something together for mom. It would be best if we don't tell the missionaries that the dishes was cooked with rum.

I present to you butternut squash ravioli drizzled lightly with Alfredo sauce and topped with rum sautéed shrimp seasoned with garlic, nutmeg, cinnamon, and allspice, accompanied by butter herb asparagus, crisp snow peas, and fresh tomatoes  finishing off the dish.

Roasted Butternut Squash and Yam Soup

Roasted Butternut Squash and Yam Soup.

Oh how I love the Fall. The leaves turn from green to gold, the air becomes crisp, and the fruits of the harvest laden the table with the prosperity of the season. No other soup speaks of Fall as does butternut squash soup.

Here we have oven roasted butternut squash, sweet potatoes, and garlic tossed lightly in olive oil and sprinkled with thyme, nutmeg, cinnamon, and salt (I use equal parts squash to sweet potatoes). The roast is then pureed with vegetable stock, and brought to a simmer with a touch of sherry and heavy cream. The soup is garnished with sweet potato chips, fresh thyme, and nutmeg, yielding a rich and creamy golden soup reminiscent of all that Fall contains.

Pain Perdu

Pain Perdu with an Amaretto Crème Anglaise Sauce. 

Pain Perdu is really just French toast, but as with most French food, it's pretty fancy eating.  The French themselves consider the dish a dessert, though I've chosen to host it as dinner tonight.  (Pain Perdu translates to "lost bread", which was a dish created to reclaim stale bread.)  

The dish is prepared by taking stale bread that has been sliced on a bias and dipping it in a wash of egg, heavy cream, vanilla, sugar, and cinnamon.  The bread is lightly fried, buttered, and dusted with confectioner sugar.  The dish is then topped with fresh berries and drizzled with amaretto crème Anglaise (English cream), consisting of egg yolks, sugar, heavy cream, vanilla bean, and amaretto (optional).  The dish is finished off with a sprinkle of confectioner sugar and served with a side of vanilla bean ice cream.