Ciocia's Thai Butternut Coconut Bisque

From: Dorie's Lori

On May 31, 2007

Ten stars! Truly outstanding recipe! All eight grown-ups agreed, and even the 4 kids had seconds I made this pretty much as stated, except: I omitted the salt, as I was using a chicken base, I used dried thyme, my squash 1/2 was large, I used 3/4 the amount of coconut milk, and only 1/2 the black pepper. The amount of pepper in the recipe would be extremely spicy. Using 1/2 was still a bit spicy, but the kids ate it up, so use your own judgement. Two more things - Since I don't have a slow-cooker, I carmelized the onions and shallots until golden, then added everything through the stock, and "barely simmered" it on my stove for a few hours. Also, since I was taking it away on a group vacation, I cooked it through step 7, pureed it and froze it. When it was time to eat it, I defrosted it, at which point it had a "seperated" look that had me worried. But after I heated it and added the coconut milk, it was fine. The cilantro was a terrific garnish. I am so glad to have this recipe! It is different, but not at all strange. Of course, this is a fitting beginning to a Thai meal, but I would not hesitate to serve it at Thanksgiving (when you should probably watch the pepper) or any other time. Especially when you want raves Thanks again for this fabulous recipe!