Roasted Acorn and Butternut Squash Soup

Even though it feels like spring right now in the middle of January, this soup is a fabulous fit for any meal.  

1 Acorn Squaush
1 Butternut Squaush
Butter
Brown Sugar
Nutmeg
Cayenne
1 shallot
6 pieces of thick bacon
6 sage leaves
8 oz Heavy Cream
16-24 oz of Vegetable stock
Salt



Starting with an Acorn Squash and a Butternut Squash, halved and oven preaheated at 400*, I like to coat my squash in some seasonings before hitting the oven.  Rubbing some butter, brown sugar, nutmeg, and a dash of cayanne over the halved squaush, these go face down on a sheet pan and then about 2 cups of water added to the pan to help the steaming process. These bad boys are then roasted for about an hour or so... until soft and tender. Once at this stage, they need to cool before hitting the pot.  While cooling, fry bacon in the pot. Remove once crisp and add the diced shallots to the drippings. Scoop out all of the squash and add to the shallots. Once this mixture is soft, start adding ladels of vegetable stock to thin out to desired texture.  Let simmer for 30-45 min.  Once mixture is well combined, blend using a stick blender until silky smooth.  Finish with heavy cream and let simmer until ready to serve.  Top with crisp bacon bits, and fried sage. Also, a cruton is always fun to have with this soup!