golden pear soup & cuisinart smart stick

My favourite thing today: golden pear soup. Whenever people ask for my single all-time favourite recipe it's this soup. I've probably made it more than any other recipe and it works beautifully for every occasion: lunch, pregnancy (the one and only thing I could always eat!), general comfort food, fancy dinner party food, ordinary family dinner food. And an added bonus: it's a guaranteed success with (almost) all kids. Tonight we had it for dinner. It was our family plus four impromptu guests (mainly kids). Which is another favourite thing: people staying unexpectedly for dinner. I love the way it makes the house feel festive, the way the kids are always happier with more people, the array of food on the table, all the voices talking, and the sense it gives me of living in a village rather than a city.

Here's the recipe (I got it from the web) (it's from Molly Katzen's Still Life with Menu which is also a favourite cookbook):

Adapted from "Still Life With Menu."
Preparation time: 50 minutes
Yield: 6 servings
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Fresh pears and sweet potatoes are puréed together and finished off with touches of cinnamon, white wine, and cream. This unusual soup is slightly sweet, slightly tart, and deeply soothing. It is easy to make, and it's hard to believe something that tastes this good can be be so easy.

Steps 1 through 4 can be done ahead of time, and the purée can be refrigerated for a day or two before the finishing touches are added.

1 1/2 pounds sweet potatoes (acorn or butternut squash may be substituted.)
4 cups water
1 3-inch stick cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
3 large ripe pears (any kind but Bosc)
1 to 2 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons dry white wine
1/3 cup half-and-half, light cream, or milk (lowfat or soy okay)
A few dashes of ground white pepper

1. Peel sweet potatoes (or squash), and cut into small pieces. Place in a large saucepan with water, cinnamon stick, and salt. Bring to a boil, cover, and simmer until tender (about 15 minutes). Remove the cover and let it simmer an additional 5 minutes over medium heat. Remove and discard the cinnamon stick. Set aside.
2. Peel and core the pears, and cut them into thin slices.
3. In a heavy skillet, sauté pears in butter for about 5 minutes over medium heat, stirring frequently. Add 1/4 cup wine, cover, and simmer about 10 minutes longer over medium heat.
4. Using a food processor with the steel blade or a blender, purée the sweet potatoes (squash) in the cooking water together with the pears-au-jus until smooth. (You may have to do this in several batches.) Transfer to a heavy soup pot or Dutch oven.
5. Add the cream or milk and the remaining 2 tablespoons of wine. Sprinkle in the white pepper. Heat very gently just before serving. (Don't let it boil.)

It says it takes 50 minutes but once you've made it several times, it's more like 15. There are very few things I make that take 50 minutes!

And from the list, Paul and Rose mention an item in the "favourite kitchen gadget" category that is essential to making this soup: Cuisinart Smart Stick. The "smart stick" is a million times easier than a blender.