Pretty cool idea, though the results seem to vary. I bet there’s a lot of experimenting one could do.

Sadly, I give it six months before Duncan Hines starts pre-packaging something like this, and blasting commercials across the airwaves for it. Maybe less, time than that, actually — surely they’ll want to get it on the market before the holiday seasons start… hell, I could see this going into the “trick or treat” baskets.

I think only slightly worse will be to see Sandra Lee going to town with this one.

As a follow-up… here ya go. Fantastic stuff. My modifications/changes are in italics. An addition I might make to this soup would be a few bacon crumbles, which probably would’ve tasted really good. Maybe next time. I’ve put underscores next to the recipe for your shopping list.

Spicy Chipotle Pumpkin Soup
Prep time: 45m
Ready: 1h 15m
Yields: 4 servings

Ingredients:

__ 2 T oil
__ 2 medium onions, thinly sliced
__ 1 t minced garlic, fresh
__ 1 t minced ginger, fresh
__ 1 15 oz can pureed pumpkin
__ 4-5 C chicken/vegetable broth
__ 1-2 chipotle chiles in adobo sauce, chopped roughly. I used three and it was pretty spicy. Prepare accordingly.
__ 1/2 C half and half
__ 2 T lemon juice
__ 1 T brown sugar
__ salt, pepper
__ 1/2 C creme fraiche (garnish) * I just used sour cream
__ Fresh cilantro (garnish)

Preparation:

1. Heat oil in large pot over medium heat.
2. Saute onion for about 30 minutes, stirring frequently, until tender and golden. Remove about 1/2 cup of the caramelised onion and set aside for garnish.
3. Add garlic and ginger to the pot and stir for 2-3 minutes
4. Stir in canned pumpkin, 2 cups stock and chipotles, simmer for 5 minutes.
5. Puree soup in blender until smooth. Return soup to pot I didn’t do this. I did mince the onions in a mini veggie chopper, however, before adding everything else. Probably a good thing.
6. Add the remaining stock (to desired thickness), half and half, lemon juice and brown sugar. Season to taste w/ salt and pepper. I added neither salt nor pepper. Used about 4 cups of stock overall and it was still thinner than I’d expected).
7. Simmer for 15 minutes. Adjust seasonings as needed.
8. Garnish each serving with a dollop of creme fraiche*, a spoonful of caramelised onions and a sprinkling of cilantro leaves.