As we published the post below, for acorn squash soup with gnocchi, we thought about soup as a main course.

To turn a first course into a main course, simply add more of the protein: beef, chicken, ham, sausage, tofu, etc.

It’s also an opportunity to double up on the veggies and to add whole grains like barley, brown rice or quinoa.

Serve it with a large and interesting side salad, and you’ve got a delicious lunch or dinner.

Here are 25 ideas to start; or create your own combinations:

There’s a thin line between soup and stew. Both can be combinations of vegetables, proteins and starches (beans, dumplings, grains, legumes, noodles, potatoes, rice, etc). Both are cooked in, or with, a liquid. Both can be served in a bowl.

Stews are thicker, with the liquid reduced to a gravy. Because they are made to be main courses, the ingredients are cut into larger/chunkier pieces. Meat-based stews are an opportunity to slow-cook tougher (least expensive) cuts of meat. Soups cook for a shorter time at higher temperatures.

Yet, stew is not simply a thick or chunky soup. There is a different approach to cooking:

 
Here are more differences:

Albondigas—meatball soup—is a Mexican classic. Photo courtesy Melissas.com.

 
Both stews and soups may be thickened:

 
Hot soups and stews are particularly suited to cold winter days. It looks like we’ll have more than enough left to pull out some favorite recipes, or try new ones.

[1] Acorn squash soup with gnocchi and a garnish of dried cranberries, Brussels sprouts leaves and crème fraîche (photo © Giovanni Rana Pasta)

[2] Acorn squash (photo © Good Eggs).

Italians are known for combining pasta and soup: minestrone, pasta e fagiole (pasta and bean soup) and pasta in brodo (chicken broth with pasta) are classics.

Here’s an even fancier creation from pasta maker Giovanni Rana: acorn squash soup with potato gnocchi.

This hearty starter can also serve as a main course—an example of how you can build on a simple bowl of soup to create a meal.
 
 
RECIPE: ROASTED ACORN SQUASH SOUP WITH SAUTÉED GNOCCHI

Ingredients

1. PREHEAT oven to 425°F. Cut acorn squash in half and scoop out the seeds and pulp. Cut the squash halves into segments, following the natural seams. Toss segments with extra virgin olive oil and season with kosher salt. Lay squash in a single layer on a sheet pan and roast until tender; about 30-35 minutes. In the meantime…

2. MELT butter with extra virgin olive oil over medium heat. Sauté shallots and fennel until soft, about 8-10 minutes. While shallots and fennel are sautéing, peel leaves from Brussels sprouts. Toast in a dry nonstick pan over medium high heat until starting to char in spots. Remove and set aside.

3. INCREASE heat to high and add half of the vegetable oil. When oil is shimmering, add half of the gnocchi directly from the bag. Sauté gnocchi, tossing often, until browned. Set aside and repeat.

4. REMOVE acorn squash from oven when tender; allow to cool enough to handle. Peel skins off and discard. Working in batches, purée squash, sautéed shallots and fennel, vegetable broth, heavy cream and vinegar in a blender or food processor.

5. RETURN soup to a pan and gently reheat. Adjust consistency with more vegetable broth if necessary and season with kosher salt. Add gnocchi and divide among bowls.

Gnocchi (NYO-kee) are light and fluffy Italian dumplings. The most commonly known in the U.S. are made from potatoes and flour, although other styles are noted below.

You can find butternut squash, spinach and sweet potato gnocchi on modern menus, and creative chefs can create a myriad of flavors. Some also substitute semolina for the potato flour—the original recipe (more about that in a minute). Shapes and ingredients vary by region.

The word “gnocchi” means “dumplings” in Italian. There are two suggestions for the origin of the word:

 
They’re Not Italian!

Gnocchi are of Middle Eastern origin; the originals were made with semolina dough. As the Roman Empire expanded, favorite recipes were brought home and adapted, based on local ingredients and preferences. Depending on where you are in Italy, you can find:

 
Whether covered in sauce, tossed in butter or pan-fried, gnocchi are crowd-pleasers.

[1] Ronald Reagan was fond of chocolate mousse (photo © Nescafe).

[2] Lyndon Johnson enjoyed a breakfast of creamed chipped beef on toast. Here’s a recipe (photo © Recipe Tips).

[3] Richard Nixon was happy with meatloaf for dinner (photo © The Popcorn Board).

[4] Give Gerry Ford a bacon cheeseburger (photo © Smokey Bones).

[1] While you can purchase simple syrup in a variety of flavors, you can also make it at home just by mixing sugar and water (photo © Liquor.com).

[2] If you don’t want to buy it, it’s simple to make simple syrup (photo © Zulka Sugar).

[3] Simple syrup can be infused with just about any flavor. Here, a vanilla bean is added to the bottle (photos #2 and #3 © Sonoma Syrup Co.).

[4] Add a hint of ginger, lavender, or your favorite fruit flavor to a cocktail. Here, Ginger Infused Simple Syrup from Sonoma Syrup Co.

[5] Tired of stirring and stirring your iced tea or iced coffee until the sugar dissolves? Simple syrup dissolves in a flash. That’s why it’s used for cold drinks by mixologists (photo © Kelly Cline | iStock Photo).

Granulated sugar does not dissolve easily in cold beverages. Simple syrup (also called bar syrup, sugar syrup or gomme, the French word for gum) makes it easy to add sweetness to drinks—cocktails, iced tea or iced coffee.

Some people use superfine sugar (check out this nifty flip-top package). Others buy a bottle of premade simple syrup. (There’s also a sugar-free version.)

Or, you can easily make simple syrup—and keep it on hand.

You can also flavor simple syrup with anything from chile and cinnamon to lavender and mint (there’s a Ginger Simple Syrup recipe below that you can use as a template for other flavors).

Simple syrup is made on the stove top, stirring sugar and hot water until they combine into a syrup. But you can try the “shaking” techniquebelow: no stove necessary.

Both techniques follow “Uses For Simple Syrup.”
 
> The different types of sugars and syrups.

> A brief history of sugar.
 
 
USES FOR SIMPLE SYRUP

 
Simple syrup is easy to make and can be customized in many ways. The 1:1 ratio of sugar to water prevents bacteria growth and allows the syrup to store at room temperature for months
 
 
RECIPE #1: SIMPLE SYRUP, CLASSIC TECHNIQUE

Ingredients

 
Preparation

1. BRING the water to a boil. Dissolve the sugar into the boiling water, stirring constantly until dissolved completely. (Do not allow the syrup to boil for too long or it will be too thick.)

2. REMOVE the pan from the heat. Allow to cool completely and thicken.

3. ADD optional flavor. For vanilla simple syrup, add 1-1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract to cooled sugar syrup. If you want to infuse fresh herbs (basil, mint, rosemary), simmer them in the hot water for 20 minutes and remove before mixing the water with the sugar.

4. STORE in an airtight container in the fridge or the pantry.
 
 
RECIPE #2: INFUSED SIMPLE SYRUP WITH YOUR FLAVOR OF CHOICE

This recipe employs the old-school, cook-it-on-the-stove approach to making simple syrup. Enjoy it in a cocktail or in hot or iced tea.

Instead of the ginger specified here, you can infuse herbs like lavender and mint; fruits like berries, citrus and pomegranate; and holiday spices like pumpkin pie spice blends and vanilla bean.

Ingredients

 
Preparation

1. COMBINE ginger, sugar and water in a saucepan and bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar.

2. REMOVE the pan from the heat and set aside to cool. Strain the syrup and refrigerate in an airtight container.

Boozy Variation: For “adult iced tea” or other cold drinks, add 1.5 ounces bourbon or whiskey.

Variation: Shaken Technique. This technique makes plain simple syrup, but not flavored syrups, which require simmering the flavor item in hot water.

1. FILL. Using the proportion of 2 parts sugar to three parts water, fill a bottle almost halfway with sugar; add hot water.

2. SHAKE. Cover the top and shake well. Store in a cool, dry place or in the fridge.
 
 
WHY DO THE PROPORTIONS VARY?

Some bartenders use a 1:1 ratio of sugar and water for a thicker syrup. Others prefer a thinner syrup.

Play around with the proportions until you hit on what’s right for you.

Some of us remember life before Presidents Day. Until 1971, Abraham Lincoln’s birthday was a state holiday, celebrated in many states on the his birthday—Lincoln was born February 12, 1809 in Kentucky in that iconic one-room cabin in Hardin County, Kentucky. It was a bank, government and school holiday, not to mention a day of retail sales specials.

George Washington had a separate holiday on his birthday, February 22nd (he was born on February 22, 1732 in Westmoreland County, Virginia, to a wealthy planter family).

In 1971, both presidential holidays were shifted to the third Monday in February and combined as Presidents Day, to allow federal employees a three-day weekend. The private sector followed. Adieu, Lincoln’s Birthday; and yours too, George Washington’s Birthday. You holidays are now part of a vague Presidents Day celebration.

> More favorite foods of the presidents.
 
 
DINING WITH GEORGE WASHINGTON

The planter and surveyor who would become the commander-in-chief of the Continental Army and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. Washington was known for keeping a bountiful table. He was fond of fine food and enjoyed fresh fish almost daily (often for breakfast with hoe cakes).

What did Washington drink with his meals?

Beer was a favorite drink of George Washington, as it was for many people living in 18th century America and Europe. Before municipal water supplies, the water supply was unreliable, with the water from lakes, rivers and wells carrying harmful pathogens. Even young children drank beer.

Washington was particularly fond of porter, a dark ale, but Madiera and wine were usually present at the table as well. Beer was brewed at Mount Vernon, and hops were grown there. In addition to grain-based beer, persimmon beer and pumpkin beer were brewed in season.

Washington’s notebooks include a recipe for small beer, which was a weak beer (lower alcohol content) consumed by servants and children. The full-alcohol beer was called strong beer.

WHAT ABOUT THE HARD STUFF?

In the era before cocktails*, punch was the way to combine spirits, sugar, lemon juice, spices and other ingredients.

Washington also enjoyed eggnog. His own recipe included brandy, rum and rye, the latter of which was made on the estate. A little-known fact about the Father Of Our Country: At the time of his death, he was the country’s largest producer of rye whiskey. The restored still at Mount Vernon continues to produce un-aged rye whiskey using Washington’s original recipe.
 
So the choice is yours: Toast to our first president with beer, eggnog, punch or a glass of rye.
 
Thanks to MountVernon.org for this information. You can read the full article here. And if you’re in the DC area, do plan a visit to this wonderful heritage site.

DINING WITH ABRAHAM LINCOLN

Given the choice of a good meal with George Washington or Abraham Lincoln, opt for Washington.

Abraham Lincoln’s father, Thomas, was an illiterate farmer. Meals in the family’s one-room cabin comprised simple farm fare.

Thus, Lincoln was not bred to be a connoisseur of fine food like Washington. His colleagues on the law circuit noted his indifference to the boardinghouse fare. As president, focused on work, he hardly remembered to eat; often, his sustenance was a nibble of apples, nuts, cheese and crackers. Chicken fricassee with biscuits and oyster stew were favorites when he took the time to for a formal meal.

Lincoln’s favorite beverage was water. He didn’t drink alcohol and it was seldom served at the White House. He did enjoy coffee, perhaps for the energy as much as the flavor.

A glass of water is fine, but we’d rather have a crisp white wine with our fruit and cheese.

He also enjoyed oysters.

 
____________

*Cocktails as we know them date back to the early 1800s. Here’s a brief history of cocktails and some retro cocktails.