Butternut Squash Vanilla Bean Soup

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. 2. Cut squash in half, lengthwise. Drizzle halves with olive oil, then season with salt and pepper. Bake on oiled baking sheet for 35-45 minutes, until fork tender. Remove from oven and let cool. 3. Remove seeds. Remove flesh from skins and place in small pot. Add water, sugar and vanilla bean paste to pan. Bring to a simmer, transfer to food processor. 4. Puree on high speed in small batches, if necessary. After 30 seconds, add the butter and keep blending until smooth (2-3 minutes). Water may need to be adjusted to obtain the desired consistency. Transfer puree to soup pot and hand whisk in the half and half cream and salt (to taste). 5. Bring to desired temperature over medium heat. I made this in the Deluxe Cooking Blender. Here are the changes I incorporated: 3 cups of Butternut Squash, 2 Tablespoons of Brown Sugar, 1 teaspoon of Salt. I omitted the butter. Put everything in the blender and turn to Soup setting. When complete, Cancel and Pulse in the Half and Half or Heavy Cream. Prep time greatly reduced!