Thanksgiving Starter — Curried Pumpkin Soup

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It’s that time again — Thanksgiving.  Every foodies favorite holiday.  Food Network and their blog FN Dish decided to celebrate by asking foodies to share their favorite Thanksgiving recipe and to “pull up a chair” to their virtual Thanksgiving table.  After this post there will be links to the participants and their recipes, so that you can pull up a chair with us.

My family prefers a traditional Thanksgiving, especially since we moved so far from our family and friends and haven’t had Thanksgiving with our extended family in five years.  When we lived in St. Louis with our family a traditional Thanksgiving consisted of roast turkey (made by my mom) and sage stuffing (also made by my mom), home made bread (made by me), pies – usually pumpkin, pecan, apple and possibly chocolate (also made by me) and then all the sides — green bean casserole, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes (usually made by my brother in law), and various other vegetables.  I love cranberry sauce, but I prefer the kind that comes out of the can and stays in the shape of the can.  Gross to some people, a fond childhood memory for me.
But in recent years we’ve expanded our Thanksgiving horizons and have added a few new traditions.  One of those being pumpkin soup.  I’ve made pumpkin soup with cream, with craisin and apple topping and most recently curried.
When my husband said that he needed an appetizer for his office Thanksgiving pot luck I thought that this soup might be the perfect choice.
I did an internet search to come up with a basic pumpkin soup recipe that I could give my own twist — the way I like to cook.  I found one on www.epicurious.com that had some exotic ingredients but the basic soup I could do.

With a few simple ingredients you can create an amazing soup that will get all your guests ready for the big meal.
To Make Curried Pumpkin Soup You’ll Need:
Olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
3 cloves of garlic, grated or minced
1 Tablespoon fresh ginger, grated or finely minced
curry powder
salt
pepper
3/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
6 cups of chicken broth or 4 cans
1 large can of pure pumpkin (not pie filling)
1 can Thai coconut milk
In a large stock pot heat enough olive oil to coat the bottom of the pan. Turn heat to low sweat the onions until they are translucent. Add the grated garlic and ginger. 
TIP:  To grate the garlic and ginger a microplane works best.  If you don’t have a microplane then mince the garlic as fine as you can using a knife.
Cook until fragrant.  Season with curry powder, salt and pepper.  
TIP: I bought an all ready blended curry powder but you can make your own curry powder blend by combining cumin, corriander and cardamom.
Add the broth and cook the stock for an hour or until the stock is flavorful and rich. Add the pumpkin and stir to combine.  Add the coconut milk.  When the soup is heated At this point the soup can be served or cooled and stored in fridge until Thanksgiving day.
As far as my husband’s pot luck went-  the soup was a big HIT!!!  And it will be at your Thanksgiving get together.
Links from the participants (bloggers, cooks and chefs) of Pull Up a Chair.  You can also tweet about your favorites, your luck with these amazing recipes or to just share your Thanksgiving traditions @pullupachair.  Check out the list.  Lots of amazing recipes to try.
Cocktails, Appetizers, Soups and Salads

Sweet Life Bake:  Pumpkin Margarita
Easy Peasy Organic: Thanksgiving Ginger Cocktail
Dishin and Dishes: Easy Peasy Organic:
Mooshu Jenne:  Green Salad
Jones is Hungry: Roasted Vegetable Salad 

MAINS

My Angel’s Allergies: Cranberry-Glazed Cornish Hens

SIDES

Cafe Terra Blog: Cranberry Pumpkin Stuffing
The Sensitive Epicure:  Oyster Dressing and Gravy
What’s Gaby Cooking: Rustic Herb Skillet Stuffing
The Cultural Dish:  Cranberry Sauce

DESSERTS

I Am Baker:  Pumpkin Cake
Ladles and Jelly Spoons: Not Your Same Old Pumpkin Pie
Daydreamer Desserts:  Cuban Diplomatic Pudding
Daydreamer Desserts:  Cuban Diplomatic Pudding
Thursday Night Dinner:   Red Wine Chocolate Cake
Napa Farmhouse 1885:  Caramel Apple Pie