Hey all! I was trying to come up with a good, chilled soup for Thanksgiving (hot soups just don't do well here in Florida), and I came up with this gem last night:

1 whole medium butternut squash
1 jalapeno pepper, cleaned, seeded, membrane removed, and diced
1 stalk of lemongrass, cut in half lengthwise, and half widthwise.
2 cups milk
1 can (13 oz) coconut milk
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
Olive Oil
Salt
Pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cut squash in half lengthwise, and but flesh-up in a baking dish. Drizzle with olive oil, salt, and pepper, and roast until fork tender.

Meanwhile, bring saucepan with coconut milk, half of the jalapenos, lemongrass, allspice, cinnamon, and vanilla to a slow boil for 15 minutes. Remove lemongrass stalks from mixture. Remove from heat and chill.

Put butter nut squash in blender, and add infused coconut milk. If soup is too thick, add milk slowly, until soup is at right consistency. Soup should coat the back of a spoon, but not be thick - roughly same consistency as a tomato soup.

Pour into large mixing bowl, or leave in blender container, and chill. Once soup is cold, ladle into shallow bowl, garnish with the remainder of the diced jalapenos, and serve.

SUGGESTION:

If you REALLY want to wow, put a small dollop of creme fraiche in the center of the soup bowl, and surround creme with 3 pieces of diced jalapeno. The creme fraiche will add another layer of flavor, and a new freshness to the soup...however, I haven't tried this yet, so I didn't list it in the recipe.