Paula de Silva's Butternut Squash Soup /photo by Scott Fisher

If you’re looking for the best butternut squash soup recipe for your Thanksgiving dinner, check out the one from 1500 Degrees – Paula de Silva’s new restaurant in the Eden Roc Hotel in Miami Beach.

I got the recipe for a reader in my You Asked for It! column today- and when I tested it, decided it was the best I’d had. I made extra and have some in the freezer for my own Thanksgiving dinner – it’s that good!

(Remember to click on the RELATED box on the left side of the Sentinel’s web page for the recipe.)

There’s also a recipe for tasty Brussels sprouts served at Delray’s Cut 432 – also great for Thanksgiving and simple to make.

Cafe Vico's Lasagna Bolognese /photo by Michael Francis McElroy, Sun Sentinel

The recipe for Lasagna Bolognese, from Cafe Vico (1125 N. Federal Highway, Ft. Lauderdale) appears this week in my column in the Sun Sentinel. Delish – and you can make extra sauce for pastas, too.

Clark’s Inn, Santee, SC

Clark's Inn dining room, Santee, SC

For the third time, we stopped at Clark’s Inn in Santee, S.C. to eat on the road. I think I’ll let the breakfast menu tell you about its style:

Start with our Homemade Country Breakfast: Sugar Cured Bacon, Smoked Sausage, Country Ham, Southern Style Grits, Home-Fried Potatoes with Onions, Homemade Buttermilk Biscuits with Sausage Gravy and Eggs cooked just like “you like”.

Our Ham and Cheese Omelets are famous and we have the Best Pancakes and French Toast you have tasted. Try our Old Fashioned Oatmeal or sample some Fried Green Tomatoes with Chutney.

We had baked chicken for dinner with a homestyle squash casserole (recipe for one like it follows) – though those fried green tomatoes were calling, I resisted for once, and reluctantly turned away from their so-claimed “Famous fried chicken.”

Hospitality here is four stars! This restaurant has been in operation every day except Christmas Day each year, since 1946. Pretty cool. And, it’s still in the original Clark family.

Squash Casserole with Stuffing

• 2 pounds squash thickly sliced (7 cups)
• 1/4 cup chopped onion
• 1 10 3/4 ounce can cream of chicken soup
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 cup shredded carrot
• 1/4 cup butter
• 2 cups herb-seasoned cornbread stuffing mix (about 1/2 of 8-ounce package)

Preparation:

Cook squash with onion in boiling salted water for 5 to 10 minutes or until soft. Drain well.

Combine soup and sour cream. Stir in shredded carrot. Fold in drained squash and onion. Melt butter; toss with stuffing mix.

Spread half of the stuffing in a 12 x 8 x 2-inch glass baking dish. Spoon squash mixture on top. Sprinkle with remaining stuffing mixture. Bake at 350° until heated through, 25 to 30 minutes.

Makes 6 servings.

Jan’s notes: I’d add 1/4 cup chopped bacon to the squash; add it in with the drained squash and onion. Many recipes call for shredded cheese on top instead of stuffing.

Clark’s Inn and Restaurant

114 Bradford Blvd., Santee, SC 29142-8931
(803) 854-2141; clarksinnandrestaurant.com

Open daily for breakfast, lunch and dinner at 6 a.m. till close.

Cafe Bella Sera's Rice Pudding/ photo by Carey Wagner, Sun Sentinel

True confession: I am not a fan of rice pudding – there’s just something about that texture, though I do like tapioca so go figure) – but did enjoy the few bites I had of this stuff to verify its taste. Colorful chef at Cafe Bella Sera, in Parkland, gave up his recipe for my Sun Sentinel column this week.

Also in the column, Voodoo Hot Sauce made by the NOLA Saints-loving chef, Chef Staz, from Shuck N Dive in Fort Lauderdale, and a delish marinade for skirt steak.

Calamari fra diavolo/photo by Carmine Jean -the Sun-Sentinel

• A recipe for Calamari Fra Diavolo, from Dolce Amore Cafe in Delray Beach.
• A recipe for Chimichurri sauce, like the one at a Miami restaurant.
• How to care for your cast iron skillet – and a recipe for Pineapple Upside-Down cake to make in it.

Shrimp and Grits from Shuck N' Dive, Fort Lauderdale/ photo by Susan Stocker, Sun-Sentinel

Today’s recipe in my You Asked for It column at the Sun-Sentinel is a hearty plate of Southern goodness!