THE RECIPE BOX - Butternut squash recipe makes a great appetizer or meal

GREENVILLE - Dawn Connetti Matteo didn't know that the pumpkin patch at Matteo's Farm on Swan Road - the place where her grandfather took her every year from the time she was a little girl to pick out a pumpkin - was the place where something else would blossom and tie two families forever.

Like a patchwork quilt, farms and families interconnect throughout Apple Valley. Dawn's great-grandparents were Myra and Michael Connetti who came to the United States from Italy. Their farm was the Connetti Farm located on Colwell Road in Greenville. Today a cousin, Donald Connetti, still operates Blossom Trail Orchard where his business is preparing peeled, fresh sliced apples used in pies and desserts and sold to local restaurants, hotels, bakeries, schools and hospitals throughout New England.

The original family farm, established in 1902, was about 150 acres. Half was sold off for a YMCA camp a few years later and Hurricane Carol in 1954 wiped out the business. A reorganization put the Connettis back in business in 1955. Dawn's grandfather Michael would get up and go to the farmers market held in Providence each morning before he went to school. He married Marion and they had one child, Dawn's mother Audrey.

Dawn and her husband Mark Matteo live in and own the house where she grew up on Mountaindale Road. They have one daughter Amanda, a Boston University student. Her grandmother Marion still lives in the original farmhouse and is just a stone's throw away from Dawn at the corner of her property that once was dotted with apple trees. "I moved from the hospital (at birth) to this house," Dawn said.

After 10 years as a hairdresser for Creative Hair Design in town, Dawn made a career change to work for Cox as a technical support person for customers, as well as doing field tech support. Her husband works there too, although they actually met while working together at their local Major Video as teens.

Dawn learned values instilled at a tender age, "Family comes first," she and her sister Jennifer were told, and faith is an important value. "I miss Amanda coming to church with me still," Dawn shared. It's one of the hard things about her being away at school, as it is a family tradition.

That sense of tradition is a recurring theme when talking to Dawn. A wooden sign in her kitchen says, "Celebrate Family Friends and Traditions."

"This house gets full," she said of the holidays. Thanksgiving and Christmas are celebrated here and everyone pitches in.

The butternut squash soup with tortellini is just one course for her Thanksgiving table. An antipasto, lasagna, grilled vegetables, and pies will be prepared by Dawn. Her father-in-law Pasquale Matteo will bring his fully cooked farm raised turkey from Fredrickson Farm in Scituate and his wife Susan will make the sausage meat stuffing.

As for the pies, Dawn recently won first place in the traditional two-crust apple pie contest held at The Crossing in Smithfield in September. She was pleasantly surprised and gives credit to her mom Audrey for the win.

"She does pie crust so easy, Dawn said. "I used to watch her make a pie, she just whips it (the crust) around," she said. "I'd ask her, do that again?"

Dawn uses about 12 apples, four different types in her pies, but mainly Granny Smith, she shared. Her secret tip is to place the uniformly sliced apples, coated with a little flour, sugar and cinnamon, into a colander for about a half-hour to an hour to let some of the juices drip out. It prevents a mushy filling. She does her pie crust while it sits. Most of all she says, just do it and don't worry about it.

The butternut soup was absolutely delicious. She serves it as an appetizer for Thanksgiving dinner but served with the tortellini, a salad and a crusty slice of bread it would be a satisfying dinner. I would garnish it with fresh parsley, or you could even add a hint of nutmeg. Add this recipe to your list of "keepers."

Butternut Squash Soup

with Cheese Tortellini

Ingredients:

5 lbs. (16 cups) 1-inch cubed butternut squash

1 cup water

2 (32-oz.) low sodium vegetable broth

3/4 tsp. crushed red pepper

2 lb. cheese tortellini

2 Tbsp. butter

Salt & Pepper to taste

parsley to garnish

Directions:

1. In a large saucepan or stock pot combine water, peeled cubed squash, vegetable broth and crushed red pepper. Cook covered, stirring every 10 minutes, for 35 minutes or until squash is tender.

2. Transfer two cups of the squash mixture to a blender. Cover and blend until smooth. Repeat with remaining portions, one cup at a time, until all of the mixture has been blended.

3. Return blended mixture to saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and add butter, then simmer for 7 minutes.

4. Meanwhile, prepare the tortellini as directed on package, drain.

5. Ladle hot soup into bowls evenly. Add tortellini if desired. Enjoy!

Note: This will make about 16 servings - good for a large crowd. You may cut the amount of ingredients in half for a smaller crowds.