Stacked Veggie Quesadilla

I saw this stacked veggie quesadilla recipe, labeled as a "last minute Super Bowl supper," in the most recent issue of Bon Appetit magazine... we made it tonight while watching the AFC championship game. It's pretty good, but I don't think I'll be serving it at Super Bowl, mostly because it's really hard to eat!!
The flavors were good and it really wasn't very hard (especially since they advocate microwaving pre-cut butternut squash- I cut up my own from the CSA, but did do the microwave thing). However, the stack of tortillas with all of the fillings is super tall and difficult to maneuver. You can't exactly pick it up without it totally falling apart. Part of this difficulty may be due to the fact that we got a little bit overzealous when crisping up our tortillas at the beginning, but I'm not convinced that floppier tortillas would make it any easier to handle.

Just a warning... don't be scared, but definitely bring a fork and knife if you make this!

Warm Butternut and Chickpea Salad with Tahini Dressing, Take Two

Remember this tasty salad that I made a couple years back? Yeah, it's still tasty, still easy, still pretty healthy. Try it.This time I served the salad lettuce-wrap style with some Bibb lettuce alongside some rosemary focaccia made from leftover pizza dough. Yum.

Butternut and Caramelized Onion Pizza

Wow, this pizza was pretty awesome... the sweetness of the butternut, creamy mozzarella, spicy/garlicky oil on the crispy crust, earthy sage and caramelized onions. Awesome.

Inspired by, but not adhering to these recipes, I whipped up a batch of the same pizza dough and used the same upside-down cookie sheet method I used a few weeks ago on my kale pizzas. Then I topped the pies with olive oil that had been marinating with red pepper flakes and a ton of garlic, laid thin slices of fresh mozzarella and roasted butternut squash, tossed on some caramelized red onions, and sprinkled it with minced sage, parsley and Romano cheese. So good with a green salad on the side!

Moroccan Butternut and Carrot Stew with Quinoa

I made this spiced butternut and carrot stew for the mostly vegetarian EPA girls as a precursor to the recycled t-shirt necklace tutorial, and, judging by the clean plates, it seemed to be a hit (except with Jenny, who found it to be too spicy... sorry, Jenny!). I didn't find it to be particularly hot-spicy (I thought it was more spice-spicy), but it definitely warmed us up on a freezing night.
After looking at the comments on the recipe, I decided to double all the spices except the cayenne, added 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon with the other spices, and used smoked paprika rather than Hungarian sweet paprika. Also, I added another 1/2-3/4 of a cup of water, as it was looking a little dry as it cooked. Finally, I didn't have any mint for the quinoa, so I added some parsley in addition to the cilantro.

I think that next time, maybe a little more quinoa would have been good, as we had no leftover quinoa, but a whole serving of the stew remaining. Also, the stew could probably benefit from some raisins or dried currants, and maybe some sliced almonds.

Butternut Squash, Kale and Cheddar Bread Pudding

The flavor of this bread pudding was really great... very appropriate for fall! I liked this, as did Tim, although Chuck was not enamored. I've taken note of her dislikes over the past couple years and, by my calculations, it appears she doesn't like custards... oh well!I switched out the baguette for the heels of a couple loaves of whole grain sandwich bread, which I think gave the bread pudding some heft, and definitely some healthy. Also, for extra flavor, I threw a couple cloves of garlic in when I sauteed the kale.

Roasted Butternut Squash, Caramelized Onion, Gorgonzola and Sage Galette

I had a couple butternut squashes from the CSA, part of the fall bounty of hearty greens and myriad winter squashes... Having recently remade all of my favorite butternut squash options, so I was looking for something new.Foodgawker pointed me to several blog posts that combined roasted butternut with caramelized onions, crispy pastry, sage, and some stinky cheese. I made a combination of several of these recipes, and came out with this masterpiece... it was perfect with a glass of wine and a green salad! Sweet squash, stinky cheese, flaky pastry, ain't nothin' wrong with that!

Moroccan-style Quinoa with Butternut and Chickpeas

I made a tasty vegetarian quinoa salad with Moroccan spices the other night, very loosely based on on this recipe from Closet Cooking. I liked the idea of his salad, particularly his spice mix, which I made to spec, but I used different ingredients for the salad base, according to what I had on hand.

Here's how my substitutions broke down:

• I used regular quinoa rather than a mix of red and regular
• I substituted butternut squash for the carrots
• I steamed a bunch of spinach towards the end of the quinoa cooking
• I used toasted almonds in place of the pine nuts
• I threw in dried cranberries where raisins were called for

In the end, the spice mix complimented these ingredients very well!

Butternut, Rosemary, Spinach and Gorgonzola Risotto

Oh my god, this risotto recipe is awesome! I would highly recommend it, as would Chuck, Tim and Tony. But Tony would recommend the recipe more if you call it "butternut, rosemary, spinach and 'whoregonzola' risotto."

I did switch it up a teensy bit from the recipe: I added some garlic in with the onion, skipped the cream (risotto is creamy enough), used frozen spinach (nuked a little and squeezed out), and added a little more than the requisite gorgonzola.

We served it with this crispy baked chicken recipe with garlic and rosemary... also pretty awesome. Panko is one of my favorite ingredients...

Butternut Carbonara

OK, this is snowverkill.
I am snowverwhelmed. And stir crazy. Yet too lazy to leave the house. It's a weird combination.

For dinner tonight Chuck and I scrounged around the fridge a bit, but rocked out a somewhat nontraditional, yet delicious pasta carbonara. The dish included butternut squash and sage... sage from our rooftop garden... sage that I had to shovel 4 feet of snow to get to.
4 FEET OF SNOW!!

Anywho... it was worth it. This dish was awesome. The slight sweetness of the butternut, the super salty bacon. Fabulous. Make it.

Ok, bye.

Baked Butternut and Ricotta Pasta

We really liked this healthy baked pasta dish with butternut squash and ricotta... I've made similar butternut squash pasta sauces in the past, but baking the whole thing with some parmesan cheese and walnuts on top really made this meal much tastier than the non-baked version! It gave it a crunchy texture and saltiness in contrast to the soft and sweet butternut sauce.

The only changes I made to the recipe were to add a small amount of ricotta and grated parmesan into the sauce in addition to dotting it on top for baking.

Thanksgiving Extravaganza: The Sides and Desserts

The side dishes and desserts served at our Thanksgiving were provided by the gracious guests:

Butternut Squash Risotto, handmade by Ms. Guitar as a main dish for the vegetarians in the group.

Sourdough Bread Stuffing, by the always jovial Jenny (she switched it up a little by omitting the mushrooms, using veggie stock and adding more of everything else!).

Sauteed Brussel Sprouts with Garlic and Lemon, expertly executed by Heather.

Creamy Mashed Potatoes, peeled by Meg, but made delicious by Chuck.

Scalloped Corn, a delicious Yehl family recipe made with loving attention to detail by Mark:

" I usually make the corn in that Corningware dish of mine- I think it's a 3 qt. I use 4 or 5 cans of regular corn- not cream- drained. Put in 1 cup of milk. If it's not soupy- put in another 1/4 cup. Sprinkle breadcrumbs across the entire top lightly and then do it again. Mix it up. Beat one egg for each can of corn. Pour in and mix it up. Sprinkle on some salt and pepper.Okay here's the hard part- now I kind of play with it. If it's too dry I add a little more milk. If the breadcrumb doesn't seem to be enough to not make it dry but where you can really see it and it has thickened the consistency of the corn, I add more a little at a time. Put a teaspoon of butter or margarine- whatever you use- close to each corner and in the middle. Bake at 350 for at least 45 minutes. It needs to be cooked, but not dried out. You've seen and made it before, so hopefully you can tell the right consistency and know if it is done or not. Remember it seems to dry out a little more after you take it out of the oven."

Traditional Pumpkin Pies, possibly one of the last desserts to come out of Amy's New Hampshire Avenue kitchen.

Apple/Pear Galette, a rustic treat from Jenny.

Thanksgiving Extravaganza: The Soup

Again, another traditional Thanksgiving ingredient done a slightly different way to keep it interesting, yet not freak people out: Thai-style butternut squash soup, care of Mark Bittman, The Minimalist.

Bittman advertised this soup as one of his make-ahead Thanksgiving sides, and while I didn't make it all ahead, I definitely did the time-consuming butternut chopping ahead. Super easy and really tasty... people seemed to like it, and the leftovers were good for lunch today!

Bittman's recipe read: "Simmer cubed winter squash, minced garlic, chili and ginger in coconut milk, plus stock or water to cover, until soft. Purée if you like. Just before serving, add chopped cilantro, lime juice and zest, and toasted chopped peanuts."

I did pretty much just that: equal parts ginger, garlic and chilis (about 3 TBS each), 2 butternut squashes, 2 cans of coconut milk, about 1- 1.5 C veggie broth, plus salt and white pepper. I squirted in some Sriracha at the end because I decided it wasn't quite spicy enough. I bet this would benefit from some fish sauce, but I left it out because of the vegetarians at the table. The garnishes are key though. Lots of lime!

Butternut Squash Parmesan Pasta Sauce

After cooking at cooking class all weekend, I didn't have a lot of energy to cook dinner at home, so my CSA produce has been piling up... I had approximately a thousand butternut squashes staring at me from the counter. OK, I exaggerate. There were 3. But that's a lot of butternut, yes?I saw this recipe for a simple butternut and parmesan pasta sauce on Simply Recipes and thought I would give it a try. It was pretty good... I made some changes, though:

- Rather than roast the squash whole, I cut it up and threw it on a cookie sheet to speed up the cooking process.

- I threw a minced clove of garlic in with the shallots because it seemed like natural addition to the recipe.

- The sauce was super thick, so I added probably 1/2 cup of chicken stock to thin it out at the end.

- I amped up the lemon juice a bit to contrast the sweetness of the squash-- added about 2 tablespoons.

- Threw some roasted broccoli on the side, which was also a good contrast to the sauce.

Butternut Squash Lasagna: Partial FAIL

Ug... I was trying this butternut squash lasagna recipe out, hoping that I could possibly serve it to the vegetarians this Thanksgiving, but it didn't quite work out. I made a half recipe, and made individual lasagnas for me and Chuck.

The flavors were really good, but I had some major noodle cooking issues- I think due to a lack of sauce, but I'm not sure. The bottom noodle wasn't fully cooked, and the sauce was sorta burnt onto the bottom of it, and the top noodle wasn't cooked on the edges.

I think my bechamel sauce got too thick maybe? I don't know- there just didn't seem to be enough of it. Also, cooking the diced squash in the frying pan on high heat was kinda odd, too. It burnt the squash and onions. I think next time I would dice it and then roast it.

Arugula Salad with Spiced Butternut Squash, Lentils and Goat Cheese

Yes, butternut abounds here at 1346.

I saw this fall salad recipe in the October issue of Bon Appetit... it looked pretty tasty, and I had all the ingredients here, care of my CSA.

I liked this recipe, but didn't looooove it. It was an interesting combination- the peppery arugula, the summery mint, the earthy lentils, the creamy goat cheese and the spicy butternut. I think the dressing needed a little extra something something, though.... just olive oil and red wine vinegar? Hmm.

Butternut Squash and Greens Chili

This is a useful chili recipe to have in your arsenal. Healthy, tasty, easy (except cutting up the butternut squash = PITA!).

Changes I make to sass up the recipe a bit:

• substitute one can of chickpeas for one of the cans of black beans
• use whatever leafy greens you have on hand: kale, swiss chard, collard greens, spinach (this time we ended up using a bag of random mixed greens Chuckie bought by accident when I requested mixed baby greens.)
• add some cayenne (1/2 tsp) and cinnamon (a couple shakes) when you add the other spices

Enjoy!

Roasted Spicy Butternut Squash Seeds

I wasn't sure if you could roast butternut squash seeds like you do pumpkin seeds, but Google informed me that I can, so I did.

Butternuts are definitely not as prolific in the seed department as pumpkins, but I got enough out for a little snack.

I washed, dried and tossed them with olive oil. Then I laid them on a baking sheet and sprinkled them with cumin, cayenne and salt.

Roast at 325 degrees for about 25 minutes until crispy!

Warm Butternut Squash & Chickpea Salad with Tahini Dressing

It's officially the start of fall: I got a butternut squash in my CSA this week.

I made this recipe a couple times last winter and really liked it. It seems like every blogger on the internets has done a version of this recipe, and for good reason. It's tasty, easy and pretty healthy. I like the different consistencies- the warm soft squash, the crunchy chickpeas, the creamy sauce.

Give it a try!

Served it with broccoli tossed with olive oil, garlic, red pepper flakes, S&P then roasted at high heat for like 10 minutes. Squeeze lemon over it.