Rosie Makes Stuffed Cubanelle Peppers.

 

 

 I've got a quick, simple, and versatile meal for you - stuffed peppers.  It's easy and everything comes together in minutes.

I had a package (1.75 pound) of hamburger meat (80/20), and I used about 1/4 of the meat.  This was enough to fill 2 Cubanelle peppers, halved.  When picking out long peppers like Cubanelles or Anaheims for stuffing, try to get fairly straight, even peppers, not curled-up ones.  Makes it easier to stuff.

Rosie's Stuffed Cubanelles

About 1/2 pound 80/20 ground beef

1 medium onion, chopped

In a medium skilled over medium high heat, melt about 1 TB butter, then add hamburger meat, chopping it up with a wooden spatula, until almost browned.  Add in chopped onion and cook until meat is nicely browned.  

Season to taste with:

kosher salt (about 1/2 tsp)

onion powder (about 1/2 tsp)

garlic powder (about 1/2 tsp)

cumin (about 1 tsp)

Cut stem ends off 2 Cubanelle peppers and slice in half  lengthwise.  Scrape out seeds and any of the white rib.

Spoon cooked beef mixture into peppers, mounding nicely.

I had leftover red onion in the fridge, so I chopped a bit of that, along with the last tomato (chopped) and jalapeño (minced)from the garden, and topped the meat, along with some chopped smoked red pepper.

Grate a decent amount of Pepper Jack cheese over top and give it a go under the broiler (450°) until cheese is melty and gooey.

Pick some cilantro and chop to sprinkle over top.  If you're not in the cilantro camp, chop some fresh parsley and pretend you like cilantro.

Rosie Note:  Now, here's where you can be a bit creative and versatile and get rid of stuff that would ordinarily stay hidden in your fridge until you found it behind something or other and it would need throwing out. 

Before stuffing the peppers with the meat and onion mixture, check what's leftover in the fridge.  If you have some rice or black beans or corn or black olives, add it to the stuffing.  I've also been known to chop up a bit of pepperoni and tuck it in the peppers.

Serve with salsa and sour cream, if desired, but I think it's just fine on its own.

Cubanelles stuffed with cooked ground beef, chopped onion, tomato, and roasted red peppers.

Give it some Pepper Jack lovin'.

Quick trip under the broiler.

Add some cilantro.

Enjoy.

Rosie Makes Acorn Squash And Apple Crisp.

 It's fall and time for acorn squash and apples.

I'm too lazy to put together a whole meal today, so I'm going with the best parts - a sweet, almost dessert-like stuffed acorn squash and an actual dessert to follow the faux dessert. 

To prepare the squash, simply slice a thin piece off each end so when you cut it in half each half  will sit evenly.  Then scoop/scrape out the seeds and stringy part.  When you have it nice and clean, stuff the center with whatever tickles your fancy.

 

  I used:

brown sugar

orange juice and zest

honey

buttah

pecans

 

Bake at 350° until tender - 50 minutes or so.  Then scrape the sides into the center with all the goody stuff and enjoy.

One of my favorite fall desserts is Mama Hawthorne's Apple Crisp.  Serve it warm just out of the oven with multiple scoops of vanilla ice cream.  Divine!

I like to get all my ingredients together first so I don't get in the middle of a recipe and find out I'm out of something essential, like eye of newt or tongue of hummingbird or dewlap of anole. I hate it when that happens.

 So, here's my mise en place (which is French for putting everything in its place):

 Mama Hawthorne's Apple Crisp

4-5 cups apple slices
juice of one lemon
1/2 cup flour
3/4 cup quick Quaker oats
3/4 brown sugar
1 stick butter
1 TB cinnamon
2 TB sugar

 Heat oven to 350°.
Grease an 8" square baking dish,
Juice the lemon into a bowl.
Peel, core, and slice apples.
As you slice the apples,
 toss them in the lemon juice to coat.
Mix the cinnamon with the sugar
and sprinkle over the apple slices.
Toss to coat.
Mix brown sugar, oats, and flour and sprinkle over fruit.

Cook 35-40 minutes at 350°.

 

At the top, I have my cored and peeled apples bathing in lemon juice.

At right, I have my cinnamon and sugar.

And at left, I have brown sugar, oats, and flour.

Toss apples in lemon juice to keep them from discoloring.

Whisk the flour, brown sugar, and oats together.

 

Stir apples to coat with lemon juice.

Sprinkle cinnamon and sugar over apples.
And toss to coat.

Pour in oatmeal mixture and combine.

Pour apple mixture into buttered 8 x 8-inch baking dish.

Dot top with butter pats.

Don't be afraid.  

Use that entire stick!

And ... BAKE!

35-40 minutes later.

Oh, the house smells sooooo good right now.

Serve with vanilla ice cream.

Rosie Makes Stuffed Butternut Squash

 

 

 I've got a sweet recipe for you for butternut squash.

 

 

To prepare: slice it in half, scoop out the seeds, lightly oil the surface, and then salt and pepper it.  Place it cut-side down on a parchment paper-lined baking pan and bake at 400° until fork-tender - about 45 minutes.

Just as is, it's sweet and delicious, and maybe you'd just want to add some butter and fork it in and it would be simple and lovely.  Or you can  to go another step and add a little savory oomph to it with a sausage stuffing. Because, that's what I did.  I added oomph. And it turned out mighty tasty!

 

Near the end of cooking time for the squash, start on the stuffing.

By the way, I rarely measure things, and if you want to add more or less of something, by all means do so.  And what measurements I'm giving you are for 1/2 butternut squash, since that's what I had leftover in the  fridge.  Usually, 1/2 squash is quite enough for 2 people.

Here's what you'll need for the stuffing:

about 1/3 Jimmy Dean hot sausage roll

3-4 TB chopped onion

big handful spinach leaves, stemmed and coarsely chopped

handful dried cranberries (Craisins)

handful pecans

In a medium skillet, brown the sausage, crumbling it with a wooden spatula.  Add a pat of butter and toss in the onion, sautéing for a minute.  Next add in the spinach, stirring, until just wilted.  Then stir in the cranberries and pecans.  Heat through.

When the squash is tender, spoon the filling into the hole.  If you like, you can scrape a channel down the middle and stuff that too.  Because you'll want more of that stuffing.  Trust me on this.

Scoop out the seeds.  Save seeds to plant in the garden next spring if you're so inclined.

Oil, salt, and pepper.

Place face down on parchment paper to bake.

Meanwhile, make the stuffing:

Brown the sausage.

Sauté the onions.

Wilt the spinach.

Add in dried cranberries.

Add in pecans.

Stir.

Butternut squash is fork tender.

Ready to stuff.

I scooped a little channel out so I could add in more of the stuffing.

Enjoy.

Poached Pears Paired With Fragrant Fall Flavors

 

 

 

  For a nice, simple fall dessert, why not poach some pears in red wine infused with the warm, comforting flavors of fall? 

 

It’s October, there’s a crispness to the air, and I’m ready for some warm and cozy flavors to enjoy while I transition from the lighter fare of summertime to the heartier meals of winter.  I’ve got a perfect dessert recipe for you to try  -  poached pears.   It’s both simple and elegant.  

Pears, often overshadowed by pumpkins and apples during the fall months, are at their peak sweetness right now, and are perfect to combine with classic, comforting flavors.    I’m poaching pears in a fragrant red wine and spice mixture, reducing the poaching liquid to concentrate the flavors a bit, then drizzling the ruby-hued pears with the syrupy reduction.  I’m offering two options for accompaniments.  The first is with candied walnuts and blue cheese.  The second is with vanilla ice cream and fresh fruit.  Both are winners.

          

 

       

 

 Rosie’s Poached Pears

2 cups red wine (I prefer a nice Merlot.  Never buy what’s called “cooking wine.”  If you wouldn’t drink it, then you shouldn’t be cooking with it.  Cooking intensifies the flavors and if you start out with a bad taste, you end up with a reduction with an even worse taste.)      

The peel and juice of one orange

 cinnamon stick

2 vanilla bean pods, with the pods sliced and the beans scraped out (Throw both the pods and beans into the mix.)

⅓ cup brown sugar

10 whole cloves

2 TB honey

 

 

 

Combine all ingredients.  Set over low heat and bring to a simmer.

 

 

 2 pears, peeled  I always take a small slice off the bottoms so they sit up straight on the serving plate. Anjou or Bosc are good choices.  Nice and firm, they absorb the poaching liquid well and maintain their shape.   The poaching process involves submerging food in liquid and gently simmering, infusing it with flavors.  The fruit turns tender and draws in all that sweetness, acidity, and spice.

 

 

 

 

 

 Set the peeled pears in the simmering poaching liquid and if the pears aren’t completely submerged, spoon the liquid over top.  Rotate the pears every 5 minutes or so and continue spooning.  Poach for about 40 minutes.

  Remove pears from poaching liquid, strain solids out and discard.   Return liquid to pot and continue cooking at low heat, stirring  until liquid is reduced by about half and becomes slightly syrupy. 

 

 I use a skewer dipped in the poaching liquid to determine how much it's been reduced.

 At this point, you could add in other goodies, such as raisins, craisins, or other dried fruits and let them plump up.  Set aside and keep warm.

 The beauty of this recipe lies in its versatility. 

 A simple sweet syrup is infused with spice flavors, but you can customize your poaching liquid to suit your tastes, adding various spices and flavors.  The poaching liquid is cooked down, concentrating its flavor, turning it thick and syrupy, perfect for drizzling.

 

 While the pears are poaching, I like to start on my candied nuts.  I prefer walnuts for this dish since I think pears and walnuts are made for each other.

 

Candied Walnuts

  1 TB unsalted butter

⅓ cup dark brown sugar

1 cup walnuts

Kosher salt

In a small sauce pan over medium heat, melt butter and sugar, stirring constantly.  Add in nuts and continue stirring until mixed completely and butter and sugar are melted.  Add a pinch or two of kosher salt, to taste.  Pour out onto parchment paper in a single layer and let cool.  Try not to eat them all before using with the pears.

 
Melt and stir the butter and sugar.

Add in walnuts.  I like pairing walnuts with pears and blue cheese, but this method would work for any type of nut.

Stir to coat.

 Turn out on parchment paper.  Separate into single layer. Let cool.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Serving suggestion #1:   I think the combination of pears, walnuts, and blue cheese creates a perfect culinary synergy – a situation where the combined effect is greater than the sum of its separate parts.  Make a pool of the syrup on your serving plate and place the pear on top.  Sprinkle candied pecans and blue cheese around the base, then drizzle the pear with the reduced syrupy liquid.

 

Oh, you say you don’t like blue cheese?  Then try a very mild blue, say a Campazola.  It’s what I call the “gateway blue .“  It’s just enough to get you hooked and then, after getting your feet wet, you can go on to the harder stuff.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Serving suggestion #2:   My next offering is easy and delightful.  Simply scoop some vanilla ice cream onto the plate with the poached pear, drizzle the reduced poaching liquid over the pear and the ice cream, and stud it with jewels of fruit – blackberries, strawberries, grapes.  For a special treat, try dropping in some Amarena Fabbri cherries.  You might just forget Maraschino cherries forever after trying these.

 

This is a great make-ahead dessert, since it tastes even better the next day.  The concentration of flavors in the reduced syrup becomes even more pronounced, making for a lovely, spicy-sweet dessert combination.

Enjoy.