Gorgonzola Penne with Butternut Squash & Spinach

It's time for the truth: I can't find my camera.


Which begins to explain the even-worse-than-usual photos - and sad lack of posts - on this blog. I've been using my iPhone (and it's not even the iPhone 4, which takes scockingly lovely pictures). Of course I do a little primping in Photoshop, but no amount of amateur retouching can save these photos from themselves.


While I'm making excuses, I'll try this one: I've been sadly lacking in inspiration lately. Not that I haven't been cooking. I've just been cooking the same boring rotation of things I always make: tofu peanut curry, lasagna, pasta in a veggie marinara sauce. Zzzzzzzzz...


So, loyal readers, is there anything you'd like to see me make? Any requests? Ideas? Things from your own repertoire I could put my own spin on? I've reached the point of saturation: every time I open a Food & Wine or check my Chow daily email I think to myself, Already made that, or I don't really eat swordfish, or Baking? Who wants to measure?!


Having said all that, using blue cheese in a pasta sauce was new for me, and I really liked it. The other liquid ingredients cut the pungency of the cheese, but the deep moldy flavor is enough to create a tangy, savory, highly flavored sauce. I think next time I'd cook the butternut squash a little longer, but hey, I was really hungry. If I were going to make this a meaty dish, my first inclination would be to use hot pork sausage, or something whose flavor can stand up to the richness of the sauce. Then again, I know some of you are diehard chicken fans, and you could go that route, too.

Thanks for sticking with me through my existential recipe crisis! And please, leave me a comment or two with requests and inspiration!

INGREDIENTS

2 T. butter
1 T. olive oil
1 medium butternut squash, peeled and diced
salt and pepper
3/4 c. white wine
3 cloves garlic, minced
juice of one lemon
~1-2 T. chopped fresh sage
1-2 T. chopped fresh parsley
~1/2 lb. gorgonzola cheese, in chunks
splash of milk (optional)
~1/3 cup pasta cooking water (if needed)
2/3 lb. whole wheat penne pasta

STEP 1:

Pre-heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add butter and oil and let butter melt. Add butternut squash chunks to pan. Let cook without moving for about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Shake the pan and cook for about 5 more minutes.

STEP 2:

Add in lemon juice, white wine, garlic, and herbs. Cover and cook for about 10 more minutes, until squash is tender but not mushy. Meanwhile, boil the penne pasta until just below al dente, reserving a little pasta water. Place the spinach in the bottom of a colander, and drain the pasta over the spinach to wilt it. Set aside.

STEP 2:

When squash is tender, uncover the pan and add the gorgonzola. Let melt while stirring. If sauce is too thick, add a splash of milk and/or pasta water. Stir in drained pasta and spinach and stir until well mixed. Taste and adjust seasoning. Serve and enjoy!

Copycat Risotto and a Gorgeous Disaster

Has anyone else been following Project Runway like a hawk tracking its prey through an open field?


Remember a couple episodes back where Mean-a Irina accuses Althea on the runway of copying her Aspen look, and Althea claimed her voluminous sweater was based on her own original sketch all along? This was a classic case of who-thought-of-it-first. This kind of stuff happens all the time among creatives working closely with one another (it happens to me in my job, like, every day). You see striking similarities between your work and someone else's, and no one can quite figure out whose idea was the original one.


That same phenomenon happened in my kitchen the other night. I was thinking over the ingredients I had - collard greens, arborio rice, butternut squash, bacon - and it occurred to me that a Butternut Squash, Collard Green and Bacon Risotto would be lovely. Later, I was perusing NewYorkTimes.com, one of my daily staples. I was looking through the recent recipe archives when I came across - you guessed it - Risotto with Butternut Squash, Bacon, and Collard Greens. Had I seen that recipe before, and had it lodged in my gray matter, only to resurface when the time was right? Admittedly, I made a dish very similar to this a couple weeks ago on a random night in with my friend Sarah, but this exact recipe - collard greens and all - well, I suddenly understood Mean-a Irina's irate runway reaction.

Regardless, this risotto is delish, be it hacked or not.

BUTTERNUT SQUASH, BACON, & COLLARD GREENS RISOTTO

INGREDIENTS

1 smallish butternut squash, cut into smallish chunks
1 T. olive oil
salt and pepper
4 slices natural bacon, cut into small pieces
1 T. olive oil
2 T. butter
1/2 small onion
2 small shallots
2 cloves garlic
1 c. dry Arborio rice
1/2 c. white wine
zest of one lemon
1 container chicken broth (the box container)
2 bunches fresh collard greens, washed and sliced into ribbons
10-12 leaves fresh sage, chopped
salt and pepper
Parmesan cheese for serving (freshly grated)

STEP 1:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Toss the butternut squash chunks in a little olive oil, salt, and pepper, and roast until soft and beginning to brown at the edges, about 30-40 minutes, stirring around a few times in the baking dish.


STEP 2:

In a large, deep pot, fry the bacon pieces until lightly browned. Remove from pot with slotted spoon and set aside. In another, smaller pot, heat the chicken broth, covered, over low heat. In yet another pot, boil some water and boil the collards in it for about 5 minutes. Drain and set aside.


STEP 3:

Drain almost all the grease from the pot, but do not wipe out (you want the brown bits on the bottom of the pan as well as a little grease). Add the olive oil and butter to this pan over medium heat. Cook the shallots and onion, seasoning with a little salt and pepper, until beginning to soften. Add the dry Arborio rice and stir. Pour in the wine, and stir, scraping the brown bacony leftovers from the bottom of the pan (trust me on this part). Add the garlic and lemon zest. Cook until the rice begins to look translucent.

STEP 4:

Add the chicken broth, about a 1/2 cup at a time, and stir constantly until the rice grains have almost completely soaked up the broth. Do this over and over until the broth is gone. Stir in the sage somewhere in the middle of the brothing action. About 5 minutes before you want to stop cooking the risotto (when there is still some broth to be soaked up), stir in the greens, squash, and bacon. Taste and adjust seasoning.



STEP 5:

Serve in shallow bowls immediately, and grate some fresh Parmesan over the top. Enjoy!


I'm sure it's no surprise to you that I don't post everything I cook on this blog. If that were the case, you could assume I only eat about once every week or so, and we all know that's not true. Sometimes, I intend on taking photos as I cook, then forget. Sometimes, I'm so hungry that slowing down to take a photo before I eat seems completely absurd. And sometimes, I just plain screw something up and decide not to tell anyone about it.


These pancakes, however, fall somewhere in a gray area - I did sort of screw them up (but I proceeded to eat them anyway). And despite the fact that they were oozingly raw in the center, they photographed beautifully. A second batch actually turned out OK, so I decided to post the recipe with the simple warning to not make the pancakes too thick when you put them in the pan. Unlike raw cookie dough, no one wants to eat raw pancake batter.

PUMPKIN PANCAKES


INGREDIENTS (not exact recipe I used, but a good recipe from Martha Stewart Living)

1 and 1/4 c. all-purpose flour
2 T. brown sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder;
1/2 teaspoon each cinnamon, ground ginger, and salt
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
pinch of ground cloves
1 cup milk
6 tablespoons canned pumpkin puree
2 tablespoons melted butter
1 egg

STEP 1:

Mix together first 6 ingredients. Get a nonstick pan medium-hot.


STEP 2:

Mix the remaining ingredients in a separate bowl. Fold mixture into dry ingredients. Melt some butter in the skillet. Pour in 1/4 cup batter for each pancake. Cook pancakes about 3 minutes per side; serve with butter and syrup. Makes 8 to 10.



Other than the raw first batch, these pancakes were a delicious fall indulgence, and so pumpkin-y! We all know at this point how I love a hot, hearty breakfast.

Thanks for reading! More soon...

Recession: Party of One - Heavenly Angel Hair with a Worldly Flair

It's been said, "What grows together, goes together." While I subscribe to that in theory, in reality, I'm more apt to follow the lesser known but maybe more universal adage, "If it tastes good in my mouth, I'm gonna put it in my mouth."


This Angel Hair dish is the perfect example of that. I mean, who does it think it is, globetrotting like this: starting in Italy, gallavanting through the Mediterraean, taking a detour through Latin America, and ending up on my plate in Chicago, Illinois?

If I were to really name this dish, I'd call it:

ANGEL HAIR WITH RAS EL HANOUT-ROASTED BUTTERNUT SQUASH AND CARAMELIZED ONIONS & RED CABBAGE (You see why I didn't attempt to put it all in the title.)

INGREDIENTS

1 serving dry angel hair pasta, protein-enriched (like Barilla Plus)
1/3 head of a small red cabbage, thinly sliced
1/3 of a small butternut squash, peeled and cut into small chunks
1/2 white onion, thinly sliced
fresh thyme leaves
fresh cilantro leaves, chopped
1/2 T. ras el hanout (more on this later)
2-3 T. olive oil
salt and pepper

STEP ONE:

Preheat the oven to 425. In a baking dish, toss the butternut squash with about 1 T. olive oil, salt, and the ras el hanout. Bake for about 25-30 minutes, until fork-tender.

STEP TWO:

In a nonstick skillet, heat the rest of the olive oil. Cook the cabbage and onions over medium heat, seasoned with salt and pepper (don't be a wimp about this), for about 20 minutes, until caramelized and tender. Add the thyme and cilantro about 5 minutes before removing from heat.


STEP THREE:

Boil the angel hair until al dente. Drain. Return to pot off the heat. Toss in the butternut squash and all olive oil left in the baking dish and the onions/cabbage with all their oil as well (the olive oil serves as the "sauce" for the dish). Serve hot. Enjoy!

Wow! Only 7 ingredients, and this was such a flavorful dish. The ras el hanout, which is a classic Mediterranean spice blend which means "best of the house," had a little sweetness which really complemented the flavor of the squash and caramelized veggies. I was most nervous about the thyme-cilantro combo clashing, but I thought they both added their own little spark of bright freshness to the dish - they may not grow together, but they seemed to work.

I think the keys to making this taste great were seasoning appropriately and really embracing the (heart healthy) extra virgin olive oil. This is one of my favorite things I've made recently, and it's also one of the healthiest - no meat, no dairy, just amazing flavors from all over the world.


If I were to add an element or two, I think I'd add an element of crunch - maybe toasted pine nuts, almonds, or walnuts; and I also think this would be divine with goat cheese (but what wouldn't?).

And to top it all off, let's check out the PARTY OF ONE PRICE INDEX:

CABBAGE: 44 cents
ONION: 50 cents
BUTTERNUT SQUASH: 36 cents
RAS EL HANOUT: 50 cents

Everything else is a pantry staple, which makes our GRAND TOTAL:

$1.80 ! ! !

Under two bucks for a delicious meal of global proportions. Once again, economical success!

Thanks for reading. More soon...

The Ecstasy of St. Michael Chiarello

I know what you're thinking:

Why is she opening this blog posting with a photo of Bernini's "Ecstasy of St. Teresa"? Well, friends, because I found some lost images of a Butternut Squash lasagna on my camera this morning, and the memory of biting into the savory, melty, noodly deliciousness immediately conjured up this mental image.



Art historians claim St. Teresa was in the throes of an intimate encounter with the Holy Spirit, but I think she may have just snuck a bite of my Butternut Squash Lasagna...

My recipe was inspired by a recipe I found while browsing through one of Michael Chiarello's cookbooks. I did my best to commit the main ingredients to memory so I could create something similar at home.


BUTTERNUT SQUASH LASAGNA

For the squash filling:

1 large butternut squash
1-2 cups milk
some butter
olive oil
parmesan cheese
nutmeg
salt and pepper
cayenne pepper

For the bechamel sauce:

butter
flour
3-4 cups milk

Other:

1 package dry lasagna noodles
sliced fresh mozzarella

When I made this, I did it over the course of two days, not to complicate my life, but to simplify it.

I always tell everyone that lasagna isn't hard to make, it's just time consuming. So to avoid having dinner at 10 PM, I broke this process up into two nights, which I'd recommend unless you have a few hours in the kitchen to work before dinnertime.

STEP 1:

Halve the squash lengthwise and remove the seeds. Place it on a baking pan and rub with a little olive oil and salt and pepper. Roast for about an hour and 15 minutes at 400 degrees, until the squash flesh is soft enough to be mashed with a fork. Let cool enough to handle easily.

STEP 2:

Spoon out the flesh of the squash into a large mixing bowl. Add some milk (start with about a cup), throw in some salt and pepper, parmesan (about a cup), and a little nutmeg and cayenne pepper (a couple pinches of each). Add milk as needed until the consistency of the mixture is spreadable.


***This is where I took my 24 hour hiatus. At this point, either just continue making the rest, or cover and refrigerate the squash mixture.***

STEP 3:

Boil salted water with a little olive oil in it and cook lasagna noodles until they're al dente. Drain them and pour cold water (maybe add some ice cubes) over the top so they're cool enough to handle.


STEP 4:

Make the bechamel sauce by melting about a 1/3 stick of butter in a saucepan and whisking in about 3/4 c. of flour to make a roux. Cook that for about a minute, then whisk in about 3 cups of milk and some salt and pepper to taste and cook for about 5-6 minutes, whisking constantly, until it's thickened (coats the back of a spoon). Remove from heat or keep on a very low warming temp.



STEP 5:

Rub a little olive oil in the bottom of a casserole dish (to prevent sticking). Drain each noodle as much as possible before putting it in the bottom of the dish, and create a layer of noodles three noodles across in the bottom of the dish.

STEP 6:

Spread a layer of the squash mixture over the noodles (this is sort of difficult, as the noodles want to slide around and the mixture wants to glop up in clumps, but just use your hands and be patient until you get a semi-even layer over the noodles. It doesn't have to perfect.

STEP 7:

Sprinkle about a handful of grated parmesan over the squash layer, then pour on about 1/3 of the bechamel sauce. Repeat the noodles, squash, parmesan, and bechamel layering two more times.



STEP 8:

Put the final three noodles on top. Slice the ball of fresh mozzarella into 1/2 inch slices and layer on top of the noodles. Sprinkle with another handful of parmesan.



STEP 9:

Bake at 375 for about 35-40 minutes, until the edges are bubbly and the cheese on top is melted and beginning to brown, like cheese on a pizza.

STEP 10:

I always try to let my lasagnas "rest" before I serve them. Otherwise, the layers won't meld properly, and each piece will just be a floppy, metly pile of gooey cheese and noodles - which is fine if you don't care how it looks, but I prefer to have it in pieces that are somewhat recognizable as squares. If you want, top the whole thing with a little fresh chopped sage, basil, or parsley.

Here's a photo of the finished thing (not mine, but a pic from the interwebs):


The great thing about this is that it makes a lot, and the leftovers just keep getting better and better the longer they sit.

Since I didn't do this meal with my judging format in mind, I don't have any pithy criticisms to share, but I can tell you that, in retrospect, there are things I would add for the next time I make this dish (and I can't WAIT to make it again): I would add fresh chopped sage to the squash mixture, and probably some element of crunch, such as toasted pine nuts. The dish was good, but there's just really nothing about it to bite into - octogenarians with denture issues would be just fine having this for dinner. If I were to make it a meat dish, I would use a little crumbled spicy Italian sausage in one of the layers.

I suggest serving this with a crisp green salad and an acidic vinaigrette to cut the richness of it, and it's great with a really dry white wine.

Thanks for reading!

Keep an eye out soon for Holiday Party Dips!

A Fearless Thanksgiving

Burnt rolls...
Lumpy gravy...
Dry turkey...

Thanksgiving is a holiday that strikes fear in the hearts of seasoned cooks and novice kitchen-pilgrims alike. Much like the knot of anxiety that must have tied up the stomachs of our forefathers and the Native Americans as they sat down to the original feast, awakening to a day filled with chopping and carving can be downright scary.

Good thing I'm fearless. Now, this isn't your typical eat-and-be-judged fearless post. Not only did I have a teammate in the kitchen who's fearless in her own right (Ross' mom, Connie, flew in from Pittsburgh to keep us company - not to mention cook the turkey), there were no judgments at this meal (befitting a time of thanks and good vibes).



She even came bearing gifts! Check out this Christmas tree plate - the light on the knife actually lights up!



We awoke to beautiful snow flurries and...NO COFFEE IN THE HOUSE. So I strapped on my Uggs and schlepped to Dollop to get a pound. I completely forgot that it was a holiday, but luckily they were open till noon (they obviously know their clientele).



I got a pound of Indian coffee, in honor of the book Eat, Pray, Love, which Connie is reading, and which I read recently and am totally obessed with. I suggest reading it immediately. This is a great micro-roaster, Metropolis, that's pretty easy to find in the independent coffeeshops around town. A cup of this got the day started off energetically.

Since there were only three of us sitting down to this feast, we kept the menu small, but focused on making each dish great. We had turkey (of course), gravy, stuffing, cranberry sauce, whipped and baked butternut squash (you might remember that recipe from the pomegranate-scallops post I did awhile back), rolls, and green bean casserole (one of our family traditions, and my little bro's favorite). For dessert, we had Beulah's Famous Banana Pudding (and I don't use the word "famous" lightly) and pumpkin pie (we may be only three people, but one dessert does not a Thanksgiving feast make).



GREEN BEAN CASSEROLE (WILL'S FAVORITE)

1 1/2 lbs. fresh green beans, trimmed and cut into pieces
1 can gream of mushroom soup
1/2 c. milk
salt and pepper
French fried crispy onions

Boil the green beans for about 8-10 minutes, until they're still bright green but beginning to get tender, then drain. In a baking dish, mix the green beans with the soup and the milk. Sprinkle with a little salt and pepper, then top with the onions. I baked mine in a 325 degree oven (because the turkey was already in there at that temp) for about an hour. The green beans for really tender, but using fresh green beans instead of canned really brightened up the flavor.



WHIPPED AND BAKED SQUASH

Check out my old post for the squash recipe. This one was slightly modified because I started with whole (not pre-cut) butternut squash, and added the sugar, etc. after they were cooked. Then I spread the mixture into a baking dish and baked it for about an hour (again, at 325 because it shared the oven with the turkey).



GRAVY

Connie manned this one on her own. She made a roux, using about 4 T. butter and a few T. of flour. She added the pan drippings (the little brown bits from the bottom of the turkey roasting pan and the juice) and some chicken broth to the roux, and reduced it until it was deliciously cravy-like (it took about 20 minutes).



STUFFING

We just used a regular old bag of stuffing, with chicken broth, and Connie added some fresh onions and celery. We stuffed it in the turkey (that was truly a team effort), and when we took it out, we put it in the oven to get it extra hot.



TURKEY

OK, so that's not a picture of OUR actual turkey. Somehow, I managed NOT to snap the most important picture of the evening, so this one found on the world wide web will have to do. By the time I got my camera over to the bird, Ross was busy carving away like a maniac.



Hmmm, this picture reminds me of something....





OUR LITTLE PLYMOUTH ROCK





THE FINAL PLATE:



AND FOR THE ENCORE(S):





On an impulse, we bought this eggnog with the brandy already in it. At $6 a bottle, it was a deal. We haven't cracked it open yet (we had wine with dinner), but I'll let you know how it goes.



All in all, it was a great day, filled with warmth in the kitchen, great phone talks with everyone in my family, who I missed very much, and thoughts of gratitude for all the wonderful blessings in all our lives. And now we all have leftover turkey sandwiches and Black Friday to look forward to!

Thanks for reading! Hope you're all full and happy.

A Freebie

OK, guys, I'm not counting this as an official Fearless post, because I didn't document it with pics, and I didn't technically have a judge, but I made it and it was really good so I thought I'd post the recipe anyway.

Sorry about falling behind on the real deal posts - work has been crazy. Additonally, my camera is buried somewhere in the cavern that is my room, and finding it would require an actual cleaning. As much as I would love to, I am not yet in the position to devote ALL my time to the blog. One day, though.... So look out for a legit post soon - hopefully sometime this week.

Last night I made whole wheat pasta with a butternut squash cream sauce. It's something I had been mulling over for awhile, and it came out better than I expected. It was really rich, so I didn't eat the epic portion that I would with most other pasta dishes, and the delicious squashiness of it was super good. (My autumn squash kick continues - I even had squash for brunch! More on that later.)



INGREDIENTS FOR SAUCE:

2 T. light butter
2-3 T. flour
1 c. chicken stock
1 small container whipping cream (I think it was about a cup and a half)
1 medium butternut squash, quartered and roasted
salt to taste

OTHER INGREDIENTS:

1 package whole wheat gemelli or other spiral pasta
1 zucchini, sliced and halved
1/2 lb. mild Italian sausage, browned

STEP 1:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Quarter the butternut squash and scoop out the seeds. In a shallow rimmed baking pan, put about 1/4-1/2 inch water. Place the squash, peel-side up, in the water, and bake until the skin is beginning to char and the flesh is very soft (easily mashed with a fork).

STEP 2:

Boil some water and cook the pasta until al dente. Drain.

STEP 3:

In a skillet, break up the sausage, and brown it until it is cooked through. Set aside.

STEP 4:

Slice the zucchini into 1/2-inch slices, then halve the slices. In the same pan as you cooked the sausage in, sautee the zucchini until tender.

STEP 5:

Remove the butternut squash from the oven and let cool. Peel the flesh from the skin and discard the skin. Break into small pieces.

STEP 6:

Melt the butter in a saucepan, and stir in the flour until a roux forms. Pour in the chicken stock and the cream, and whisk until the roux is incorporated into the liquid. Add some salt to taste. Stir in the butternut squash chunks and bring it to a low boil. (Once it was all mized, I used an electric hand-mixer to get it really smooth. It would be even better if you threw it in the blender or used an immersion blender. or you could always just whisk it by hand.)

STEP 7:

Combine all ingredients in a large pot and pour the sauce over it. Stir to combine.


I topped this off with a little parmesan cheese and it was awesome. It's the perfect fall comfort food.



About my other foray into the world of squash this weekend, I ate at Deleece, on Irving Park and Southport, which has been voted the best brunch spot in the city (and is right by where I live!). It was seasonal, creative, healthy brunch food with a creative, gourmet twist. I had acorn squash stuffed with spinach and mushrooms and topped with two poached eggs. It was great. It was the best of dinner and breakfast melded into a hearty, delicious meal. Definitely check it out - I will absolutely be back for dinner in the future - I'll let you know how it is. In the meantime, check out their website.



Deleece's (female!) head chef also just opened Sola, another restaurant which has gotten some favorable buzz as of late. That's also on my list of places to check out. Click here to check it out online.



Enjoy the Fall weather, and as always, thanks for reading!