What to do with a 4 pound butternut squash

Ravioli!

I was given half of a butternut squash last week from L who used as much as she could and then wanted it out of her fridge. Aside from the typical squash soup and baked squash with butter and cinnnamon I had no idea what to do with this oversized orange thing. After searching online I came across a recipe for Butternut Squash Ravioli and decided to give it a try. It was so super easy and turned out to be a beautiful autumn meal. The best part about the recipe was using wonton wrappers instead of homemade pasta for the raviolis.

Ingredients
1 large butternut squash - halved lengthwise, peeled and seeded
2 teaspoons butter salt and ground black pepper to taste
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
50 wonton wrappers
1 teaspoon egg white, lightly beaten

Sauce
1/4 cup butter
juice of 1 lemon & zest
1/4 c slivered almonds
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
Place the squash cut side up on a baking sheet. Place 1 tablespoon butter in the hollow of each half. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste. Cover the squash with a sheet of aluminum foil tucking in the edges.

Bake squash in preheated oven until tender and easily pierced with a fork, 45 to 65 minutes.

Scoop the cooked squash into a bowl, and mash until smooth. Mix in the allspice, nutmeg, cinnamon, and Parmesan cheese until well blended. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Fill a deep pot with lightly salted water and bring to a boil.

To make the ravioli, place a wonton wrapper on a clean, flat surface. Brush edges with the egg white. Place about 1 tablespoon of the squash mixture in the middle of the wonton. Cover with a second wonton wrapper. Repeat with remaining wonton wrappers and squash mixture until all have been used.

Drop the ravioli into the boiling water, and cook for 3 to 5 minutes, or until tender. Remove, drain, and keep warm until sauce is prepared. With half the batch, I boiled them and then pan fried them to give them a crispy layer.

To make the sauce, melt the butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add lemon juice, zest and slivered almonds and cook until butter becomes very brown. Place 6 to 8 raviolis on serving plates, and drizzle with sauce.









Im trying to get in as much cooking as possible before this baby arrives. Due date is in 3 days! HAPPY HALLOWEEN EVERYONE!

Dabbling in Veganism

I would love to go Vegan, but now is probably not the best time in my life to start, seeing as I'm 5 months pregnant..oh and by the way, we found out on Monday that it's a BOY!! Due date is October 31st which is not ideal, so I'll try my best to keep him in there at least until November 1st. The newest reason for my peaked interest in Veganism is a new blog I found which has some pretty amazing recipes on it. Last night for dinner I made the Thai inspired chickpea salad featured on the aforementioned blog. It was enough of a meal for myself (and baby boy)but for B and little W I accompanied the salad with a few grilled organic pork sausages, a baguette and goat's cheese with truffles, thanks to my new favourite foodie; Mark McEwan.



Please excuse the poor quality picture.

Popping in for a quick recipe share

It wasn't completely intentional that i stopped writing, it just happened when my cooking and baking fell by the wayside over the past few months. We've been busy, busy, busy. With the house for sale, it's just going to get crazier over the next few weeks. However, recently I made a scrumptious meal, too delicious not to share with you all. The first part of the meal was adapted from one of my most used cookbooks entitled "The Best of, Chef at Home" by Michael Smith. The second part was taken from my other favourite cookbook Home Cooking with Charlie Trotter. If you are not a fan of scallops, thats fine, don't make the Brochettes, but please do yourself a favour and make the Bacon Barley Risotto!!!

Grilled Scallop and Red Onion Brochettes
serves 4

Marinade

1/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 1/2 tablespoons chopped fresh ginger
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
5 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons chopped lemongrass
1/2 jalapeño chile, seeded and chopped
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1/4 cup chopped scallions
1 1/2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice

24 sea scallops
1 red onion, cut into bite-sized wedges
2/3 cup white rice
1 1/2 cups water
1/4 cup chopped scallions
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon fresh amaranth

Directions:

To prepare the marinade: Combine the orange juice, soy sauce, ginger, garlic, olive oil, lemongrass, jalapeño, cilantro, scallions, and lime juice in a small bowl.
To prepare the brochettes: Alternate the scallops and onion wedges on 8 skewers. Place the skewers in a large, resealable plastic bag and pour in the marinade. Refrigerate for 2 hours.

To prepare the rice: Combine the rice and water in a medium saucepan, cover, and simmer over medium-low heat for 20 to 25 minutes, or until tender.
Cook the scallions in the butter in a small sauté pan over medium-low heat for 5 minutes, or until the scallions are soft. Add to the rice and cook for 5 minutes, or until warm. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

To cook the brochettes: Prepare a medium-hot grill. Remove the brochettes from the marinade and season with salt and pepper. Grill for 3 to 4 minutes on each side, or until the scallops are just cooked.

Place some of the rice in the center of each plate and top with 1 or 2 brochettes. Top with freshly ground black pepper and garnish with fresh amaranth.
You could use Vidalia, Maui, or Spanish onions instead of red onion in this recipe. The important thing is using an onion that will be sweet enough to eat when partially cooked. Also, consider using a fresh rosemary sprig as the skewer, if available. It adds a lovely visual touch to the brochette



Click here for the Barley Risotto with Bacon recipe. I've made Risotto quite a few times, which is generally made with Arborio rice, after making this version of Risotto (with Barley) I prefer it to the traditional method with Arborio rice, and it's healthier. To ensure the Risotto reaches the ultimate creamy texture, add 1 cup of Padano Parmesean cheese right before serving. Bon Apetit!

Cutesy Butterfly Chicken Pot Pie

Ina Garten (not "in a garden" as I always used to read it) is my all time favourite Food Network host. There's something so comforting about her home in the Hampton's, and the food she cooks on her show. This morning as I ate my Cheerios and downed my coffee I scoped out www.foodnetwork.com for dinner ideas and came across this which I couldn't wait to make.

Since spring is upon us, I decided to make the biscuits into butterfly shapes, or maybe I did it because I don't actually own any other cookie cutter shape. It was cute, nonetheless. The stew turned out delissioso, and I'm glad too, because this is what B will be eating for lunch for the next 35 days or so. ha!

The perfect lunch for 3 guys on a snowy day like today

It's a miracle that my Cardamom Beef Stew with Potatoes, Celery Root and Parsnips turned out as good as it did! Because of my cold, I have no sense of taste or smell, which is incredibly frustrating. This recipe comes from one of my favourite cookbooks, Home Cooking with Charlie Trotter.

B had a few guys from work over for lunch and together they polished off a roaster full of this stew!

Cardamom Beef Stew

1 cup chopped celery
1 cup chopped carrots
2 cups chopped yellow onions
2 tbs canola oil
20 Cardamom pods crushed OR 1 tsp ground Cardamom
1 pound stew meat cubed
salt and freshly ground pepper
4 cloves of garlic minced
6 cups meat stock
2 cups large diced potatoes
1 cup large diced celery root
1 cup large diced parsnips
2 tbs extra virgin olive oil

To prepare the Stew: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place the celery, carrots, and onions in a hot roasting pan with the canola oil and cook, stirring occasionally, for ten minutes or until caramelized. Season beef with salt and pepper and add it to the pan along with the garlic, cardamom, and stock. Cover pan with foil and braise for 2-3 hours or until the beef is very tender. Season to taste with the salt and pepper.

To prepare the vegetables: About 45 minutes before the beef is ready, toss the potatoes, celery root and parsnips with the olive oil in a large bowl and add them to the beef in the roasting pan. Allow to cook another 45 minutes. I added some cornstarch to thicken the broth a little, and I suggest you do the same.

Feel free to serve the stew on top of noodles or rice.

My house smells like a cute little bakery

I just took the last pan of Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins out of the oven, and they smell like thanksgiving! This recipe comes from Allrecipes.com one of my favourite go to recipe sites.











I was snap happy this afternoon!

Hoisin Lettuce Wraps

These Lettuce wraps were similar to the ones served at P.F. Changs, except ten times better! Thanks Sook the Cook for the awesome recipe, the leftovers were even better. The only change I made was I added 1 cup of Bamboo shoots to the mix of vegetables.

You can find the recipe here.

Because my husband always comes home from work famished, he munches while I finish preparing dinner, and generally spoils his appetite. Last night I decided to be ahead of the game. since the Leuttuce Wraps are very light, I made Korean Tonkatsu (also adapted from Sook the Cook) as an appetizer so B could eat a little something before the main meal. The Panko breading of the Tokatsu was perfect, however next time I plan on using Chicken instead of Pork.

Stew and Buns..whats not to love?

Dear readers: NO my child and husband have not been starving to death, I have been cooking dinner for the last month just haven't put forth the effort to blog about it. Between our anniversary, engagement parties, Valentine's day, quick jaunts to Toronto and back, gymnastics & swimming lessons, I've been a little busy. However, not busy enough to stay off FB, how does that happen anyways? I'm considering cancelling it altogether, I've said this for a while, but now it's just getting annoyingly time consuming and addictive.

Last night I made the most simple, yet delicious Chicken Stew I've ever had. It came from my grandma looking "Company's Coming" cookbook. I made a few small modifications to the recipe, I used whole white baby potatoes instead of regular potatoes cut up, and rather than chopping the chicken thighs into cubes, I left them whole. The meat was so incredibly soft, we barely had to chew it. So maybe this is why a grandma wrote this cookbook, maybe it's for our denture-wearing friends. Regardless, this recipe was outstanding, I will definitely make it again.

Chicken Stew

4 medium potatoes, cut bite size

4 medium carrots, cut bite size

1 chopped onion

6 boneless skinless chicken thighs

2 cups hot water

1 tbs chicken bullion powder

1 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1/4 tsp ground thyme (I used fresh thyme)

1/2 tsp Liquid Gravy Browner - if anyone knows what this actually contributes to the dish, please enlighten me.

Layer potatoes, carrots and onion in a slow cooker. Lay Chicken thighs on top.

Stir next 6 ingredients together in a bowl. Pour over Chicken. Cover. Cook on Low for 9-10 hours or on high for 4-5 hours (I chose the latter, I put it on at 1pm and it was perfectly done for dinner at 6pm)

Whilst placing an ACE baguette into my cart yesterday I realized it's been a while since I last attempted to make bread. I bought the ingredients for bread, kept the ACE just in case the bread flopped, and proceeded home.

Here is how they turned out, I was VERY pleased with the final product, Benn had 4 of them with the Chicken stew and another 2 today at lunch as his sandwich bread. YUM!

Looking forward to enjoying one tonight, toasted, with some triple cream brie and pears.

I rarely have strong cravings..

...But lately, THIS rice is what I feel like eating 24/7, it's that good! Thanks Menu Maniac for this awesome fried rice recipe!

Hungarian Mushroom Soup

Do you know why we have eyebrows?

They were put there to act as miniature umbrellas for our eyes, so when we sweat or it rains, the eyebrow hair catches the moisture and diverts it around our eye so it doesn't interfere with our vision. Interesting? I thought so! Don't ask how I know this, all I will say is it had something to do with me Googling "why do we get goosebumps?" I was in an inquisitive mood yesterday what can I say.

I made a pot of Spaghetti for dinner last night, with store bought sauce, but I spiced it up with fresh basil, tons of freshly smashed garlic, oregano, and Parmesan reggiano. I think B thought it was completely from scratch..oops! There was a ton leftover, so I planned on heating it up for dinner again tonight, but as I ate my toast and egg whites (yes D.D, I'm still on that kick) I started catching up on blogs I follow. Thanks to Kevin the leftover spaghetti is still sitting in the fridge because instead, I made Hungarian Mushroom Soup and pan fried Pemeal Bacon. The soup was very flavourful, although next time I will puree it, as I found the texture of the mushrooms a little disturbing.

What have you readers been cooking up lately? Share some recipes with me, I'm always on the lookout for new ones.

A Taste of Autumn

January is more than half way over and I'm still trying to kick this sore throat! The medication I've been taking is leaving me without an appetite and sluggish, which is never a good thing, but especially not when I have so many new cookbooks and recipes I'm dying to try, yet nothing sounds appetizing. I did, however manage to make a few new dishes this week, one of them being Pumpkin and Feta Risotto from my New Food Fast cookbook. Risotto is quite time consuming to make, but totally worth ever bit of effort. This recipe has the perfect balance of sweet and savoury, it's creamy texture is so comforting and definitely very filling!

Pumpkin and Feta Risotto

1lb Sweet Pumpkin (I used buttercup squash)

oil

sea sat and pepper

5 1/2 cups Chicken Stock

1 tbs Olive Oil

2 cups arborio rice

1/4 cup chopped chives

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

5 oz marinated feta in oil

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Place the pumpkin on a baking tray and toss with oil, salt and pepper. Bake for 20 minutes or until soft.

To cook the risotto, place chicken stock in a saucepan over medium heat and allow to simmer. Place oil in a separate sauce pan over medium heat. Add the rice and cook or 1 minute or until rice is translucent. Add the stock, 1 cup at a time, and stir until stock has been absorbed. Continue adding until all the stock has been used, and rice is creamy.

To serve, stir the chives, Parmesan, pepper and pumpkin through risotto. Top with feta and its oil and serve.

note- I toasted the seeds from the squash and sprinkled them on top of the risotto for a garnish and a little crunch.

Happy 2010!

It's snowing. Not big fat flakes, but tiny ones falling at a quick rate and accumulating fast! I hope we get 4 feet, that would be ideal. Unlike Toronto, where I spent some time during the holidays, this is pretty much our first major snowfall. While in the T.Dot, we had a lot of time to spend with my family and made the most of it.

It feels good to be home and back in the kitchen after taking it easy for the past 2+ weeks. The first meal I made when I got home was Chicken Paillards with Clementine Salsa, adapted from the December issue of Bon Appetit (thanks Becky!) It turned out nicely, I made no changes to the recipe, it was perfect just the way it was. I served the chicken with fingerling potatoes, tossed in olive oil, salt & pepper and roasted them for 35 minutes until they were slightly crunchy.


Salsa is one of my favourite things, and as I made this recipe I got to thinking, there are so many different variations of Salsa so I want to try a few different ones. If you love salsa too, and have a great homemade recipe for it, post it in my comments section. I plan on hosting a Salsa & Chips night soon and will have the guests vote on their favourite salsa. If you want me to love your salsa I prefer it extra spicy!

One of our favourite store bought salads, is the Greek Pasta Olympia, it has an odd name, but there is nothing odd about the taste. Despite the fact that it tastes so good, I still cringe every time I see the deli counter person scoop it out from the metal dishes and smoosh it into a plastic container, who makes those pre-made salads anyway and how long do they sit there before someone buys a few scoops of it. Needless to say, my homemade version is a million times better, and I made it last night for dinner. So here it is!

Greek Pasta

1/2 package Rizopia organic brown rice pasta

1 Container of Cherry Tomatoes (halved)

1/4 Red Onion, sliced very thing

Approximately 20 Kalamata Olives (halved)

1/2 Cucumber cut in half moon slices

1/2 Red Pepper, cut into 1 inch squares

A big hunk of good quality Feta (crumbled)

1. Boil noodles to your liking, preferably al dente, drain and toss with olive oil. Let cool.

2. While the noodles are boiling, cut the vegetables and toss together with the feta in a big (pretty) bowl.

3. in a separate bowl mix 1/4 cup olive oil, juice of 1 lime, a few generous shakes of dried oregano flakes, salt and pepper. Finally, toss the Pasta with the veggies and the dressing. If you want to add some protein, throw in a can of tuna or 1/2 a can of beans of your choice. ENJOY!

Readers, get cracking on the salsa recipes, I can't wait to see what you come up with.