05Dec / 2012

Twice Baked Winter Squash Gratin

attendees for the November Supper Club

the delicious menu

For our second Supper Club our host chose Crockpot and Stovetop dishes as her theme, as she is in the middle of a kitchen renovation. While this dish was neither (no one ever said I was good at following the rules), I figured I could just bring it over hot. I had (and still currently have) so much winter squash left from my farm share that I really needed to use it up. And since the hubs doesn’t eat it, this was really the only opportunity I had to use some of it up. It came out pretty good for just winging it! The only issue I ran into was when I was running the onions through the food processor. They kept getting stuck around the blades so I needed to make sure to check that those got pureed. Other than that, this dish was delish!

Twice Baked Winter Squash Gratin

1 butternut squash, acorn squash and red kuri squash (or any other combination)
4 small onions
3-4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
1 cup ricotta cheese
1/4 cup parmesan cheese, plus 3 tablespoons extra
pinch of fresh or dried parsley

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Slice squash in half, scoop out seeds and cut the onions in half. Coat the cut sides with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Lay the squash halves, cut-side down, on a baking sheet. Place the onions under each squash cavity and place in the oven. Roast until very soft and fork tender, 35 to 40 minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside until cool enough to handle. Scoop out the flesh from the squash halves and place in food processor with the roasted onions. Purée until smooth. Transfer to a large bowl and mix with ricotta and parmesan cheese until well incorporated. Add more salt and pepper if needed. Fill a shallow dish with mixture. Sprinkle the top with remaining parmesan cheese, parsley and a light drizzle of olive oil. Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Place under broiler for 5 more minutes, until top of gratin has browned.

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07Nov / 2012

Roasted Acorn Squash Stuffed with Sausage, Quinoa and Apple

Service for 10!

The menu!

The gorgeous group of attendees!

I mentioned last week that I hosted my first-ever Supper Club. As the host, I was responsible for the main dish and everyone else brought sides that went with our theme for the month, Fall. I decided to go with stuffed acorn squash because I could make all the ingredients the night before and just reheat the day of. I’d say it worked out pretty well. So well that we ate and drank ourselves into mini food comas and we even had leftovers for a few days. Bonus!

Roasted Acorn Squash Stuffed with Sausage, Quinoa and Apple

6 acorn squash, rinsed
4 tablespoons olive oil
salt and pepper, to taste
1-1/2 pounds spicy chicken sausage, casings removed
2 Fuji apples, peeled, cored and diced
1 small green pepper, diced
1 small jalapeño, minced
1 small yellow onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 shallot, minced
1 cup quinoa
2 cups chicken broth
1 teaspoon fresh thyme

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cut each squash in half crosswise; scoop out seeds and save for Roasted Acorn Squash Seeds. Cut a thin slice off the bottom of each half so they can stand upright. Season the inside of each squash well with some of the olive oil, salt and pepper. Place each half, cavity side down on a cookie sheet and bake until tender when pierced, about 45 to 50 minutes. Meanwhile, in a medium skillet over medium-high heat, add remaining olive oil, chicken sausage, apples, peppers, jalapeño, onions, garlic, shallots, salt and pepper. Stir often until apples are tender when pierced, about 8 to 10 minutes. Cook quinoa according to package directions, substituting the chicken broth for water. When cooked, add quinoa to the apple-sausage mixture. Fill each squash equally with sausage-quinoa-apple mixture and bake, uncovered, until filling is slightly browned on top, about 15 minutes longer.

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10Oct / 2012

Goat Cheese Tortellini with Roasted Vegetables

Goat Cheese Tortellini with Roasted Vegetables

1 medium butternut squash
3 small beets
1 medium eggplant
1 medium zucchini
olive oil
handful of fresh herbs, stemmed and chopped (rosemary, oregano, thyme and chives)
salt and pepper
1 package of goat cheese tortellini (in the refrigerated section)
parmesan cheese
crushed red pepper flakes

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Prep the butternut squash by peeling the outer skin and removing seeds, dice into 1-inch cubes. Peel beets and dice into small cubes. Cube the eggplant and zucchini and toss all vegetables in olive oil, fresh herbs, salt and pepper. Place on a large cookie sheet and bake for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until cooked. Cook tortellini according to package directions. Drain and toss with the roasted vegetables, 1 tablespoon of olive oil, parmesan cheese and red pepper flakes. Serve and enjoy!

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02Oct / 2012

Southwestern Spaghetti Squash

Spaghetti squash is a great, healthy alternative to pasta if you’re trying to limit your carbs. Why you’d ever want to do that I have no idea, but if you are, this dish is so good you won’t even miss them! If you’re running short on time, cook the squash a day or two before and heat up when ready to serve. If you’re going for a vegetarian and low carb meal (that’s just crazy talk!) you can omit the ham and use vegetable broth instead. Although I think the ham adds a really nice smokiness to the dish and makes it a bit more of a hearty meal for the winter.

Southwestern Spaghetti Squash
adapted from here

1 medium-sized spaghetti squash
3-4 tablespoons olive oil
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 red pepper, diced
1/2 cup cherry tomatoes, halfed
1/4 cup frozen vegetable medley of corn, carrots and green beans
1/2 cup diced ham
1/4 cup chicken broth
1 tablespoon Penzey’s Adobo seasoning
1 teaspoon dried minced onion
juice of 1/2 fresh lime
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cut squash in half lengthwise (this will take some serious muscle) and discard the seeds. Coat the flesh in olive oil, salt and pepper. On a baking sheet lined with foil, roast squash flesh side down for 50 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, in a large skillet over medium high heat, add remaining ingredients and simmer for 20 minutes. When the squash has cooled, use a fork to scrape up the flesh. Top the ‘spaghetti’ with the bean mixture and serve warm.

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09Aug / 2012

Linguine with Garden Vegetable Marinara

A purple pepper kind of sounds like something mystical and made up, much like that of the Loch Ness Monster or Big Foot. I’m here to tell you that they do exist and they taste just like their green counterparts, only they’re way more fun to look at.

This simple garden marinara is a quick and easy way to use up all those veggies that are growing in abundance this time of year. I like mine to be more on the chunky side, but if you don’t then just chop your veggies into smaller bites.

Linguine with Garden Vegetable Marinara

1/2 box of linguine
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 small green onion, minced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
3 plum tomatoes, diced
1 medium zucchini, diced
1 medium yellow squash, diced
1/2 green pepper, diced
1/2 purple pepper, diced (any color will also work)
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
salt and pepper
handful of fresh torn basil

Cook linguine according to package directions or until al dente. In a large skillet, add all remaining ingredients and saute over medium heat for about 15 minutes or until veggies have begun breaking down. Toss with linguine and serve!

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19Jul / 2012

Quinoa, Black Bean, Summer Squash and Feta Salad

Quinoa, Black Bean, Summer Squash and Feta Salad

1 cup uncooked quinoa
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1-1/2 cups raw zucchini and yellow squash, chopped
1 cup crumbled feta cheese
1 green onion, sliced thin
handful of fresh chopped basil or 2 tablespoons dried
salt and pepper

Cook quinoa according to package directions, it will make about 3 cups cooked. Combine all remaining ingredients into a large bowl and stir until well incorporated. Serve hot or chilled.

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