Butternut Squash Linguine

Butternut squash seems to be the most overdone ingredient these days, but its so easy to cook and delicious, it’s worth being cliche. This dish is quick and simple, especially if you have extra roasted butternut squash leftover. Even if you start from scratch, this will take under an hour. It would also be easy to vary this recipe by using canned pumpkin. If you blue cheese isn’t handy or isn’t your cup of tea, substitute Parmesan. You could also add some lightly toasted walnuts to the mix as well.

Butternut Squash Linguine
Serves 4

2 cups roasted butternut squash
12oz linguine, or other pasta
1 cup whole milk
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
1/4 tsp thyme
1/4-1/2 tsp salt
2 cloves garlic
pepper, to taste
1/2-3/4 cup blue cheese
Parsley to garnish

(1) Preheat oven to 400. Cut butternut squash in half and remove seeds. Place flesh side down in lightly oiled baking dish. Bake for 30-40 minutes, until soft. Let cool for 10-15 minutes. Scoop out 2 cups of flesh. Reserve extra in fridge for 3-4 days or freeze for 3-4 months.
(2) Meanwhile, cook pasta according to package directions
(3) In a medium sauce pan, combine butternut squash, milk, smoked paprika, thyme, salt, and pepper. Grate or press garlic into mixture. Use a hand-blender to combine until smooth. Warm over medium heat for approximately 10 minutes.
(4) Plate pasta, top with 2/3 cup sauce, and blue cheese. Top with some coarsely chopped parsley and fresh ground pepper.

Spinach-Artichoke Pinwheels

How do you take the gooey-yumminess of a hot spinach-cheese dip and turn it into a finger-food fit for a Super Bowl party? Simple, pinwheels. These are easy to make, and the perfect take-along dish. These are much easier to cut if they have time to chill in the fridge, so consider making them the night before.

Spinach-Artichoke Pinwheels

1 small onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, pressed
1 tsp olive oil

2 -8oz packages of cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 cup mayo
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1-10oz package frozen chopped spinach, defrosted
1-14oz can artichoke hearts, chopped
1 tbsp lemon juice
1-2 tsp vegetarian Worcestershire sauce
1/8 tsp salt

10 – burrito size tortillas

(1) Heat a saute pan over medium heat, add olive oil, onions, and garlic. Saute for 4-5 minutes, until onions soften.
(2) In a large mixing bowl, combine cream cheese, mayo, shredded cheese, spinach, artichokes, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, salt, and sauteed onions. Stir until well combined.
(3) Spread 1/4-1/3 cup of the mixture onto a tortilla, and then roll the tortilla up. If possible, cover and let chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes, preferably several hours. Cut into 1/4 inch sections, and keep chilled until ready to serve.

Butternut Squash Lasagna

A new year, and I’m reaffirming my favorite New Year’s resolution – I’m doing even more home-cooking this year. An afternoon in the kitchen was well spent putting this delicious dinner together. This lasagna combines so many of my favorite things – roasted butternut squash, caramelized onions, and blue cheese. It it labor intensive, but the payoff is big.

Butternut Squash Lasagna
Serves 8

1 large butternut squash
2 tbsp butter, melted
1/2 cup half and half
1 cup caramelized onions
1-1/2 tsp smoked paprika
1/2-1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper

16oz ricotta cheese
1 cup shredded Italian blend cheese
1 egg, beaten
1/2 tsp allspice
1/4 tsp salt
zest of 1 small lemon (optional)

2 tbsp butter
2 heaping tbsp flour
1-1/3 cup whole milk
2/3 cup vegetable broth
3/4 cup crumbled blue cheese

1/2lb lasagna noodles, (9 noodles total) prepared according to package directions
1 cup shredded Italian cheese
Garnish with crumbled fried sage leaves (optional)

Butternut squash filling
-Preheat over to 400. Cut squash in half, and remove seeds. Lightly spray a baking dish with cooking oil, place squash cut side down, and roast for 40 minutes, or until soft. Let cool for 15-20 minutes, and peel off skin. In a large mixing bowl, combine the roasted butternut squash, half and half, butter, caramelized onions, paprika, salt, and pepper. Mash until smooth.

Ricotta filing
-Beat together the ricotta, Italian cheese, egg, allspice, salt, and lemon zest, if using.

Blue cheese sauce
-Warm a sauce pan over medium heat. Melt the butter completely and add the flour. Stir constantly with a wooden spoon for 30 seconds. Pour in the milk and vegetable broth. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium, add blue cheese, and stir until cheese is melted and sauce has thickened.

-Preheat the over to 350.
-Lightly coat a 9×13 casserole dish with cooking spray. Layer three lasagna noodles along the bottom. Top with 1/3 of the butternut squash mixture, 1/3 of the ricotta mixture, and 1/3 of the blue cheese sauce mixture. Repeat twice. Finish with the remaining 1 cup of shredded Italian cheese. Cover with aluminum foil. Bake for 1 hour. Remove foil for the last 15 minutes of baking. Once the top layer of cheese is lightly browned, lasagna is ready. Let rest 10-15 minutes before cutting. Garnish with crumbled fried sage leaves if using.

-Serve with a simple salad of greens and blue cheese with vinaigrette dressing.

Caramelized Onions

One of my absolute favorite ingredients. Use them to top salads, veggie burgers, sandwiches, puree them into sauces or soups, or use them in innumerable other delicious ways.

Caramelized Onions

-Thinly slice 3 medium onions – any variety.
-Heat a large skillet over medium heat, and add 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil or butter. Add the onions. Stir to coat in the oil or butter. Stir often (every 3-5 minutes) until the onions soften and brown. This process can take 45 minutes to one hour. The key is to use low heat and cook slowly. During cooking, you may need to add 1-2 more tbsp on butter or oil to prevent the onions from sticking. When then onions are golden in color, they are ready.

Pumpkin-Cranberry Bread

This works great for both breakfast and dessert. The tartness of the fresh cranberries nicely offsets the sweetness of the bread. One medium orange will provide enough zest, and more than enough fresh orange juice.

Pumpkin-Cranberry Bread

2 cups all purpose flour, divided
1 cup brown sugar
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1 tbsp orange zest
1 cup canned pumpkin
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
1/4 cup orange juice
1 cup fresh or frozen cranberries, chopped
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped

-Preheat the oven to 350.
-Whisk together 1 cup flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, nutmeg, and orange zest.
-Add the pumpkin, butter, vanilla, eggs, and orange juice. Beat together with an electric mixer just until combined. Mix in the remaining cup of flour. Fold in the cranberries and walnuts.
-Grease a 9×5 bread pan with oil, cooking spray, or vegetable shortening. Pour the batter into the pan, and place on the center rack of the oven. Bake for 1 hour, or until a fork inserted into the middle of the loaf comes out clean. Remove from oven, let cool in the pan for 5-10 minutes, then on a wire rack until completely cooled.

Jalapeno-Cheese Cornbread

The perfect companion to smokey-sweet chili. Using a cast iron skillet ensures that you get a perfectly browned crust.

Jalapeno-Cheese Cornbread
Serves 8

1 cup yellow cornmeal
1 cup all purpose flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 egg
1/4 vegetable oil
1 1/3 cup buttermilk
1 jalapeno, seeded and finely diced
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
2 tbsp butter

-Preheat the oven to 375.
-In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the cornmeal, flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
-In a smaller mixing bowl, beat together the egg, oil, and buttermilk. Stir in the jalapeno and shredded cheese. Combine the wet ingredients with the cornmeal mixture. Stir only until combined, with as few strokes as possible.
-Heat a cast iron skillet (10 inches, though 11-12 will work too) over medium heat for a few minutes. Melt the butter in the skillet and pour the cornmeal batter into the skillet. It should sizzle as you pour it in. Spread the batter out evenly across the skillet. Pop the skillet in the oven and bake for 25-30 minutes. It should come out golden brown. Let cool for a few minutes, cut, and serve.

Avocado Grilled Cheese Sandwiches

The combination of avocado and cheddar cheese makes for a mouth-watering sandwich. If you suffer from having someone in your household that hates tomatoes, try finely dicing them instead of slicing them. Use a firm avocado for best results.

Avocado Grilled Cheese Sandwiches
Makes 2 sandwiches

4 slices bread (whole grain or Italian works well)
1/2 tbsp butter or margarine
1/2 avocado, sliced
1/2 small tomato, sliced
1 clove garlic, diced
3/4 shredded cheese

Butter each slice of bread on one side. Layer cheese, avocado, tomato, garlic, and more cheese. Top with other slice of bread.

Heat a skillet over medium-high heat. Toast sandwiches on each side until lightly browned (2-3 minutes per side). Serve immediately.

Pumpkin-Red Curry Soup

This is the perfect soup for a cool fall afternoon. The curry adds a great spice, balanced by the sweetness of the coconut milk. Best, it takes less than 20 minutes from start to finish

Pumpkin-Red Curry Soup
Serves 4

2 cans pumpkin
1 1/2 cup coconut milk
2 cups vegetable broth
1 tbsp red curry paste
1 tbsp hot sauce
2 cloves garlic
1 inch ginger root
Salt and Pepper
1/4 cup pumpkin seeds
2 Tbsp cilantro, chopped

In a large sauce pan, combine the cans of pumpkin, coconut milk, broth, curry paste, and hot sauce. Heat over medium to medium-high heat. Grate the garlic and ginger into the soup, or finely chop both and stir in the soup. Stir thoroughly, and heat through, about 10 minutes. Taste, and add salt and pepper as necessary.

Heat a small skillet over medium-high heat. Lightly coat with cooking spray, and toast seeds for 1-2 minutes. Garnish soup with seeds and cilantro.

Caramel-Apple Cookies

These cookies exemplify everything I love about fall. Serve them after dinner or, as I did this morning, for breakfast. For extra flavor, you may want to add a bit of pumpkin pie spice to the flour mixture (maybe 1 tbsp.), though I haven’t tested this yet.

Caramel-Apple Cookies
(45 cookies)

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs
1 bag dried apples, roughlychopped (a food processor makes this easier)
1 cup Kraft caramel baking bits

(1) Preheat the oven to 375. In a medium mixing bowl, mix together the flour, baking soda, and salt. In a seperate, large mixing bowl, cream the butter, sugar, brown sugar, and vanilla. Add eggs one at a time. Then, slowly beat the flour into the butter/sugar mixture. Using a spatula, fold in the chopped dried apples and the caramel bits.
(2) Line baking sheets with parchment paper. If you do not have parchment paper, line the pans with aluminum foil and thorougly grease the foil (with something like Crisco or vegetable oil). Spoon balls of dough onto pan (I did 15 cookies per pan). Bake for 9 minutes. Remove from oven, let cool on the pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to wire rack or other cool surface.

Cornbread

Generally speaking, there is only one correct way to make cornbread – the way your mother made it. This recipe departs slightly from the only real cornbread recipe I have ever known (the original uses bacon fat – not butter), but it is my favorite. One day, after the dissertation is finished, tenure is secured, and I’ve finally made it to full professorship, I will take the time to write a cookbook dedicated entirely to the fine art of cooking cornbread in its many variations. For now, here is the closest vegetarian approximation I can offer to my mom’s own recipe. A common mistake to avoid (though one I have often committed), cook this version at a slightly lower temperature and for a bit longer than typical recipes). You can add sugar, but in my humble opinion, I would leave it out.

Mom’s cornbread (with slight variations)
(Serves 8ish)
As with all southern recipes, these measurements are approximations at best.

2 cups cornmeal
1/2-3/4 cup all purpose flour
1.5 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 large egg, or2 small, beaten
1 cup (or thereabouts) buttermilk
2 Tbsp butter, melted
1 small can cream corn
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
1/4-1/2 cup shredded cheese

Preheat oven to 400, maybe even just under 400. In a large mixing bowl, stir together dry ingredients. Make a well in the middle of the bowl, and add other ingredients. Mix together, gently. You want the consistency to be that of oatmeal. Not too wet, not to dry. Pour mixture into a well greased 9 inch pan. Bake for 30ish minutes, until brown on top and toothpick or fork comes out clean.