I am going to have "butternut reduction" stuck in my head all day. I don't want to be singing alone, so I had to share this video with all of you. It's called "Akon Calls T-Pain" and it's brought to you by Super Deluxe.
I haven't been posting many recipes lately, mostly because I've been in something of dry spell when it comes to cooking. However, I haven't been staying totally out of the kitchen. Last weekend I made a pot of butternut and carrot soup that ended up being really tasty and the perfect thing to eat for lunch all week long (one of the wonderful things about this new job of mine is that it's only a block and a half from my apartment, so I can run home for lunch).
I admit that when it comes to this soup, I "cheat" a little bit. What I mean by that is that I use a pack of pre-peeled and chopped butternut squash from Trader Joe's (I've also seen it at Whole Foods). Then all I have to do is roughly chop an onion, saute it quickly in a little olive oil, toss in three or four chunks carrots, pile in the prepared squash and cover it with water or stock (I typically use one box of stock and then make up the difference with water). Then it just gently simmers until the veggies are tender. I recently acquired a far more powerful immersion blender, and it has made my blended soup far smoother than they used to be.
You might be wondering about seasoning with this soup. I actually change it up each time I make it. Sometimes I'll grate a little ginger in, or go with a spoonful of curry. This last time I used a bit of fresh thyme and a sprinkle of cinnamon. It might sound a little untraditional, but it was delicious. I also happened to have about a quarter cup of cream in my fridge and I added that in as well for a little extra smoothness. But you should feel free to make this soup your own.
On more than one occasion, I've let a butternut squash go bad because I couldn't muster up the energy required in order to peel it. I find myself lazily turning to the pre-peeled and chunked bags of squash that you can get at Trader Joe's instead. Sadly, they are often a little bit slimy or mushy, which doesn't make me feel real comfortable about their freshness level.
Over at the Epi-Log, Lauren Salkeld wrote a post about her own battles peeling butternut squash. In that piece, she offers one of the best tips I've ever heard for butternut squash peeling and it's one so simple that I can't believe it never occurred to me. She suggests that you cook your squash in a pot of water on the stove for 3-4 minutes until the skin is soft enough to peel away. This technique does have some downsides, including the fact that you have to wait until it is cool enough to handle, but is so many light-years away from the finger damaging wrestling matches I've had in the past. I can't wait to get my hands on another butternut squash now!
I am a sucker for risotto. There's nothing like the creamy toothsomeness of cooked arborio rice to really set my heart afluttering with joy. I'm also a huge fan of butternut squash and kale. Happily, I just stumbled across a recipe that all those items into a single, hunger-inducing dish.
This recipe is over at GastroKid, so it's designed as a way for parents to help their kids eat and enjoy their veggies. However, I don't think anyone is going to get mad at me if I make it with nary a kid in sight.
Last Saturday, I had an opportunity to help a friend do some cooking for a dinner party. We had a terrific time in the kitchen, but the stand out moment was when I got a chance to taste the Risotto with Butternut Squash and Leeks we made (thankfully I was able to get her to confess that the recipe was from Epicurious). It was one of those dishes that makes time stop for just a moment, as your taste buds struggle to identify the chorus of delicious flavors before giving up and simply surrendering to the rapture of the moment. It was that good.
So good, in fact, that I decided I had to make it for myself so that I could have more than a few bites. I stirred it up Monday night, in my bright green knock-off Le Creuset pot. I couldn't wait for the rice to cook, knowing that I would soon have an entire pot of heaven all to myself. Finally, when it was all done, I served up an indulgently large bowl and settled down at the table with a spoon and book. It was so good. Perfect for a fall dinner party or for just eating by yourself, on a Monday night, when you want to be just a little extra nice* to yourself.
*I omitted the whipping cream. I like to treat myself, but I do not need to eat a half cup of whipping cream by myself this week.
Like the folks over at The Grub Report, I've never been a big fan of squash. My sister always makes it on Thanksgiving and Christmas, and after the one person who eats squash has some, it just sits there in its sad little bowl, lonely, getting all cold and runny.
However, I might try this recipe for Butternut Squash-Tossed Pasta. I think it has enough other ingredients where the flavor of the squash will be lessened a bit. It also uses Butternut Squash from Trader Joe's, though I'm going to assume you can use any brand (the Trader Joe's Gorgonzola-Walnut Tortellini is something I'd definitely use, however).
Every week I take a look in my fridge and see what may have slipped into the back and been forgotten. To me leftovers don't just mean the remains of a cooked meal, but also any uncooked items that are 'left over' from other recipes. Then I try to come up with a recipe using up most of the secret ingredients. It makes me feel like an Iron Chef to whip up something tasty from my forgotten foods.
This week I found two butternut squashes, three apples, a few garlic cloves, and some carrots. There was also half a bottle of decent chardonnay that some visitors had left last weekend which had started to go flat tasting. All in all these looked like the perfect ingredients to make a rich and creamy, mid-winter soup.
This recipe can be made vegetarian by replacing the chicken broth with vegetable broth or water, and the butter can be replaced with vegetable oil or omitted completely, although it does improve the soup dramatically. Feel free to change any ingredients that you want.
So what with Thanksgiving last week, and then throwing my first holiday party of the season right after, I had lots of leftovers sitting around. Most of my cooked leftovers went fast, what with the visitors and hangers-on who lingered over the weekend. One big leftover I had was 2/3 of an inexpensive but tasty smoked ham that I got on sale for $7.00, what would normally be $23. You have got to love holiday sales. The rest of my leftovers were half used bundles of vegetables and herbs. Soups are great for clearing up the loose ends lounging around in the bottom of your fridge so I started slicing and dicing to feed the hungry crowd.
I adore pumpkin and other winter squashes in both sweet and savory applications, from the simple pleasure of roasted butternut squash to the classic pumpkin pie. If you've only experienced pumpkin pie, however, I have to say that you're missing out and Pumpkin, Butternut & Squash: 30 Sweet and Savory Recipes is a book that can help get you back on the right track, the track to getting more use out of those delicious squashes. Author Elsa Petersen-Schepelern uses them in salads, soups, pasta dishes and desserts, all with photos so appealing that even someone who claims not to be a fan of pumpkin (or any squash, for that matter, as there are a few mentions of summer squashes, too), will at least agree to try some.
The short book gives a good overview of its topic. The recipes are excellent and quite innovative, including things like Pumpkin Samosas, Roasted Pumpkin Salad with Red Onions and Lentils, Stuffed Sugar Pumpkins with Pesto and Goat Cheese and Japanese Squash and Miso Soup. Other applications include Pumpkin Raisin Bread, Zucchini and Pecan Tea Bread and Pumpkin Biscuits.
I am a sucker for risotto. There's nothing like the creamy toothsomeness of cooked arborio rice to really set my heart afluttering with joy. I'm also a huge fan of butternut squash and kale. Happily, I just stumbled across a recipe that all those items into a single, hunger-inducing dish. 
So what with Thanksgiving last week, and then throwing my first holiday party of the season right after, I had lots of leftovers sitting around. Most of my cooked leftovers went fast, what with the visitors and hangers-on who lingered over the weekend. One big leftover I had was 2/3 of an inexpensive but tasty smoked ham that I got on sale for $7.00, what would normally be $23. You have got to love holiday sales. The rest of my leftovers were half used bundles of vegetables and herbs. Soups are great for clearing up the loose ends lounging around in the bottom of your fridge so I started slicing and dicing to feed the hungry crowd.
I adore pumpkin and other winter squashes in both sweet and savory applications, from the simple pleasure of roasted butternut squash to the classic pumpkin pie. If you've only experienced pumpkin pie, however, I have to say that you're missing out and Pumpkin, Butternut & Squash: 30 Sweet and Savory Recipes is a book that can help get you back on the right track, the track to getting more use out of those delicious squashes. Author Elsa Petersen-Schepelern uses them in salads, soups, pasta dishes and desserts, all with photos so appealing that even someone who claims not to be a fan of pumpkin (or any squash, for that matter, as there are a few mentions of summer squashes, too), will at least agree to try some.
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