Ah, fall.  Squash are everywhere, and in every variety.  It’s the time of year for soups, stews, chili and other things made from late crops, and I for one am just in love with the idea.  Seriously, what in nature is more creamy and luscious than a roasted squash or sweet potato?  Both are a perfect compliment to anything else you happen to have hangin in the oven for long periods of time, and they make the house smell fantastic!

The other thing I adore about squash is its shelf life.  You can leave a squash hanging out for quite a while before you finally get to it.  sometimes weeks, without worrying that it won’t just be sitting there waiting to become something wonderful.  In the case of Halloween and Thanksgiving, I tend to buy them as table decoration for this week and dinner for next week.  It’s perfect double-duty food, and not much makes me happier.

For this round I go to the unsung hero of the squash world, the spaghetti squash. For most people this is just a replacement for thin pasta to be used as the base for a marinara or Bolognese.  In my opinion that is a crying shame.  This is not pasta.  it will never taste like pasta.  You can’t make it taste like pasta, and why would you want to?

This dish is slightly spicy, has a wonderful texture and is the perfect compliment for a roast chicken or pork loin.  It’s not heavy but it is quite filling and the flavors are nutty and sweet all at the same time.  Add a little smokiness from the bacon and you’re all set!  Of course you could always skip the bacon if you wanted to go vegetarian.  it would still be fabulous.

… [visit site to read more]

© Jerry D. Russell and Cooking... by the seat of my Pants!.com, 2008. | Permalink | 13 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: autumn, Bacon, fall, Garlic, Recipes, roasted, squash

Picnic ham is ham only in the sense that it’s taken from the leg section of our porcine pal. Unlike most ham that Americans are used to, this meat is not smoked or cured in any way. This dish could just as easily be made with any pork roast, but I would shy away from making it with pork tenderloin, since the sauce will never have time to reduce properly, and wouldn’t be as sweet.

The pan sauce in this recipe is the star of the show, and what a star it is. … [visit site to read more]

© Jerry D. Russell and Cooking... by the seat of my Pants!.com, 2007. | Permalink | 7 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: apple, autumn, Braised, pork, roasted, sauces and glazes