Butternut squash is one of those things that until a year or two ago I had heard about but never really experimented with.  It’s also one of those things I lament not having tried earlier.  It’s great for a variety of things and I use it in everything from soups to chili, but to stay with the year’s trend of keeping things as simple as possible I give you butternut squash in its most perfect state; roasted.

While you can roast butternut squash in just about any fat that suits your fancy, I have several favorites.  The most common are extra virgin olive oil and bacon fat, but using bacon grease overwhelms the delicate flavor of the squash and I just happened to have something a little more exotic hanging around in my fridge when I decided to make this dish.

I had goose fat.

A quick note: Halving the squash before you peel it is a real time saver as well as a convenience.  It’s much easier to hold on to the squash while peeling if you have the dimple left by the seeds to hold onto while you’re removing the tough outer skin and the squash won’t want to slip all over the cutting board while you’re halving it. Once skinned, it’s a snap to slice the squash into manageable pieces for roasting.

Now I’m not saying that here’s anything wrong with olive oil and if you’re looking for a vegetarian snack or side you should most definitely use it.  In my case, having one of the holy grails of roasting fats on hand was more than I could pass up and the flavors of the completed dish were just short of absolute perfection (see my notes as to why it was just short and not right on.)

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Popularity: 4% [?]

Recipe ideas can come from anywhere.  This post is proof of that.  The idea for baked apples was driven into both my head and that of my oldest son one afternoon during an episode of “Little Bear” that the youngest was watching on NickJr.  It only took one mention of honey baked apples to have us both drooling over the concept.

Luckily for us, Fall is upon us and with it are apples.  The stores are overflowing with fresh, delicious apples of every variety, shape and color, all perfectly ripe and in-season, so getting the right ingredients was no chore at all.  The only difficulty was in coring the apples… Or it would have been, if I hadn’t had two very eager kids helping me with it.

So here I present to you the new favorite dessert in the Russell household.  A dish that has been given nods of approval from all but my youngest, the nuggetarian. (I couldn’t get him to try it.  Had he done so, I’m sure he would like it as well.)  It’s cold outside folks.  Isn’t this the perfect way to end a long day?  Just this and a Muscatto and all is well.

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Popularity: 14% [?]

I have the world’s coolest neighbor.  His yard is well kept, he doesn’t throw loud parties and he pretty much stays to his own devices… Unless he has tomatoes.  At that point he’s my favorite guy in the world, because he doesn’t like tomatoes so he gives them to me, and I adore them.

It also happened that the last time he got a box, I had picked up a lamb steak that morning and was trying to figure out what to do with it.  Suddenly I found myself wondering what to do with a box of tomatoes and cucumbers as well… Not that I’m complaining about figuring out a use for perfect ingredients like these.

The weather here has been incredibly warm, so I was looking for something light and refreshing.  I remembered a recipe for a tomato and cucumber salad I’d seen at My Wooden Spoon, and the rest was history.  A few tweaks and a bit of my own spin on the dish she listed and I had a wonderful, light, soul-satisfying meal that took just minutes to make, but will find itself revisited in our home for years to come.

Lamb cooked this way is marvelous.  I also happened to be in possession of New Zealand lamb, which has a remarkably strong lamb flavor. (something I appreciate).  Even said, the salad stole the show.  The next time I make the salad I’m going to pair it with beef.  I’ll save champ and mushy peads for lamb of this quality.

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Popularity: 4% [?]

Not too long ago, tomato tart recipes started flooding the world of food blogging.  To say the least, I was intrigued, but I really hadn’t planned on making this dish…  That is, I hadn’t planned on it until my next-door neighbor dropped off a huge box of home-grown tomatoes.  At that point it became more than a desire, it became a pressing need.

I had originally thought of just making a bunch of crostini, but when I saw a lovely loaf of garlic ciabatta at Trader Joes, I decided that I’d play with the tart idea in a decidedly non-baker sort of way.  Ciabatta is robust enough to hold up to the moisture in the tomatoes without getting very soggy and adds a lovely flavor and crunch to the dish, which was perfect as a light breakfast for my wife and I.

If you’ve got some tomatoes hanging around this season, I would highly recommend making this, or one of the variations listed at the bottom of the post.  It’s a little bit of summer on a plate, and I guarantee that you and your guests will love it.

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Popularity: 2% [?]

The other day a fellow blogger linked to a post here with accolades, but the exact nature of the link had me laughing.  Her words exactly:

Jerry always has great meat recipes.  He is such a freaking carnivore.  But this Roast Beef, Sun dried Tomato, and Basil Taco recipe is …just… well…bloody good.
From BlissTree.com

While I love the comment and I am most definitely a carnivore, I realized that I’ve been neglecting our good friend the vegetable, and that’s a crying shame. It’s not that I don’t eat them or love them, it’s just that they are usually a side note to the star of the show in most cases.  What an injustice!

With new determination to feature more veggie recipes, both for the vegetarians out there and for my waistline (which seems to grow in direct proportion to how happy I am with my life), I rattled a few ideas around, checked to see what I had in the house and freezer and came up with a plan.

It seems that I managed to overstock my larder with cauliflower.  While I love this veggie, I usually use it as a filler ingredient in other dishes or as a simple side for fish or pork.  Only once before have I featured it here as an ingredient in its own right, and that dish is where I took the inspiration for this soup.

I can’t think of a better pairing than cauliflower and curry.  I’m not a fan of really hot curries or massively competing flavors and cauliflower’s neutrality makes the curry shine without the need for a lot of spice.  It’s almost a zen thing.  This soup does not disappoint.

In the end this dish packs a lot of flavor in a satisfying package.  It’s a great starter but could work equally well as a very light lunch in its own right.  The flavor is both delicate and aggressive at the same time, making for a wonderful contrast.  I definitely recommend giving this one a try.

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Popularity: 8% [?]

Tostones, little fried plantain chips.  It seems that everyone in the world had had them but me. I’ve seen them on the food network, heard them spoken of on travel shows and even had friends talk about having them when visiting Puerto Rico. To say the least I’ve been feeling left out. This week my wife set out to change that and I have to admit that I was very excited by the prospect.

The theory here is simple.  You cut up a green plantain or three, toss the slices in water to soak, blot ‘em dry and fry them for a few minutes.  Then you cool ‘em, toss ‘em back in the water, dry them, squish ‘em into chips and fry them again.  If you want to get fancy you use a cup shaped Tostonera to press out little plantain bowls to scoop up your condiment of choice with.

Once fried to your choice of perfection, they are sprinkled with a  bit of salt and then they can ether be served hot or at room temp.  The choice of dips ranges from none to whatever your heart desires.  They really are as versitile as a good ol’ potato chip.

In the end I think I’d have to say that the jury s still out for me on these little gems.  I wasn’t wowed on the first round, but then again, I’m not saying there’s nothing there to like.  I think perhaps I had preconceptions that got in the way.  That is something that I’m not OK with, so I’ll be trying these again, with a  variety of sauces.

As for the sauce pictured in the top photo, I can’t tell you what was in it except garlic, sofrito and adobo powder.  I wish I knew more, but even my wife can’t remember what she put in it.  (And I wish she could, it was fan-friggin-tastic!)

But I guess I should get on to giving you a recipe, huh?

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Popularity: 2% [?]

Sometimes when you’re making something new, you run into a snag or two.  This Daring Bakers Challenge was one of those times. It was an evening of crushed hopes and dissapointment, tempered with elation and extreme satisfaction. How is that possible, you ask? Let me tell you.

After coming off a very long hiatus from participation is the Daring Bakers, I decided that I’d dive back in this month when I heard that the challenge was to make crackers and a topping.  I may not be much of a baker, but crackers definitely seemed to be up my alley.  The biggest challenge for me was that the topping had to be both gluten free and vegan. Definitely a challenge for a cook who still has bacon grease neatly stored in his ice box just waiting for the next time he makes potatoes or collard greens.

I’d chosen to make the regular glutenous crackers, because I have no need of gluten free ingredients, which would summarily go to waste. The experiment started off well enough.  I followed the instructions for the dough with a bit of help with substitutions from fellow Daring Bakers.  All went together smoothly, the dough smelled wonderful, rose nicely, rolled perfectly and went into the oven with a sprinkle of paprika and a bit of salt as a topper.  All was fine until it was time to pull out the crackers.

They weren’t done.  Not even close.  According to the instructions, I was to “Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the crackers begin to brown evenly across the top (the time will depend on how thinly and evenly you rolled the dough).” but at 20 minutes the dough was still soft and had not browned at all.  At 30 minutes it had browned just a tiny bit, and was pulled anyway.  It was also as hard as a rock and completely inedible, though perhaps useful as a croûton in soup.

I don’t know if it was my oven, if I overworked the dough, or if my skills at noticing “browning” are not up to par.  Whatever the reason, I cannot comment on the crackers because mine failed.  As a matter of fact, I did nothing special at all with them, so I’m not even going to post a recipe here.  Just go check out the Daring Bakers blogroll for a few people that actually got them to work!

NOTE: My wife just told me I was full of it.  She loves these crackers.  As a matter of fact, she’s munching them right now.  Apparently it has more to do with my dental work than my baking skills. YAY!

The topping was a different story altogether.  After having read this post by my friend Jenn, I knew I had to do something with the three sisters again. My roots are Native American and the combination of corn, beans and squash is something that I grew up on, but one I have not had in some time.  It sounded like the perfect combination for a spread, and it oh, but it was! The result was creamy and crunchy, sweet and bitter, just a bit spicy and perfect for anything from crackers to lamb.  Give it a shot, I think you’ll like it!

So, dear readers, I give you both triumph and failure today, but the triumph is worth it. Read more…

Popularity: 1% [?]

After a weekend of wanton excess, both at the Grapevine Texas Grapefest and visiting one of the best burger joints in the country, last night was all about light, healthy fare. Since my wife has been using Weight Watchers, I figured I’d try for something she could eat to her heart’s content without guilt. This soup is the result.

While this may have Zero Weight Watchers Points, it gets a full ten from us when it comes to flavor and its ability to leave you feeling more than full. The flavors are full and robust and there’s just enough heat in the background to leave you wondering if a glass of tea was enough, or if you should have had milk instead. Even without added meats or proteins, the mushrooms give the soup a deep meaty flavor that lingers on the back of the tongue in a very pleasant way.

This is modified slightly from the original Weight Watchers Recipe, but still contains no points as far as my calculations can determine. (OK, it has one point, but so does the original recipe when I run the numbers. The number refers to the fact that as far as Weight Watchers is concerned, these are all zero point foods, hence zero point soup.) I’ve added bit more liquid so that one batch will last a good long time.  Great for guiltless snacks and lunches.

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Popularity: 7% [?]

There are times when you just want something quick, simple and delicious. If that’s the case, this recipe isn’t going to let you down.  It packs a bit of Mediteranean flair in a slightly Italian-esque package that is just about as satisfying as it gets.  The real plus:  It’s fast, inexpensive and pretty darned good for you in the process!

I came up with this one day after watching Wolfgang Puck on Fine Living Network.  I was joking with my wife about his start in California making gourmet pizzas when I noticed that we still had a package of pizza crusts hanging out.  A quick rummage through the fridge yealded some goat cheese, greek vinnaigrette, spinach, mushrooms and a tiny bit of sour cream left over from some tacos we’d made earlier in the week.  While she went off to the office to do whatever it is that she does in there when I’m not looking, I dove into the kitchen and got my Wolfgang on.  It was time for Californian Pizza!

So, bad Austrian accent and all, I tossed this together.  In all it takes about 20 minutes to prepare, and costs very little to make, which also makes this a perfect candidate for the Frugal Fridays Blog Event. (I’m a day late, but hey, we’re not picky over there yet.)

I don’t have an exact cost on this recipe.  In fact, the components, if purchased just for this dish, are probably more than $10.00.  since only the pizza crusts and the cheese are used completely, the overall figure is undoubtedly less and if I had to make a guess, I’d put this in at about $8.00 in ingredients.

I made three mini-pizzas, but if you’re making this for a family, just go ahead and make it on a full-sized pizza crust.  You’ll be just fine for four people at about two slices each.

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Popularity: 3% [?]

Tomatoes pack a huge amount of flavor into a very small package. so much so that there is not much need to “guild the lilly”, to turn a phrase.  I made this dish as a side for the tomato glazed chicken we had the other night, but then had to make it again yesterday as a light lunch for myself.

The flavors are more than enough to stand up to being the main course in a light, healthy summertime meal, but if you’re in the mood for something a bit more substantial, just add a few greens and a basil vinaigrette for a wonderful baked tomato salad.  How about using these little gems on your next burger?

I used a mix of Colby and Monterey Jack because that’s what I happened to have lying about at the time, but there’s no reason that this has to be made with those cheeses. If you don’t like Colby and Jack on your tomato, use what you like, this is the perfect vehicle for experimentation! Use some goat cheese and thyme instead for a bit more of a Greek flavor.  Try some pecorino or asiago.  How about a little muenster with a bit of fresh oregano or sage?  The choices are yours.  Please use this recipe as a guideline and create something wonderful with it!

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Popularity: 2% [?]