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Stuffed Butternut Squash

March 7, 2011 By 2 Comments

I’ve recently started getting weekly organic vegetables delivered to our house, courtesy of Boston Organics. Every week, ninjas deposit a box of local, organic vegetables on my front porch. It’s kind of amazing. Besides getting really fresh, delicious produce delivered to me, it’s also forced me to think a bit outside our usual veggie choices of broccoli, asparagus and peppers. It’s been really enjoyable coming up with new ways to use the vegetables I’m getting [as well as sometimes trying to identify them!].

This stuffed butternut squash recipe is something I came up with to use up more of that couscous. It’s not something that’s terribly fast due to having to roast the squash before adding the filling, but if you were to roast it a day ahead of time this would come together pretty easily.

Stuffed Butternut Squash

1 squash
1/2 cup water
1 carrot, diced
1 onion, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1lb ground turkey
1/2 cup couscous
1 cup chicken stock
2 oz mozzarella, shredded
1 teaspoon oil
1 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 375. Slice the butternut squash in half length wise. Place in a baking pan cut side up with half a cup water in the bottom of the pan. Bake 60 – 65 minutes or until fork tender. While the squash is baking, heat a large pan with the oil. Once the oil is hot, add in the carrots and onions and cook until softened. Add in the turkey and cook until browned. Add in the cumin and nutmeg, then the chicken stock. Bring up to a boil; add in the couscous and cover for 5 minutes or until most of the liquid is absorbed.

Once the squash is done, add in the turkey couscous mixture and then top with cheese. Bake at 350 for another 15 – 20 minutes, or until the cheese is completely melted and just beginning to turn golden brown. This will be extremely hot so it’s best to let it sit for a few minutes before serving.

This is really good. The sweetness of the squash plays off the warm spices very well while the turkey and couscous stuffing make this hearty and filling. What I would probably do next time is scrape out the insides of the squash and then mix that into the stuffing prior to baking.

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There's no cream in carbonara!

February 10, 2010 By 2 Comments

Or at least, there shouldn’t be. But I wasn’t about to tell that to the waitress at the restaurant I was at last night in Boston’s North End for my work-BFFs birthday. I’m not sure what possessed me to order it anyway; I think I was dazzled by the talk of lobster, diver scallops and ‘jumbo’ shrimp [ps, they looked more like 21/25 to me!].

But that reminded me of my own carbonara dish that I had yet to post; it was incredibly good and even though I always think of carbonara being a heavy dish, this was so light and flavorful that I regret not making it sooner. It was delicioso! See? Those are my Italian roots showing.

This is slightly less than authentic, but I’m not charging you $25 to eat my not-authentic food, am I? AM I? NO! And you know why? Because nothing I cook ever comes out exactly the same. I can follow the same recipe over and over again, yet inevitably I change something. It’s like my food is as unpredictable as my moods! Hee, sorry husband!

So without further ado, I bring you: Michelle’s Langostino Carbonara!

6 oz spaghetti/linguine/fettuccine
12 oz langostino (or lobster/shrimp/etc)
2 whole eggs
2 egg yolks
2 oz of Pecorino Romano, freshly grated
1 1/2 tablespoons lemon pepper seasoning, or to taste
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 oz pancetta, diced
1 large carrot, julienned
10 – 12 stalks of asparagus

Preheat oven to 200 F. Once oven is heated, place bowls in there to keep warm. Bring pot of salted water to a boil; add pasta. In a small bowl, whisk together whole eggs, egg yolks, lemon pepper seasoning, and grated cheese. In a medium sized pan, heat olive oil. Once hot, add in diced pancetta and cook until fat renders. Remove pancetta to a a plate lined with paper towels; drain off all but two teaspoons of fat from the pan.

Add in the carrots and asparagus and cook until tender. Add back in the pancetta and heat through. Set aside. Once the pasta is cooked to your preference, reserve 1/3 cup of pasta water and then drain pasta. Add pasta into the pan with the veggie mixture, along with egg mixture and toss to coat. If the sauce is too thick, add some of the reserved water. Serve immediately in warmed bowls.

Again, this is so good. I can’t say enough good things about this incredibly simple dish. Also, please note that when I say “lemon pepper seasoning” I don’t mean the crap that is powdered and bright yellow. I mean the stuff you can buy at Trader Joe’s or any other store worth its salt, that has whole black peppercorns, dried lemon peel and sea salt with a grinder on top. The lemony flavor adds so much to the dish and obviously complements the seafood and asparagus beautifully.

Filed Under: pasta, Seafood Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Stuffed shells are technically Italian food.

October 1, 2009 By Leave a Comment

The best thing I read at work this week was an email exchange between two of my favorite co-workers, in regards to a work dinner we had tonight.

Co-worker 1: mmmmmmmmmm veal.
Co-worker 2: yes yes but which kind of veal?
Co-worker 1: the most tortured kind they got.

This is amusing to me on a couple of levels: a) co-worker 1, up until about two or three months ago, was a vegetarian for years and years and is now some sort of hardcore meat eater, and b) veal makes everyone react like that! Well, maybe not exactly like that, but veal is one of those meats that makes people either kinda squeamish or drool with the thought of the tender, tender meat melting in your mouth if it’s prepared properly. Me, I’m not so much with the veal love, but my husband is – which brings to me to my point [see, you knew I'd get to it eventually]: the stuffed shells I made recently were made completely with veal, instead of my usual go to of a mixture of pork, beef and veal.

In continuing with my bastardization of foods from a variety of countries, I bring to you “Stuffed Shells alla Michelle” [see, because I italicized it, you're supposed to assume that it's in another language]. I’ve been making stuffed shells for years because it’s always a crowd-pleaser and it’s a pretty easy dish. Since this time I made my own sauce to accompany it instead of slopping on some store bought stuff [don't hate], I decided the dish was now worthy of it’s own entry. Plus, wtf, it’s been two weeks? We’re slacking.

059Sauce:

28 oz can of crushed tomatoes
2 carrots, peeled and grated finely
1 onion, diced
1/4 cup olive oil
3 cloves garlic
1 teaspoon sugar (optional)
1 – 2 teaspoons cayenne pepper, to taste
1 teaspoon kosher salt

The sauce is the easy part, and for some reason, I feel like this is some of the best sauce I’ve made, yet it was so incredibly simple. First cook the diced onions in the olive oil, just until they start to caramelize. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant. Dump in the tomatoes, and mix to combine. Add in the carrots, to cut the acidity of the tomatoes; depending on how acidic the tomatoes are will determine if you add in the teaspoon of sugar.

Next add in the salt, and then lastly slowly add in the cayenne pepper to your tastes. Now, this is where the husband and I differ [I say that like it's our only difference - ha!]: I like some spice to my food, but he doesn’t. If I had only done a teaspoon of the cayenne, I feel like it would have added some depth of flavor and a bit of a bite. Two teaspoons was a noticeable flavor and one I felt was welcome, given the heaviness of the stuffed shells. Either way, add it slowly and see how you want it to be. You can also omit the cayenne and add in your fresh or dried herb of your choice – basil, thyme, rosemary, etc. It’s a good base that you can build on as you go along.

Stuffed Shells:

1/2 box of large pasta shells
3/4 – 1lb ground meat of choice (veal, in this case)
1/2 – 3/4 cup of ricotta
salt and pepper to taste

Cook the shells according to the package directions. Brown the meat, seasoned with salt and pepper. Drain and cool the shells. Mix the meat with the ricotta, until you have a rich and creamy mixture of the two; adjust seasonings. Stuff about 1.5 tablespoons of meat and ricotta mixture into each shell.

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To get the dish ready for baking, you need to cover the bottom of a 7×11 pan with sauce. Lay the shells in the pan open side up and line up evenly. Once all of the shells are in the pan, drizzle more sauce over the top, and finish off with a layer of mozzarella cheese. Cook in an oven pre-heated to 350 for about 35 – 40 minutes.

Thank me later.

073

Filed Under: meat, pasta Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

I sound pretentious when I say frittata.

June 14, 2009 By 1 Comment

For my birthday (30, shh!) the husband (he’s the one that calls himself Roach — don’t ask me, he had that name before I married him) got me a cast iron pan, since I’ve wanted one forever. Upon receiving it, my first thought was “wow, this is gonna hurt when I drop it on my foot.” In a poetic twist of fate, the first cast iron pan injury was somehow smashing my fingers into it. Also? Ow.

Anyway, the first thing I made in it was bacon (of course). But this bacon! This bacon had a purpose. It’s mission? To make the base for an awesome frittata.

I’ll admit, it doesn’t look exciting. But we all know that under that dull exterior, there is bacon fat rendering and waiting for me to do this:

Those onions never knew what hit them. As a side note, it’s at this point in the cooking process that I realize: it’s time to add the spinach, and immediately following was the thought that it’s time to add the spinach and I haven’t even rinsed it yet. There will be a day, I swear, when I ready all of the ingredients in their appropriate amounts before I start cooking. I mean, it’s the reasonable thing to do, and I am nothing if not reasonable.

Er… wait. Hm. Anyway, it is my goal that I will one day be more organized while cooking (and living). Regardless, I did get the spinach in the pan and wilted with the onions still in there.

With that on low heat, I did a rough chop of the bacon to add back into the pan along with the eggs. Once all of that was in the pan, I gave it a quick stir and let it sit for about three or four minutes.

Once it had started to set slightly, I added some mild cheddar and mozzarella on top, and threw it in the oven at 425 degrees. It cooked for about 7 minutes, and came out looking like this:

Weirdly enough, our rats didn’t seem to like this very much, but I feel like that’s not really indicative of whether or not I should make it again. I mean, I’ve seen them eat Peeps with poop on it, so what do they know? We both liked it a lot, and I’m thrilled that I got to trick the husband into eating spinach (albeit by flavoring it with bacon, which may or may not negate the good intentions of the spinach). This will be made again, especially now that I have a pan that I am actually supposed to put into the oven. Yay, cast iron!

Bacon, Spinach and Cheddar Frittata:

6 eggs, beaten with 1/3 cup of milk
1/2 an onion, diced
2 cups of washed and torn spinach
6 slices of bacon
1/2 cup of cheddar cheese (I used half cheddar and half mozzarella, ’cause that’s what I had)
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 425. Cook the bacon in a heated pan that can be transferred to the oven. Once the bacon is done, remove from the pan and add the onions. While the onions are cooking, do a rough chop of the bacon. Cook the onions until translucent and beginning to brown, then add the spinach. Let that wilt for a minute and then add the beaten eggs. Mix everything together in the pan, and then leave it alone. Please resist the urge to move anything around, and just let it cook. Give it three to four minutes, then add cheese on top of it and put it in the oven. Mine took about 7 minutes, but basically you’re looking for your desired doneness for the eggs. Take out of the oven and let it rest a few minutes, before slicing. Makes four servings.

Filed Under: breakfast, vegetables Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Sometimes we cook healthy things.

May 19, 2009 By 2 Comments

I’m a newlywed, and I’m not gonna lie, I know I’m one of the luckier ones.  Why, you ask?  Is it because my husband is so handsome, generous, and loving?  No!  (Well, yes, but this post isn’t about him, it’s about me.)  It’s because I have that thing that all newlywed women want: a mother-in-law that actually likes them, and vice versa.  Not only that, but she thinks I’m a good cook.  In fact, she even tells other people I’m a good cook!  It’s pretty awesome, hearing that from a woman who cooked for a family of four for over twenty years, a feat that makes me shudder to even consider.

At the last two family dinners, I’ve made a variation on this Provencal Vegetable Gratin recipe from the Food Network.  It’s a perfect side dish for just about any meal, as the flavors are bright and fresh and won’t detract from anything else you serve. Also? It looks pretty and like I spent way more time on it than I really did.

My version of the recipe goes something like this:

1 onion, thinly sliced
4 medium to large zucchini, cut into rounds of hopefully the same size
7 to 8 plum tomatoes, ditto on size
2 cloves of garlic, minced
3 teaspoons fresh thyme (you can, and I have, substituted dried thyme with equal success)
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
extra-virgin olive oil
salt & pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 375, and coat a 7 x 11 baking dish with cooking spray.

In a saute pan, add the garlic, onions, and salt. Let the onions cook for 5 – 6 minutes, until golden. Once the onions are cooked, spread them out in the bottom of your baking dish.

Toss your zucchini and tomatoes slices with some olive oil, salt, pepper and parmesan cheese. Arrange those in the baking dish in neat rows, on top of the onions, like so:

Toss that into the oven for about 30 minutes. Take it out at that point, and sprinkle the rest of your parmesan cheese on top of it. Bake another 10 – 15 minutes and your finished product will be this:

It really is a delicious and versatile dish. Don’t like thyme? Try basil or rosemary. Want to mix in the onions in with the tomatoes and zucchini? Go ahead! Well, maybe don’t – it won’t look as pretty. But any other changes are probably cool!

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