OMGSNAX!

um hi. i took the afternoon off work to make this + latkes with my sister, & so?? what, do you wanna fight about it?

i first found this recipe when trying to figure out what i’d bring for myself on thanksgiving, since normally all i eat is the vegetarian dressing my grandma makes for me & maybe some rolls. (everything else is a bust — either meaty or gross.) i wound up making an artichoke spread — one of my family’s favorite hot appetizers — but bookmarked this recipe for a later date, & as it turns out, the later date was to be the first night of chanukah.

INGREDIENTS
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 (1 1/2 to 2-pound) butternut squash, peeled, seeded, & cut into 1-inch cubes
salt & freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup water
3 amaretti cookies, crumbled
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
3 1/2 cups whole milk
pinch nutmeg
3/4 cup (lightly packed) fresh basil leaves
12 no-boil lasagna noodles
2 1/2 cups shredded whole-milk mozzarella cheese
1/3 cup grated parmesan

METHOD
cook’s note: the no-boil lasagna noodles can be substituted with fresh spinach lasagna sheets. look for fresh lasagna sheets in the refrigerated section of specialty markets.

heat the oil in a heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. add the squash & toss to coat. sprinkle with salt & pepper. pour the water into the skillet & then cover & simmer over medium heat until the squash is tender, stirring occasionally, about 20 minutes. cool slightly & then transfer the squash to a food processor. add the amaretti cookies & blend until smooth. season the squash purée, to taste, with more salt & pepper.

melt the butter in a heavy medium-size saucepan over medium heat. add the flour & whisk for 1 minute. gradually whisk in the milk. bring to a boil over medium-high heat. reduce the heat to medium & simmer until the sauce thickens slightly, whisking often, about 5 minutes. whisk in the nutmeg. cool slightly. transfer half of the sauce to a blender*. add the basil & blend until smooth. return the basil sauce to the sauce in the pan & stir to blend. season the sauce with salt & pepper, to taste.

position the rack in the center of the oven & preheat to 375 degrees F.

lightly butter a 13 by 9 by 2-inch glass baking dish. spread 3/4 cup of the sauce over the prepared baking dish. arrange 3 lasagna noodles on the bottom of the pan. spread 1/3 of the squash purée over the noodles. sprinkle with 1/2 cup of mozzarella cheese. drizzle 1/2 cup of sauce over the noodles. repeat layering 3 more times.

tightly cover the baking dish with foil & bake the lasagna for 40 minutes. sprinkle the remaining mozzarella & parmesan cheeses over the lasagna. continue baking uncovered until the sauce bubbles & the top is golden, 15 minutes longer. let the lasagna stand for 15 minutes before serving.

*when blending hot liquids: remove liquid from the heat & allow to cool for at least 5 minutes. transfer liquid to a blender or food processor & fill it no more than halfway. if using a blender, release one corner of the lid. this prevents the vacuum effect that creates heat explosions. place a towel over the top of the machine, pulse a few times then process on high speed until smooth.

DEVIATIONS & OBSERVATIONS
i couldn’t find those amaretti cookies to save my life! i considered adding a little almond extract to the squash but ultimately decided against it. i also wound up using apple pie spice instead of nutmeg, b/c i couldn’t find my mom’s nutmeg (it was hidden in a small container on a really high shelf!) & i couldn’t raise her on the phone in time — the apple pie spice was nothing more than cinnamon, nutmeg, & allspice, anyway, so no big change there.

also, am i the only one who has a really tough time with lasagna recipes? how do you divide the squash purée into thirds but have enough for four layers? does “repeat three times” include the first layer? & if so, what of the 12 lasagna noodles? i wouldn’t read it that way, anyway, but DAMN. spell it out for us, b/c that really made no sense to me! i wound up making four full layers, & i had a ton of the basil cream sauce left over b/c i think i mis-interpreted the directions, so i just poured it over the top & crossed my fingers. believe me, it worked out just fine.

in fact, it tasted even better than i’d hoped it would. the cream sauce looked thin but cooked up a-ok, & it really didn’t overwhelm the squash at all the way i’d thought it would given how much basil was in there. i also felt a little dubious that basil would even go well with butternut squash — i see it mostly with sage — but it was FANTASTIC. i’ll make it again & again & again!!

 

 

 

“Butternut Squash Lasagna” from Everyday Italian

daniel picked me up from work today & we. were. STARVING. i convinced him to swing by trader joe’s on our way to his house, so he stirfried himself some of tj’s frozen orange chicken while i tried out this squash recipe. something about butternut squash really does it for me, & as soon as i read that they’re selling it ALREADY CUBED — thus greatly reducing my chances of losing a finger — i had to give it a try.

INGREDIENTS
1 16-oz package trader joe’s cubed butternut squash
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 tablespoon curry powder
pinch of red pepper flakes
salt to taste
pepper to taste
2 minced garlic cloves
1 tablespoon minced fresh thyme
8 oz cooked trader joe’s gorgonzola-walnut tortellini
1 tablespoon grated pecorino romano

METHOD
preheat the oven to 400.

dump the butternut squash in an ovenproof dish & add the vegetable oil, curry powder, red pepper flakes, salt, & pepper. toss to fully coat the squash with the oil & seasonings.

cover the dish & roast until very soft, about 45-50 minutes. uncover the dish for the last 10 minutes of the roasting process to bring out a nice, toasty color in the squash.

while the squash is still hot, add the garlic & thyme and stir to combine. add the cooked pasta & toss gently until fully coated. garnish with the grated pecorino romano.

DEVIATIONS & OBSERVATIONS
(no photos; ill-prepared.)

considering how easy this recipe was, i found myself uttering, “oh … whoops!” an alarming number of times. #1: coating the squash in oil. (”oh … whoops! i guess that was maybe a little more oil than i needed.”) #2: adding the garlic too soon. (”oh … whoops! i was supposed to add that AFTER it was roasted.”) #3: the red pepper flake fiasco. (”oh … whoops! that’ll probably be too much.” (it was.))

it was easy as all get out, though, & the squash, though needlessly spicy, tasted great! i think the next time around, though, i’d substitute just a standard cheese ravioli/tortellini b/c the gorgonzola was a little strong for me. maybe adding some brown sugar &/or maple syrup to the finished pasta instead of the red pepper flakes would be a nice touch as well.

 

 

“Butternut Squash-tossed Pasta With Thyme & Pecorino Romano” from The Grub Report.

meg fisticuffs (aka megatron, aka meg: the silkening) passed this recipe along to me back in july, saying, “i made macaroni and cheese from scratch this weekend and it was awesome. i used a martha stewart recipe. that fucking lady knows her mac.” it seemed a little hot for this particular dish till recently, when we’ve enjoyed some autumnal weather patterns here in the midwest — which means, of course, temperatures swinging wildly from the 50s (a few days ago) to the 90s (today) — so i decided that this was the appropriate time to give this recipe a shot, & since it supposedly serves twelve, i figured our sunday night dinner at daniel’s would be a good time to try it out. attending this week’s dinner: daniel, brian, val, sarah, beth, & me.

INGREDIENTS
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, plus more for dish
6 slices good white bread, crusts removed, torn into 1/4- to 1/2-inch pieces
5 1/2 cups milk
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper, or to taste
4 1/2 cups grated sharp white cheddar cheese (about 18 ounces)
2 cups grated gruyère cheese (about 8 ounces) or 1 1/4 cups grated pecorino romano cheese (about 5 ounces)
1 pound elbow macaroni

METHOD
heat oven to 375. butter a 3-quart casserole dish; set aside. place bread in a medium bowl. in a small saucepan over medium heat, melt 2 tablespoons butter. pour butter into bowl with bread, & toss. set breadcrumbs aside.

in a medium saucepan set over medium heat, heat milk. melt remaining 6 tablespoons butter in a high-sided skillet over medium heat. when butter bubbles, add flour. cook, whisking, 1 minute.

while whisking, slowly pour in hot milk. continue cooking, whisking constantly, until the mixture bubbles & becomes thick.

remove pan from heat. stir in salt, nutmeg, black pepper, cayenne pepper, 3 cups cheddar cheese, & 1 1/2 cups gruyère or 1 cup pecorino romano; set cheese sauce aside.

fill a large saucepan with water; bring to a boil. add macaroni; cook 2 to 3 minutes less than manufacturer’s directions, until the outside of pasta is cooked & the inside is underdone. (different brands of macaroni cook at different rates; be sure to read the instructions.) transfer macaroni to a colander, rinse under cold running water, & drain well. stir macaroni into the reserved cheese sauce.

pour mixture into prepared dish. sprinkle remaining 1 1/2 cups cheddar cheese, 1/2 cup gruyère or 1/4 cup pecorino romano, & breadcrumbs over top. bake until browned on top, about 30 minutes. transfer dish to a wire rack to cool 5 minutes; serve hot.

DEVIATIONS & OBSERVATIONS
i chose gruyère over romano b/c i happened to find it first when combing the cheese section, & it worked really well, although, weirdly, i bought the cheese by weight & ended up using somewhat less than the recipe called for — 4 1/2 cups of grated cheddar was closer to 14 ounces, for example. & regardless, this was a scandalous amount of cheese.

SO. MUCH. CHEESE.

other than eliminating cayenne pepper, i followed the recipe pretty closely — & considered myself lucky that the baking pan i bought last month for the enchiladas happened to be 3 quarts, since i had no idea going in that 3 quarts was that much stuff!

this mac & cheese required two burners plus the oven, which at daniel’s house = overloaded circuits & tripped breakers (i’ve found i can use two burners OR one burner & the oven), plus, you know, it was pretty hot, PLUS i was boiling & frying up pierogi to go with the macaroni & cheese, so the kitchen was sweltering & i was on my feet for what felt like FOREVER, grating cheese & whisking the sauce.

cheese sauce

it was worth it, though, b/c the recipe was a hit — brian told me that i should feel free to make it again, & everyone seemed to dig the crunchy crust formed by the extra cheese & the coarse breadcrumbs on top, so maybe all the rumors i’d heard about martha stewart’s recipes not working out for the layperson were a little exaggerated.

cross-section

 

 

“Macaroni & Cheese” from Martha Stewart Living