A Vegetarian Meal!

I needed a dish tonight that didn't call for too many ingredients, and this was because our kitchen fridge went on the fritz today.  Instead of the 37 degree temp it was supposed to be, it was 52...and kept on rising throughout the day.  Luckily, we have a refrigerator in the garage, and I quickly stocked that and also filled a cooler with other items (mainly tightly sealed sauces etc).  Once the fridge was completely cleaned out, I realized that it also needed some major CLEANING which I did - scrubbing and wiping until I was satisfied.  Ewwww...this will definitely inspire me to do a deep clean on the fridge more often! 

So...as I was putting the perishables in either the garage fridge or the cooler, I thought about what recipes called for a small amount of ingredients.  The first one that came to mind was a Pasta that featured a Creamy Butternut Squash Sauce.  I bought the squash the other day knowing this was going to be a new "try" and I checked the other ingredients and score - I had them all.

I think I mentioned that one of my goal is to work with new ingredients at least once a week with a goal of trying out new foods 3-4 times a week.  I want to learn how to peel them, cut them, make them.  I am interested in the textures and tastes and intrigued by how many items are out there that I have never once tasted, let alone cooked.

Butternut squash was one of those.  Growing up, my mom made yellow squash, and I have to say, I HATED it.  She baked it and I hated it.  She put it in a cheese squash casserole and I hated it.  It's cousin the rutebaga I hated even more...so let's just say that I have never really set out incorporating root vegetables into any of my creations.

Reading this recipe made me want to try it.  My first lesson was in cutting the butternut squash.  I just can't tell you how thankful I am for the internet; I watched a video and read some different articles.  The most interesting discussion seems to be whether or not to peel the skin, so in my adventurous quest for perfection, I did both.  One of the squash I cut in half, removed the seeds, peeled and diced.  The other one I did the same but kept the skin on.  I roasted both in cubes on two separate pans for 30 minutes at 400 degrees, and I have to say that the taste really didn't matter at all.  I did realize that I had an awful lot of diced squash, so decided to use the one with the skin for the pasta sauce and the one that was peeled as simply a roasted vegetable.

Penne with Butternut Squash Cream Sauce
She adapted from Tart Reform and I adapted a bit from hers

Ingredients:

• 1 lb pasta (I used a mixture of rigatoni and rotini)
• 2 lb butternut squash  (I used one squash for the sauce and the other for a side dish)
• 1 cup half and half  - yogurt might be a viable substitute but I went with the real thing
• 1/2 cup parmesan plus more to top - you bet I used a little more on top
• 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg (optional - I did not use any)

1. Dice squash and roast in a 400 degree oven for 30-45 minutes, until fork tender
2. When squash is done, transfer to a pot on the stove, add half and half, and puree with an immersion blender until smooth.  Stir in nutmeg.  (Ruh roh.  I don't have an immersion blender and wasn't even sure of what one was!)  I used an old fashioned potato masher and just got it as smooth as I could which was still creamy.
3. While the puree heats to a boil, cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling, salted water, until al dente. I went ahead and stirred the parmesan cheese directly into the squash mixture and added a touch of the pasta cooking water.  I only used a little bit of the pasta cooking water b/c I knew I wasn't mixing directly with the pasta.  If you were mixing the sauce with the pasta, you would probably want to use the full 1/4 cup.  But I knew my 15 year old would want her pasta without any sauce and didn't want it to get too watery)

That's it - it's all done and was delicious.  I served the roasted diced squash (sprinkling with salt and pepper and roasting for a few extra minutes to make them crispy.  They tasted a lot like baked sweet potato fries.  Added a green salad and that made a meal!  Unfortunately, for some reason my photos did not come through on my phone.  NO IDEA of what happened, but imagine a plate of rigatoni and rotini topped with a delicious sauce made of pureed butternut squash and half and half, with a side of roasted diced butternut squash and a side salad.  Tasty, healthy and very filling.

Dinner Pics from 7/26

The evening was AWESOME and I had so much fun putting together a creative and healthy meal.  Now it's time to play around with the blog and add some pictures. 

My favorite part of cooking is the prep work - chopping the veggies (though I HATE chopping onions so you will see a pre-packaged tub of chopped onions and celery), planning out times so that the food is all ready when my guests come and of course tasting along the way is a must :)

I started out my prep with marinating the chicken; I really wish I had written down everything I used.  I do know that I pureed some mango, added in a bit of olive oil, basil, garlic, chili sauce, salt, pepper, and lemon juice.  I don't *think* I used anything else, but can't guarantee it.  The taste of this marinade was light, with a tiny touch of heat from the chili sauce, but not enough to consider it spicy, more like tangy.

As the chicken was marinating, I did a lot of the prep work.  I went ahead and completed the tomatoes dish; slicing up fresh tomatoes, topping with a piece of mozzarella cheese and some chopped basil and drizzling with balsamic vinaigrette.  Those went into the fridge on the serving platter I would be using; one item completely accomplished.

Next, I prepped the other 2 appetizers, which both just needed 10 minutes or so in the oven.  I mixed some herbed goat cheese with pureed mangos and stuffed my figs.  I actually did a search to find out the best way to stuff a fig.  I tried both of the methods I found - one is making a slit and putting the stuffing in there.  The other is making more of an X and pulling the outsides apart and stuffing it.  I liked the presentation of the second one better.  All I did was stuff the figs with the mixture and put them on a plate in the fridge until time to cook.

For the mushrooms, I wanted something other than a cheese mixture since the other 2 appetizers had cheese.  I looked all over the internet, and finally found one that called for pesto, but I didn't have any on hand.  But I started thinking - what about hummus?  We always have a lot of hummus on hand, so I combined some original, some garlic flavored and some that was flavored with roasted red pepper.  I also stirred in chopped red and orange peppers and some basil.  I stuffed the mushrooms with that, then topped with a light sprinkle of breadcrumbs and parmesan cheese.

Next was making the salad, a light and fresh tasting mixture of greens, chopped mangos, chopped basil, crumbled feta cheese and cherry tomatoes.  Into the fridge it went in the bowl I would be using so it would keep cool.  My plan was to serve with an Asian Sesame Light dressing.  I also cut the peaches in half, and got my ingredients ready for the quinoa.  I sliced up the zucchini and topped with spray butter and parmesan cheese and had that ready to go.  At this point, it was just a "hurry up and wait" thing b/c the rest was the actual cooking.

With my friends coming over at 7, I started the actual cooking at 6:30.  At 6:15, I took the chicken out of the fridge and kept at room temperature for 1/2 hour, a tip I learned directly from Melissa D'Arabian in a live chat I was on the other day.  She actually answered my question about tips for grilling chicken and taught me about the room temp tip, and also to put thinner pieces towards the front of the grill as the back gets hotter.  Lastly, she advised to use a meat thermometer and take the chicken off at 5 degrees less than desired as it would cook those extra degrees while resting.

I started the quinoa at 6:30, figuring i could keep in the oven at 175.  What I love about quinoa is that it takes on whatever flavors you give it.   I started by sauteeing some chopped celery and onions in olive oil.  Once those were soft, I added in a cup and a half of chicken broth and brought that to a boil.  Then I added the quinoa and let it simmer for 12 minutes.  I also added in some chopped basil for flavor, along with some lemon zest.  I put it into the oven to warm, and 5 minutes before serving, I added in some raw red and orange pepper and some shoepeg corn as I wanted those to still be crunchy.

At 6:45, I fired up the grill and cooked the chicken and the peaches.  I have found that using a lower heat helps to keep the chicken more tender, and does not char the outside.  I used the top rack for the peaches and used some spray butter before grilling for flavor.  When finished, I knew I could just put them into the oven to warm.

I put the figs and mushrooms into the oven at this same time so that they would be ready, as well as the zucchini.  At 7 sharp, I was ready for company :)

I loved the flavor of the figs; a light drizzle of honey on the plate added a touch of sweetness to the savory taste of the goat cheese.  The mushrooms were everything I wanted them to be and then some.  The hummus is a perfect stuffing and I loved that the peppers stayed crunchy even after cooking.  There is NOTHING better than the taste of fresh tomatoes with mozzarella cheese and basil; so fresh and flavorful.

I was uber pleased that the chicken was cooked perfectly; tender and juicy and delicious!  The quinoa benefitted from the crunch of the veggies I added, and the mixture of ingredients in the salad was divine.  Parmesan zucchini was simple but delicious.

After dinner, I served up the grilled peaches that had been warming, putting each half on a piece of pound cake and used a dollop of whipped topping, as well as a sprinkling of cinnamon sugar.

I now have a new found respect for food bloggers.  It's hard to remember to take the pictures along the way, and I'm still learning the easiest way to upload.  I was FINALLY able to activate "instant upload" on my phone, so from now on, any photos I take will automatically be available for upload.  YAY - it took forever, but I'm so glad I figured it out :)

Mari