A few months ago, I found myself at a local grocery store staring at the colorful selection of winter squash.   Out of all the different types of squash, butternut squash was by far the most intimidating to me.   Up until this winter, I thought it belonged only in the hands of professional chefs, crafting their fancy raviolis and creamy bisques.

Before I knew it, I had a 4-pound squash in my shopping cart, and it was time to find out what to do with it! Knowing that I wanted to use the squash in a pasta dish, I began searching for recipes and found a lasagna dish on Epicurious.  While it was a tasty starting point, I wasn’t completely in love with it.  The use of only Parmesan cheese resulted in a lasagna that lacked a creamy texture, and the lasagna topping left the top layer dry and uncooked.

Two months and six pans of lasagna later, I created my perfect recipe. I made some tasty changes to the original recipe, such as the addition of Asiago Fresco cheese.   A cheese connoisseur at Whole Foods recommended Asiago Fresco, suggesting that it would melt better than Parmesan but would not overpower the butternut squash.    I also added mild Italian sausage to the filling, although you can skip it for a delicious vegetarian version.   Altogether, the flavors are simple yet rich: sweetness from the squash and nuttiness from the cheese are bound together by a creamy Béchamel sauce.   Also, I really liked serving the lasagna with a simple salad.   One of my new favorites is just mache/lamb’s lettuce tossed in a simple dressing of olive oil, lemon juice, and salt + pepper.

After making this recipe for my family, friends, and even FareStart volunteer buddies, I can proudly post this as my lasagna season finale.   I hope you can try it for yourself before we’re forced to say farewell to fresh butternut squash!

P.S – Here’s a helpful link on how to peel & cut butternut squash like a pro!

Roasted Butternut Squash Lasagna
Makes 6-main course servings

3 pounds butternut squash, peeled, seeded and diced (1/2 inch cubes)
10 ounces mild italian sausage (roughly 3 large links)
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
5 cups milk
2 sprigs fresh rosemary, left whole
2 tablespoons minced garlic
1/2 stick butter
5 tablespoons all-purpose flour
9 sheets of dry no-boil pasta (7 x 3 1/2 inch sheets)
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1 cup grated Asiago Fresco cheese

1. Preheat oven to 450 F. Lightly oil two baking pans.

2. Add diced squash to a large bowl and drizzle with vegetable oil. Toss to coat squash evenly, then spread on the two pans.

3. Roast squash in oven for 10 minutes and season with salt. Gently stir the squash and roast roughly 10-15 minutes more, or until tender and golden.

4. In a lightly oiled skillet, cook the sausage until it resembles small, bite-size pieces.

5. In another saucepan, bring milk to a simmer along with the rosemary. Stir constantly to avoid the milk from sticking to the bottom of the pan. Reduce heat to low and continue to cook for 10 minutes.

6. In a large heavy-bottomed pot, cook garlic in butter over medium-low heat. Stir in flour and cook roux, stirring quickly for a few minutes. Add milk and stir until sauce thickens. Gently add roasted squash and sausage. Season liberally with salt and pepper.

7. Reduce oven temperature to 375F and butter a 13×9x2 baking dish.

8. Reserve one cup of sauce, avoiding pieces of squash or sausage. Set aside. Pour another cup of sauce into the baking dish and spread evenly (will be very thin). Cover with 3 sheets of lasagna, making sure they do not touch each other. Add half of the remaining sauce over the pasta, and sprinkle with 1/3 cup Parmesan and 1/3 cup Asagio. Repeat for 1 more layer, beginning and ending with pasta. For the top layer, add the reserved cup of sauce and sprinkle with remaining cheeses.

9. Cover dish tightly with foil, slightly tenting the middle of the foil. Place dish in the middle of the oven, and bake for 30 minutes. Remove foil and finishing baking lasagna for 10 minutes more, or until top is bubbling and golden. Serve warm and garnish with fresh rosemary.

There’s nothing like being stuck in a plane, waiting on the runway at JFK airport for 4 hours. There’s also nothing like landing at Sea-Tac airport at 3:30am on a Monday, 5 hours after you originally planned…knowing that you have to be in the office in 5 hours. Let’s just say that when it came to making dinner on Monday night, I wanted to make something *really* easy and delicious.

Why not just order food and take the night off from the kitchen? As much as I love to cook, I recognize the value of delivery pizza and take out Chinese food. But, I had just spent 8 days in New York, and that meant eating out for every meal. There comes a time when all you are craving is something homemade…even if that means being half asleep while cooking.

I avoided anything too ambitious, and decided that pasta was a safe start. I came across a recipe on Everyday Food that had a delicious combination of sugar snap peas, petite peas, ricotta, and tarragon (one of my favorite herbs). I was eager to use ricotta cheese in a dish other than lasagna; perhaps it’s underused these days? This recipe seemed simple enough to make, even in my zombie-like state of mind. I modified the recipe by adding pancetta and garlic to give some more depth in flavor and lemon zest to lighten up the ricotta sauce. Also, I topped off the dish with some parmigiano-reggiano cheese to give it a nice salty finish.
Pasta with Peas, Ricotta & Pancetta
Serves 4

1/4 pound pancetta, cut into bite size pieces
2 cloves garlic, minced
12 ounces gemelli, campanelle,or other short pasta
12 ounces sugar snap peas, stem ends removed
10 ounces frozen petite peas
1 cup part-skim ricotta cheese
2 tablespoons chopped fresh tarragon
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/3 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, grated
Zest of 2 lemons
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper

1. In a large skillet at medium heat, add 1 tablespoon olive oil. Add pancetta and cook until crispy and golden. Reduce the heat to medium-low, and add minced garlic. Let garlic cook for a few minutes, watching closely to avoid burning. Remove skillet from heat and set aside.

2. Fill a large pot with water. Add 1 tablespoon salt and 1 tablespoon olive oil. Bring water to a boil, and add pasta. Cook until pasta is close to al dente, but not quite done.

3. To the boiling water, add snap peas and cook for no more than 2 minutes. Add petite peas and cook for an additional minute. Reserve 1 cup of the pasta water; set aside. Drain pasta peas.

4. Add pasta and peas to the large skillet with the pancetta and garlic. Add butter, tarragon, lemon zest, and ricotta. If the sauce is too thick due to the ricotta, add the reserved pasta water until you have a thin sauce that lightly coats the pasta. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

5. Garnish with chopped tarragon, lemon zest, and parmagiano-reggiano cheese. Serve immediately.

A friend and fellow blogger inspired me to start cooking with quinoa, a fluffy, mild and nutty grain. I’ve had an unopened box of this healthy grain in my pantry for the last 6 months, but always seemed to reach for the familiar scoop of rice or box of pasta. It was definitely time to expand my culinary repertoire in this area. 

On Epicurious.com, I found a recipe for beef tenderloin, served with a roasted garlic sauce and a leek & yellow tomato quinoa. While beef tenderloin is fairly simple to grill, I was more interested in the different options to serve alongside it. With an impressive Epicurious rating of 4 forks (based on 24 reviews), I was easily convinced to give the recipe a shot. 

The leek & yellow tomato quinoa had a very clean and fresh taste, working well with the beef tenderloin and rich garlic sauce.  The flavor of the leeks was very soft and subtle, and the yellow tomatoes provided a nice golden color.  All this being said,  I was hoping for a little more flavor.  I’ve adapted the recipe below to better balance out the ingredients.  I think increasing the proportion of tomatoes, leeks, and basil, boosts the overall flavor.  I’d like to keep trying more recipes with quinoa, because it seems like it has a lot of potential in various types of menus.

Beef tenderloin is one of my favorite cuts of meat, and I usually like to keep it very simple with nothing more than salt and pepper.  However, I was pleasantly surprised with the roasted garlic sauce served alongside the beef tenderloin.  I’ll admit, it took me a few bites before I was willing to dip into the garlic sauce, but I’m certainly glad I did.  The sauce had a very creamy texture, most likely from the garlic heads simmering in the milk.  Also, note that instead of serving one large tenderloin in slices, I served individual tenderloins, roughly 1/3 pound each.  There’s something to be said about effortlessly cutting through a nice filet (no steak knives needed!)

Beef Tenderloin with Roasted Garlic Sauce
Adapted from Bon Appétit’s recipe, published September 2003
Serves 4

Sauce:
2 large heads of garlic, keep skin on but cut off the top third of the bunch
2 cups milk, preferably 2% or whole milk
3/4 cup olive oil
1/2 cup chicken broth 
Salt & pepper to taste 

Beef Tenderloin:
4  1/3 pound pieces beef tenderloin
2 tablespoons olive oil
Salt and pepper

Preparing the Sauce
1.  Preheat oven to 350F.  In a small saucepan, add milk and garlic.  Make sure that garlic is sitting cut side up, and that the milk is high enough to coat the top of the cloves.   Over medium heat, simmer for about 12-15 minutes, uncovered. 

2.  Remove the cloves from the milk, and transfer to a small oven-proof baking dish.  Pour olive oil over the garlic heads and cover the top of the dish with foil.  Bake in the oven for about an hour.

3.  Once garlic is soft, remove from the oil and let cool.  Pour the oil from the baking dish into a blender, along with chicken broth.  Squeeze out garlic cloves from their peels, and blend well with the oil and broth.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.  This sauce is best served warm, so if needed, reheat over the stove in a small saucepan.

Grilling the Tenderloin
1.  Prepare barbeque, heating it to medium.  Coat tenderloin with olive oil, salt, and pepper.   Make sure to give the beef some time to sit outside of the refrigerator.  The chill can cause the beef to tighten upon hitting the grill.

2. Grill to desired doneness – approximately 5-7 minutes per side for medium rare.

Leek & Yellow Tomato Quinoa
Adapted from Bon Appétit’s recipe, published September 2003
Serves 4

1 cup quinoa
1 3/4 cup water
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon butter
2 cups finely chopped leeks (white and light green parts only)
1/4 chicken broth
3 tablespoons olive oil
3 medium-sized yellow tomatoes, chopped & seeded
3 tablespoons green onions, chopped
3 tablespoons fresh basil
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1. Using a strainer, rinse the quinoa under cold running water until water runs clear.

2. In a medium saucepan, combine quinoa, water and salt. Bring water to a boil, then reduce to medium-low. Cover and simmer until quinoa is tender and water is absorbed. This should take about 12-15 minutes. Set aside.

3. Melt butter in a large skillet, then add leeks and sauté until they begin to soften. Add chicken broth, quinoa, and oil. Stir until well combined. Lastly, add tomatoes, green onions, basil, and lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

I’ll admit, cooking during a busy work week can be a quite a challenge.  This week was no exception with tight work deadlines, evening events, and, well, laundry.  Sometimes there  are days, weeks, or even months when one needs to fall back on the “safeties” - recipes that are quick, simple and delicious.  One of my favorite go-to dishes is Grilled Shrimp Scampi.  The recipe doesn’t involve a lot of ingredients, and the bulk of them are fairly common in most kitchens (garlic, olive oil, pasta…)  Just a quick trip to the store for fresh shrimp, and I’m 30 minutes away from a dinner I can be proud of, even during the busiest of times.

Over the last few years, I’ve tried a few different variations of this classic Sicilian dish.  My recipe below highlights some of favorite ingredients and cooking methods.  The sauce is deceptively rich, with its olive oil base; however, adding fresh parsley and chopped capers lightens up the dish.  When it comes to cooking with wine, don’t skimp.  The rule of thumb is to choose a wine that you’d actually drink.  If that means $2 buck Chuck, then go for it.  I chose an $8 bottle of Columbia Winery Chardonnay, and had enough leftover to drink with dinner.  Also, I like to marinate my shrimp for about an hour before throwing the skewers on the grill.   I find that the shrimp takes on much more flavor using this method, as opposed to a traditional sauté.

Caution – Skewers, especially metal, get very very hot while on the grill (obvious, I know…).  While making this dish last night, and in an effort to avoid overcooked shrimp, I quickly grabbed a metal skewer, only to burn my fingers really badly.  The good news is that I was able to finish the recipe, take a photo, and eat.  The bad news is that it has taken me way too long to type this entry (one hand in water, the other one typing).  Grill with caution common sense…and enjoy!

Grilled Shrimp Scampi
Serves 4

Pasta
3/4 lb capellini (angel hair) pasta
1/3 cup olive oil
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/2 cup dry white wine
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 cup fresh italian parsley, chopped
3 tablespoons capers, drained and roughly chopped
Salt & pepper to taste

Grilled Shrimp
1lb fresh shrimp, deveined, still with shell on
1/3 cup olive oil
1 large lemon, juiced
1 garlic clove, minced
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1. To a small mixing bowl, add 1/3 cup olive oil, lemon, garlic clove, salt, and pepper.  Whisk together until well-combined.

2. Lay shrimp flat on a large baking dish or non-aluminum pan.  Pour marinade over the shrimp.  Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, but no more than 3 hours.

3. When ready to grill, thread the shrimp on skewers and discard marinade.  If using wooden skewers, let the skewers soak in water for 20 minutes to avoid burning. Transfer the shrimp skewers to the grill, and grill on one side.  Turn once and remove after a minute or two.  Once cool enough to handle, remove shells and set shrimp aside.

4.  In a large skillet, heat 1/8 cup olive oil to medium-high heat.  Add garlic, red pepper flakes, wine, salt, and pepper. Cook for 2-3 minutes allowing for the flavors to infuse the oil and the wine to cook off.  Add butter, then grilled shrimp and gently stir.  Remove from heat, then add italian parsley and capers.

5.  For the pasta, fill a large pot with water and a generous pinch or two of salt.  Bring water to a boil.  Add pasta and cook for about 3-4 minutes, or until al dente.  Drain in a colander, but save a cup of pasta water for the sauce.

6.  Add pasta to the skillet and gently toss with the shrimp.  Depending on your preference, you may want to add some of the reserved pasta water to thin out the sauce.  Serve while still warm.