Most of the dishes we threw together for Thanksgiving this year were not my own recipes. In fact, some of them didn't have recipes at all. Who knew half a Thanksgiving meal would be on-the-fly? Anyway, I did make a couple of delicious appetizers that I can share with you.
Butternut-Leek Puffs
For these little wonders, I combined my love of the butternut squash with my love of puff pastry. Goodness, gracious is that a match made in heaven.
Ingredients
2 cups of the butternut squash ravioli filling - see recipe below (you can make it ahead of time and refrigerate before making this recipe)
3 leeks, cleaned and sliced
2 tbs butter
2 packages of puff pastry shells
a pinch of white pepper
a pinch of red pepper
a pinch of nutmeg
salt to taste
This couldn't be simpler. Preheat the oven to 375*. Thaw the pastry shells about halfway, then slice them in half (so you have two thin discs) very carefully. Place the shells on a prepared baking sheet.
Wash the leeks! Leeks grow in the ground and they have layers like an onion, which trap the dirt. I find the best way to wash them is to cut off and discard most of the dark green top, then slice up the remainder of the lighter green and white of the leek. Place the slices in a bowl full of cold water and agitate them a little. Then let them rest a bit while the dirt sinks to the bottom of the bowl. Fish out your slices, dump the water, rinse the bowl, and repeat the process as many times as necessary to make sure you get all the grit out.
Once the leeks are clean, dry them in a salad spinner. Then, over medium heat, melt the butter. Saute the leeks in the melted butter. As they soften, add the spices. Once the leeks are softened, assemble the puffs.
Place a heaping tablespoon of butternut squash filling in the center of each puff pastry disc. Place a tablespoon of leeks on top of the filling. That's it. Now bake them for about 20 minutes, until the bottoms start to brown and they puff up a bit. I sprinkled a little parmesan cheese on top of them when I took them out of the oven. Yum.
Prosciutto Baskets
These little bites were so good, it was a struggle to keep any around for late-arriving relatives. A real struggle.
Ingredients
sliced prosciutto
chevre
green grapes, halved
Break out the mini muffin pan! I really do love my mini muffin pan. Spray a little cooking oil in each indentation. Preheat the oven to 400*.
Cut your proscuitto into pieces, about 3 inches by 3 inches (or do a 3 inch circle). Push each slice of prosciutto into its own muffin tin to create a basket (or cup, or whatever you'd like to call it). Once all the indentations are filled, put the pan into the oven. Set a timer for 5 minutes - they'll probably take closer to ten, but you definitely don't want them to burn, so keep checking.
Once the proscuitto has curled and crisped up, take the pan out of the oven and set aside to cool.
Once the baskets are cooled, fill each one with a teaspoon of chevre (if you're fancy - and we are - shape the chevre into a quenelle) and top with one or two grape halves. Place on a serving tray. Watch your guests devour them.
Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving! I know I did.
Monday, November 30, 2009
Monday, November 9, 2009
butternut squash x2
I had a butternut squash weekend, folks. Some friends and I got together to try our hands (8 of 'em) at homemade pasta dough. We ended up making butternut squash ravioli, and tagliatelle (or what I'm choosing to call tagliatelle).
Although we used Tyler Florence's ravioli dough recipe, the filling recipe was all mine. And as such, there was way too much of it. So I turned the leftovers into a soup. The two recipes are below.
Ravioli filling
Ingredients
1 (2 lb) butternut squash
1 (16 oz) tub of low fat ricotta cheese
1 tbs butter
olive oil for drizzling
salt
pepper
Preheat the oven to 400*.
Cut the squash in half, length-wise. Scoop out the seeds and seed accoutrement. Place the halves, cut side up, in a roasting pan. Drizzle with olive oil, and sprinkle liberally with salt. Cover the roasting pan with aluminum foil and place in the oven for 1 hour.
After an hour, take it out and uncover it. Jab a fork into it, and if you meet no resistance, the squash is done. Let it cool down a little bit - maybe 5 minutes.
Using a spoon, scoop the squash out of its skin, putting the flesh into a large bowl. Stir it up with a spoon or whisk to give it a smooth and consistent texture.
Add the butter, stirring until it melts in. Then add the ricotta cheese, stirring until combined. Finally, add salt and pepper to taste. Use this filling for the ravioli, about 1 teaspoon of filling for each pocket of pasta. We served the pasta with a marinara sauce and a vodka sauce - but frankly, these little gems would be great with just a little extra butter and some Parmesan cheese.
Butternut Squash Soup
Ingredients
About half the filling from above (about 1.5 to 2 cups)
Chicken broth (about 2 cups) - you can use vegetable
1 tsp cinnamon
1 carrot, diced
half an onion, diced
2 celery stalks, diced
olive oil
salt
Over medium heat, saute your mirepoix (onions, celery, carrots) in olive oil in a saucepan until softened. Add the squash and ricotta mixture and 1 cup of chicken broth. Stir to combine.
Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat.
Pour part of the soup into a food processor or blender (don't overfill, as hot liquid will expand - and if you use a blender, take out the little knob in the top to let the hot air out). Blend until smooth, then pour into a bowl. Blend the rest until smooth.
Pour all of it back into the saucepan. Over low heat, add as much of the remaining chicken broth as you want to get the texture you prefer. Then add the cinnamon. Add salt to taste. Feel free to let this simmer for a while, if you like. I served it immediately, and it was heavenly.
I'm thinking of serving this soup (or a variation) at my Thanksgiving dinner. Maybe without the cheese...but then, I do love cheese. Enjoy!
Although we used Tyler Florence's ravioli dough recipe, the filling recipe was all mine. And as such, there was way too much of it. So I turned the leftovers into a soup. The two recipes are below.
Ravioli filling
Ingredients
1 (2 lb) butternut squash
1 (16 oz) tub of low fat ricotta cheese
1 tbs butter
olive oil for drizzling
salt
pepper
Preheat the oven to 400*.
Cut the squash in half, length-wise. Scoop out the seeds and seed accoutrement. Place the halves, cut side up, in a roasting pan. Drizzle with olive oil, and sprinkle liberally with salt. Cover the roasting pan with aluminum foil and place in the oven for 1 hour.
After an hour, take it out and uncover it. Jab a fork into it, and if you meet no resistance, the squash is done. Let it cool down a little bit - maybe 5 minutes.
Using a spoon, scoop the squash out of its skin, putting the flesh into a large bowl. Stir it up with a spoon or whisk to give it a smooth and consistent texture.
Add the butter, stirring until it melts in. Then add the ricotta cheese, stirring until combined. Finally, add salt and pepper to taste. Use this filling for the ravioli, about 1 teaspoon of filling for each pocket of pasta. We served the pasta with a marinara sauce and a vodka sauce - but frankly, these little gems would be great with just a little extra butter and some Parmesan cheese.
Butternut Squash Soup
Ingredients
About half the filling from above (about 1.5 to 2 cups)
Chicken broth (about 2 cups) - you can use vegetable
1 tsp cinnamon
1 carrot, diced
half an onion, diced
2 celery stalks, diced
olive oil
salt
Over medium heat, saute your mirepoix (onions, celery, carrots) in olive oil in a saucepan until softened. Add the squash and ricotta mixture and 1 cup of chicken broth. Stir to combine.
Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat.
Pour part of the soup into a food processor or blender (don't overfill, as hot liquid will expand - and if you use a blender, take out the little knob in the top to let the hot air out). Blend until smooth, then pour into a bowl. Blend the rest until smooth.
Pour all of it back into the saucepan. Over low heat, add as much of the remaining chicken broth as you want to get the texture you prefer. Then add the cinnamon. Add salt to taste. Feel free to let this simmer for a while, if you like. I served it immediately, and it was heavenly.
I'm thinking of serving this soup (or a variation) at my Thanksgiving dinner. Maybe without the cheese...but then, I do love cheese. Enjoy!
Monday, November 2, 2009
cocktail time
This refreshing cocktail is best suited for consumption while sitting under an umbrella and enjoying some sunshine. However, it is almost equally as delicious when consumed while enjoying the heat from your fireplace. Just pretend you're getting a tan.
Ingredients
1 small bottle of blood orange Italian soda
1 bottle of brut cava (champagne or other dry, sparkling wine will do)
1 small bottle of pomegranate juice
a cup of thawed, frozen raspberries
2 oz. vodka
orange slices
ice
First, puree the raspberries in a blender. Set aside.
Fill a large pitcher about half-way full (between 70-90 oz.) with ice cubes. Pour in the vodka, Italian soda and pomegranate juice. Add in the cava until the pitcher is full. Stir to combine (gently now, there's a lot of carbonation!).
Pour about 1/4 inch of pureed raspberries into a martini glass. Top with your soda/juice/cava concoction. Garnish with an orange slice.
Settle back and let the world go by.
Ingredients
1 small bottle of blood orange Italian soda
1 bottle of brut cava (champagne or other dry, sparkling wine will do)
1 small bottle of pomegranate juice
a cup of thawed, frozen raspberries
2 oz. vodka
orange slices
ice
First, puree the raspberries in a blender. Set aside.
Fill a large pitcher about half-way full (between 70-90 oz.) with ice cubes. Pour in the vodka, Italian soda and pomegranate juice. Add in the cava until the pitcher is full. Stir to combine (gently now, there's a lot of carbonation!).
Pour about 1/4 inch of pureed raspberries into a martini glass. Top with your soda/juice/cava concoction. Garnish with an orange slice.
Settle back and let the world go by.
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