Lasagna stuffed squash

Lasagna stuffed squash

This is another take on my vegetable spaghetti with meat sauce, this time using my favorite winter squash as serving bowls, and as the "spaghetti". I really liked the color of the gold nugget squash at the store, but thought that the spaghetti squash would be more appealing for my I'm-not-into-squash-husband. Oddly enough he liked the god nugget squash better, so I might have to end bashing him here, for not liking squash, I might. 

You can change up this dish, by using another meat, adding bacon or vegetables, or go all in and just make a veggie bolognese. You can even use these roasted squash to dress up a leftover curry, the possibilities are endless. 

Serves 2-3.

Ingredients:

Squash:

Spaghetti squash

• 1 small spaghetti squash
• 1 small gold nugget squash
• 1 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• salt and pepper

Meat Sauce:

• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 1 medium onions, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 pound (450 g) ground beef (lean)
• 1 can tomato paste
• ½ teaspoon beef base (bouillon)
• 1 cup (2 dl) water 
• ½ cup (1 dl) red wine
• ½ teaspoon rosemary
• ½ teaspoon thyme
• salt and pepper to taste

Topping:

• some mozzarella cheese
• chopped fresh basil

Direction:

Preheat oven to 400℉ (200℃).

Slice squashes length wise and scrape out the seeds. Rub each squash half with olive oil and season generously with salt and pepper. Place each squash half cut-side down on a parchment paper lines baking sheet, and bake for 40-60 min until the squash is tender.

Meat sauce: 

Heat a drizzle of oil in a pot over medium heat and brown the onions. Add the garlic after a few minutes.  Add the ground beef and brown it, crumbling the meat with a wooden spoon. Add the tomato paste and cook it until tomato paste turns a deeper red, about 1 to 2 minutes. Add the rosemary, thyme, a little salt and pepper. Cook, stirring frequently, for 5 minutes. Add the wine, beef base and water. Simmer for at least 30 minutes. The longer it simmers, the better it gets. 

Let the Squash cool slightly, so you can handle them. Flip them cut-side up.

Scoop the meat sauce into each squash half, and top with mozzarella cheese. (You can add a cheese sauce or ricotta cheese to the squash, if you like)

Turn oven to broil, and cook the squash for another 2 minutes, until cheese is browned and bubbling. You have to keep an eye on this process, because this happens very quickly.

Sprinkle with fresh basil and serve immediately.

Enjoy!

Beef Stroganoff with Celery Root Mash

Beef Stroganoff with Celery Root Mash

Beef stroganoff was a fall favorite in my childhood. My mom loved to make simmer food, especially when entertaining guests. She could get the dinner started, clean up and get ready for the guests to arrive, instead of sweating over the pots and pans, when the guests arrived. I totally get her. I believe this is the way to go, when you're having guests over. 

Normally stroganoff is served with pasta, but in my family we have always had mashed potatoes. Today I opted for at lighter version with the celery root mash

Serves 4

Ingredients:

Stroganoff:

• 10 slices bacon (10 thin slices or 5 thick cut), diced

• 2 pounds Beef stew meat

• 2 tablespoons paprika

• 1 tablespoon hot paprika (or regular paprika if you don't like the spiciness)

• 1½ teaspoon smoked paprika

• 3 onions (medium or 4 small), diced

• 2 tablespoons salted butter

• 1 tablespoon olive oil

• 400 g button mushrooms, sliced

• 3 tablespoons tomato paste

• 1 teaspoon beef base

• 200 ml water

• 200 g creme fraiche

• ½ cup (1 dl) whipping cream

• salt & pepper

Mash:

• 2 celery root

• 4 medium potatoes

• 2- 3 tablespoons butter

• ¼ cup (½ dl) hot milk

• salt to taste

Directions:

Stroganoff:

Place bacon in a large pot or Dutch oven and heat over medium heat. Cook bacon until crispy and fat has rendered, about 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer bacon to a paper towel-lined plate, leaving some of the fat in the Dutch oven. 

Sauté onion and mushrooms in some of the rendered bacon fat, until golden brown. Remove from Dutch oven, and set aside. 

Put some all-purpose flour in a ziploc bag, add paprika, some salt and pepper. Pad dry the meat, and place them in the ziploc bag, cover the meat with the spicy flour.

Heat the butter in the Dutch oven and sear the meat in batches so you get a good sear on the meat, and set aside. Wipe the pot clean with a paper towel. 

Heat the olive oil to the pot, add the tomato paste and cook until tomato paste turns a deeper red, about 1 to 2 minutes. Add  meat, onions, mushrooms, bacon, beef base and water. (Beef stock can be used instead of water and beef base.)  Cook the dish for 2-3 hours on a low simmer. Add creme fraiche and cream, and let simmer for another 30 minutes.

Mash:

Peel and dice the potatoes and celery roots. Put them in a large pot with enough water to cover them. Add about 1 teaspoon salt. Boil them for about 25-30 minutes, until soft. 

Drain celery roots and potatoes well, return them to the pot, and let the remaining water evaporate for a minute or two before returning the vegetables to the pot. Add butter and mash with a potato masher until smooth. Add the milk and season with salt. I whipped the mash to get it more creamy, but that is optional. 

Serve Stroganoff over pasta or over hearty mash.

Enjoy!

Deep Fried Camembert

Deep Fried Camembert

I don't know the story about this dish. It might be French, but nevertheless it is very decadent and rich.

Picnic.

My parents have made deep fried camembert for me and my brother a few times. Oddly enough my brother loved it, even though he hates cheese. Well, he likes warm cheese on pizza, lasagne and in deep fried camembert. He is very weird, if you ask me...

My trip to Tomales Bay brought me to Marin French Cheese, where they made camembert, and to my surprise, they made a petit version, perfect for deep frying. We bought a bunch of small cheeses to bring with us home.

By the end of the day we opted for at small picnic by our hotel, instead of going out for dinner. I had brought some of my homemade bread and it paired perfect with the cheeses. There is nothing better than a quiet picnic with your loved one at sunset.

Serves 4.

Ingredients:

• 2-4 small camembert, with the rind on (I used petit camembert  from Marin French Cheese)
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup breadcrumbs, fresh, panko or regular
• oil, for frying
• 4 slices good bread, toasted
• blackcurrant jam 

Directions:

Put the breadcrumbs in a shallow bowl. Crack the eggs into another shallow bowl and whisk them together.

Dip each camembert into the egg, making sure to get it covered all over. Coat the cheeses with the breadcrumbs. Repeat with the rest of the camembert.

Heat the oil in a heavy bottomed saucepan until hot.

Gently drop two of the cheeses and fry until golden brown, turning once. Place the cheeses onto a piece of kitchen towel to remove excess oil.

Serve immediately on a slice of toasted bread with blackcurrant jam.

Enjoy!

Roasted Butternut Squash Soup

Roasted Butternut Squash Soup

Dansk udgave

First time I encountered a butternut squash was after moving to the US. Every fall I would see piles of this oddly shaped beige vegetable in the grocery store. They were hard like a pumpkin, but didn't look like the pumpkins I knew from back home. Pumpkin was not something we cooked with in Denmark, at least not in my family. My mom had made pumpkin jam and sugar pickled pumpkin, but the recipes is long gone.

I got to taste a butternut squash soup at a friends house one Thanksgiving, and I kinda liked it, but I was on the sweeter side, and as I recall it, it had nutmeg or some warm spices in it. 

I don't have to tell you, but I'm not a fan of pumpkin pie, but I will never pass on a Pumpkin Spice Latte. It must be the coffee that make me love it.

I like a fresher and lighter taste to my butternut squash soup, so I was delighted when I found a soup with few ingredients, including an apple, on CHOW.com.  I made a few changes, and got a crisp fresh butternut squash soup, that even my squash-hating husband liked. He ranked it up with his favorite, spicy peach soup, so I must have hit something right with this soup.

Here is my version:

Serves 4 for dinner or 6-8 for an appetizer.

Ingredients:

• 2 medium butternut squash, halved lengthwise and seeded

• 2 tablespoons butter

• 1 Granny Smith apple, peeled and diced

• 1 small onion

• 4 fresh sage leaves

• 3 teaspoons chicken paste*

• 4 cups (about 1 liter) water

• 2 teaspoons salt or taste

• ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper or taste

Garnish:

• ½ cup toasted pumpkin seeds

• ½ leek, thinly sliced

• a few sugar pickled chilies

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 425°F (220℃). 

Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Place the squash pieces cut-side up on the baking sheet. Brush them with about 1 tablespoon of butter all over the cut side. Season generously with salt and pepper. Roast squashes for about 50 minutes, until knife tender and browned on the edges.

Melt the remaining butter in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the apple and onion, and cook while stirring until softened about 5 minutes. 

When the squash has cooled somewhat, scoop the flesh out with a spoon into the sautéed onions and apples. Discard the skins.

Add chicken paste and water, and bring it to a simmer over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat and let the soup simmer for about 15 minutes, until the flavors are blended. Season with salt, pepper and fresh sage. 

Purée the soup in batches in a blender** until smooth. (You can also use an immersion blender.) Season with more salt and pepper if needed. 

Serve the soup hot with your favorite garnish and a slice of good bread.

* You can use chicken or vegetable stock instead of the paste and water. 

**Be careful when blending hot liquids, it can make the lid pop off, and you may risk getting serious burns on you skin. You can remove the small cap on you blender lid and cover the lid with a clean kitchen towel. You need to hold on to the lid and towel. This will let the steam from the hot soup escape and avoid the lid from popping off. You can also get blenders like the Vitamix, where you can blend hot liquids, without any hassle.

The Danish version:

Bagt Butternut-Græskar-Suppe

Til 4 personer til aftensmad eller 6-8 personer til forret.

Ingredienser:

• 2 mellemstore butternut græskar, halverede på langs og fjern frøene

• 2 spsk smør

• 1 Granny Smith æble, skrællet og skåret i tern

• 1 løg

• 4 friske salvieblade

• 1 liter kylling eller grøntsagsboullion

• 2 tsk salt, eller efter smag

• ¼ tsk friskkværnet sort peber, eller efter smag

Tilbehør:

• ½ dl ristede græskarkerner

• ½ porre skåret i tynde skiver

• lidt sukkersyltede chilier

Fremgangsmåde:

Opvarm ovnen til 220℃. 

Kom staniol på en bageplde/bradepande, og sæt de flækkede græskar her på, med skærefladen opad. Pensl dem med lidt smeltet smør, og krydder med rigeligt salt og peber. Bag græskarne i ca. 50 minutter, indtil de er møre og brunede i kanten. De er møre, når du let kan stikke en kniv ned i kødet.

Smelt resten af smørret i en stor tykbundet gryde, og sauter løg og æbletern heri indtil de er bløde, ca. 5 minutter. 

Når græskaret er kølet lidt og det er til at håndtere, skrab kødet ud af skallen og ned til løg og æbler. Smid græskarskallerne ud.

Tilsæt bouillonen og kog suppen op. Lad suppen simre i ca. 15 minutter. Krydr med salt, peber og salvie. 

Blend suppen i en blender eller med en stavblender. Pas på med at blende den varme suppe, da det kan give skoldninger, hvis låget hopper af. Man kan evt. tage det lille låg af blenderen og dække hullet til med et viskestykke, men der blendes. 

Smag suppen til med salt og peber en sidste gang, og server den brændvarm med det ønskede tilbehør.

Velbekomme

NB. Man kan få blendere som f.eks. Vitamix, som gør det muligt at blende varme supper uden problemer.

Grilled Oysters

Grilled Oysters

I went on a weekend getaway with my hubby. We went to Tomales Bay north of San Francisco. I love getting out of the city, away to small-town USA. Just a few hours driving takes you into the country side. Point Reyes Station is a small town with all the things you need. A few stores, a hole in the wall coffee shop (Toby's coffee bar makes very good lattes!) and a handful of restaurants using mainly local ingredients. 

I hadn't done my research properly, I know that now. I totally missed that we were going to cheese-country, but more about cheese in another post.

The view

The real reason for this trip was to go back to Hog Island Oyster Farm. We went there last year and both of us have been craving their grilled oysters ever since. I know we could get our fix in downtown San Francisco, but it would not be the same. There is something special about sitting on wooden benches eating oysters while enjoying the beautiful view of Tomales Bay.

We brought some oysters back with us. I wanted to try to make these scrumptious grilled oysters at home. And my, oh my, oh my - the home grilled oyster was just as tasty as the ones at Hog Island Oyster Company.

serves 3-4

Ingredients:

• 12 oysters (small oyster from Hog Island Oyster Company or any local oysters)

• 1 lemon

Butter:

• ½ stick (55 g) salted butter, cold

• 1 tablespoon brown sugar

• 2 tablespoons bourbon or whiskey

• 2-3 tablespoons chopped chipotle chilies in adobo-sauce

• 1 sprinkle of salt

• 2-3 garlic cloves

And:

• 1 knife for shucking the oyster (I used a Dexter-Russell)

• salt for the serving plate

Direction:

Dissolve the sugar in the bourbon/whiskey. Add all ingredients to the a food-processor and mix until you have a smooth paste. Chill the butter until semi firm.

At the grill:

Heat your grill to a medium heat (400℉/200℃)

Shuck the oysters like in this video.

Place about ½ teaspoon of the butter in the open oyster and place them on the grill. Close the lid and peak a few times for the butter to melt and the liquid to start bubbling, let the oysters bubble away for about a minutes. Remove from the grill and let them cool for a brief moment before eating.