Butternut Squash Pizza

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Last Thursday, I just could not seem to get butternut squash out of my head. Being summer, (ergo my love is out of season) I blame it on my strong desire for fall and cooler temperatures that I spent about 90 percent of my day fantasizing about one of my fall/winter favorites. Ironically enough I was supposed to be making chicken and dumplings for dinner on Thursday evening – another cold weather favorite – but D was amazing enough to acquiesce to my squash craving (most likely out of a desire to avoid hearing me talk about orange truly for three hours if I did not get it).

On the first night, I did not care for this pizza much. It tasted good, but was a bit too sweet for me. I began to wish that I used the Delicious Orange Truly  a.k.a roasted butternut squash whole as it was with a pesto topping instead of puree-ing the squash and using it as the sauce. However, this pizza seemed to get better and better as a leftover and by the next afternoon I was enjoying it thoroughly. It is entirely possible that it was delicious the whole time and I was in a weird mood (a culinary trend that dominated last week), but either way this pizza is a tasty way to deliver loads of nutrition to picky adults or kiddos! Feel free to add whatever you like, or omit whatever you don’t like. As usual, this is a great way to use up leftovers before they spoil.

Butternut Squash Pizza

For the Squash Puree

One recipe Roasted Butternut Squash
One head garlic, for roasting (omitting this might detract from sweetness)
Small amount of chicken broth

Preheat oven to 350°F. Cut top 1/4 inch off heads of garlic to expose cloves. Place garlic, butternut squash, and onions in a baking dish. Add oil and spices to taste, sprinkle with salt and pepper; toss to coat. Turn garlic cut side up. Bake until garlic skins are golden brown and squash is tender, 40-50 minutes.  Squeeze garlic cloves from skins, combine with squash, onions, and a small amount of chicken stock in a food processor or blender and puree (can also use an immersion blender). Taste and adjust for seasoning preferences.

For the Pizza

Favorite Pizza Dough, stretched and rolled to desired thickness
Spinach
Crushed red pepper flakes to taste
Handful of sliced mushrooms
One-Half a zucchini, sliced into quarters
Grilled chicken breast with seasoning of choice, sliced
One-Half Mild Italian Chicken-Provolone Sausage, pan seared and sliced
Summer Heirloom Tomato, thickly sliced (optional, these are also wonderful as a side salad)
Fresh mozzarella, either grated, crumbled or cut into small dice (optional)
Half cup each of shredded Fontina and Smoked Provolone (more if necessary to cover or desired)
Salt and Freshly cracked black pepper
Sun-dried tomatoes, minced (optional or can sub for heirloom tomatoes)
Simple Arugula salad
Caramelized onions (optional)
Two cloves garlic, minced or cut into thin chips

Place rolled pizza dough on a pizza baker (preferably one with holes). Spoon the squash mixture onto the dough and spread in a circular fashion; top with the fresh garlic. Sprinkle a bit of salt, crushed red pepper flakes, and freshly cracked pepper.  Top with a layer of spinach (to keep the spinach from drying out), then a layer of the cheese mixture. After the cheese, arrange zucchini, mushrooms, chicken sausage and chicken around the pie. If using sun-dried tomatoes or regular tomatoes, add at this time. If you have extra roasted garlic, feel free to squeeze it over the pie. Bake in the oven (preheated to 400) for about 12-15 minutes until the dough rises and turns golden brown – adjust cooking time for thicker or thinner crusts accordingly. Once you remove the pizza from the oven, cut into slices with a pizza cutter and top with Arugula salad. If using caramelized onions add now as well and serve with crushed red pepper and freshly cracked black pepper to taste.

Roasted Butternut Squash

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Apart from zucchini, I do not really harbor much love for the squash family. Given this, my undeniable love affair with butternut squash is something of an anomaly. It is not that I do not eat yellow squash, I just do not do it whole-heartedly. I downright dislike spaghetti squash and eggplant purely on a textural basis. But butternut squash is like a giant, soft, comforting blanket for me for some inexplicable reason. I love roasting it and happily scarfing it down in bite size chunks or pure pleasure. I also love roasting it and turning it into the star of dishes in unexpected ways. It is a great way to “sneak” nutrients into common things such as pizza, pasta, lasagna, risotto, etc. It can be pureed for small children (though it is generally soft enough to eat on its own),  used fortify soups and salads during the fall., and be sweet or savory. It is just a wonderful little powerhouse of flavor and nutrients that I turn to time and again. The only discouraging thing about butternut squash is the time and effort it takes to peel it. I have not mastered this technique yet and, more often than not, I will buy previously diced squash from Whole Foods. Whole Foods also has bags of frozen butternut squash which are great for making a quick, nutritious puree without the torture of cutting the squash! The following method is my favorite way to roast butternut squash.

Roasted Butternut Squash

One pound butternut squash, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch dice
One large white onion (or six or seven medium shallots), large dice
One head garlic, minced
Two tablespoons Italian Seasoning or Herbs de Provence
One tablespoon black pepper
One teaspoon White Pepper (optional)
A couple good pinches of salt
Couple glugs good olive oil (regular, basil, garlic, or truffle)

Preheat oven to 350°F. Place garlic, butternut squash, and onions in a baking dish. Add oil and spices to taste, sprinkle with salt and pepper; toss to coat. Bake until golden brown and squash is tender, 40-50 minutes.  Taste and adjust for seasoning preferences.

Caramelized Onions

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Caramelized onions. Two words that can turn  a bad day right around – after the stock market insanity last week, maybe that is exactly why I could not stop day-dreaming about caramelized onions, only stopping to fantasize about winning the lottery. These little treats are so easy and elevate something wonderful into something stellar! The versatility of onions slowly coaxed into a pile of gooey, delectable sweetness if something quite marvelous as well. Creativity shines with an element that can be thrown into sandwiches, eggs, soups, meats and stir-frys, pizzas, salads, pureed into jams, stuffed inside things,  or heaped onto gooey baked cheeses. Try to make this dish with as much tender love as possible and I swear the onions taste even sweeter. You can make caramelized onions several ways, I am giving the version that I do without a ton of butter and in a much faster time frame. However, the longer the deep, rich, sweet onions are cooked on a low heat the more amazing they become. Feel free to make a bigger batch in a crock pot over the weekend (8-12 hours) or, if you are pressed for time, simply use a little more heat to whip this up in about two hours on a week night.

Caramelized Onions
Approximately One and One-half Cup, depending on size of onions

Image obtained from Ciao Florentina!

One plus One half sweet onion, sliced evenly
One tablespoons butter (or olive oil or a mixture of the two)
A good pinch of salt
One-half tablespoon cane sugar

Slice onions in half, then slice the half into 1/8 inch slices (approximately). Heat oil or butter in a large saute pan or dutch oven. Once a medium-low heat is achieved, put onions into the pan and stir well to coat. After a couple of minutes add salt and sugar. Stir well. Return to pan every few minutes to check and make sure that the onions are not burning (add more oil, butter, or a little water or broth in the event that they do begin to burn). The goal is to have onions brown and stick to the pan without burning. Stir every few minutes for about a half hour, then lower heat and continue cooking for about an hour continuing to stir and adjust according to brownness (conversely, keep the heat a tad higher and cook for less time but check for burning).Eventually, the onions will be a rich, dark brown color. Remove from heat after about an hour and a half and either use immediately or store in an air-tight container in the fridge. It will last several days. If desired, you can hit the onions with a dash of vinegar or wine at the end of the cooking process to de-glaze the pan (for possible reuse) and bring a little additional flavor to the onions.

 

Simple Arugula Salad

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In addition to being one of the more dainty dark greens, peppery Arugula is wonderful in a large variety of preparations. This simple salad is perfect for pepper lovers in the summer (or all year) when its flavor is the most robust. It is also quite wonderful in the spring and fall when the spiciness subsides a bit. Think of this salad as a base – on its own it is delicious, or it can be added to sandwiches, top a pizza off, or thrown into a blender with additional ingredients to make pesto. It can also serve as the base for a larger, more substantial salad with the introduction of additional ingredients.  Arugula is also known as ‘rocket’ should you see a recipe calling for that ingredient. One tip, should you choose to grow your own arugula – plant it in a contained space. Arugula takes over a garden (or yard) like I have never seen, whether or not this is a bad thing I suppose depends on how much your love arugula versus how much you love your existing landscaping.

Simple Arugula Salad

Two cups Arugula leaves
Juice of one lemon (adjust according to preference)
Small pinch of Salt
A couple good cracks of black pepper
About a half-cup of shaved Pecorino Romano or Grana Padano Cheese

Combine all ingredients in a bowl (preferably one that can seal easily) and mix gently.  Yep, you are done.

Scallops in a Lemongrass-Coconut Broth

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I love lemongrass. Recently, I found Lemongrass Mint Vanilla Water (with no calories) and am still over the moon…I am also drinking one right now.  Yesterday, around lunchtime, I managed to find time to get to Whole foods for my weekly shopping trip. I was dying for scallops and new that I wanted to make a lemongrass sauce for them. Alas, WF was out of lemongrass and my frozen supply was out as well. However, I am happy to say that I feel back into my old supermarket addiction yesterday because when I went back for something lemongrass had been stocked! With my previous disappointment assuaged, I went home hoping that D would not mind that Piccata would no longer be on the menu. He went with it and I got my lemongrass infused sauce. My apologies for the lack of picture, I was too hungry and tired to clean the dishes and arrange the food and photograph it. Similarly, I was also too tired to actually cut the fresh herbs to top this – though I did have the fresh basil, cilantro and green onions out. If you add them, it will certainly heighten the flavor (even though I still licked my plate).  I suggest serving this in a bowl – rice on bottom, protein on top, sauce poured over to make an sort of semi-soup.  You can use any kind of protein you want. A nice, thick white fish, scallops or mussels work best. D had a Thai-crusted chicken breast (that I completely burned on one side…oops).

Lemongrass – Coconut Broth

One cup shallot or onion, diced
Three garlic cloves, minced
Two inch knob of ginger, peeled and sliced into large discs
Six lemon grass stalks (bottom 4 or 5 inches only), Bruised
One can of Lite Coconut Milk, separated (1/2 cup for rice and rest for sauce)
One cup White Wine
One cup Chicken Broth
One tablespoon red curry paste
One teaspoon Saffron, toasted
Squeeze of a half-lime (or you can use Kaffir Lime leaves frozen or fresh)
Sriracha to taste

Heat some oil in a large skillet. Combine the shallots, garlic, ginger, and chiles (is using) and allow to sweat for a few minutes. Add in white wine and chicken broth and reduce slightly to cook out the alcohol. Add curry paste and coconut milk and let simmer for a few minutes. Check for seasoning and then season according to taste. Finally, add Sriracha to taste and the juice of the lime. Strain and reserve sauce.

Scallops (for two)

Four U-10 Scallops (U-10 indicating how many per pound)
Salt and Pepper

Dry scallops thoroughly, but gently to prevent breaking. Sprinkle each side with salt and pepper. In a small fry pan heat a good amount of oil over a medium high heat. Once hot, place the scallops gently into the pan and allow to cook, without moving, for two minutes on each side to achieve a nice sear. Remove from pan, pat dry and serve on top of Coconut Rice made with one part water, one part coconut milk.  Pour reserved sauce over both components and then garnish with your choice of fried shallots, cilantro, basil, green onions, or mint.

Zucchini Boats

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This was the only meal I have made myself since the sandwich that I made before leaving for the airport for Mexico 8 days ago. The lovely little place we were staying (by lovely, I mean INCREDIBLE) had an outdoor kitchen where we ate our insanely delicious breakfasts. It also had a grill that was available for guest use, along with a cutting board. We decided that we would cook dinner one night – a hard decision as this meant one night that pastor tacos would not be going into my belly. Next problem: the only cooking apparatus we had was a grill. Ergo, I decided to make zucchini stuffed with Oxaca cheese, Grilled Onions, and Chorizo and some re-fried beans with Manchengo cheese, sour cream, grilled onions, and jalapenos alongside some chimol (basically pico). This decision was made with a couple different trains of thought: 1) If I am giving up my nightly pastor it better be for seafood or veggies; 2) I had finally had some beans for breakfast and it whetted my appetite for them; 3) I only had a grill and one knife, so the meal need to be  simple and easy.

We garnered some additional cooking materials from the owner of the B&B, Lou, and began to make our dinner after D went in to the store. Now by extra cooking materials I do not mean much – we got a small pot for the beans and a dull knife for cutting the veg with. This was a step up in the knife department from the time I had to make dinner using a butter knife. That was … interesting.

The result of our little B&B cooked meal was outstanding. The freshness of the ingredients sang and all the flavors, though not particularly complex, married very well together. Better yet, everything I used to make this meal can be found in the States (though it will be different than the traditional local flavors that I had available in Tulum) and is a cheap and satisfying crowd-pleaser for those awesome summer weekends in Texas!

Note: I had originally intended to put the bean mixture in avocado halves, but the avocado did not come home from the store, so we did without. No worries – beans are amazing.


Zucchini Boats

Two Zucchinis, washed and halved
One Chorizo Link
One half Onion
1/4 cup Oxaca cheese
Brush of Olive oil (or in my case Spray of Pam olive oil)
Salt and Pepper
A dash of seasoning of choice (I had a Mexican seasoning that was like a lime-cayenne with adobo so I sprinkled some of that on here)

Season Grill with onion, then grill until glassy (alternately – oil a small pan and saute until glassy). Place chorizo on grill and grill for about 3-4 minutes on either side, depending on thickness. Take the zucchini halves and cut a deep square shape in the middle in order to stuff them. Grill, skin side up, for about 3-4 minutes first then flip. Stuff with Cheese and grill for an additional 3-4 minutes. Top with onions and chorizo and enjoy with sides of pico and cheesy re-fried beans.

Smoked Tortilla Soup

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You know those days that you just cannot decide what you want to eat? The days when nothing sounds good, but you have 95 percent of the components of four different dishes that desperately need to be used up. Yesterday was one of those days in Andiland. I finally decided that I would get the remaining 3 elements that I needed for a stir fry (basically just needed a protein) and to make tortilla soup, thinking that if I made both I could have the soup for lunch or just freeze it. Fast forward to actually getting home and cooking dinner and I was just too tired to cook both – so soup was on the menu. I have always thought that the name of tortilla soup is funny. For starters, I do not eat tortilla chips with my tortilla soup – at this point does it just become Mexican tomato soup with chicken? I guess tortilla soup stills sounds better. Then you have people claiming to have roasted tortilla soup. What is roasted? The tomatoes? The Chicken? Could be anything or nothing really. Then you have smoked tortilla soup – when can also be chicken or the peppers. In my case I suppose I made Smoked non-tortilla tortilla soup because I used smoked chipotle peppers in adobo. Good enough for me! The beauty of this soup is that it is flavorful, can be adapted any which way, is healthy (go light on the cheese), and can easily be a pantry meal when you cannot get to the store. Additionally, you can make this in 30 minutes or let it slow cook. It is also adaptable for vegetarian diets (leave out the chicken) and has no gluten or dairy (omit cheese) so it can be great for those sensitivities.

Note: I would have rather used fresh, roasted tomatoes but I only had one and a can of fire-roasted crushed tomatoes – so that is what went in. I think I should have used a little less as the end result was a bit too tomatoey (though I could have added more stock – just did not want to make a HUGE portion). Additionally, I used chipotle peppers in adobo as my main source of spice – feel free to use dried chipotle peppers, cayenne, jalapeno, or whatever your pleasure is. I used a little more than half a can, I think I could have used a bit less. The end result was quite spicy and smoky, not necessarily a bad thing as D and I like both elements very much, but cooking for others I would have reduced it.Also, I hate bell peppers. Normally you would put some in a tortilla soup, but given my aversion, I could only manage to put maybe a quarter in (it was pre-diced as well because I cannot stand the smell of bell peppers at any stage of their journey).

Tortilla Soup, Serves 3-4

One can Muir Glen Organic Fire-Roasted Tomatoes (Crushed, Diced, or Whole)
One Medium Tomato, roughly chopped
Four cups chicken broth
One White Onion, diced
Six cloves garlic, minced
Two tablespoons Cumin Seeds
One tablespoon Adobo
Two tablespoons Oregano
One Tablespoon Ground Coriander
One Tablespoon Tumeric powder
One Tablespoon Garlic powder (optional)
Nine Sprigs Fresh Thyme
One cup frozen sweet corn (optional)
One quarter green bell pepper, diced (use more if desired)
One Chicken breast, shredded (pre-cooked or cooked in soup, can also use dark meat with same method)
Juice of one lime
Salt and Pepper to taste

Garnish

Avocado Slices
Chopped Fresh Cilantro
Shredded Monterrey Jack Cheese
Fresh Fried Corn Tostadas
Lime Wedges

Heat a small amount of olive oil in a stock pot. Once heated, add the onions, cumin seeds, and garlic to the pan with a pinch of salt. If using chicken, place that in pan as well to brown the outsides.* Stir and allow to cook for a couple of minutes then add all ground spices. Add broth and tomatoes to pan, stir well. Add bell peppers (this should be done with the onions, but I cannot stand the smell of them cooking so I added them to the liquid) and thyme sprigs. Let the mixture simmer for about 30 to 40 minutes – you can actually make this a very quick meal or a slow-cooked meal if you prefer. The flavors will be more developed the longer it cooks so if you have the time to start it and let it sit for about two or three hours that will be fine. After about 30 minutes, add the lime juice and about a half cup to a cup of fresh chopped cilantro. Ladle soup into bowls and serve with a small garnish bowl of avocado, fresh cilantro, a lime wedge, shredded cheese and a freshly fried whole tortilla (heat a small amount of oil in a pan and fry corn tortilla one each side until it bubbles and curls).

*If using pre-cooked chicken, shred and add in about 10 minutes from when you will ladle soup out so that chicken does not over-cook. If using raw chicken, brown on all sides with onions, then allow chicken to slowly cook with the simmering stew (about 40 minutes). Remove from pan and shred if necessary, if using wings, legs, and thighs then remove bones from soup before serving.

Homemade Chicken Stock

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Chicken stock is a great way to use up leftover veggies and chicken parts. An additional plus is that it just smells so darn good simmering all day long. One of my favorite things to do is buy fresh bagel and have a lovely lunch of bagel and chicken stock before I strain and skim the stock. Fresh stock will last in the fridge for 4-5 days and can be frozen for months. My mom used to freeze stock in muffin tins and ice trays and pull what she needed when she needed it. I have yet to have a freezer with enough space for this, so I try to use mine up in soups and chicken and dumplings and such in the first week.

Note: I usually make stock after I have used two or three whole chickens (you can freeze after using until ready to make stock) and skip buying chicken backs, necks, and feet. You can certainly make it with anything that you choose – for me it has always just been a leftover, I don’t want to go to the store, throw in a pot and live my life kind of deal.

Homemade Stock – Should make a little under 2 quarts

Two to Three Whole Chicken Carcases, broken down, insides removed
Five Large Carrots, Cut into two inches pieces
Four or Five Celery Stalks, Cut into two inch pieces
One bunch Leeks, white parts only
One Bouquet Garni (Four Bay Leaves, 12 Thyme Sprigs, Five Parsley Sprigs, One Rosemary Sprig – optional)
Two heads of garlic, entire head cut into halves
One plus one half white onion
Three tablespoons black peppercorns
One cup White Wine (optional)
Two quarts Boxed Chicken Broth (you can also use water – making stock with stock develops a strong stock flavor that I love)

Roast the chicken bones and garlic halves for about 45 minutes to deepen their flavor (this step can be skipped if you choose).

In a large stock pot, heat a bit of olive oil then add the celery, carrots, leek, onions and garlic (all properly seasoned) and saute for a couple of minutes. Add white wine and allow to reduce slightly. Add chicken bones, pepper, and bouquet garni then cover with the chicken stock. Simmer for up to 12 hours. I generally wait to skim the fat, but you can do it at any time during the simmering process. Once you are done simmering, strain entire pot to remove all solid ingredients. Then, strain through a fine sieve to remove all small particles. Can be returned to a pot to make dish of choice or stored in jars in the fridge. If freezing, wait for the broth to cool before putting it into muffin tins to freeze.