Tag Archives: goat cheese

Butternut Squash Surplus

Posted on October 24, 2011 | 2 comments

Last week I was up to my ears in butternut squash.  A few from my CSA, and a few from one of my work friends (these alone were over 9 pounds each and more than 2 feet long).  I have a tendency to put these items out in the garage, and then forget about them until I can actually smell them…not good.  So this time I got a leg up on the surplus.  I roasted three baking pans of squash last night and then today made a few cups of it into butternut squash ravioli with brown butter and sage sauce, then froze the rest for soups and such.

Butternut Squash Ravioli

Inspired by this recipe from Epicurious

  • 3 cups mashed butternut squash (from roasted)
  • 1-4 oz log creamy goat cheese
  • 4 cloves garlic, chopped
  • 1/8 tsp fresh grated nutmeg
  • 1 package won ton wrappers (40-60 count)
  • 1/2 cup shallots, chopped
  • 1 stick, butter
  • 1 handful fresh sage leaves, whole
  • 1/8 tsp fresh grated nutmeg
  • pepper, salt to taste
  • handful of fresh parsley
  • parm cheese

Filling:  Saute’ garlic over medium until lightly browned, add goat cheese, squash, nutmeg and combine until creamy.  Remove from heat, let cool.  When filling is cool, drop 1 1/2 tsp in the middle of a won ton wrapper, lightly brush edges with water.  Seal by touching opposite sides together in whatever shape you like.  I touched opposite corners together to form a triangle, then flipped it like a dumpling.  Be sure to squeeze the air out of the ravioli before sealing and DO NOT overfill.

Sauce:  Combine in a frying pan over medium high heat butter, shallots, fresh sage and nutmeg.  Let this combo simmers until butter turns a nutty brown, shallots and sage crisp.  Turn off the heat.  Let hang out until your ravioli are ready to dress.

Ravioli:  Bring a dutch oven 3/4 full of salted water to a boil.  When it hits boiling, turn it down to medium heat, this is a little more gentle on your fragile raviolis.  Immerse 6-8 ravioli in the hot water so the water temp doesn’t drop but also so they do not touch the bottom, sides or each other…this would be bad. Allow the ravioli to hang out in the hot water bath for 2-4 minutes until they float or become opaque in color, remove with a slotted spoon directly into a serving dish, top with brown butter sauce, fresh parsley, a bit of parm cheese and serve.

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Since it’s just the two of us to cook for, but this recipe makes around 45 raviolis, I made the remaining raviolis, put them on a cookie sheet and froze them for an hour.  Then I tossed them into a freezer bag and tossed into the deep freeze.  The Interwebs say that they should keep for 3 months and to make them straight from the freezer next time.  I’ll let you know how that works out later.

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Posted in Dinner, Fall Food, Noodles, Recipes, Seasonal Ingredients, Vegetarian

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Christmas Day with The Wonderfuls

Posted on December 31, 2010 | 2 comments

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On the veggie menu:

  • Cranberry Crostini
  • Apricot Crostini
  • TLT Open Faced Baby Sammies
  • Sweet Potato Chipotle Gratin/Casserole
  • Brussels Sprouts with Cranberries
  • Chocolate Mallow Fondue with Dippers

Cranberry and Apricot crostini are this simple:  toast a French baguette, slather a little goat cheese on it, top with dried fruit and honey if you so desire.  For the cranberry crostini, I used cinnamon/cranberry goat cheese, topped with whole dried cranberries, and for the apricot crostini, I used honey goat cheese, topped with chopped apricots and lavender honey drizzle.

The TLT sammy recipe was adapted from Heidi over at 101cookbooks.com.

Ingredients

  • 2 ripe avocados
  • 2 pints tomatoes
  • 2 packages fakin’ bacon tempeh
  • 1 clamshell mixed baby lettuce leaves
  • 1 small package regular plain goat cheese
  • 1 French baguette, sliced and toasted
  • Juice of 2 limes
  • EVOO

The night before, preheat the oven to 400, toss the tomatoes with EVOO and roast until sweet and caramelized.  Save these for the next day in the fridge.  Day of, mash the avocado with the lime juice to make a make-shift-guac, this will go on the crostini at assembly.  Prep the fakin’ bacon per the package instructions.  To cook a bunch of it at a time, I cut the strips in half, put on a baking sheet and tossed into the oven for a few minutes until warm and crispy.  Next, assembly is easy:  take a crostini, top with a schmear of goat cheese, lettuce, avocado numminess, fakin’ bacon, and tomatoes.  Or whatever order your OCD compells you to assemble this tasty bite.

So as not to lull you into submission or boredom with the length of this post here are the other recipes I made.

Smokey Chili Scalloped Sweet Potatoes

Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Cranberry Brown Butter

Chocolate Marshmallow Creme Fondue (use the creme so it’s veg friendly, sans gelatin)

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Posted in Less is more, Make Ahead, Recipes, Seasonal Ingredients

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Tender Zucchini Fritters

Posted on September 26, 2010 | 3 comments

This recipe looks scary, but it’s well worth it.  I know it’s intimidating reading the laundry list of ingredients and taking the time to put it together but, it’s a small price to pay for summer in your mouth.  Yet another great way to use the Summer Zucchini in your crisper you are going to toss in another week anyway.

Dressing:

  • 1 cup mayonnaise
  • 1/4 cup chopped fresh dill
  • 1/4 cup chopped fresh chives
  • 2 tablespoons chopped fresh tarragon
  • 2 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley
  • 1 tablespoon distilled white vinegar

Fritters:

  • 1 1/2 pounds medium zucchini (5 to 6), trimmed
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons coarse kosher salt, divided
  • 6 1/2 tablespoons all purpose flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 1/4 cup beer
  • 1 4-ounce package soft fresh goat cheese, coarsely crumbled, chilled (about 1 cup)
  • 1/3 cup (or more) extra-virgin olive oil
  • 3 1/2 cups (lightly packed) mâche (lamb’s lettuce; 2 to 3 ounces)

For dressing:
Blend all ingredients in processor until smooth, occasionally scraping down sides of bowl. Season dressing with salt and pepper. Transfer to small bowl. Cover; chill. DO AHEAD: Can be made 1 day ahead. Keep chilled.

For fritters:
Using large holes on box grater, coarsely grate zucchini into large colander. Sprinkle 1 teaspoon coarse salt over and toss to coat evenly. Place colander over large bowl. Let zucchini stand 30 minutes, tossing occasionally. Press on zucchini to release as much liquid as possible. Empty zucchini into kitchen towel. Roll up to enclose and squeeze dry.

Whisk flour, baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, and 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt in medium bowl to blend. Mix in beer. Scrape zucchini from towel into bowl; stir to coat evenly (batter will be thick). Mix in cheese.

Heat 1/3 cup oil in heavy large skillet over medium heat until very hot, about 2 minutes. Working in batches, drop batter into skillet by 1/4 cupfuls, flattening to 3-inch rounds. Sauté until brown and cooked through, 4 to 5 minutes per side. Transfer fritters to rimmed baking sheet. Repeat with remaining batter, adding more oil as needed. DO AHEAD: Can be made 2 hours ahead. Let stand at room temperature. Rewarm in 375°F oven 5 to 6 minutes.

Place mâche in large bowl. Toss with 2 to 3 tablespoons dressing. Place 2 fritters on each of 6 plates. Top with mound of mâche salad. Serve fritters, passing remaining dressing alongside.

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Posted in Make Ahead, Recipes, Seasonal Ingredients

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