backyard grub

Spaghetti Squash with Mushroom Sauce

Enough turkey sandwiches already. I'm ready for something different!

Spaghetti squash is a winter squash. It doesn't have a lot of flavor on it's own, like butternut or acorn squash does, so add some delicious things. I like to bake my spaghetti squash, but if you're in a crunch you can also microwave it. You can either leave it whole, pierce it with a fork several times, and microwave it for about 12- 14 minutes or until it's tender. Be sure to turn it over about halfway through. Or, you can cut the squash in half, put it cut-side down in a dish with water and nuke for about 12 minutes.

Also, even though this isn't pasta, I like to have the bowls for this dish already warm by the time the sauce is ready.

This sauce makes enough for two.

1 small spaghetti squash
water
2 tablespoons olive oil plus extra
2 cloves garlic, minced
6 oz sliced fresh button mushrooms (or another favorite mushroom)
2 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup white wine
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup toasted walnut halves
1/4 cup fresh Italian parsley, minced
6-7 large fresh sage leaves, minced
parmesan cheese

* Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Cut the spaghetti squash in half and scoop out the seeds. Rub the inside with a little olive oil. Place the squash halves on a foil-lined baking sheet, cut sides down. Put the baking sheet in the oven, add about 1/2 cup of water, and bake until tender (about 45 minutes, depending on how large the squash is).

* Start the sauce just as you take the squash from the oven, and have everything ready so you can bring it together quickly: heat 2 T olive oil in a pan. Add the garlic and cook for a minute or two (keep stirring so it doesn't burn). Add the mushrooms. The mushrooms will soak up the oil, add the wine (take the pan off the heat before adding alcohol) and then the butter. Allow this to cook until the mushrooms are tender. Add salt and pepper to taste.

* Crush the walnut halves in your hands over the pan and drop them in with the mushrooms. Stir, then remove from the heat.

* Add the parsley and sage. Stir.

* Take a spaghetti squash half, turn it cut-side up, and scrape the inside with a fork to remove strands of squash. Divide the spaghetti squash between two serving bowls. Divide the sauce evenly over the two bowls of squash and grate some parmesan cheese over each bowl. Enjoy immediately.

Merry, Merry

Christmas was a good one. One of the things that makes it good is giving a gift to myself-- organizing the meal so I'm not exhausted from cooking at the end of the day (with a pile of dishes multiplying in the sink). My niece and nephews came along with their parents, so I kept the menu kid-friendly with simple, recognizable flavors.

On the menu:
roast turkey
apple stuffing
mashed browned potatoes
creamed spinach
orange-rosemary-onion salad
sweet potato rolls
creme brulee
skillet chocolate chip cookie with vanilla ice cream, chocolate sauce and caramel sauce

My family knows they can't miss with gifts from the kitchen store, so many of the gifts I received were food-related. My baby sister wonders, "why does she need another cookbook?" I can't answer it. All I can say is, I know I'm over the 100 mark. I also got a very handy tool-- a mortar and pestle from GourmetSleuth.com.

Spicy Apple & Pear Chips

I've been playing around in the kitchen, trying to come up with something delicious and memorable to share-- something that's also easy on the wallet. I'm still playing with it, but after a trip to the farmer's market and a creative look in my spice cabinet, I think I've stumbled on to something...

Here's what I used:

*Bosc (or another firm) pear
*firm, sweet apple (I used Pink Lady)
* 3 tablespoons confectioners' sugar
* 1 tablespoon anise seeds, toasted briefly and ground finely

* Preheat oven to 200 degrees.

* Toast the anise seeds in a frying pan, just for a minute. They may begin to pop. Remove them from the pan immediately, let them cool, and grind them into a fine powder. (I have a coffee grinder which I use just for spices; clean it in between uses by grinding a piece of bread.)

* Sift the confectioners' sugar and the ground anise together twice, to make sure it is thoroughly mixed.

* Line a cookie sheet with parchment; sift half of the confectioners' sugar mixture over it.

* With a mandoline, v-slicer, or a sharp knife, cut the pear and/or apple into paper thin slices. Place them on the cookie sheet, edge to edge.

* Sprinkle the fruit slices with the remaining sugar mixture.

* Bake at 200 degrees for 2 to 2 1/2 hours.

* The slices will keep in an airtight container for a week.

Like I said, I'm still playing with these... as in, I'm melting some Callebaut white chocolate...

Drink Up!

Yes, it's cold outside, a perfect reason to drink hot cocoa. But if you need another reason, an article on ScienceDaily News says a new study shows that hot cocoa has more antioxidants than red wine and tea.

Here are some of my favorite doses of antioxidants:

Maribelle Hot Chocolate

cardamom cocoa

Williams-Sonoma Peppermint Hot Chocolate

lots of hot chocolate recipes from Epicurious

Virgin Cookbooks and Other Odd Relationships.

I feel I owe my blogging buddies an explanation, because I really haven't been around lately.

My hubby and I have not been getting along lately, and I have suffered major blues. I just haven't felt like doing many of the things I enjoy, like blogging, my volunteer work, finishing my Nano novel, or cooking. In the past month I've gotten three new cookbooks, and I never felt like cooking. Very atypical of me. Every new cookbook usually spends the first few nights in bed with me, but these cookbooks are still virgins. Worse yet, Thanksgiving came and went and I never felt the urge to cook-- not even to make a turkey sandwich! Paging Doctor Freud!

I am glad to say (and glad with some reservations, because I really just don't know what will happen) that my husband and I have agreed to try to work things out. Also I am trying to get myself unblue by pushing myself to do things I enjoy. So I will be finishing my NaNo novel, even though I've missed the official NaNo deadline. And Christmas dinner is on.