Category: fall recipes

Spicy Yogurt Spaghetti

Christina BruniLeave a comment

The November issue of Bon Appetit has this recipe:

Cook 1 pound spaghetti in large pot of salted water. Stir every so often until 1 minute less than package direction for al dente.

Drain. Reserve 2 cups of pasta cooking water. Return pasta to the pot. Add 1 1/4 cups plain whole-milk Greek yogurt. Toss with tongs to coat thoroughly.

Add 1/2 cup pasta cooking water and then toss. Add cooking water a splash at a time to get to a creamy sauce like Alfredo.

Use shallow bowls to divide pasta into. Top with your desired amount of chili crisp. I bought and used Momofuku chili crunch.

Serves 4 to 6.

A surprising combination of flavors. Yet a recipe to try once to see if you like it.

The fall just might be the season to cook this recipe too.

Bacon Butternut Squash

Christina BruniLeave a comment

This recipe is from the Joanna Gaines cookbook Magnolia Table: A Collection of Recipes for Gathering Volume 3. Since the recipe is too long and detailed and owing to copyright I won’t reprint it here.

Of course my version looks nowhere near the prettified bacon butternut squash photo in the cookbook.

Plus I didn’t use bacon so instead of sauteing the butternut squash and shallots in bacon dripping I splashed a little organic EVOO in the skillet. Too I would say you definitely need to add a splash of water to the skillet halfway through so that the pan doesn’t get dry and burnt.

This is a tasty dinner I had that was listed in the Side Dishes section of the cookbook. I would definitely use this recipe again as the food is so delicious.

It calls for 4 cups of butternut squash and I was one person having this meal. For a side dish like it was intended it might serve 4 people.

In fact I might buy this Volume 3 of Magnolia Table as I want to try other recipes in the cookbook.

I buy the Magnolia Journal magazine which also has recipes and interesting articles to read.

Now that butternut squash is in season it’s the perfect lunch or dinner.

Be aware that you need counter space or else use your sink basin to prepare the ingredients.

I accidently bought a brick of parmesan cheese that I had to grate. It was OK to buy the parmesan cheese pre-grated however I didn’t realize this. Save yourself the trouble and buy a container of grated parmesan.

Butternut Squash Soup

Christina BruniLeave a comment

butternut soup

I have modified this recipe from the original version offered at another website. Owing to length and copyright issues.

The version I created is quicker and easier. A plus as not a lot of us have the time or energy to labor over a hot stove for hours on end.

Ingredients

1 large butternut squash halved vertically and seeded (about 3 pounds)

1 tablespoon olive oil, plus more for drizzling.

1/2 cup chopped shallot (about 1 large shallot bulb)

4 garlic cloves, pressed or minced.

1 teaspoon maple syrup

1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg

3 to 4 cups vegetable broth, as needed (24 to 32 ounces)

Instructions:

  1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Drizzle each half of the squash with just enough olive oil to lightly coat on the inside (about 1/2 teaspoon each.)
  2. Turn the squash face down and roast until tender and completely cooked, about 40 to 50 minutes. Let it cool about 10 minutes. Then scoop the butternut squash flesh into a blender.
  3. In a medium skillet, warm 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium heat until shimmering. Add the chopped shallot. Cook, stirring often, until the shallot has started to turn golden on the edges, about 3 to 4 minutes. Add the garlic and cook about 1 minute, stirring frequently.
  4. Transfer shallot and garlic to blender. Add in maple syrup and nutmeg. Pour in 3 cups vegetable broth.
  5. Use blend function on the blender if it doesn’t have a soup pre-set.
  6. Heat the soup in a saucepan.

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The butternut squash I used from the CSA box was medium-sized.

Thus, it might have been better to decrease the amount of liquid I used to only 1 1/2 cups for a creamier soup. I had used 3 cups like the recipe called for.

Also, I should’ve decreased the cooking time for the shallots and garlic. They got burnt so I had to add more and re-do for a shorter time.

I prefer to use the FreshDirect vegetable stock instead of regular broth. This is because the stock has no natural flavors just real ingredients.

You can use vegetable broth if you’d like. Either way it should be fine. Just lower the amount of liquid should you want a creamier soup and have a smaller squash.