Dog days of winter

Right about now I long for the all too familiar sight of an umbrellaed Sabrett hot dog cart hugging a New York City street corner.  The cold, short-on-sunlight days depress my mind and body to the point that only junk food seems to satisfy.  Oh sure, talk about hearty soups and savory stews all you want - but it's a dirty-water dog that perks me up like nothing else.  Alas,  street corners are very short on hot dog carts these days -  you're more than likely to find a food truck.  The vendor can stay warm inside his metal, mini diner and has the space to offer not only hot dogs, but also cook falafel, shrimp and French fries, cheeseburgers, chicken and rice to order, and have on hand ever-popular breakfast choices; doughnuts and bagels.  It's just not the same.
So, I make my own version of a hot dog with sauerkraut and mustard - with special fries to boot!  This way I can feel a bit less guilty about downing pure junk and select high quality - organic when possible - ingredients for my oh-so gratifying meal.

QUICK SAUERKRAUT

This quick - you could even say finto or fake sauerkraut (it doesn't require pickling time) comes from my book, "Contorni: Authentic Italian Side Dishes for All Seasons".  The original recipe calls for bacon.  I left it out and added a little extra butter and some extra virgin olive oil for this particular application.

Serves 6 as a side dish - will cover at least a dozen hot dogs

1 head green cabbage, 2 to 2 1/4 pounds
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 1/2 cups vegetable broth or water
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
1.   Eliminate the tough outer leaves of the cabbage.  Cut the head into quarters through the stem end, and then cut out the core.  Use a sharp knife or a mandoline to thinly slice crosswise.
2.    In a large skillet or saute pan over medium heat, melt the butter with the olive oil.  Add the cabbage and stir with 2 wooden spoons to ensure that all the cabbage is coated.  Cook for 3 minutes.  Add the wine and broth or water and stir to combine. Lower the heat, cover and simmer from 1 1/2  to 3 hours (much depends on how the cabbage has been sliced).  The liquid should be almost completely absorbed and the cabbage very soft.
3.   Add the lemon juice, and salt and pepper to taste.  Serve immediately or store in the refrigerator for up to a couple of weeks.  Reheat as needed.

ROY'S GRAINY MUSTARD

My friend, Roy Finamore, adapted this highly fragrant and nose-clearly mustard to his taste.  I love having it on hand.  It gives just the right punctuation to any dish - especially a hot dog.

Makes about 2 pints

1 12-ounce bottle stout
1 cup cider vinegar
8 ounces brown mustard seeds
2 ounces black mustard seeds
1 tablespoon salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice

1.  Mix all the ingredients together. Cover the bowl with plastic film and leave at room temperature for 2 days. Add the mixture  to a food processor  and process until thick - about 3 minutes. 
2.  Store in 1/2 pint Mason jars.  The mustard will keep, refrigerated, for years.

OVEN FRIED TURNIPS

Now, here's a really good twist on fries.  I find these oven fries instantly appealing.  Turnips are definitely an acquired taste.  They almost sting at first bite  - but rapidly fill your mouth with pure earthy sweetness.   The addition of Parmesan cheese adds a kind of salty crust to the fries - a perfect antidote to the sweet interior.

Serves 4 - 6

2 - 2 1/4 pounds large turnips or rutabagas
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1.   Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
2.   Peel the turnips. Cut into 1/4 - 1/2 -inch sticks.   Place on a baking sheet with sides or a jelly roll pan.  Add the olive oil, Parmesan cheese, salt and pepper.  Use your hands to evenly coat the turnips with all the ingredients.
3.   Bake, turning every 20 minutes until each piece is golden brown on the outside and soft in the center, about 1 hour.
4.  Serve immediately.  Leftovers are reheated with great succcess!

SUSANSIMONSAYS:   Nothing beats the doldrums of winter like a dog loaded with homemade sauerkraut, Roy's grainy mustard on a well-toasted bun.

Let it snow

Best thing about the snow in New York City?  The light -  any part of 24 hours of the day.  Morning light shining so brightly on the crytalline heaps that you feel like you might go permanently blind if you continue to look; the afternoon light, faintly rose-gold, shows up as the low-in-the-sky sun  begins its early departure, the evening light reflecting on the the remnants of the setting sun - and grey buildings - becomes violet-blue, and the calming, navy blue night provides a canopy for a good night's sleep.  That is for about the first 8 hours or so until the general population starts walking around, littering along the way, and clanking City plows mound dirty snow up against cars.  Second best thing (really, first for me - but it seemed kind of selfish to declare it number one) - alternate side of the street parking is suspended - and suspended - and suspended, then the winter holidays begin, more suspensions. Maybe, if I really play it right I'll only have to move my car 4 times this month!  Oh joy.
Third best thing? Scraping off the top layer of snow,  making perfect, pristine snowballs  with the under-layer, and covering them with maple syrup and chopped nuts. Consuming, immediately.  Of course.

MAPLE SYRUP SNOWBALLS

A friend, who lives, part-time, in the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont once suggested that I pour the syrup from his area over snow for a tasty treat.  I've refined his recipe.  Just a tiny bit.

Make 3-inch diameter snow balls and place in a bowl. Pour maple syrup over them.  Let it seep into the snow.  Pour some more syrup  to insure the the snow is thoroughly drenched with flavor. Sprinkle with chopped nuts of your choice.  Ah, granita di sciroppo d'acero.  

Allegra just loves a bite of snow - neat.

SUSANSIMONSAYS:  I recommend grade B maple syrup for this particular applcation.  It's deep, rich, mapley flavor gives the snow the boost you want.  In fact, I always use grade B maple syrup - which is something like maple caramel syrup!  I chopped up some sweet and salty roasted almonds -  leftover from last week's cocktail prolonge` - for the topping.

Cocktail party prolonge` - 12th Day of Christmas Eve

I sent out an invitation to a few friends on December 26th, 2010. It went something like this - "Do you think that Christmas was over and done with yesterday?  Oh no.   There are twelve days of Christmas and I'm not just talking a partridge in a pear tree.  The 12th day, January 6th, Epiphany, is the time that the 3 wise men brought gifts to the baby Jesus.  The 12th eve is January 5th and this Jewish girl has decided to celebrate with a cocktail prolonge`.  7pm - whatever.   A light supper will be served a 9 or so."
Now, for those of you unfamiliar with the term cocktail prolonge` (just as I was up until about a year ago) - let me explain, this style of party was at the height of its popularity in the mid-19th century in Europe. It's a cocktail buffet.  A "prolonged" cocktail party.  Guests can stand or sit, go to a table filled with bite-sized food as many times as they wish, and drink cocktails, and glasses of  wine. Somewhere around 9 - 9:30 a small plate of hot food- which I call a light supper is served.  I usually choose a simple pasta dish - or for this particular party, risotto.  I choose starchy dishes because they always satisfy any remaining hunger and sop up too many cocktails or glasses of wine. Another reason  I  chose risotto was because it let me showcase some of those freshly shucked Nantucket bay scallops that I spoke about in a previous posting. The addition of pomegranate seeds with their sugary, tart flavor and crunchy texture marry, in stunning way, with the sweet, velvety smooth bay scallops.   The dish was inspired by a  pomegranate-seed studded risotto made with Prosecco that I ate a few years ago while visiting a friend in the Veneto region of Italy.   Two years ago I made that pomegranate risotto and topped it with bay scallops, cooked Venetian-style.  It has become a signature dish.

But wait - here's what I served to graze upon - along with cocktail shaker-fulls of Pisco Sours (see  "And then I went to Patagonia" post for recipe), glasses of icy Prosecco, red wine and anything else people wanted to drink.

Sweet and Salty Roasted Almonds - Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Spread about a pound or a pound and a half  raw almonds onto a parchment paper-covered baking sheet with sides or a jelly roll pan.  Add 2 tablespoons brown rice syrup, 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive and 1 heaping teaspoon of flaky sea salt to the pan.  Use a rubber spatula to evenly coat the almonds with the the other ingredients.  Make sure are evenly spread out.   Bake until the almonds are darker brown and the liquid ingredients are bubbling, about an hour.   Let cool on a baking rack.  Some of the almonds will clump together as they cool.  Separate before serving.  The almonds should be stored in a container with a tight-fitting lid.  They will stay fresh for weeks.

Raw vegetables; celery sticks, English cucumber slices, endive leaves and jicama slices (there was a color scheme!) with spicy peanut sauce.   1/3 cup freshly ground organic peanut butter, 1/4 cup water, zest of 1 lime and juice of 2, 2 tablespoons brown rice vinegar, 2 tablespoons soy sauce,  and 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon Nantucket honey (more about it in posts to come).  Add the ingredients to a sauce pan and cook until smooth - you may want to thin with a bit more water.  Finish the sauce with a handful of chopped, roasted peanuts.

Selection of cheese; Piave ( a hard Italian cheese from the northwestern part of the country), a log of soft goat's milk cheese, Kunik - an over-the-top, dangerous (because you will become addicted),  New York State (Nettle Meadow) soft cheese made with goat's milk and Jersey cow's milk cream - it will make you deliriously happy served with roasted pears (see Apples and Pears post), medjool dates, semi-dried figs and little toasts made with raisin-pecan bread.

Large, poached shrimp with cocktail sauce.  Heinz' Chili Sauce, ketchup, and very sharp horseradish.

Bacala Mantecato (see Christmas and Codfish post) served with whole wheat baguette toasts and Kalamata olives

POMEGRANATE RISOTTO WITH NANTUCKET BAY SCALLOPS ALLA VENEZIANA

Serves 8 - 12

for the risotto:

1/3 cup grape seed oil (neutral flavor will not compete with other delicate ingredients)
1 1/2 cups finely chopped onions
2 cups baldo or carnaroli (or any short, fat rice)
1 1/4 cups Prosecco or dry white wine
10 - 12 cups water
kosher salt
3/4  cup grated Parmesan cheese
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
seeds from one pomegranate (see Easy, Rosy Last Minute Cocktail Party post for pomegranate seed removal method)

for the scallops:

3 cloves garlic, finely minced
1/2 teaspoon finely minced fresh red hot pepper such as Thai, cayenne or jalapeno
3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
3/4 cup dry white vermouth
2 pounds bay scallops
1/2 cup firmly packed, finely chopped fresh flat leaf parsley
salt

1.  Add the grapeseed oil and the onions to a large skillet or a brazier over medium heat.   Saute the onions until they become translucent but not brown, about 6 - 8 minutes.  Add the rice and stir to coat with the oil.  Add two cupfuls of water and stir continuously until all the liquid is absorbed.   Keep adding the water 2 cupsful at a time until the rice is tender  and a bit of liquid remains in the skillet- about 18 minutes.  During the addition of the last 2 cups of water add the grated cheese.
2.  Turn down the heat to a faint simmer, add the butter and pomegranate seeds.  Stir to combine.
3.  In a skillet over medium heat, saute the garlic and hot pepper in the olive oil.   Just as the garlic starts to turn gold, add the lemon juce and vermouth.  Lower the heat a notch and simmer 2 to 3 minutes.  Add the scallops and cook until opaque, 1 1/2 to 2 minutes.  Be careful not to overcook, or the scallops will become rubbery in an instant.  Stir in the parsley.
4.   Add the risotto to a large, warm serving platter.  Cover with the scallops.  Serve immediately.

SUSANSIMONSAYS:  If your guests ask you what they can bring to the party - the answer is easy.  "something sweet".   I asked my friend, Roy to bring some gingerbread. He obliged with a lovely, rotund cake glazed with tangy lemon icing.   Amy brought organic, hand-dipped elderflower and raspberry flavored (among others) chocolates from new Nantucket confectioner, Ambrosia - read Amy's article about them in Poetry of Food -, John brought dark chocolate "meltaways" from  Stowaway Sweets , and Mark brought colorful cupcakes in flavors like French toast, and cinnamon toast from The Little Cupcake Shop in downtown New York City.   A perfect end to a perfect evening.

Nantucket in the wintertime

"What's the island like in the wintertime?" is the question most asked by Nantucket summertime visitors.
First of all, and lucky for the Islanders, winter arrives on Nantucket a little later than it does on mainland New England, warmed as it is by the surrounding Gulf Stream. (the blizzard that paralyzed the northeast over Christmas weekend didn't touch the island ).  In the wintertime, Nantucket Island, world-class summer resort, sheds its fancy designer duds and is once again a New England small town inhabited with busy people.  In the almost quiet privacy of wintertime Nantucket is a beehive of activity.  Islanders finally have the time they need to socialize, share recipes, tend to their  businesses readying them for the next season, fish for world-famous Nantucket bay scallops, take long walks along the desolate moors - right out of "Wuthering Heights", beaches and ponds. It's a romantic and cozy time on island - a time that year 'rounders cherish.

The lighthouse at Brant Point welcomes visitors to the island as they round it and enter the harbor.  At Christmastime the Coast Guard, stationed on the Island, decorates it, anchoring the wreath with oars.

Every year I spend Christmas Day on Nantucket with my sister Laura, and her husband, Jimmy. And every year Jimmy treats us to the crepes that he's been cooking since he was eight years old.  They're simple, and the batter doesn't need to rest before cooking.

JIMMY GROSS'S CHRISTMAS-DAY CREPES

Serve any day, any time of the year.

Makes about 24 9-inch pancakes

4 eggs
1 cup all-purpose flour
3 1/2 cups whole milk
unsalted butter for frying

1.   Beat the eggs in a large bowl.   Alternately add the flour and the milk, mixing continuously with a fork or a whisk (you'll run out of flour before milk).  Keep mixing until the batter is completely smooth and relatively thin - about the consistency of buttermilk.
2.   Melt 1 teaspoon butter in a 9-inch omelet pan (Jimmy uses 2 at a time).   Pour a scant 1/4 cup batter into the center of the pan and tip it from side to side to let the batter cover the bottom, not the sides, in a thin layer.  Cook for 1 1/2 minutes, or until the edge begins to curl and pulls away from the side of the pan.   Flip the pancake with a metal spatula and cook for 30 seconds more.  Add another 1 teaspoon butter to the pan every other batch.  Pile the cooked crepes on an oven proof serving platter and keep warm in a 200 degree F. oven until all are cooked and ready to serve. 
3.   Serve with a selection of fillings from sour cream and caviar, applesauce and heavy cream, marmalade and whipped cream, butter and maple syrup - and our favorite way with creme fraiche, just-thawed-from-Laura's-summertime garden red and white raspberries and blueberries, and maple syrup.

Steve Bender harvests oysters from his Pocomo Meadow farm in Polpis Harbor. He reminds everyone who's fortunate enough to have one that they must chew it in order to have a real oyster experience!  It's true - while the oyster's liquor is ocean-salty-briny, its meat is sweet.

Marina opens a daily catch of the world-renown Nantucket bay scallops.  The mollusks provide excellent employment opportunities for Islanders as fishermen, cullers, and openers during the commercial season which begins on November 1 and ends on March 31st.

A few unharvested cranberries frozen for posterity- or until the spring thaw - in the world's largest, naturally contiguous, bog, Windswept Cranberry Bog.  Sure, there are larger bogs in the world - but they are man-made.

CRANBERRY CRUNCH

serves 6 - 9

2 cups cranberries, rinsed and picked over
1 cup granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chopped dates
1 tablespoon water
1 cup oats
1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup cold unsalted butter

1.  In a medium saucepan over medium heat, stir the cranberries, sugar, cloves, salt, dates, and water together.  When the mixture begins to boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 5 to 7 minutes, or until most of the cranberries have popped.   Remove from the heat and let cool.
2.   In a bowl, combine the oats, brown sugar, pecans, and flour.  Use a pastry cutter or 2 knives to cut the butter in to form a crumbly mixture.
3.  Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F.  Butter an 8-inch square baking pan.  Put half of the oatmeal mixture in the prepared pan and evenly cover the bottom using a rubber spatula.  Spread the cooled cranberry mixture over the oatmeal layer.  Top with the remaining oatmeal mixture.  Bake for 45 minutes, or until the juices are bubbling around the sides and the top is deep gold and crisp.  Cool on a wire rack.  Cut into 6 or 9 pieces.  You may want to quarter those pieces for one-bite morsels.

Semi-frozen Polpis Harbor.  Check out  the eyelash, treetop silhouette way in the background.  It's one of my favorite island sights 

Maxcy's Pond is located on the island's north side.  It's the site of an early 17th-century settlement.  Maxcy is a variation of Macy, one of the island's original families.  The scrubby green growths near the pond's shore brighten the grey wintertime scene.


Long-time islander, Christie Cure has followed in the footsteps of  Nantucket women who opened shops in town to keep busy while their husbands were out whaling.  She's opened the parlor of her home on Orange Street, calls it #8 ,and sells an eye-catching collection of her favorite things from note pads, soap, candles, masks, re-envisioned furniture, rugs woven with rags and chewing gum wrappers- all displayed on sleigh beds, antique cribs and library ladders.

SUSANSIMONSAYS:

Coatue is a barrier beach that separates Nantucket Sound from Nantucket Harbor.  Here's Coatue as seem from Brant Point Lighthouse.   Go to Nantucket in the wintertime - you're in for a treat!

Salt Cod and Christmas

It's quite possible that salt cod is more well known by the Italian word for it, bacala  (the Spanish and Portuguese words are similar to the Italian).  Although the most popular recipes for the salted, north Atlantic Ocean fish are from Mediterranean countries but you'll find it used in Scandinavian countries and in Ireland as well.  In fact, there's a custom of eating salt cod on Christmas Eve in most countries where Roman Catholicism  is the majority religion. Eating "lean" or non-meat dishes on Christmas Eve is a religious dictate.
 Because refrigeration  is a relatively new concept, (in the grand scheme of things) at one time fish were salted, or dried after they were caught as a way to preserve them.  Thick, white fleshed cod, preserves most successfully.

Then it's soaked to remove the salt , re-hydrated and made into delicious food.  I have Portuguese-American, and Italian-American friends who have special Christmas Eve family recipes that star salt cod. And, I'm sad to say that those family recipes are stealth.  I can only recreate the Aguiar family cod fish balls and the Finamore family cod with tomatoes and prunes by guessing the ingredients and method.
I do however, have my own special recipes, which I'm happy to share.  While you may not have enough time to make these dishes for Christmas - make them for a New Eve's party, or New Year's day brunch. 
I almost always purchase salt cod packaged in little wooden boxes.  In the USA, most of it comes from Canada and contains the prized, thick, center cuts of the fish.

SALT COD FISH FRITTERS

These little fritters are my riff on the Portuguese codfish balls.  Just a bit lighter and crispier.
Also, save the method of  re-hydrating the salt fish for use in other recipes - it's easier and more expeditious than most instructions.

makes 50 to 60 1 1/2-inch fritters

1/2 pound salt cod fish
2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon minced hot pepper such as Scotch bonnet, habanero, or jalapeno
1/4 cup chopped fresh, flat-leaf parsley or cilantro
2 cups water
corn oil for frying
1.   Place the salt cod in a bowl and add cold water to cover.  Soak for 24 hours, changing the water at least 3 times.  Then put the salt cod in a saucepan and add cold water to cover.  Bring water to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 15 minutes.  Remove from heat, drain, and let cool.  Flake the cooled cod, removing the remaining bones and any odd bits of skin.
2.   In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, salt, garlic, hot pepper, parsley or cilantro, and water.  Add the cod and stir with a fork to thoroughly combine.
3.   In a large, heavy-bottomed skillet over medium-high heat, heat 2 inches of oil to 350 degrees F.  Drop the batter by teaspoonfuls into the oil, cooking 6 fritters at a time until pale gold, about 2 minutes.  Remove the fritters from the oil with a wire-mesh strainer, shake away excess oil, and drain on paper towels.  Keep warm in a 200 degree F. oven until all are cooked and ready to serve.  Serve hot.  I like them with a spritz of fresh lemon juice.
The fritters may be made ahead and successfully reheated.

I'm crazy about both Bacala Mantecato  and Brandade de Moure;  the Italian and French versions of  pureed salt codfish.  Mantecato means whisked or churned, brandade means pommeled or pounded.  The Italian version is made with olive oil, while the French use cream to achieve the dishes' characteristic fluffy texture.  Both versions include potatoes in some recipes and others - no way!
I offer a recipe for the classic, Venetian Bacala Mantecato.  Serve it as an appetizer with toasted bread, black olives and sliced, boiled potatoes, or alla Veneziana, with white polenta.

Makes approximately 3 cups

1 pound salt codfish
4 cups whole milk
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup extra virgin olive oil
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1/4 cup chopped, fresh, flat-leaf parsely
to serve:  toasted Mediterrranean-style bread, black olives, sliced boiled potatoes, or with hot polenta

1.   Place the salt cod in a bowl and add water to cover.  Soak for 24 hours, changing the water at least 3 times. Cut the fish into large chunks and then put it  in a large saucepan and cover with the milk.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 15 minutes.  Remove the fish with a slotted spoon.  Remove any remaining bones and skin.  Reserve the milk.
2.   Add the fish and garlic to a bowl.  Use a hand-held mixer to blend the ingredients while drizzling in the extra virgin olive oil until a creamy paste is achieved.  Add salt and peper to taste.  Continue to mix while adding as much of the reserved milk as needed make the paste smooth and fluffy - some pieces of fish will remain.
3.   Mound on platter to serve.  Sprinkle with the chopped parsley. Surround with toast, sliced potatoes, and black olives.


Here's what else I like to make with salt codfish.   After it has soaked and boiled, marinate for about 30 minutes in freshly squeezed lemon juice, chopped garlic, hot pepper flakes, thyme, and extra virgin olive oil , then grill.   Or, cook the softened cod fillets with peeled tomatoes, orange juice, rosemary, raisins, and walnuts.

SUSANSIMONSAYS:  A little American history regarding salt codfish:  In the early 18th century, the British, worried that the American colonies would try to declare independence from the Empire, began to give them some trade freedom.  Besides England, the area with which trade was permitted was the British West Indies.  While the Virginia colony traded tobacco and Pennsylvania traded corn, the Massachusetts colony began a salt cod - molasses trade.

Squash, squash and more squash

Squash belong to the same family of plants as melons and cucumbers - curcurbitaceae.  The winter-squash group of the category is  very nearly a  perfect food.  Loaded with huge amounts of beta-carotene, vitamins A and C and plenty of fibre,  the low calorie flesh is protected by a hard, waxy rind.  If carefully stored - in a cool, dry environment - winter squash will last almost until the first zucchini - summer squash - matures.  No excuses for not having enough vegetables in the wintertime!
Elegant, pale butterscotch-colored, butternut squash - each one looking as if it were sculpted by Henry Moore - is the first of its group  to show up in the market.  Here, in the northeastern part of the USA, I see the first butternut squash around Labor Day. Acorn squash -both green and orange, and carnival, turban squash, delicata, kabocha, spaghetti squash, and pumpkins quickly follow, filling green market and supermarket bins.

I make roasted butternut squash to mix with grilled sausages and pasta like penne or rigatoni, to garnish a saffron risotto, or mix with other roasted vegetables.  I make mashed butternut squash and mix it with lime juice, hot pepper flakes, extra virgin olive oil, and salt and serve it at room temperature as a condiment with roast meats, baked chicken and grilled fish.  I steam cubes of butternut squash and make a Seychelloise-style chutney (see post) .  Most of all I like to make very, VERY, simple butternut squash soup - in abundance (it freezes perfectly) - then serve it at various times with a variety of "accessories".
 n.b. the squashes' fine-textured, already creamy flesh automatically purees into a smooth soup that seems to be enriched with cream.

BASIC  BUTTERNUT SQUASH SOUP

Serves 4

2   tablespoons olive oil

1 small onion, coarsely chopped

1   1 3/4 - 2 pound butternut squash peeled, seeded , cut into 1-inch chunks

1 quart chicken or vegetable broth

1.  Add the olive oil to  heavy bottomed saucepan over medium heat.  When the oil is warm add the onions and saute until transparent, about 3 minutes.  Lower the heat, add the squash and broth and simmer until the squash is fork tender, about 45 minutes.  Let cool and puree with an immersion blender, or in batches in an upright blender.

Serve hot with:   my latest favorite way is with shredded, sharp cheddar cheese, chopped apples, and Worcestshire sauce.

.   with a poached egg, grated Parmesan cheese, and fried sage leaves

.   with sauteed garlic, crumbled feta cheese, and roasted pistachios

.   with a swirl of plain, whole-milk yogurt, raisins and toasted pine nuts
.   with a blob of ricotta and crumbled amaretti cookies

You get the idea.

BAKED ACORN SQUASH

I go straight back to my childhood dinner table for an acorn squash recipe.  I fondly remember my mother's baked acorn squash.  It's a deservedly classic recipe.  Why mess with a good thing?  Well, I have, just a tiny bit.

Serves 2 - 4

2 acorn squash, cut in half, stem to stern, seeds removed

8 teaspoons unsalted butter

8 teaspoons dark brown sugar

4 teaspoons maple syrup
apple cider

flaky sea salt

freshly ground red pepper flakes

1.    Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.   Score each squash half  in a criss-cross pattern. Place them in a  baking dish.  Add 2 teaspoons butter, 2 teaspoons brown sugar and 1 teaspoon maple syrup into each squash cavity.  Pour about 1/2-inch apple cider (or water)into the dish to keep the skin from burning and the squash moist.  Bake for 1 to 1 and quarter hours - until the squash is nicely browned and a tester easily goes through the flesh to the skin.  The apple cider will have slightly reduced making it an additional sauce.
2.   Serve with a sprinkle of  salt, and a shower of freshly ground red pepper flakes or a whisper of ground cayenne pepper.

green and orange, and carnival acorn squash

TURBAN SQUASH
Also known by the name, Turk's turban because that's just what it looks like.   This squash is impossible to  peel - so, it needs to be baked before you can proceed with further preparations. 
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.  Cut off the top of the squash - it has a natural delineation where the smaller part meets the larger round section - scoop out the seeds and stringy pulp.  Oil -or cover with parchment paper - a baking dish.  Place the squash, cut-side down on the sheet, prick the outside of the squash (to avoid unwanted explosions in your oven) and bake for 1 hour or so - until a tester easily passes through.  Scoop out the flesh from the cavity and proceed with your recipe; soup, mash, gratin, gnocchi, etc.   
I think that turban squash is a perfect, and most interesting-looking receptacle.  It should be used as such.  Bake according to above directions.  Then add ingredients of your choice, such as chunks of toasted cornbread, onions, celery, and chopped apples sauteed in butter, to the mashed squash.  Stir until well-combined.  Add to the cavity of the turban squash.  Cover with the top.   Place extra filling into a separate dish.   Bake until heated through, 20 -30 minutes. Serve hot.
The filling could be flavored with curry powder, chopped roasted peanuts, and mango chutney, or crumbled feta cheese, chopped fresh mint leaves, and chick peas.

SUSANSIMONSAYS:  Winter squash is difficult to cut through.  I place a cleaver on the spot where I want to make the cut and pound it with a rubber mallet.   Butternut squash can be peeled - use a  vegetable peeler for best results - then  it easily cuts in half.   I find that a melon-baller is the best tool for removing seeds and stringy pulp from all kinds of squash.

Pears and apples

I don't know about you - but I look forward to the first apples and pears of the season with the same kind of excited anticipation usually reserved for the first June strawberries.  Pears and apples are extraordinarily diverse fruits that can be used in both sweet and savory recipes.

PEARS -  when slowly roasted with olive oil and flaky sea salt, sweet, fragrant pears, with their tiny pebble texture become the perfect accompaniment to soft cheese, rough pates, on sandwiches and as a Parmesan risotto topping. 
Use 4 - 6 pears, or more - as long as you've got the oven on make enough to last awhile. But then again - they're such good little snacks that they disappear at alarming speed.
Preheat an oven  to 325 degrees F. Don't peel the pears - do quarter and core them, slice each quarter vertically into as many  1/4-inch slices as  possible.  Place them on a cookie sheet with sides or jelly roll pan and rub them with a fruity olive olive.   Roast, turning occasionally until they're crispy on the outside and still a bit soft on the inside - about 1 - 1 1/2 hours. Some slices will be completely crispy and therefore delicious!
I usually use Bosc pars for roasting.  They're hard and stand up to slow roasting.  However, use Bartlett, Comice or d'Anjou if you wish - just make sure they're still quite hard - not completely ripe. 

APPLES -  The first thing I make with the new of crop of apples is Caramelized Applesauce.  I continue to make it all winter.  I usually use  tart apples such as greenings or  Granny Smiths - but this fall I'm quite taken with Northern Spys.
In a large heavy-bottomed sauce melt 4 tablespoons butter with 1/2 cup sugar.  Stir continuously until the mixture turns medium amber, then immediately add  4 pounds of peeled, cored and thinly sliced or cut into chunks apples.   The caramel will initially hardened; lower the heat and keep stirring, and it will dissolve into the apples.  Cook the apples for 15 minutes or so.  Much depends on how you like your applesauce, chunky or smooth.  Remove from heat and reserve.  I like this applesauce served in a puddle of heavy cream or, with plain yogurt and granola or, on brioche or challah French toast or, as a layer in bread pudding, and on and on.

PEARS and APPLES -  here's a recipe from my book. "Contorni: Authentic Italian Side Dishes for All Seasons" (Chronicle Books, 2003).  In Italian it's called  un contorno suo malgrado - a side dish in spite of itself.  I usually bring it out, in its baking dish, with a selection of cheese either with the main course or for dessert. 
4 apples, your choice
4 pears, your choice
4 sugar cubes, preferably pure cane sugar
2 cups full-bodied red wine
1.  Preheat an oven to 375 degrees F.  Dig out a little hole int he blossom end of 2 apples and 2 pears.  Put a sugar cube in each opening.  Place all the apple and pears in an attractive terra-cotta or ceramic baking dish.  Pour the wine over the fruit.
2.  Bake, spooning the wine over the fruits every 30 minutes, until the fruits appear soft, but not mushy, and are slightly charred, about 2 hours.   Serve warm - not hot - or at room temperature.

SUSANSIMONSAYS: My new favorite use of apples  is in a savory, sweet and spicy dish  called  "Hot Lightening" served  at the  New York City restaurant, Van Daag.  The starring ingredient in this dish are roasted-to-a-crisp fingerling potatoes garnished with bits of crunchy bacon, chopped apples, stroop syrup and a shower of cayenne pepper.