Classic Baked Acorn Squash

The weather has finally decided to cool down around here and the first acorn squash have appeared at our local farmers market. Acorn squash are wonderfully easy to prepare - just cut them in half, scoop out the seeds, add a little brown sugar and/or maple syrup, and bake for a little over an hour. From Google Definitions,

Choose squash that are heavy for their size and have a hard, deep-colored rind free of blemishes or moldy spots. The hard skin of a winter squash protects the flesh and allows it to be stored longer than summer squash. It does not require refrigeration and can be kept in a cool, dark place for a month or more, depending on the variety. Once the seeds are removed, winter squash can be baked, steamed or simmered. They're a good source of iron, riboflavin and vitamins A (more than summer squash) and C.

Classic Baked Acorn Squash Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 Acorn squash
• 1 Tbsp Butter
• 2 Tbsp Brown Sugar
• 2 teaspoons Maple Syrup
• Dash of Salt

Method

1 Preheat oven to 400°F.
2 Using a strong chef's knife, and perhaps a rubber mallet to help, cut the acorn squash in half, lengthwise, from stem to end. Use a spoon to scoop out the seeds and stringy stuff in the center of each half. Score the insides of each half several times with a sharp knife. Place each half in a baking pan, cut side up. Add about a 1/4 inch of water to the bottom of the baking pan so that the skins don't burn and the squash doesn't get dried out.
3 Coat the inside of each half with 1/2 a Tbsp of butter. Add a dash of salt if you are using unsalted butter. Add a Tbsp of brown sugar to the cavity of each half. Dribble on a teaspoon of maple syrup to each half.
4 Bake in the oven for 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes, until the squash is very soft and the tops are browned. Do not undercook. When finished, remove from oven and let cool a little before serving. Spoon any buttery sugar sauce that has not already been absorbed by the squash over the exposed areas.

Serves 2 to 4, depending on how much squash you like to eat.

Butternut Squash with Browned Butter and Thyme

If you have only one oven in your kitchen, any Thanksgiving side dishes you prepare generally need to be made on the stovetop, as the turkey is taking central stage in the oven. Here is a simple butternut squash side that you can easily do on the stove. The trick to this dish is browning the butter before adding the squash, so that the squash absorbs some of the complex and wonderful browned butter flavors, before it too is browned.

 

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 pounds butternut squash, peeled, seeds removed, flesh diced into 1/2-inch pieces (about 4 cups)
• 3 Tbsp butter
• 1 Tbsp chopped fresh thyme (or 1 teaspoon of dried)
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method

1. Heat a large skillet on medium heat. Add the butter, whisking frequently. Continue to cook the butter. Once melted it will foam up a bit, then subside. Honey-colored browned milk solids will begin to form. The butter should have a wonderful nutty aroma. Remove from heat. Add the thyme, whisking continuously. If using fresh thyme, the mixture will foam up a bit.
(Note that it doesn't take much time to go from browned butter to burnt butter. You will want to remove the pan from the heat element and place it on a cool surface to help stop the cooking of the butter. If the butter burns, I recommend dumping it and starting over, something I've had to do on occasion when not paying close attention.)

2. Add the cubed butternut squash pieces to the pan and return the pan to the burner, heating to medium high. Use a wooden or metal spoon to stir the squash pieces so they are all well coated with the butter thyme mixture. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. Spread the squash pieces out in an even layer and let cook, without stirring, so that they brown a bit on one side (several minutes). Stir and spread the pieces out again and let cook without stirring so more sides get browned.

3. Reduce the heat to low, cover the pan, and let cook until the squash is tender, 10 to 20 minutes, depending on how big you cut the pieces.
Add more salt and pepper to taste, sprinkle with a bit more chopped fresh thyme before serving.

Serves 4.

Baby Bok Choy with Cashews

Sometimes the simplest things are the most enjoyable. My mother whipped up this quick and easy baby bok choy dish the other night. It was so good I made her make it again the next day so I could watch with pad and pen in hand. This is hard on mom actually, as she never makes anything the same way twice, and she never measures (obviously not a baker). I make her weigh things. "How much bok choy is that mom?" She looks at me as if I've just asked her how many miles there are to the moon. I get the kitchen scale down from the cabinet. Why cashews? Because that's what we had on hand. Almonds would work too. If you want you could jazz it up a bit with a little freshly grated ginger and a shake of chili pepper flakes.

Baby Bok Choy with Cashews Recipe

Ingredients

• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 cup chopped green onions, including green ends
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 pound baby bok choy, rinsed, larger leaves separated from base, base trimmed but still present, holding the smaller leaves together
• 1/2 teaspoon dark sesame oil
• Salt
• 1/2 cup chopped, roasted, salted cashews

Method

1 Heat olive oil in a large sauté pan on medium high heat. Add onions, then garlic, then bok choy. Sprinkle with sesame oil and salt. Cover, and let the baby bok choy cook down for approximately 3 minutes. (Like spinach, when cooked, the bok choy will wilt a bit.)
2 Remove cover. Lower heat to low. Stir and let cook for a minute or two longer, until the bok choy is just cooked.
3 Gently mix in cashews.
Serves 4.

Asparagus with Hollandaise Sauce

The best thing about knowing how to make an easy blender hollandaise sauce is that once you get the hang of it, you can make the most simple of vegetables into something quite elegant. Case in point, these steamed asparagus. I like asparagus any which way, but drizzle a little (or more than a little) hollandaise over them? Oh my.

Asparagus with Hollandaise Sauce Recipe

• Prep time: 5 minutes
• Cook time: 15 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 bunch of asparagus (about 1 lb)
• 10 Tbsp unsalted butter (1 stick plus 2 Tbsp)
• 3 egg yolks
• 1 Tbsp lemon juice
• 1/2 teaspoon salt (skip if using salted butter)
• Pinch of cayenne

Method

1 Prep the asparagus. Break off the tough ends with your fingers. Bend the asparagus spears near the end and they will break naturally where the spear is no longer tough. For an elegant presentation of the spears, use a vegetable peeler to peel off a very thin layer of the outer skin of the lower two to three inches of the asparagus spears. Prepare a large, shallow pan (with a cover) with a half inch of water and a steamer rack.
2 Prepare the Hollandaise sauce. Melt the butter in a small pot. Put the egg yolks, lemon juice, salt and cayenne into a blender. Blend the eggs for 20-30 seconds at medium to medium high speed until lighter in color. Turn blender down to lowest setting and slowly drizzle in the hot melted butter while the blender is going. Continue to blend for a few seconds after all of the butter is incorporated. Taste the sauce and add more salt or lemon juice if needed. Keep warm while you are steaming the asparagus.

3 Bring the water in your steaming pan to a boil. Place the asparagus on the steaming rack. Cover. Steam for 3 to 5 minutes, until tender, but still a little crisp, definitely not mushy. The timing depends on how thick the asparagus spears are.
Plate the asparagus. Pour Hollandaise sauce over them.
Yield: Serves 4.