A Recipe for Spaghetti Squash with Creamy White Cheddar Sauce

A Recipe for Spaghetti Squash with Creamy White Cheddar Sauce

Aunt Millie just came down with the flu and you are in charge of preparing a get together for 20 assorted family and friends at the last minute. Darwin and Emma are vegetarian. What do you do? Now I don't have a Darwin or an Emma or an Aunt Millie for that matter (names have been changed to protect the innocent) but I do have vegetarians. Too often when vegetarians come to dinner they end up eating side dishes. I grew up with a vegetarian dad so a little has rubbed off on me, and more so as years have gone by. When my friends come to my home I like them to feel that I made the special effort to accomodate them in every way.

 You've heard spaghetti squash is a great substitute for pasta, and you have one sitting on your counter. Now what do you do with it? Just about any way you can think of to apply heat can be used to cook a spaghetti squash. Although you can boil or steam spaghetti squash or even prepare it in a slow cooker, I recommend roasting it in the oven, especially when it will be used in a more complex recipe. Cooking in dry heat concentrates its flavours and evaporates some of the squash’s moisture. This is the perfect method for making this dish. When the squash is boiled or steamed, it can become a bit too watery to work well in today’s recipe but would be a great pasta substitute or nice with some butter and herbs!!!

To cook the squash in the oven, use a heavy knife or cleaver to cut it in half lengthwise. Set on a baking sheet and set on the middle rack in a 350F oven. Cook for about 35 to 40 minutes or until the flesh is tender when poked with a fork. Alternately, you can pierce the shell with a heavy fork in several places and bake it whole for about 1 to 1¼ hours as I do. It is important to pierce the shell or you may have some mishaps in your oven. To remove the flesh, hold the sliced squash in your hand with a doubled tea towel and use a spoon to remove the seeds and then use a fork to pull the flesh from the skin. In the large bowl use two forks to separate it into strands.

 I discovered spaghetti squash, or I should say my mom discovered it when I was "knee high to a grasshopper". Mom usually served it with just a dab of butter and sometimes herbs. Me I love to play, so quite often add tomatoes or salsa as well as CHEESE!!!This recipe would be great for my vegetarian friends but not so much for those who are lactose intolerant or vegan. Look at all that cheese!!!!

Spaghetti squash, also know as "calabash squash" or "vegetable spaghetti", is really quite unique because when cooked the flesh looks like thin translucent strands of thin spaghetti. It has a mild, delicate flavour somewhat like that of yellow summer squash and a watery texture.The flavour of spaghetti squash is similar to other winter squashes but its texture reflects its name. I thought perhaps we could rename it  "angel hair pasta squash" or "spaghettini squash" which would more acurately describe the strands, which are not as fat as cooked spaghetti noodles. This texture is the squash’s greatest asset, and the best recipes, I think, play to it.

Averaging from 4 to 8 pounds, the cylinder shaped spaghetti squash is generally available year-round with a peak season from early fall through winter. A dieter's dream since a four-ounce serving of spaghetti squash has only 37 calories. This is altered of course with this creamy sauce and cheese, but it is equally delicious served plainly.

For this recipe I baked the squash one day and then the second day I cut it in half, removed the seeds and  baked the filling stuffed shell for about 20 minutes to warm through. In the recipe it is served the same day, but this is an option for busy cooks.

**Spaghetti Squash, With Creamy White Cheddar Sauce**

2 small spaghetti squash (see instructions above to cook or bake squash)
3 tablespoons/45 mL butter
1 onion, chopped
1 small eggplant, diced
1 garlic clove, chopped
3 tablespoons/45 mL flour
1 cup/250 mL vegetable pr chicken stock
2 cups/500 mL milk
2 cups/500 mL white Cheddar, grated
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

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Preheat the oven on broil.

Now that your squash is cooked according to any of these methods, cut the squash in two and remove the seeds. Set aside.

In a large frying pan, melt the butter and brown the onion and eggplant until they are golden. Add the garlic and continue cooking for two minutes. Sprinkle with flour and cook for two minutes while stirring. Add the stock, milk and half of the Cheddar Le Valida. Add salt and pepper. Continue cooking for a few more minutes until the mixture thickens. Shred the insides of the spaghetti squash and add them to the mixture. Fill the hollowed-out squash halves with the mixture. Cover with the remaining cheese and broil in the oven.

Serves 2 - 4 depending

A Recipe for Acadian Weasel Fricot with a Salted Herbs Recipe...No Weasels Were Harmed in the Making of This Dish

Here it is almost Christmas and my mind is wandering back to the warm sundrenched days of summer. This is a common occurance this time of the year but I don't usually begin daydreaming until at least January. Perhaps with the first snowfall of the season yesterday I am feeling a little chilled and in need of some comforting foods. Last Christmas in 2008, Canada experienced the first nation-wide white Christmas in thirty-seven years, when we experienced a series of pre-Christmas storms that hit all across the country, (including the normally rainy British Columbia Pacific coast). Every child dreams of a white Christmas don't they so we may have one this year... you never know!!!! Perhaps another reason for my daydreaming is that all of my Christmas shopping is completed, everything is wrapped and I am just waiting for a tree to go up this weekend. I am looking  for other avenues to use up some boundless energy. With time on my hands I am looking into preparing some traditional Canadian dishes for the holiday season.

 

A Recipe for Salted Herbs (Herbes Salees)

So what has me dreaming of the lazy days of summer with its warm sweet smells... salted herbs or herbes salees. Late in the summer I was feeling like I needed to make some changes and get back to the simpler things in life. It is a known fact that I am easy to please so it doesn't take much to simplify my life. I hope that my blog has focused more on local ingredients and a simpler way of life without reducing any of the incredible flavours necessary to make a meal enjoyable. I was watching an episode on the Food Network where Ricardo Larrivee used some salted herbs or "herbes salees" in a chicken dish and an idea was born. (A commercial brand, Les Herbes Salees du bas du fleuve, is marketed by J.Y. Roy of St. Flavie, Quebec). I had heard about salted herbs somewhere in the past, in my days of living in eastern Canada, so I decided to attempt to duplicate them in my own kitchen to prolong the taste of summer in my every day cooking.

Year round we can find an endless supply of fresh herbs in packages at our local markets. As we all know the simplest short-term method to preserve herbs is to place the stems in water like cut flowers and place them in the refrigerator. By this method, they keep for only a few days. We can dry or freeze them, but this causes both loss in flavour and colour for most herbs. To preserve their fresh taste, there had to be another way to trap their flavours and highlight their fragrant properties. A quick search on the Internet and my idea of preserving the taste of summer by salting and creating my own Herbes Salees in a time honoured method became a reality. I preserved these in early August and kept them in the refrigerator in a large crock. Look at that vibrant green colour of the herbs that is still present after almost 3-1/2 months!!!!!

Salting has long been a useful practice in preserving food to use during the winter months. The pioneers and early settlers in Canada, as well as indigenous people, employed this method for meats, fish, etc.  Salting herbs is a very ancient method of preservation, dating from the days before refrigeration. It is a method we have simply just forgotten about with all the modern conveniences. It is quick, easy and low tech so I decided to try making a jar or two and enjoy a little history since I found myself the recipient of a large amount of fresh herbs! Salted Herbs are now a kitchen must, especially during these long winter months where fresh herbs are a welcome addition to my home cooking.They add flavour, texture and colour to any meal. They are often found in French Canadian cuisine as well as Acadian Cuisine but are somewhat out of favour in these health conscious times. The argument here would be that in dishes such as soup and stews you would add salt during the cooking process anyway, and depending on their use you can always rinse the herbs so they would be free of salt. Once you discover this kitchen staple, you will never want to be without it!

 To make your own salted herb recipes they usually contain leafy herbs, such as parsley, chives and celery leaves. Some contain finely grated carrot or onion, so feel free to experiment and let your imagination be your guide!!! Making salted herbs is simplicity itself. To use salted herbs, toss a spoonful in a soup (especially pea soup) or a casserole or use it to flavour your favourite meat dish for a lively flavour. One or more types of herbs can be salted in the same preparation. For example, a mixture of chives, parsley and savory can be added to potatoes. Salted basil, placed in a herbal tea ball and dropped in with cooking pasta, gives surprising results. Salted herbs can replace regular salt, particularly in salad dressings, soups and pasta. The possibilites are endless!!!! Have a look below for the recipe.

So now I have Herbes Salees to give away at Christmas and to use in my own culinary adventures here at More Than Burnt Toast. So now what? I have also been looking into exploring some traditional Canadian dishes lately that have deep roots in Canadian history. My last foray into historical cooking was with a traditional French Quebecois Canadian dish "Pate Chinois".  We can't speak of Canadian cuisine without some talk of the Acadians and it’s impossible to talk about traditional Maritime food without a major discussion of Acadian food!!! There are dozens of communities throughout the Maritime provinces in Canada and the United States that embrace their French ancestry with great pride. Acadian cookery is all about the home kitchen, growing your own and getting through the winter.

 Acadians are the descendants of a group of French-speaking settlers who migrated from coastal France in the late sixteenth century to establish a French colony called Acadia in the maritime provinces of Canada ( which are now the provinces of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island) and part of what is now the state of Maine in the States. Forced out by the British in the 1700's, a few settlers remained in Maine, and in the Maritime provinces of Canada but most resettled in southern Louisiana and are popularly known as Cajuns.

There's something about being born in the Maritimes that carries with it an inherent sense of place. Once a Maritimer, always a Maritimer. That's why at Christmas Maritimers return home, if only in their imagination, by eating traditional foods, listening to the unique music of the coast, and giving each other gifts that carry memories of their roots in Atlantic Canada. Early settlers lived off the land with whatever was available or what they had stored for winter. For the Acadian people pioneer feasts included a variety of indigenous fish and meats such as venison, moose, caribou, salmon, lobster, wildcat, raccoon and beaver (a delicate meat which reportedly tastes like mutton). Acadians also prepared tourtieres, fricot (chicken stew) and rapier, which is a sort of meat pie layered with vegetables and meat. Meals were also served with lots of bread and pork and beans. Don't forget the desserts which included sugar pie, bread pudding and sweet dumplings. These were simple but satisfying dishes that are still made in Acadian ancestral homes today.

 

A Recipe for Fricot a la Bellette

According to the Internet..." If there was one dish that I could call typically Acadian, it would be Fricot, a soup containing potatoes and meat. I remember a memorable Poulet Fricot at the hands of a neighbour growing up. The dish has been a long time favorite in Acadian households, so much that the word fricot was once synonomous with a good meal and a common call for dinner was often, "Vous etes invites au fricot!" This recipe below for a potato fricot was prepared when neither meat nor fish were available, and given the tongue-in-cheek name, "Weasel Fricot" (Fricot a la Belette). If you ask Acadians about the origin of the name, they will smile and say, "Parce que b'lette a passe tout drouete (Because the weasel went right on by.) On Prince Edward it is called Fricot a la bezette (Ninicompoop Fricot) where bezette roughly translates as "nincompoop". It is known as butte fricot, salted herb fricot and potato fricot."

Whatever we want to call it it is a welcoming soup for these cold weather days and is often served with a large slice of buttered bread and molasses or in this case Handerchief Dumplings. It is a simple dish that takes us back to a simpler time when we as Canadians lived off the land . The pioneers, indigenous people and Acadians were our first "locavores" and lived on the 100-Mile Diet each and every day.

Christmas dinner menus may have changed over the years to accommodate customs, ethnic backgrounds, traditions, and the availability of exotic and easily accessible ingredients ...and of course convenience, but, the Christmas season continues to be a time to prepare specialty and regional dishes for memorable feasts no matter where you are. Our own Christmas traditions are strongly influenced by other cultures with the Christmas tree from Germany and steamed Christmas pudding from the British. I am sure you will enjoy the holiday season no matter how you choose to celebrate.

**Fricot A La "Belette" ("Weasel" Fricot/Soup)**

1 onion, chopped
3 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon Salted Herbs(recipe below)
4 cups water
3 cups potatoes; diced
salt and pepper, if necessary to taste
1 tablespoon flour

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Saute the onion and salted herbs in butter for 1-2 minutes or until the onion is golden brown. Add the water, potatoes, salt and pepper, and simmer for 20 minutes. To thicken the broth, add dumpling or flour mixed with water.

Serve with.....

Handkerchief Dumplings (Pates en Mouchior de Poche)

1 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup cold water

Mix flour with salt. Gradually add cold water to the dough as one would when making biscuits. Roll the dough fairly thinly, cut into 1- 1/2 inch squares and place the squares in the fricot. Cover and simmer 7 minutes.

__________________________________________________________________________

**Salted Herbs (Herbes Salees)**
Must be made weeks in advance (Printable Recipe...)

 Recipe Source: A Taste of Quebec by Julian Armstrong (Hippocrene Books)

1 cup chopped fresh chives
1 cup chopped fresh savoury
1 cup chopped fresh parsley
1 cup chopped fresh chervil
1 cup grated carrots
1 cup chopped celery leaves
1 cup chopped green onions
1/4 to 1/2 cup coarse salt
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In a large bowl, combine chives, savoury, parsley, chervil, carrots, celery leaves, and green onions. Layer 1 inch of herb mixture in the bottom of a crock or glass bowl and sprinkle with some of the salt. Repeat layers until all of the herb mixture and salt is used. Cover and refrigerate for 2 weeks. Drain off accumulated liquid and pack herb mixture into sterilized jars. This recipe makes about 5 or 6 cups and I keep them refrigerated until I need them. This makes a really neat gift at Christmas time and I usually attach a few recipe cards with it and it creates quite a hit.Refrigerate until ready to use.

 "Tread the Earth Lightly"

A Recipe for Mini Pecan Cranberry FiloTarts

Sometimes you find something that just works. We each have our own traditions and family favourites that are offered to family and friends alike during this festive season. I usually make very few Christmas treats, so thank goodness for generous friends who will shower me with baked goods. During the holidays Chocolate Fondue always comes into play for dessert and I offer only a few cookies from my own repertoire each year. Needless to say somehow we are never shy of an overabundant amount of special treats for the holiday season. They have a way of multiplying of their own free will!!!

Mini Pecan Cranberry Filo Tarts

 Here it is already the 7th of December and I have made only one successful cookie for the holiday season...sigh. If the truth be known I think cookies were invented to ruin my baking confidence. It is a conspiracy I tell you!!!!Each year I start out confidently with  rice flour, berry sugar, quality chocolates and a myriad of other baking treats ready and waiting in my cupboards. Every year I browse through recipes (with visions of sugar plums dancing in my head) and make hard decisions on what will grace my holiday platters... besides the tried and true family favourites. Everything looks so tempting and the magazines make you feel anything is possible with their glossy photos!!!! Alas there have been several attempts and failures so far this year. I have come to the conclusion that cookie baking is the "devils work" so I will stick with what I know, the rest I'll purchase; or alternatively serve Okanagan cheeses and grapes!! Now ask me to make a luscious cheesecake or a layered torte and I will be there, and the results will be amazing!!!!!Somehow cookies are my nemesis. Oh well, we all have our strengths don't we.  Maybe my non-cookie baking skills are a gift because if I had mountains of holiday treats ready and waiting I would have to eat them, and we know all that butter and chocolate will go straight to my hips. So I stick with the notion that I am gifted:D

One cookie, (I will call them that), that turned out beautifully this year were these easy, peasy pecan and dried cranberry laiden filo tarts. The little filo tarts are premade so how can you go wrong. My kind of cookie!!!!!!They remind me of my Canadian favourite Butter Tarts but with a crispy, crunchy outer shell.

This recipe was such a success I wanted to send it right away to Susan at Food Blogga's event Eat Christmas Cookies 2009. You can even see the roundup here and find many delightful recipes for the holiday season. So here they are. I even sprinkled them with gold coloured sugar just for you!!!If I can make them, you can too.  Perfect eye-candy for your holiday guests who will think you have slaved for hours on these incredibly tasty treats!!! Happy baking!!!!

**Mini Pecan Cranberry Filo Tarts**

Printable Recipe...

1 cup sugar
1/4 cup butter, melted
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 tablespoon white vinegar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 cup dried cranberries
1 cup chopped pecans, toasted
3 (2.1-ounce) packages frozen mini phyllo tart shells
Garnishes: whipped cream, ground nutmeg

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Stir together first 6 ingredients in a large bowl. Stir in cranberries and toasted pecans.

Spoon filling evenly into frozen tart shells. Place shells on a large baking sheet.

Bake tarts at 325° for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden. Cool. Garnish, if desired.

See how easy they are!!!!

You may also enjoy.....

Maple Butter Tarts
Buttertart Squares - Janet is Hungry
My Mom's Classic Buttertarts - Lisa's Kitchen
Orange Caramel Pecan Tarts - Culinary Concoctions by Peabody
Spiced Pecan Tart - The Canadian Baker
Mini Chocolate Pecan Pies - Andreas Recipes

Simplify Your Life with a Recipe for Baked Chicken Milanese with Spinach Salad

A Recipe for Baked Chicken Milanese with Spinach Salad

Enjoy the little things, for one day you may look back and realize they were the big things.- Robert Brault

Like most middle-aged Canadians, I was raised in an era when “convenience foods”  surpassed “homemade.” (Never mind that our Italian neighbours were making their own salami's and wine and growing everything they needed in their gardens... and feeding the entire neighbourhood as well I might add). Our own lives growing up were just not like that.

There didn’t seem to be anything wrong with convenience as a way of cooking. Doesn't macaroni and cheese come out of a box? A box of instant fettucini alfredo was a quick and convenient way to add a quick dinner to the table. Tasty enough, creamy, and salty. It would curb your craving for something more substantial and cure your pangs of hunger. Throw together a quick salad, add a bottled salad dressing and you’ve got yourself a nice meal...at least in the day.

As time marches on your body tells you that you need to simplify your lifestyle and move away from the convenience foods. It will rebel in your middle years and all those prepared and packaged dinners from a can, box or freezer will accumulate on your hips..not to mention all the preservatives and additional salt!!!!!But I will get off my soap box now as in my adult life I have never cooked with convenience foods. (But...shhhh.... I do make cakes from a boxed mix...our little secret). It is so easy to prepare healthy, quick and delicious meals there is no need to make convenience foods your meals of choice.

 The other influencing factor in our lives has come from society as a whole. Slowly, we are becoming a nation of foodies. Our grocers and markets are making it easier for us to shop with our health in mind as we as consumers demand high quality and less packaging. Finding the freshest ingredients has became the trendy thing to do. Words like “artisanal” and “locally sourced” have creeped into our day-to-day conversation. We have all heard of the 100-Mile Diet, Slow-Food, and being a "locavore". Eating simply does not mean giving up taste, it just means preparing uncomplicated and purer flavours.

 With the holiday season upon us it is understandably harder to simplify our eating habits, with rich sauces, gravies, chocolate and butter calling us at every turn. But then again why do we need to.We poke, we prod and we are determined to prepare meals fit for kings and queens. The old saying "everything in moderation" has never rung so true as it does during the holidays. The holiday season is a time of excess, at least in food, so why not go for it and and serve the best we can.  What we CAN do is to simplify our day to day meals... besides who has time to make elaborate gourmet meals each and every day during the holidays...unless you are a caterer and do it for a living.

This is where this simple and tasty oven baked chicken dish comes in. Chicken Milanese (literally, chicken in the style of Milan) is a chicken breast that has been butterflied and lightly flattened out, dipped in beaten egg, then into breadcrumbs and fried in butter. In the spirit of "lightening up" our dishes and making them healthier in this rendition you toast the breadcrumbs in the oven for extra flavour and then bake the chicken instead of frying. This superb dish is super-easy to make and packed with flavor. The breading is so light and so melt in your mouth good and makes the meat moist and tender. It's one of my favorite quick meals for a weeknight. Yes you use several dishes when constructing this meal but throw them in the dishwasher and turn it on! Add a light, fresh dressing of lemon juice and olive oil to your greens, top with shaved Parmesan and voila... another one bites the dust!!!!

** Baked Chicken Milanese with Spinach Salad**
Printable Recipe

1 1/4 cups plain dried breadcrumbs
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons of olive oil
1/3 cup flour
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
course salt and ground pepper
4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (about 6 ounces each)
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, plus lemon wedges, for serving
5 ounces baby arugula or spinach
1 small red onion, thinly sliced
shaved Parmesan cheese curls for garnish
****************************
Preheat oven to 425F.

 On a rimmed baking sheet, toss breadcrumbs and 1/4 cup oil until well combined; spread on sheet. Bake, tossing once, until golden brown, 6 to 8 minutes. Depending on the temperature of your oven there comes a point where you need to watch them carefully. Transfer to a medium bowl. Place flour and eggs in separate bowls; season with salt and pepper. Place a rack on another rimmed baking sheet.

 One at a time, place chicken breasts between two large pieces of plastic wrap. Using a meat mallet or bottom of a small heavy pan, pound until 1/2 inch thick. Coat chicken on both sides with flour (shaking off excess), then dip in eggs (allowing excess to drip off); dredge in breadcrumbs, pressing firmly to adhere.
 Bake chicken on rack, without turning, until opaque throughout, 10 to 15 minutes.

In a bowl, whisk together remaining 2 tablespoons oil and lemon juice; season with salt and pepper. Add spinach or arugula and onion; toss. Top chicken with salad; serve with lemon wedges on the side.Top salad with shaved Parmesan and serve! The photo above is naked of Parmesan. What can I say I was in a hurry and forgot to add it for the photo opportunity...but it really adds that extra bit of flavour needed for this dish and adds an element of beauty as well.

A Recipe for Orange Walnut Tassies for our Virtual Cooking Light Supper Club and a Guest Post for National Cookie Day

 

A Recipe for Orange Walnut Tassies

This post is full of delicious surprises, but before I get to that we are so glad that you have decided to join us once again for our Cooking Light Virtual Supper Club. This is a monthly event where 5 ladies nationwide get together to create a delicious meal with a theme in mind. We all share a love for Cooking Light magazine which has an emphasis on healthy eating and living. Each issue covers light cuisine and includes more than 70 delicious and flavourful recipes. It also explores food and nutrition news as well as fitness, health and beauty. For the month of December we decided to change it up a little bit and have a virtual cookie exchange in deference to the holiday season. It was not only fun to browse the pages of the magazine in search of the perfect cookies for our exchange but we also found cookies that are flavourful and seasonal and every bit worth trying from the pages of Cooking Light magazine!!!!!

 Did you know that today is National Cookie Day!!! While you likely won’t find any cards at your local Hallmark store, this obscure cookie holiday occurs every year on December 4th. I'm not sure how many people celebrate National Cookie Day, but here on these pages for this months get together we intend to do our part to promote it as well as healthier alternatives for baking. I believe that the more days we can find to celebrate the better!!!

We have loved sharing these ideas with you in 2009.This has been a team effort where we get together virtually once a month and combine what Cooking Light readers like best...good food with great company!!!  We look forward to continuing sharing our ideas with you in 2010!!!Why don't you join us with your favourite cookie recipes on the Cooking Light blog, Test Kitchen Secrets. It takes a few days for them to gather our recipes together and feature the story, but check out past posts.

We live on opposite ends of 2 countries from the west coast of Canada to the east coast of the United States so are unable to have our cookie exchange in each others homes, but that doesn't stop us from gathering together virtually to share a glass of eggnog and some holiday cheer. We start off with some healthy and delicious Maple Date Bars brought by Hélène of La Cuisine de Hélène.  For our exchange I brought Orange Walnut Tassies pictured above which are tasty little orange-flavoured morsels. Shelby of The Life and Loves of Grumpy's Honeybunch delighted us with some  Chocolate Hazelnut Thumbprints. Jamie of Mom's Cooking Club added  Raspberry Strippers for a very colourful additon to our cookie platters. Aggie of Aggies Kitchen made Peppermint Patties which she baked with her kids for the holidays. We had such a fun time!!!!!!

Did you know that the English word "cookie" is derived from the Dutch word "koekje," which means little cake. Bakers used to place a small amount of cake batter in the oven to test the temperature. They soon discovered that these little bits of cooked batter were quite tasty on their own, and the cookie was born! The humble cookie has evolved a lot since then, and now there are hundreds of varieties baked across the world every day, from the classic chocolate chip to more exotic offerings with caramel, macadamia nuts, dried fruits and more. Cookies may be small, but they are a big business, just ask the Girl Guides. Cookies are a multi-billion dollar industry whether you buy them packaged from the store, at a fast food restaurant or a bakery. Remember this humble little cake today by munching on one...or two or three.... or by baking or sending a gift of cookies to your loved ones. If you're still feeling a little guilty about that circular bite of goodness join us while we explore the many delightful treats found on the pages of Cooking Light magazine.

Next month we will be exploring Soups & Stews.....

*****************************************************************************
Since today is National Cookie Day I have a double treat for you as we continue to share sweet treats. I am ecstatic to leave you with a special guest post  from a close, personal friend of mine. We have known each other for years and have supported each other through laughter and tears. She started her own blog a while back...I think she has been bitten by the blogging bug...over at Shmirly Girly so please take the time to visit. In the meantime do try her cookies...they are the best ginger cookies out there in my opinion!!!!!!

Take it away Shmirly.......

The following is my “SAVOURITE” (no mistake there) cookie recipe, especially for this time of year when cookie exchanges are one of the many pre Christmas activities…and this is a perfect recipe for a cookie exchange as it makes lots of cookies, especially if you make them just a wee bit smaller. (Just reduce the baking time and don’t squish them down as much!) The only downside is, you won’t want to give away these little gems because every morsel melts in your mouth making you want another…and another…and, well, you try them yourself!!!!

A Recipe for Nan's Mouthwatering Ginger Cookies

You can see our granddaughter loves them as much as we do…

NAN’S MOUTH WATERING GINGER COOKIES
(I originally received the recipe from my sister-in-law, Nancy)


3/4 cup margarine
4½ cup flour (I generally put in at least 1 cup of 12 grain flour so 3/4 cup Crisco I think I’m eating “healthy”)
2 cups brown sugar 4 tsp baking soda
2 eggs
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup cooking molasses 1 tsp ground cloves
2 teaspoons ground ginger
2 teaspoons cinammon

Blend the margarine, Crisco, brown sugar, eggs and molasses together in a mixer until smooth, then gradually add the dry ingredients. I like to add about 3/4 cup raisins to the mixture...but you can add whatever you like...or nothing at all! It's your call....


I usually put the dough into the fridge for an hour or so before I make the cookies so the dough is easier to work with, or you can make the dough the night before.


Preheat oven to 350º F Put ½ cup granulated sugar in bowl or a paper bag. Make balls from the dough, a little smaller than the size of a golf ball for a medium sized cookie. Roll the balls or put into the paper bag to coat with granulated sugar. Place balls on cookie sheets at least 1 inch apart and with a fork slightly flatten balls of dough. (I like to use parchment paper to line my cookie pans as the cookies won't burn and it saves clean up time too!)

Bake for approximately 13 minutes (you may have to experiment with your oven as mine is a bit finicky) for a softer cookie. If you want a crisper cookie, bake longer. Remember, if you make the cookies smaller, reduce the baking time. ENJOY! In my house, they don't last too long, even in the freezer - (because my husband eats them!!!)

*Val says these are delicious too. I remember when it was a special treat when Shmirly brought them into the office. Those were the days!!!! And no I have not been holding back I do not have a granddaughter...yet...hint...hint...

Cooking Red to Remember with a Recipe for Crispy Salmon with Risotto and Slow Roasted Tomatoes

 

Crispy Salmon with Risotto and Slow Roasted Tomatoes

When I was in San Francisco recently for the Foodbuzz Blogger Festival, one of the people I was fortunate to meet was Angela from Spinach Tiger.  I had heard in the blogosphere that she would be hosting an event in support and remembrance of World Aids Day which is today December 1st. What better way to gather "foodies" together than to get involved in cooking something red for her event Cooking Red to Remember. AIDS is a devastating disease that has affected people all over the world.

AIDS is not a disease that I have personally been touched by but that is certainly not the case for the estimated 25 million people who have died from 1981 to 2007 according to Wikipedia. In all parts of the world, people living with HIV still face AIDS-related stigma and discrimination, and many people still cannot access sufficient HIV treatment and care. Prevention efforts that have proved to be effective need to be scaled-up and treatment targets reached. Commitments from national governments right down to the community level need to be intensified and subsequently met, so that one day the world might see an end to the global AIDS epidemic.

You can also read a very poignant and touching story by Angela who's world has been affected by AIDS.  Please support the memory of  loved ones by reading her story and the significance of the 3 red tomatoes in this dish as described by Josee at Daydreamer Desserts. Please support the many more who are struggling with this disease on a daily basis today and every day.

In memory of those who saw no hope and for those who live with hope every day I am sending this red dish to Angela's event. This dish makes perfect use of those hard little bullets we call tomatoes available during the winter months. Slow roasting caramelizes the sugars in the tomatoes and makes us believe in the promise of anything!!!!

**Crispy Salmon with Risotto and Slow Roasted Tomatoes**
Printer Friendly Recipe

ROASTED TOMATOES

9 plum tomatoes, halved
1 tablespoon olive oil
½ teaspoon sea salt
½ teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
4 garlic cloves, minced

RISOTTO

4-1/2 cups fat free, less-sodium chicken broth
1 tablespoon olive oil
2-1/4 cups (1/2 inch thick) sliced leek
1-1/2 cups uncooked Arborio rice
1/3 cup dry white wine
6 cups torn arugula or spinach
½ cup half-and-half
¼ cup grated fresh Parmesan cheese
¼ teaspoon sea salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

SALMON

2 teaspoons olive oil
6 (5-ounce) red sockeye salmon fillets, skinned
½ teaspoon. sea salt
½ teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

********************************************************
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

To prepare tomatoes, coat a foil-lined baking sheet with cooking spray. Place tomatoes, cut sides up, on baking sheet. Drizzle with 1 T. oil, sprinkle with ½ tsp. salt, ½ tsp. thyme, ½ tsp. pepper, and garlic. Bake at 350 degrees F for 1-1/2 hours or until very soft and slightly shriveled, turning occasionally.

 To prepare risotto, bring broth to a simmer in medium saucepan (do not boil). Keep warm over low heat. Heat 1 T. oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add leek, saute 3 minutes or until tender. Add rice; cook 1-1/2 minutes, stir constantly. Stir in wine; cook 30 seconds or until liquid is nearly absorbed. Stir in 1 cup broth; cook 3 minutes or until liquid is nearly absorbed, stirring frequently.

Add remaining broth, ½ cup at a time, stirring frequently until each portion of broth is absorbed before adding the next (about 25 minutes). Stir in arugula, half–and-half, cheese, ¼ tsp. salt, and ¼ tsp. pepper.

To prepare salmon, heat 2 tsp. oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle salmon with ½ tsp. salt, ½ tsp. thyme, and ¼ tsp., pepper. Place fillets, skin side up, in pan, cook 5 minutes. Turn fillets over, and cook an additional 2 minutes or until fish flakes easily when tested with a fork.

Arrange 3 tomato halves, cut sides up, in a spoke-like pattern in centre of each of 6 plates. Mound 2/3 cup risotto in centre of each plate (leaving about 1-1/2 inch edge of tomatoes uncovered). Arrange fillets on risotto. Garnish with sprig of thyme, if desired.

Serves 6

If you like this dish you may also enjoy:

Maple Glazed Salmon

Baked Salmon Tarator

Salmon with Potato Roesti and Dill Aioli

Roast Salmon in Soothing Lemon Sauce

Seafood Salmon Roulade

Citrus Herb Salmon

Salmon Roll with Butter Sauce & Potato Galette

Seasoned Salmon with Lemon Caper Sauce

Next in our Canadian Chef Series.....A Recipe for Prince Edward Island Smoked Salmon with Pasta and Simple Dill Cream Cheese Sauce from Chef Michael Smith

Prince Edward Island Smoked Salmon Pasta

If you have been following More Than Burnt Toast you will know I started a bi-weekly feature to highlight Canadian Chefs a few months back. Other commitments slowed my progress down, but now we are back in full force to bring you all that Canada has to offer!!! Through your TV networks, or perhaps on other blogs, or even just right here on More Than Burnt Toast you may have heard of some of our Canadian chefs. For those of you who haven't, I hope you will find it interesting to see what our chefs are up to, a little about their history and how they came to love what they do. For the next few months I will continue to feature one of our Canadian chefs bi-weekly. There will be some chefs you have heard of and adore and some lesser known who are up and coming. Some are not even chefs at all, but just Canadians who are passionate about what they do!!As the twelfth installment in my Canadian Chef series I introduce you to:

Michael Smith

Born in Canada Chef Michael Smith grew up in the province of Prince Edward Island. He is presently the host of Chef at Home as well as his latest series Chef Abroad. If you browse these pages you will notice I have mentioned this Canadian culinary star many times but this will be the first time he has been featured on my Canadian Chef Series. Michael has been cooking professionally for over twenty years with a diverse and impressive culinary background behind him. He is an honours graduate of the prestigious Culinary Institute of America in New York, and his career has taken him around the globe where he paid his dues from stints in a Michelin three-star restaurant in London to South America, the Caribbean, North America and some of Manhattan's finest kitchens. Michael is known for his support of young Canadian chefs and the growing Canadian Cuisine movement.

His rise to fame as a household name started in Prince Edward Island’s now famous country inn, The Inn at Bay Fortune, which was known for his fresh, contemporary approach. This utlimately led to his first television series The Inn Chef. The series featured Smith as he took viewers inside the inn’s real-life country kitchen.

From there Michael opened his own restaurant, Maple, in Halifax, Nova Scotia. It quickly became recognized as one of the top venues in the country for Canadian Cuisine. In the fall of 2001, Smith left Maple to focus on his new Food Network Canada series Chef at Large where he travels to meet other skilled chefs, investigates their amazing and diverse kitchens and documents their unique and challenging worlds.

Perhaps his most challenging initiative to date has been the shift he has made from his identity as a professional chef in world renowned restaurants to home cook both at home and on his television series Chef at Home. He says in an interview with Ivy Knight, "My son was born and I realized I only knew this small part about cooking, which is fine dining. I had to learn about health and nutrition. It's had a profound effect on me. I crave simplicity now." Chef At Home features a behind-the-scenes peak at Smith’s kitchen in his home on Prince Edward Island and how he cooks for his family and friends. One of the things we can appreciate most about the approach that Smith takes is the fact that he repeatedly invites and encourages would-be chefs to experiment and get creative in the kitchen, with both quantities and ingredients alike. As he states from the beginning a recipe is merely a guideline to follow. It's what you do with it that makes it your own. I love this philosophy of cooking which encourages your own creativity in the kitchen.

His latest show Chef Abroad takes viewers around the world and behind the scenes with a glimpse into the fast-paced hidden world of chefs, cooks and cuisine that most of us only get to dream about. Whether it is documenting the tension of pulling off a dinner for the Prince of Jordan or chronicling how chefs prepare delectable meals in the frozen Arctic Chef Abroad reveals new food frontiers.
His lateste show

Smith has authored four cookbooks to date. Open Kitchen: A Chef's Day at The Inn At Bay Fortune, published in 1998, took the bronze medal at Cuisine Canada’s Cookbook Award that same year. He followed that with The Inn Chef a year later. His highly anticipated third cookbook, based on his new series, Chef at Home, hit the shelves in the fall of 2005 and earlier this year followed up with the second in the series with The Best of Chef at Home.

What else has Michael been up to? He is North America's first chef food ambassador. As the food ambassador to Prince Edward Island Chef Michael Smith is dedicated to promoting the island as a "foodie" destination and raising awareness for island-produced food. Smith's recipes are greatly influenced by local products and ingredients. He loves making food personal by knowing where it came from and the people behind every aspect of it. He tries to define Canadian cusine which is a hard thing to pinpoint. Most people have difficulty with the idea that Canada has a distinctive cuisine of its own.When we say French food, Spanish food, or Mexican food it is easy to define those by the ingredients used. What do you think of when we say “Canadian Cuisine”? The idea of ordering "Canadian" may have you scratching your head. So what defines Canadian cuisine anyway? Our great land is vast and diverse and Canadian cuisine varies from region to region, which makes it difficult to put a finger on a single defining element or idea.The cuisines of Canada are diverse, regional, fresh, local, and linked to the culture and history of the individual regions and the people living and working there from the east to the west coast.  Michael Smith does a very good job of definition with using fresh and local ingredients in his native Prince Edward Island where seafood and agriculture are the mainstay.

 Recently someone actually stole his identity and stirred up quite a ruckus with a Twitter page. Up until that point he had never tweeted. So he decided to start twittering. He says, "It was a bit of an eye opener and fascinating to see how many of you are in the twitterverse. I’m having fun with the whole thing and can be followed at @chefMICHAELsmth. Stay tuned I’m also in the process of launching my own Facebook page. Not bad for a guy who lives in rural Prince Edward Island. Were all so connected now"

Host of  Chef Abroad, Chef at Home, Chef at Large and The Inn Chef, Chef Michael Smith can be seen in more than 25 countries. He is an award-winning cookbook author, newspaper columnist, roving Canadian cuisine ambassador and home cook. What's next? He has devoted his career to helping Canadian families create simple, practical nutritious food "with or without a recipe". From what I have read he is now trying to center his life around his family and a more relaxed lifestyle in P.E.I while still promoting delicious home cooking and Canadian local ingredients with television and charitable connections.  Smith says his favorite role by far is Dad, at home with his partner Rachel where they make Green Eggs and Ham for their son Gabriel !

Watch for him at the Olympics in Vancouver in a a few months for the Winter Games, "I'm part of this large team of chefs that, on behalf of Canada, will be cooking a lot of great Canadian food for athletes from all over the world." We have still yet to hear more on what will be involved.

So where do you begin in choosing just one recipe from a chef who has had such a diverse and illustrious career? With recipes like Black Olive Stuffed Chicken Breast with a Pine Nut Risotto Cake, Rapini and Roast Garlic Basil Broth, Aged Cheddar Cheese Biscuits with Chive Scrambled Egg Stuffing, Brown Butter Hollandaise Sauce, from the Inn Chef to Bloody Mary Salmon, Drunken Pears in Crispy Cups with Goats Cheese Cream  or Three Chocolate Mousse Cups. Finally I chose to prepare a dish I found on the Internet inspired by Prince Edward Island and brought to you by Chef Michael Smith. This is one of the most popular dishes at Chef Smith's table. It reads. "His friends love its bright, familiar flavours and I love how easy it is to make. You can toss steaming, just cooked pasta with melting cream cheese to form an incredibly smooth luxurious sauce. The smoked salmon adds extravagance balanced by other familiar flavours like dill, lemon, onion, mustard and capers. A five star dish for sharing!"

The VERDICT: I had 2 helpings...that says it all!!!!!

**Prince Edward Island Smoked Salmon with Pasta and Simple Dill Cream Cheese Sauce**

a recipe by Chef Michael Smith
Serves 4

1 lb penne or your favourite shaped pasta like bowties, long pastas like spaghetti don’t work as well

1 cup room temperature cream cheese

1 bunch of fresh dill, chopped

4 green onions, sliced

1 lemon, juiced and zested

1 heaping spoonful of Dijon mustard

1/4 cup capers

8 ounces smoked salmon, or more

sprinkled sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

*******************************

Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil. Season it liberally with salt until tastes like a day at the beach on Prince Edward Island. As the pasta cooks it will absorb the salted water and become properly seasoned. Cook al dente, until the pasta is cooked through but still pleasantly chewy.

Scoop out some of the starchy cooking water. Drain the pasta but not quite all the way. Leave it a bit wet. Toss the pasta back into the pot along with a splash or two of the reserved water, perhaps a half-cup or so in total then immediately add the rest of the ingredients. While the pasta is still steaming hot it will easily melt the cream cheese and form a rich creamy sauce. Season with salt and pepper.

Serve immediately.

You may also enjoy these other Chef Michael Smith recipes:

Frozen Butter Biscuits
Potato Fish Cakes
Salsa Salad
Spinach Greek Potato Salad with Feta Vinaigrette
Cheesy Potato Pie
Chocolate Chip Cookies

A Recipe for Michael Smith's Frozen Butter Biscuits for Thanksgiving

 

Frozen Butter Biscuits

  I'd love to take a few moments to wish all of our American friends a very happy Thanksgiving. I hope you have many hands to make the work lighter and many smiling faces around your table. There is just so much to be thankful for....despite everything!!

 Thanksgiving here in Canada was in October so we are ogling your recipe ideas for the Christmas holidays. So for the past week or two I have not been baking up a storm, or been up to my elbows with saucepans, nor do I want to stick my head in the oven either...just kidding. Our time will come and I hope you have many things to make you truly thankful.

I have had these biscuits waiting on the sidelines to have their time to SHINE!!! These are gold-standard biscuits from Canadian Chef Michael Smith. These are another one of the down-home dishes I enjoyed from his latest cookbook The Best of Chef at Home which I reviewed in an earlier post.  His secret? Frozen butter! It’s an old pastry chef’s trick that has served him well. Butter tastes great and adds that flavour that is just essential when baking biscuits. When the butter is frozen it becomes very easy to shred into the dough. This allows for a very flaky biscuit. I broke the biscuits in half and topped them with Greek yogurt from Pike Place Market in Seattle as well as some homemade raspberry preserves. These flaky morsels did not last long and are so versatile. I have made them several times adding different cheeses and herbs.

Be thankful that you don't already have everything you desire.

If you did, what would there be to look forward to?

Be thankful when you don't know something,

for it gives you the opportunity to learn.

Be thankful for the difficult times. During those times you grow.

Be thankful for your limitations,

because they give you opportunities for improvement.

Be thankful for each new challenge,

because it will build your strength and character.

Be thankful for your mistakes. They will teach you valuable lessons.

Be thankful when you're tired and weary,

because it means you've made a difference.

It's easy to be thankful for the good things.

A life of rich fulfillment comes to those who

are also thankful for the setbacks.

Gratitude can turn a negative into a positive.

Find a way to be thankful for your troubles,

and they can become your blessings.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving everyone!!!!

**Frozen Butter Biscuits**
by Canadian Chef Michael Smith from the Best of Chef at Home
print Michael's recipe

4 cups of all-purpose flour

2 large spoonfuls of baking powder

2 small spoonfuls of salt

2 sticks/8 oz/ 1 cup of frozen butter

1-1/2 cups of milk

a sprinkle or two of salt and pepper

*****************
Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F. Whisk the flour, baking powder and salt together until they’re evenly mixed. Grate the frozen butter into the dry ingredients. Shred it through the large holes of a box grater or potato grater directly into the flour. Toss gently with your fingers until the butter shards are spread evenly throughout the flour.

Pour the milk into the flour mixture and stir with an upside down wooden spoon to form a dough mass. The handle of the spoon is gentler on the dough. Fold the dough over a few times with your hands until all the ingredients come together. If necessary add a few spoonfuls more milk to help gather up any stray flour. This kneading will strengthen the dough a bit but not enough to toughen the biscuits. It will also help them form a crisp crust when they bake.

Pat the dough out on a lightly floured cutting board forming a loose round shape. Cut into wedges – like a pie - or any other shape you’re in the mood for. Position on a baking sheet; sprinkle on a bit of coarse salt and coarsely ground pepper. Bake for fifteen minutes or so. You’ll know they’re done when they turn golden brown. Enjoy at once with lots of brown butter!

You may also enjoy....

Basic Buttery Buttermilk Biscuits

Biscones from One Food Year

Thomas Jefferson's Sweet Potato Biscuits from One for the Table

Biscuits and Gravy by Pioneer Woman Cooks

Buttermilk Biscuits with Goat Cheese and Chives by Elise at Simply Recipes

A Recipe for Butternut Squash Focaccia with Caramelized Onions

 

Butternut Focaccia with Caramelized Onions

Who doesn't love the smell of fresh bread baking in the oven? This feeling is something you just can't purchase at your local bakery or at Costco. Making bread is an act to not only feed my family and myself, but to nourish my soul as well. I can pick up a  fresh loaf of bread within a five-minute walking distance from my home, but I occasionally like to make my own bread just for the comfort factor. When I attended the very first ever Foodbuzz Festival I was one of the lucky recipients of  the new Zoë François and Jeff Hertzberg book Healthy Bread in 5 Minutes a Day. I have been eagerly browsing through it's pages and have my eye on a pumpkin brioche, but before I venture into artisan breads I was looking for something to do with the leftover mashed, roasted butternut squash I had on hand.

One bread I enjoy making at home is focaccia. In addition to thinking it's one of the easier breads to bake, I also love it's diversity. It is quite often baked with sea salt and rosemary, but, you can easily add thyme or sage instead, not to mention goat cheese, caramelized onions, olives, garlic, nuts, anchovies, and fresh tomatoes.The sky is the limit!!!!Don't you just love it!!!

Focaccia or panis focacius is a traditional Italian bread whose recipe dates back to ancient Rome. It was a flat bread baked in the ashes of the fireplace. The word is derived from the Latin focus meaning “centre” and also “fireplace” ...the fireplace being in the centre of the house. Like pizza, it is made from a simple and basic yeast dough that is often cooked with olive oil.

As mentioned earlier I had some leftover butternut squash so I decided to bake a focaccia loosely based on a recipe I found on the internet from Gattina of Kitchen Unplugged. The Internet is a very useful tool when searching for ideas. She had produced a foccacia using mashed pototoes so I said to myself why not try butternut squash instead.  When I was in Greece a few years back on the small island of Kea at Keartisinal Aglaia Kremezi taught us how to make a focaccia using zucchini picked fresh from her garden and then grated into the dough. What Aglaia taught me was to make use of what is available to you as well as use the best ingredients possible. This is how you will become a success in your own kitchen and leave people wanting more!!!

To follow through with the almost sweet tendencies of the squash I chose to caramelize some cippolini onions to add on top. These are small sweet onions, having more residual sugar than garden-variety white or yellow onions, but not quite as sweet as shallots. Their sweetness makes for a lovely addition to recipes where you might want to use whole caramelized onions.  Replace the cipollini onions with shallots if you cannot find them as they will substitute very well. Shallots are quite a bit pricier. The onions add a sweet flavor that plays off the salt in this bread nicely. Feel free to use chopped kalamata olives instead, add goat cheese, or just use herbs and salt. To add that depth of flavour you will find the method of roasting your butternut squash here.

Once the dough has risen it is common practice to "dot" the bread. This creates multiple wells in the bread by using a finger or the handle of a utensil to poke the unbaked risen dough. As a way to preserve moisture in the bread, olive oil is then spread over the dough, by hand or with a pastry brush prior to rising and baking. Whatever you do, your house will smell like HOME. It is simply not something that can be duplicated!!!!

The verdict.....This bread was delicious and can be made in stages or made all in the same day depending on your own schedule. Everything about it appealed to me. This is the perfect base recipe for making all sorts of different flavoured focaccia bread! With it's gorgeous orange hue this would be perfect for the American Thanksgiving coming up. A Happy holiday to all our American friends. I will be making this again and again and have even entered it in a recipe contest.

**Butternut Squash Focaccia with Caramelized Onions**

Print this More Than Burnt Toast Original

8 oz /1 cup mashed butternut squash, precooked ( I had leftover roasted butternut which makes a world of difference!!)

25g fresh yeast or 1 package dry

3 cups flour (+ 1/4 cup for dusting)

1 cup whole milk, lukewarm

2 teaspoons sea salt (and extra for topping)

5 teaspoons canola or corn oil

1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil ( and extra for drizzling on top)

1 teaspoons dried crushed oregano

a little water (if the dough is too dry)

1 cup caramelized onions (see recipe below)

dash of chili flakes or red peppercorns

*************************

In a large mixing bowl, combine fresh yeast, flour, mashed butternut squash, oregano, both oils and salt. Add milk (most of it but not all... later during the kneading after you get a good feeling of its moisture, then decide if more milk is needed).

Dust the work table with  1/4 cup of flour. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface. Knead the dough until elastic and smooth. Please note that the dough in the beginning feels a bit dry, but later turns sticky (so don't rush to add excessive liquid too soon). The dough should be slightly sticky.

Put the dough in a large bowl pregreased with olive oil, cover with pre-greased plastic wrap and  place the bowl on the lowest shelf of the fridge; let it proof overnight.

The following day remove the dough from the fridge and fold it (but do not knead) a few times, just to re-distribute the yeast cells.

Grease the baking tray with olive oil, and your hands too; gently press the dough until it reaches the sides of the pan. This may require a resting period depending on whether or not the dough is too springy depending on the gluten content of your flour. Sprinkle with the caramelized onions and chili flakes. Cover with  plastic wrap and let rise until it has a doubled in volume.

"Dot" the bread with your finger or the handle of a wooden spoon to create dimples. If the dough seems sticky dip your finger into a tiny bit of flour or olive oil. Brush olive oil onto the surface of bread. Sprinkle with sea salt.

Pre-heat oven to 230 C/450 F.

Bake the focaccia for 5 minutes, then lower to 200 C/400 F until it's done, it may take 20 - 25 mins in total. Unmold the bread and let it completely cool on a rack.The focaccia tastes best in the first 2 days.

Good enough to make 6 sandwiches, or simply to cut into chunks, accompanied with tomato sauce (or in this case a nice dip or spread).

Caramelized Onions

1 cup sliced cipollini onions (or shallots)

1 teaspoon olive oil

1 teaspoon sugar

Heat olive oil in a medium to large pan. Add onions and sauté on medium low for about five minutes. Add the sugar and stir. Cook the onions until they are soft and a light golden colour.

What are our friends doing with focaccia?????????????

Susan at A Year in Bread - Easy Rosemary Focaccia
Luisa of The Wednesday Chef - Focaccia di Patate
Seven Fishes.com - Easy Italian Herb Focaccia
Martha Stewart - Eggplant Focaccia
Bay Area Bites - Caramelized Cipollini Onion Focaccia
Margot of Coffee & Vanilla - Green Olive Focaccia
Pinch My Salt - Herbed Focaccia from the Bread Bakers Apprentice

A Recipe for Ricotta and Butternut Squash Stuffed Pasta Shells with Pesto

Ricotta and Butternut Squash Stuffed Pasta with Pesto

Old Mother Hubbard went to the cupboard, to get her poor doggie a bone, and when she got there the cupboard was bare.....well you know the rest. Yes the cupboards here at MTBT were bare so what to do, what to do? Shall I call out for pizza, invite myself to a friends for dinner or get creative in the kitchen and use what I have available. Canadian Chef Michael Smith would be so proud!! Put those chef hats on tight because Valli is in the kitchen!!!!! Could it be that even a week later I am still reeling from all the wonderful food we had in San Francisco at the Foodbuzz Festival and still need a reality check...sigh....This is probably the first meal I have actually attempted in the past week or so without just pulling something from the freezer. Well I was feeling creative so let's see what we have in the kitchen to work with without heading to the grocers.

I was in the mood for pasta and I see some of those jumbo pasta shells peaking out from the dark recesses. In my pantry there is an entire cupboard dedicated to pasta in every shape and size from reginette to orecchiette. I imagine your "foodie" cupboards to be the same the same.

When making delicious pasta dishes, be sure to choose a pasta shape and sauce that compliments each other. Thin, delicate pastas like angel hair or thin spaghetti, should be served with light, slightly thinner sauces. Thicker pasta shapes, like fettuccine, work well with heavier sauces. Pasta shapes with holes or ridges like mostaccioli or radiatore, are perfect receptacles for chunkier sauces.

Now let's get back to making that dish. Put your bifocals on Ms. Burnt Toast. What about that bright orange squash that has been eyeballing you for the past few weeks? It has been there since October when you purchased it at the farmers market!!!! Sheesh!!!! With its thick orange flesh and its nutty sweet flavor, the butternut squash has become a favorite ingredient around here in casseroles, quick breads, muffins, soups and even pie...so why not pasta. I have coveted many an autumnal pasta dish on many of your blogs over the past few months that have used squash and pumpkin.

Check the freezer...ooh pesto!!!!! I have afterall been dubbed the "pesto queen" by some. I have some frozen and ready to go made with toasted pine nuts and some with walnuts, either of which would offer a rich nutty flavour that would marry well with the autumn flavours of the butternut squash. I think any dish that I adore has to have at least one tablespoon of basil pesto to remind me of summer!!!! Could it be any better than the reminder of fresh basil and other herbs basking in the sun. Now don't go daydreaming Ms. Burnt Toast. You have the masses to feed...well not really...but you know. Open the fridge door...note to self...remove leftovers and chuck in bin before something reaches out and grabs you!!! What do you see?....the remainders of a container of fresh ricotta from the Italian supermarket and some Parmigiano-Reggiano ...so let's go!!!!!

This dish was healthy as well as delicious. The pesto will impart a garlicky robust flavour to both the tomato sauce and the ricotta filling. This compliments the sweet buttery flavour of the butternut squash perfectly. I was thinking some mushrooms would go so well in the sauce as well when I make this the next time!!!!
I am sending this dish over to Presto Pasta Nights which is the invention of the lovely and talented Ruth over at Once Upon a Feast - Every Kitchen Tells It's Stories. I can hardly believe that this is week #140 of PPN!!! How does Ruth keep it all together with all of her other commitments as well. You rock woman!!!! This week's host is Kait of Pots and Plots.

Also check out the new KNORK that I received in my "goodie" bag at the Foodbuzz Festival in San Francisco. That's it pictured up above. It's designed to provide the benefits of both a knife and a fork. It's the next best thing to chopsticks!!!!Imagine it even gives you one less thing to wash or load up in the dishwasher since you will never find a use for your knife again...except for steak knives of course!
**Ricotta and Butternut Squash Stuffed Pasta Shells with Pesto**
Print this recipe
Serves 5 - 6

20 jumbo pasta shells
2 cups cubed roasted, such as butternut or banana
salt and white pepper to taste
pinch nutmeg
1 (500gram) container ricotta cheese
2 large eggs, beaten
4 tablespoons homemade or store-bought pesto ( had some spinach pesto in the freezer as well)
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1 -14-oz ( 398 mL) can tomato sauce, or homemade
2 tablespoons cold water

**************************
Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil to cook the pasta. Add the pasta, return to a boil and adjust the heat so the water gently boils. Cook the pasta until al dente, about 8-10 minutes.

When the pasta shells are cooked, drain well, cool in cold water and drain well again. Thoroughly mash the baked squash and season with salt, pepper and a pinch of nutmeg. Preheat the oven to 375F. Place the ricotta cheese in a medium bowl and mix in the eggs, 2 tablespoons of the pesto, salt, pepper, pinch of nutmeg and quarter-cup of the Parmesan cheese. Pour the tomato sauce and water into a 9-by-13-inch casserole; mix in the remaining 2 tablespoons of the pesto.

Divide and stuff the mashed squash into the bottom part of the pasta shells. Top the squash with the ricotta mixture, stuffing the pasta shells as full as you can get them.

Set the stuffed pasta shells, stuffed side up, on top of the tomato sauce. Sprinkle the shells with the remaining Parmesan cheese. Cover and bake for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake for 10-15 minutes more, or until the pasta is golden on top.

To Roast Squash

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a large baking sheet with a piece of aluminium foil and spray liberally with nonstick cooking spray.

Place the squash on a cutting board. With a small strong knife, remove the stem portion of the squash. Slice the squash in half end-to-end.

Scrape the seeds and pulp from the center of the squash with a large spoon and discard. Then cut each portion in half, creating four pieces which are approximately equal in size.

Place the wedges on the baking sheet, with the cut side up. Using a pastry brush, coat each piece of butternut squash with melted butter.

Sprinkle salt and pepper over the buttered squash pieces.

Cover the squash with foil, and place in the oven for 45 to 50 minutes or until tender. Remove the pan from the oven, and let the squash stand for 5 minutes. Remove flesh and mash thoroughly.

Check out what our friends are doing with their butternut squash....

Foodista - Butternut Squash and Chorizo Pasta
Evil Shenanigans - Pasta with Gruyere and Butternut Squash
The Paupered Chef - Butternut Squash Ravioli with Sage Butter Sauce
Adventures in Shaw - Roasted Butternut Squash Lasagna
Andrea Meyers - Roasted Butternut Squash with Penne
Guilty Kitchen - Butternut Squash Gnocchi with Vegetables
Kait's Plate - Spinach and Sun-Dried Tomato Cannelloni with Butternut Squash Cream Sauce
Jenn & Roberto of Leftover Queen - Rigatoni with Butternut Squash and Prawns
Joan of FOODalogue - Squash Stuffed Pasta 2 Ways
Eats Well With Others - Pistachio Pesto Pasta with Butternut Squash