Fall Has Arrived!
We cooked with our fall vegetables last week. Even though there were a few glitches in our class (like no burners!) we plowed through the recipes and had a delicious lunch. We served a little differently, eating each part of the lunch as it was ready. I liked this arrangement because it gave us time to talk about the food. Let me know if you enjoyed it. Also, we arranged the tables in another configuration and it seemed to work … everyone could hear!
Our Menu
Butternut Squash Soup
Rosemary Chicken
Mashed Potatoes and Caramelized Onions
Sautéed Chard with Balsamic
Butternut Squash Soup
3 butternut squash, medium size
chicken broth (amount depends on how thick or thin you want the soup.)
(optional vegetable broth)
rosemary
1. Preheat oven to 400.
2. Cut squash in half, and spoon out seeds.
3. Place squash on oiled sheet pan in oven for about 45 minutes. It really
depends on the size of the squash. When you can insert a ford easily, the
squash will be soft enough to puree.
4. When squash is cooled a bit, scoop out and place in Cuisineart. (someone asked about using a blender and I think this could work as well. Let me know.
5. Add stock and a little rosemary (not too much … it’s a very strong herb).
Continue adding stock until the soup is the consistency you want.
6. Serve with crusty bread.
Mashed Yukon Gold Potatoes and Caramelized Onions
Onions (3 large)
Yukon Gold Potatoes (1/2 pound per person)
1 1/2 cups milk (more or less)
1/2 stick butter
No need to peel Yukon gold potatoes. They have a very think skin and can be cooked and mashed with the skin on. Remember to heat the milk adding the butter so that the mixture is warm before adding it to the potatoes, and to always put root vegetables (beets, carrots, potatoes) in cold water before boiling them. Because they come from under the ground, they hold their flavor better this way. Consider using white pepper instead of black pepper. The taste is unique and you can’t see it.
Onions
Slice onions thinly and place in fry pan with olive oil on medium heat. Cook for at least 1/2 hour, or until golden and flavorful. That’s it!
Mashed Potatoes
1. Wash potatoes and cut in uniform pieces (so they all cook at the same time)
2. Place in pot with cold water and set to boil.
3. Put the milk in a pot on the stove and heat with butter
4. When potatoes are ready and fork can easily pierce, place in colander and
let potatoes steam for a few minutes.
5. Mash potatoes with potatoes masher.
6. Add milk/butter mixture to desired consistency.
7. Add salt and WHITE pepper.
8. Add caramelized onions.
Rosemary Chicken
1. Cut chicken in pieces, add olive oil, salt and pepper, and 3 springs/branches of rosemary.
2. Bake in a 375 oven for about 45 minutes (depending on the site of each piece).
Sautéed Green Chard or Kale
1 bunch chard or kale
olive oil
salt and pepper
balsamic vinegar
1. Chop chard in strips and put in bowl of water to wash. Do this 3 times to
make sure all sand and dirt is eliminated
2. In a frying pan ad olive oil and chard and saute. Make sure some water is
on the chard while it cooks. Add more water if needed and saute.
3. Add a splash of balsamic vinegar.
I look forward to our next class that will be Saturday October 29th. That is not the 4th Saturday, but the 5th. Please put it in your calendar!
Enjoy this beautiful fall weekend!
Copyright © 2016 Poppy de Garmo