I save 'em up, then they'll go real far

As a child, Thursday was always leftover night. Mom cooked Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, and on Thursday we had leftovers. As a family of two, leftover night seems to come around much more often, so it’s always nice to have a recipe that uses up those leftovers to make something different.

This week, we’re going to use leftover ragu (or meat sauce) to make stuffed sweet bell peppers. You can use whatever ragu recipe you like (or even jarred meat sauce if you so choose), but this particular ragu recipe is freshened up with a healthy twist and an ingredient that will cut your cooking time significantly. This complement to your favorite pasta is made with less fat by replacing ground beef with ground turkey or ground veal. [If price is a factor, ground turkey is your best bet.]

When you think of a really good tomato or meat sauce, you probably imagine tending to the dish for hours on the stove to cook down the acidity. Perhaps some of you have learned to add a bit of sugar to more quickly mask this quality of recipes calling for tomato-paste. The healthier alternative I was taught a few years ago (probably by my mother) is to use carrots instead.  

Even if you don’t care for carrots (Me! Me!), this does the job without adding affecting the taste. Now my mother uses a little jar or container of baby food carrots; however, as I found out using this recipe, carrots chopped in the food processor work just as well.

So subbing carrots for sugar and turkey for beef, you’ve whipped up a still-delicious and now healthier and quicker family favorite. Such talent!

The next day, later in the week, or later in the month – whenever you’re ready – you can use whatever leftover ragu you have in this second recipe: Ragu-Stuffed Peppers. If you’re going to wait more than a week, just freeze the ragu until you’re ready. Prepared with some ingredients unique to what you probably imagine as a stuffed bell pepper – such as couscous rather than a rice – you now have a second meal using a meal you’ve already prepared! Quel bonheur! 

Day 1: Fettuccine with Quick Ragu

[from Food Network Magazine]

Ingredients:

1/2 onion

1 stalk celery, cut into 4 pieces

1 small carrot, cut into 4 pieces

1 clove garlic

1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 pound ground veal or turkey

Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes

1/2 cup whole milk

12 ounces fettuccine

Freshly grated parmesan cheese, for serving

Directions:

1. Pulse the onion, celery, carrot, garlic and rosemary in a food processor until finely chopped.

2. Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the chopped vegetables and cook, stirring, until softened  and golden, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the veal (or turkey), 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper and cook, breaking up the meat with a wooden spoon, until no longer pink, about 3 minutes. Add the tomatoes, milk, 1 cup water and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer until slightly thickened, about 20 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the fettuccine as teh label directs. Drain the pasta, then toss with half of the ragu (about 3 cups). Top with parmesan. Reserve the remaining ragu to make stuffed peppers.

Day 2 (or 5 or 30... or whenever you so choose): Ragu-Stuffed Peppers

[Food Network Magazine]

Ingredients:

4 bell peppers (red, yellow, orange or a mix), halved lengthwise, seeds removed

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

Kosher salt

About 3 cups leftover ragu

1/2 cup couscous (prepared according to package directions)

3/4 cups golden raisins

3/4 cup grated asiago or fontina cheese

4 teaspoons red wine vinegar

1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley

2 tablespoons tomato paste

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 450. Toss the bell pepper halves with 1 tablespoon olive oil and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a large microwave-safe bowl. Cover and microwave until the peppers soften, 10 to 12 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, mix the ragu, couscous, raisins, 1/2 cup cheese, 3 teaspoons vinegar, parsley and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a bowl.

3. Whisk the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil and 1 teaspoon vinegar, the tomato paste and 3/4 cup water in the bottom of a large nonreactive baking dish. Carefully transfer the peppers, cut-side up, to the baking dish and fill with the couscous mixture. Sprinkle with the remaining 1/4 cup cheese.

4. Cover the dish with foil and bake until the peppers are tender and the filling is hot, about 20 minutes. Transfer to plates and drizzle with he cooking liquid from the dish.

Everybody was kung fu fighting

I LOVE to eat out. I mean, not just a little bit. I savor in the rare outing to a top-name restaurant with a top-name Chef. John Besh. Michael Chiarrello  Hubert Keller. Love them all.

But I also most certainly appreciate that craving for delivery pizza or a walk down the Chinese buffet line. It might cost money, but it’s worth it because you can’t make those things at home… right?

Not so! [You knew that was a trick question.] 

Tonight we discovered that – at least in the case of Chinese food – many of the best parts of these meals can be easily (and quickly) replicated at home.

On the menu? Pork Fried Rice, Green Pepper Steak, and Sweet Pepper Chicken Stir Fry with Oyster Sauce.

Upsides:

--> EASY AND QUICK – If you put the proteins to marinate and cook the white rice the night before (which is recommended for fried rice, anyway), you can whip this up in less than an hour – a GREAT weeknight meal.

--> WELL-BALANCED – These dishes all include a high ratio of fresh food, and as we should all know fresh food is much healthier than the processed stuff. Pretty much any (non-fruit) ingredient in the produce section can be used in one of these dishes, which leads me to my third point.

-->FLEXIBLE – Don’t like sweet bell peppers? OK. Not a fan of mushrooms? No problem! Prefer carrots? Go for it! These dishes, especially the stir fry, are very friendly to your preferences.

-->NO MSG – ‘Nuff said.

Downsides:

--> SPECIALIZED INGREDIENTS – The first time you make these dishes, you might be buying a handful of bottles of ingredients you’ve never heard of at $2 or $3 a pop, which may add up. On the other hand, next time you want to make Chinese food, you’ll already have them, making it a very inexpensive meal later on.

--> WOK, RINSE, REPEAT – All three dishes are cooked in a wok, so I was cooking, transferring to a serving dish to be kept warm in the oven or microwave, and washing my wok for each dish, which would have made for a long process if I didn’t have a handy dandy husband who did this particular step for me. Possible quick fixes? More than one wok (Although storage would still be an issue.) or using a skillet for one of the meat dishes.

While the downsides are… well… there, I certainly think the upsides win the debate. Especially when you add the most important upside – FLAVOR. Both of my dinner guests went for seconds. Can’t ask for much more than that.

My next personal challenge in Asian cuisine will be one of my favorites and one of my most feared home meal: sushi. I'll let you know how it goes. But here is my challenge to you: next time you’re craving a Chinese buffet, takeout, or delivery (whatever your guilty pleasure may be), give one or all of these recipes a shot. 

Challenge extended. Challenge accepted?

Funky Fried Rice

[By Rachael Ray, in 30-Minute Meals]

Ingredients:

2 cups of water

1 cup enriched white rice

2 tablespoons sesame oil [one of those ingredients you probably don’t have]

½ pound boneless center-cut pork chops, cut into thin strips, or ½ pound boneless, skinless chicken, cut into thin strips [I usually use a pork chop or whatever I can find in my freezer.]

½ red bell pepper, chopped [or yellow or orange, whichever you may have on hand]

2 green onions, thinly sliced on an angle

2 eggs, scrambled with black pepper to taste

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

2 tablespoons (several shakes) soy sauce

2 pinches crushed red pepper (a couple of shakes)

2 pinches ground ginger

1 cup fresh bean sprouts (found in organic produce section) [I omit this.]

1 cup (a couple of handfuls) frozen baby peas

½ cup (about ¼ pound) chopped baby shrimp (300 count) [I left this out this time, but will probably add it in next time I happen to have shrimp.]

½ cup toasted sliced almonds to garnish [I omit this as well.]

Directions:

Boil water. Add rice. Reduce heat to simmer. Cover and cook 12 to 15 minutes, until liquid is absorbed. [OR do whatever you do to cook white rice. Rice cooker. Microwave rice cooker. Whatever works.] Dump rice onto a shallow plate to cool it down. Place rice in refrigerator until ready to use in the dish. Rice can be prepared the nigh before, as well. [Again, I recommend this to add speed to the cooking process on the day of.] Leftover white rice is the best for fried rice.

Heat 1 tablespoon sesame oil in wok or shallow, big nonstick skillet until oil is very hot and begins to smoke. Add meat and cook for 4 minutes – keeping the meat bits moving is important for even cooking. Remove meat.

Add bell pepper and green onions and heat through for a minute. Pour in eggs and scramble with veggies until eggs are set. Remove eggs.

Add 1 tablespoon sesame oil and vegetable oil to wok or skillet. Add cool or cold rice. Sprinkle with 2 tablespoons soy sauce, crushed pepper, and ginger as the rice fries. Return meat and egg bits to wok. Add bean sprouts and peas and chopped baby shrimp. Combine rice, meat, and veggies well. Top with toasted almonds for crunch and serve right from the wok or pan. Feeds up to 6.

Sweet Pepper Chicken Stir Fry with Oyster Sauce

[As interpreted from a Food Network Magazine recipe]

Ingredients:

2 boneless chicken breasts, thinly sliced against the grain [or any protein you choose prepared similarly]

3 cups of vegetables (your choice; I used 1 orange bell pepper, julienned; 1 yellow bell pepper, julienned; 1 medium onion, sliced; and 1 package of fresh mushrooms, sliced)

2 cloves minced garlic

1 to 2 tablespoons minced ginger [I use powdered ginger.]

2 minced scallions

a pinch of salt

a pinch of sugar

Marinade:

1 egg white

1 tablespoon Chinese rice wine or dry sherry [I used dry sherry. You can find a bottle of this by the cheap wine in the grocery store for about 3 dollars.]

1 tablespoon cornstarch

            Oyster Sauce:

¾ cup chicken broth

1 tablespoon cornstarch

1 tablespoon Chinese rice wine or dry sherry

1 tablespoon soy sauce

3 tablespoons oyster sauce

2 teaspoons sesame oil

Garnish (optional):

Scallions

Peanuts

Sesame seeds

Sliced jalapenos

Cilantro

Directions:

1.     Whisk together the marinade ingredients. Toss with the protein. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

2.     Whisk the sauce ingredients together.

3.     Drain the excess marinade from the protein. Place your sauce, vegetables and protein near the stove.

4.     Heat ¼ inch peanut or vegetable oil in a wok or skillet over medium heat. Add the protein; slowly stir until almost opaque, 30 seconds to 1 minute. Transfer to a plate; discard the oil and wipe out the pan.

5.     Heat the pan over high heat, 1 to 2 minutes. Add 2 tablespoons oil, then garlic, ginger, scallions, salt and sugar; stir-fry about 30 seconds. Add the vegetables, starting with the ones that take the longest to cook; stir-fry until crisp-tender.

6.     Add the protein and sauce and stir until the sauce is thick and the vegetables and protein are cooked through, about 3 minutes. Thin with chicken broth, if needed. Garnish with sliced scallions, peanuts, sesame seeds, sliced jalapenos and/or cilantro.

Green Pepper Steak

[Interpreted from a newspaper recipe as altered years ago by my talented mother]

Ingredients:

1 pound flank, round or sirloin steak, cut against the grain in 1/8” slices [I used seven steak.]

1 teaspoon soy sauce

1 Tablespoon oil

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cornstarch

a pinch of pepper

1 medium onion, diced

1 teaspoon each ginger and garlic, grated

½ cup chicken broth or water

2 Tablespoon cornstarch dissolved in 2 Tablespoon water and 1 teaspoon sugar

2 small green peppers, cubed

1 chopped green onion for garnish

4 Tablespoon oil for frying

Directions:

1.     Marinate steak for 1 hour or longer in the next 5 ingredients.

2.     Set the wok on high heat. Add 2 Tablespoon oil; heat until hot.

3.     Add onion, garlic, ginger, and bell peppers; stir-fry until the onions are slightly brown.

4.     Add chicken broth and bring to a boil.

5.     Stir in cornstarch mixture.

6.     Continue stir-frying until gravy boils.

7.     Garnish with green onion.

Baby, It's Cold Outside

And FINALLY, the cold weather greets us. As fleeting as her presence may be, I’m going to greet her in the best culinary way I know --- with soup.

 

For me, there’s nothing like coming home from work having walked in and out of the cold weather all day to cuddle up with a warm blanket, an episode of Glee (or whatever my TiVo has on the queue), and a bowl of a warm soup.

As someone who, more often than not, is only cooking for two, I’ve become a big fan of dishes that freeze well. As we peek into Louisiana’s take on winter, I am jumping at the chance to cook one of my favorite freezeables – soup.

This week I’m enjoying two soups: an Apple Cheddar Squash Soup and a Corn Soup.

Now these two soups fall on opposite ends of the soup spectrum. The first is what is considered a velouté – a thick soup (similar to the viscosity of bisque) without any large morsels. Generally it involves pureeing the soup in batches in a blender, but I’ve found that as a full-time [insert your profession here] who has a short period of time to fix weeknight dinners, veloutés can be more easily made using one of my favorite tools – the immersion blender. As a child, this was my means to a chocolate malt. (Who am I kidding? As an adult, it still is.) But now its uses have broadened with my culinary capabilities.

Apple Cheddar Squash Soup

[From: Food Network Magazine]

Ingredients

• 5 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 medium onion, thinly sliced
• 2 medium apples, thinly sliced
• 1 large white potato, diced
• 1 1/2 cups chopped peeled butternut squash, fresh or frozen [As I've mentioned in previous posts, there are many squash that can be substituted for butternut squash, including sweet dumpling squash, which I have successfully used to make this soup.]
• Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon dried sage
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup apple cider
• 4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• 1 cup milk
• 2 ounces thinly sliced prosciutto, torn into bite-size pieces
• 2 cups grated sharp cheddar cheese, plus more for garnish
• Chopped chives, for garnish (optional)
• Crusty bread, for serving (optional)

Directions

Melt 4 tablespoons butter in a large pot over medium-low heat and add the onion, apples, potato and squash. Season with salt and pepper and cook until the onion is soft, about 8 minutes. Stir in the sage and flour. Add the cider and cook over high heat, stirring, until thickened. Add the broth and milk, cover and bring to a boil; reduce to a simmer and cook, stirring, until the potato is soft, 8 to 10 minutes.

[Following my no-proscuitto because it's too costly rule, I -- of course -- leave this next part out.] Meanwhile, heat the remaining 1 tablespoon butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the prosciutto and cook until crisp, turning occasionally, about 2 minutes. Drain on paper towels.

Add the cheese to the soup and stir over medium-low heat until melted. Puree in a blender in batches until smooth [Use immersion blender here!]; season with salt and pepper. Garnish with the prosciutto, more cheese and chives, if using. Serve with bread, if desired.

While the Apple-Cheddar-Squash Soup is definitely do-able on a weeknight for a working cook (especially if you stick to the butternut squash version, which doesn’t require any advanced preparation of the squash), the Corn Soup takes a little longer only because it requires “simmering time” of about an hour and a half.

Also, contrasting with the first, this second soup is more like a bisque. Because its base is a roux, you can make it as thick as you like. If you prefer thick soups – like I do – then make more roux and use the same amount of liquid. For a lighter soup, either add more liquid or make less roux. Easy enough, right?

This particular soup recipe comes from a variety of sources. One, found in a local magazine (POV), was submitted by a friend of my parents. I made adjustments based on the preferences of my husband and based on other corn soups I’ve enjoyed.

Corn Soup

[By: David Fakier as submitted to POV Magazine] 

Serves 6-8

Ingredients:

1 piece lean salt pork

3 cooking spoons oil 

3 cooking spoons flour [This is how many a Cajun chef measures the start of his/her roux. In measuring them, I’ve found these "cooking spoons" to be anywhere between 1/8 cup and ¼ cup. Mine is just under ¼ cup. But the most important thing is equal parts of oil and flour. The consistency can be adjusted later when you add the liquid.]

1 onion, chopped

1 bell pepper, chopped

2-3 stalks celery, chopped

1 (14 ½ ounce) can stewed tomatoes

1 pound bag frozen corn

1 (10 ounce) can diced tomatoes and green chilies

2 cups smoked ham, cubed [I leave this out.]

1 packaged link of smoked sausage [I use the little cocktail wieners.]

3 cans (14-15 ounce) cream-style corn

1 teaspoon basil, dried

¼ cup chopped parsley

[Also, I added cooked pasta at the end. Any kind works, and the amount is up to personal preference as well. Usually around 12 or 16 ounces will suffice.]

Boil salt pork in 2 cups of water. Skim off the foam on top and reserve water for soup. If salt pork is lean, you may wish to include it in the soup. [If it’s not lean, cut the fat off and include it anyway. J] Make a roux by adding flour and oil into a large heavy pot, at least an 8 quart pot. Once the roux is brown, add onions, bell peppers, and celery until soft. Add tomatoes and frozen corn. Next, add ham, sausage, and salt pork. Cook about 30 minutes. Add cream corn. Add water (from salt pork) almost to the top of the pot, to desired consistency. Cook 1 ½ hours. Add parsley and basil last. [And the pasta, if you’re using it.]

To everything (turn, turn, turn) there is a season (turn, turn, turn)

It’s soup weather!

You know, sometimes it’s snowball weather, and sometimes it’s crawfish weather. Well this weekend, it was soup weather. When I woke up Sunday morning and remembered that it was my turn to cook a meal of new recipes, I knew I didn’t have a choice. The weatherman planned my menu for me. It was sunny and cool with a high chance of soup, he said.

Now when it came time to decide what kind of soup I would make, I turned to the calendar. As a price-conscious recent college grad/newly wed, one thing I’ve become very aware of is what produce is in season. Don’t get me wrong. I’ll buy some things year around – especially certain fruits that I snack on like strawberries – but when it comes to vegetables, I make the sometimes-failed attempt to buy in season. Every week my husband asks me if asparagus are in season yet. (They’re not, if you’re wondering, and won’t be until spring.)

So one week after Halloween, what am I going to cook? Pumpkin, of course!

Pumpkin is similar to squash in that when used fresh, it needs to be cut in half and roasted for a while before the useable part can be removed and added to the dish, so if you’re in a time crunch, canned pumpkin will suffice. (It’s found on the baking aisle next to the pie fillings, but make sure you’re not grabbing canned pumpkin pie filling – definitely not the same thing.)

Pumpkin can be a very overbearing flavor if a recipe is too concentrated with it, but I turned to my Bayou Gourmet Cookbook to find something with just the right balance of pumpkin and local flair. So yesterday the winner of the soup, salad, and vegetables section’s Pumpkin and Crabmeat Bisque filled our bowls… and our bellies.

For dessert, I tried another recipe from my Chocolate for Breakfast cookbook from Napa Valley – Triple-Threat Chocolate Zucchini Muffins. No, zucchini are not in season, but they are relatively inexpensive regardless of the date. During winter, however, they tend to be much smaller often too soft, so you may have to search through and squeeze every last one – pulling a Sookie St. James – but it’s worth it to get a good veggie.

The muffins turned out scrumptious. (My mom had two despite the nutmeg in the batter!) I will probably leave out the ground cloves next time, but with or without the robust spice this unique dessert and/or breakfast recipe is a keeper.

Pumpkin and Crabmeat Bisque

[From: 35^th Anniversary Bayou Gourmet Cookbook; Recipe by Todd Manno]

Serves 10-12

For stock:

1 package frozen gumbo crabs or 6 fresh-cleaned small crabs, if available

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 ounce brandy

1 medium onion, cut in half with skin on

1 bulb garlic, cut in half

2 ribs celery, coarsely chopped

1 bay leaf

10 peppercorns

2 quarts water

For bisque:

1/2 cup unsalted butter

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

2 cups fresh sugar pumpkin pureé or canned pumpkin may be used

4 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 cup dry white wine or vermouth

6 cups crab stock

2 cups heavy whipping cream

1 bunch green onions, chopped

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon white pepper

1/2 teaspoon cumin

Dash of hot sauce

1 pound lump or white crabmeat

1 teaspoon sour cream for garnish per serving

Cumin for garnish

To make pumpkin pureé, preheat oven to 325 degrees. Cut sugar pumpkin in half and remove stem, seeds and pulp. Coat with vegetable oil and cover with foil. Bake skin side down for 90 minutes. Allow to cool 30 minutes. Scrape meat from shell and discard the shell. Pureé in a blender or food processor and set aside. Excess can be frozen for future use.

To create stock, chop crabs and claws into small pieces. In a heavy saucepan over high heat, add the vegetable oil and crab pieces and cook until edges start to brown.

Lower the heat to medium and add brandy. Allow the alcohol to boil away, approximately 30 seconds. Add onions, garlic, celery, bay leaf, peppercorns and water, and raise heat to high until water begins to boil.

Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 30 minutes. Strain the stock and discard the solids and set the stock aside.

To prepare the bisque, melt the butter over medium-high heat and add flour before butter turns brown. Make a blonde roux stirring constantly for approximately five minutes. Add pumpkin pureé and stir frequently for about five minutes allowing the pumpkin to come up to temperature. Add the garlic and stir for about one minute until the garlic becomes fragrant.

Add the wine and stir for about 30 seconds and allow the alcohol to burn off. Add stock one cup at a time, stirring occasionally, and simmer over medium heat for about 10 minutes.

Add heavy cream, green onions, salt, white pepper, cumin and hot sauce, and bring back to a simmer over medium heat. Add crabmeat and stir in gently. Adjust the seasoning to taste. [I did find that the bisque needed a good bit of salt, so be sure to taste it and adjust the seasoning before serving. I know many of us often skip this step.]

Ladle soup into hot bowl and garnish with one teaspoon sour cream and sprinkle liberally with cumin.

Triple-Threat Chocolate Zucchini Muffins

[From Chocolate for Breakfast by Barbara Passino]

Makes 18 standard muffins

3 cups flour

1/3 cup cocoa powder

1 tablespoon baking powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

1 ½ teaspoons salt

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

½ teaspoon ground cloves

½ cup milk

2 eggs, lightly beaten

¾ cup vegetable oil

1 cup sugar

2 cups shredded zucchini

1 cup chocolate chips [I use semi-sweet.]

1 cup chocolate nibs or substitute chopped nuts (walnuts, pecans, macadamias) [I left this out and just put an extra half cup of chocolate chips.]

 

Preheat oven to 400°.

Mix dry ingredients together. Mix the milk, eggs, oil and sugar together and add to the dry ingredients. Add zucchini, chips and nibs and mix just until blended. Spoon the batter into greased muffin tins and bake at 400° for 12-15 minutes until the top bounces back when tapped lightly with your finger.

Hello, again. Hello.

I know what you’re all thinking. Why would you start a blog and then not post anything for almost a month??

I admit the commencement of my blog had bad timing. Shortly after my first posts, my husband and I began the process of buying a home, so our evenings and weekends have been filled with painting, floor installation, cabinet staining and more. For the last month, my free time switched from Food Network to HGTV.

But I'm back! The past several evenings have focused on a louder calling than my impending home-ownership – the growl of my stomach.

Sunday nights returned to their usual culinary adventures chez Mom, and that is where our tale begins.

My parents took a trip to Napa several weeks ago and returned with a wonderful cookbook for me. The title – Chocolate for Breakfast. Do they know me, or what?

Ever since, I’ve been itching to try some of the delectable (and not all chocolate) recipes. Attempt/Adventure number 1 was Butternut Squash Ravioli with Black Walnut Brown-Butter Sauce.

Now, there are two things you should know about my “weekend cooking adventures”.

First: my mother and I have a rule about trying new recipes. Try the recipe as is. Use all the ingredients and follow every direction and see what happens. After you’ve tasted the original, then make your changes. Soup too liquidy? Make a note to add less broth next time. Not enough seasoning on your chicken? Make a note to add or increase that ingredient. I absolutely recommend this to all of you.

95 percent of the time, we follow this rule, but as with most rules, we have our exceptions. For my mother, it is nutmeg. For me, it is expensive ingredients (prosciutto, hazelnuts, pancetta, etc.) or ingredients that aren’t always readily available in home sweet Houma. It doesn’t happen often, but in this case, of course it did.

The second thing you should know is that these adventures occasionally induce freak-outs, and by occasionally, I mean always. This particular instance included two freak-outs.

Freak-out number one: Rouses is out of butternut squash??!!? But I’m making butternut squash ravioli?!!? How am I supposed to make butternut squash ravioli without butternut squash!??! I guess we’ll just order pizza. [Did I mention that my freak-outs tend to conclude with completely ridiculous resignations?]

After wandering around Rouses for half an hour trying to decide what to do, I throw in the towel on my rule for this recipe and decide to just go with a different kind of squash. ‘Tis the season for winter squash, so I looked through what was available and settled on one called sweet dumpling squash. I know that butternut squash has a sweet taste, and these look pretty, so I go with it.

Through my experiences with substituting winter squash [re: the squash cake freak-out of 2009], I’ve determined that, while I’m sure they have specific differences, they can be interchanged when necessary.

As I go through the recipe, step by detailed step, I start to feel pretty good about the dish. The squash and goat cheese filling is smelling delicious. The ravioli are coming together pretty well. As they come out of the boiling water they look appetizing. It isn’t until we sit down at the table to eat that I experience freak-out number two.

My ravioli are sticking together. I’m trying to use a slotted spoon, as instructed, to serve them, and the pasta is keeping them glued together. Just before I resort to ordering pizza for the second time in one recipe, my mom recommends serving it like lasagna rather than like individual ravioli, so we scooped it out in casserole-serving fashion. Second disaster averted. (Thanks, Mom.)

While it wasn’t the most beautiful dish I’ve made, it was delicious. I’ll be tweaking it for the next time around, perhaps using eggroll wrappers rather than wonton wrappers to add more substance and hopefully prevent sticking, but I certain will be cooking it again.

For my cooks of quick and simple recipes, I paired the ravioli dish with a very simple but flavorful tilapia dish, which has become a favorite of my husband. Tilapia with Balsamic Browned Butter is a Rachael Ray recipe that I first saw on (shock of shocks) Food Network, and – as with most of her recipes – I haven’t made any changes.

My only note is to be sure that you let the oil get hot enough before trying to cook the fish. Use the flour test: drop a tiny bit of flour into the hot oil. If it sizzles, it is hot enough; if it doesn’t, let it continue to heat. If the oil isn’t hot enough, the fish will stick and then fall apart.

And with that, my “weekend adventure cooking” comes to an end for this Sunday. Next Sunday is Mom’s turn, so I’ll be returning to the quick, the painless, and the inexpensive for my next entrée. 

Recipes:

Butternut Squash Ravioli with Black Walnut Brown-Butter Sauce

[From: Chocolate for Breakfast by Barbara Passino]

Makes 30 ravioli/Serves 6 to 7

Ravioli filling ingredients:

2-pound butternut squash, halved lengthwise and seeded. [Remember, I used 2 sweet dumpling squash.]

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

1 medium onion chopped, (about 1 ½ cups)

1 garlic clove minced

5 sage leaves, finely chopped (or substitute 1 ½ tsp ground sage)

1 ½ teaspoons fresh thyme leaves finely chopped (or substitute ½ teaspoon dried thyme)

½ teaspoon salt and a few grinds of black pepper

3 ounces aged goat cheese, crumbled (or substitute ricotta)

Additional ingredients:

60 wonton wrappers, or gyoza or potsticker wrappers [This can be found in the produce section of most grocery stores, and yes Rouses does carry it.]

1 stick (½ cup) unsalted butter

1/3 cup black walnuts, toasted lightly and chopped coarsely

TO PREPARE THE FILLING

Preheat the oven to 425° F and lightly grease a baking sheet.

Cut the squash in half and place it on the baking sheet, cut side down. Roast for 30 minutes, or until the flesh is very tender when you poke it with a fork. Let it cool a few minutes so you don’t hurt your hands, and then scoop out the insides and throw away the skin. Place the squash in a mixing bowl and mash it with a fork.

Melt butter in a small skillet over medium heat and cook the onion, garlic, sage and thyme, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes until the onion is golden and soft. Add salt and pepper.

Add the onion mixture to the squash along with the goat cheese and mix together with a spoon.

TO PREPARE THE RAVIOLI

Put 3 wonton wrappers on a work surface, lightly dusted with flour. Place a tablespoon of the squash filling in the center of each wrapper, and then lightly brush the perimeter with water and press a second wrapper on top, pushing out any air bubbles and sealing the edges. If you have a round ravioli cutter, you can trim the edges of the dough, but it’s not necessary. Place the ravioli on a towel to dry a bit while you continue making the remaining ravioli.

In a skillet, melt the butter over medium heat and add the black walnuts. Cook until the butter begins to brown, about 3 minutes, and immediately remove the pan from the heat. Add salt and pepper and keep the black walnut butter warm and covered.

In a large pot, add 1 teaspoon of salt to 4 quarts of water and bring to a boil. Cook 10 ravioli at a time in gently boiling water for 5 minutes, or until they rise to the surface and are tender. Carefully remove cooked ravioli with a slotted spoon and place them on a plate with a small amount of the hot cooking water to keep them warm until the rest are finished.

Lift them with a slotted spoon and serve 5 to a plate, topped with the brown-butter sauce.

Tilapia with Balsamic Browned Butter

[From: Rachael Ray, Food Network]

This recipe also includes a pasta dish that I didn’t care for. The fish, however, was wonderful, so I’ve continued to make it, pairing it with other sides.

Ingredients:

4 (6- to 8-ounce tilapia fillets) [Walmart and Sam’s has them frozen individually, very convenient and reasonably priced.]

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

½ cup all-purpose flour

3 tablespoons of butter

¼ cup balsamic vinegar

EVOO

Directions:

Season the fish with salt and pepper. Dust fish with flour and shake off excess.

Heat 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. [Remember: make sure it gets hot enough or else the fish will stick!] Cook fish 4 minutes on each side.

Remove fish from skillet to a platter and cover loosely with aluminum foil to keep warm. Reduce heat to medium and add butter to pan. Brown butter, 2 to 3 minutes, stir in balsamic vinegar and simmer 1 to 2 minutes to reduce by half. Pour the brown butter and vinegar over fish.