Week 11: Butternut Squash Bad Boys

Hey Leigh, 

The title of my post this week is totally cheesy but in thinking of alliterative titles, this one made Kristen laugh so hard - I had to keep it. She tests all my KC creations - I owe her this much. So,butternut bad boys it is and on to more important things...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY AGAIN!

Now that you've got my gift, I can finally post (since posting would give away the present!)...okay, so you got the present a few days ago, but it was a big weekend, so I'm just posting now. 

So, the book I gave you, The Breakaway Cook, is one of my favorite cookbooks. It's great for so many reasons: besides the awesome pictures, the recipes and unusual ingredients are really accessible. Also, Eric Gower's culinary point of view is very refreshing, combining global flavors into all sort of exciting dishes. It's especially useful if you'd like to start including some Asian ingredients in your dishes without making all out Asian food. Mashed Potatoes with Savory Miso Gravy, Shirred Shiitake Eggs and Pomegranate-Glazed Salmon are just a few of the Asian spins on everyday recipes. Because of these global "twists", I think Eric's book is one of those great cookbooks that can really expand you as a cook. 

 

Eric was kind enough to sign the book at one of his events last week near my office...he also made all kinds of appetizers which my friend, Annie, and I were sure to sample. And then, of course, I haaaadddd to cook something from the book for this week's post. Eric had a few recipes that would fit the winter squash category and I settled on Butternut Squash "Pizzettas." Let me just say: YUM. I've cooked / eaten butternut squash in many, many ways - but this was such a new and interesting take on it. Cut into rounds, roasted and topped with anything from pesto and goat cheese (my topping of choice) to soy sauce and ginger, these pizzettas would be great as appetizers or as a side dish to a warm winter meal. I've listed Eric's recipe below (thanks, Eric!) but I made a few changes while assembling my pizzettas - I added goat cheese and red pepper flakes and my squash rounds only needed about 15 minutes in the oven, instead of 30 - so adjust the roasting time according to the thickness of your rounds. 

Butternut Squash "Pizzettas"

1 medium butternut squash

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil 

plus oil for brushing

Kosher or other salt

freshly ground black pepper

2 cups fresh basil leaves

1 garlic clove, chopped

1/4 cup chopped pistachios

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Peel and slice the squash into wheels. Place on an oiled baking sheet, brush on some olive oil, and sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste. Bake for about 30 minutes, until almost done. 

Meanwhile, put the basil garlic and olive oil into a blender and puree. When the squash starts to brown and looks almost ready to eat, spoon on some of the sauce, sprinkle with pistachios and bake for another 5 minutes. Serve very hot. I like to slice them pizza style, into 6 bites per pizzeta. 

Many, many thanks to Eric Gower for being so generous with his recipes and thoughts. And also to my good friend, Matt for taking the gorgeous picture of my butternut squash pizzettas.  

Bonnie

So! For next week we have an exciting change of pace. Leigh and I recently participated in sort of a food bloggers pen pal thing called "Blogging My Mail." Organized by one very ambitious food blogger, Stephanie (  http://www.thehappysorceress.blogspot.com/ ), the Blogging By Mail concept is as such: Each blogger is given the name and address of another participating blogger somewhere else in the world. Then, we each put together a box of 10 of our favorite culinary related items and sent the box to our blogging buddy. We each also excitedly anticipated receiving our own boxes. This year 117 food bloggers participated and the idea is that we will be inspired by our surprise boxes and then post the contents on our blog. Instead of a cooking with a common ingredient next week, Leigh and I will both be posting about our boxes!

Comments

[Chocolate Shavings]

Great photos, and that cookbook sounds really good.

[Kristen]

LOVE the title!!!

[Mansi]

a great way to serve squash! perhaps you can send this in for my Vegetarian Thanksgiving recipe event!:)

http://www.funandfoodcafe.com/2008/11/vegetarian-thanksgiving-recipes.html

[Antonia]

Hope that my parcel arrives in time for next week's installment, Bonnie!
The butternut squash bad boys look delicious - I'm having squash tonight too.

[barbara]

Hi Leigh My BBM box has arrived. Thank you so much and I'll be blogging it soon.
Barbara

[Bonnie and Leigh]

Chocolate Shavings- Thanks for your kind words! The cookbook is fabulous...I highly recommend it!

Mansi-Thanks for your feedback! We certainly will submit the recipe.

xo
Leigh

[Mindy Service]

Hey Leigh and Bonnie! Maggie told me about your blog and I have been browsing through the recipes lately. I just wanted to tell you guys what a brilliant idea your blog is... and how I made this recipe for an appetizer at Thanksgiving for both my roomates and my family. Everyone loves the little badboys haha. Thanks!!!