Recipes: September 2004 Archives

So tonight, we wander into the kitchen of Chef P.  Though I pretended to start the squash soup (recipe to follow), I was quickly rescued from the monumentous error of cutting the raw squash in half horizontally instead of vertically--the horror! D. later explained his hostile takeover by arguing that it's much easier to peel in verticle pieces. Left to my own devices, I spent many minutes cleaning the inner squash junk off the seeds to make delightful toasted squash seeds (virtually indestinguishable from the pumpkin seed). Mix them with a little olive oil, salt and toast in a 250 degree oven for an hour and a half or so until crispy.

Our first dish, Pasta and Chard, perfect together

8 oz cheese agnollotti (or ravioli)
1/4 cup pine nuts
2 strips of applewood smoked bacon, chopped raw
2-3 cloves of garlic, sliced thin
1 T olive oil
2-2 1/2 cups chopped swiss chard
1/2 cup white wine (sauvignon blanc)
(from the mind of Mr. P)

Boil water for pasta and once pasta is cooking begin sauteeing the remaining ingredients.

Cook bacon in skillet with garlic and olive oil for about one minute over medium heat. Add pine nuts. Stir for another minute. Add chard. Continue stirring for two minutes.  Add wine. Let mixture cook down for a minute or two. Add pasta and lightly sautee. Mix and serve.

For our stolen dish of the evening, it's Squash Soup with Parmesan and Fried Sage (from Bon Appetit, Nov. 2001)

3 T butter
1 onion, chopped
1 t chopped fresh sage
2 3/4 pound butternut squash, peeled, seeded and chopped (about 5 cups)
5 cups canned chicken broth (or veggie)
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
fresh sage leaves

Melt 1 T butter over medium heat. Add onion. Cook until soft, stirring occasionally, about 7 minutes. Add chopped sage; stir 1 minute. Add squash and broth. Increase heat to high and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until squash is tender, about 25 minutes. Cool slightly. Puree soup in blender. Return to pot. Mix in cheese. Season with salt and pepper to taste.  Melt 2 T butter in skillet over medium heat. Add sage leaves and sautee (be careful not to burn). Ladle soup into bowls. Garnish with fried sage leaves.