Butternut squash, red onion & tahini casserole

Thanksgiving, 2015

If ever a Chez Toby needed a picture!  This dish has a minimal number of ingredients and a knockout appearance and taste.  The key is to cut the onions the way the recipe says to, because the onion sections (each an eighth of a globe, the south pole or root portion of each eighth remaining intact to secure all of the layers) fan out beautifully and can be arranged atop the squash, violet floral motifs on deep orange.  Here are leftovers to give an idea: 

Ingredients for maybe 8 servings:

• 4 large red onions
• 2 pounds butternut squash (can increase and just mound up for more servings)
• 1/3 c or more pine nuts or shelled green pistachio nuts
• tahini sauce (1/4 c. tahini paste, 2 T. lemon juice, 1 clove minced garlic (or smash bulb and use immersion blender to make sauce), 1/2 t. salt, 1/4 c. water, 1T olive oil or more lemon juice if desired)
• 1/2 c. oil, salt, pepper

Preparation

1. Heat oven to 475 degrees. Lightly coat two large baking sheets with olive oil or use parchment.
2. Peel onions, leaving root ends intact. (Just leave the solid, connected part of the root end; it's OK to cut off any root portion protruding from globe.)  Cut each onion in half from stem to root. Cut each half into 4 wedges, leaving the root intact so that each wedge holds together. Spread on a baking sheet, sprinkle with salt and pepper and drizzle with oil.
3. Peel squashes and likewise cut them into vertical wedges, 1/2" wide at outer side - - or around 8 wedges per typical squash.  Put the squash in a large mixing bowl. Add 1/4 cup olive oil, 1 teaspoon salt and about 1/4 teaspoon pepper; toss to coat. Spread on a baking sheet.
4. Place both pans in oven and roast for 30 to 40 minutes, until the vegetables have taken on some color and are cooked through. Keep an eye on the onions, as they may cook faster than the squash and need to be removed earlier.
5. If using nuts, pour 1 tablespoon oil into a small frying pan and place over medium-low heat. Add nuts and 1/2 teaspoon salt and cook for 2 minutes, stirring often, until the nuts are golden brown and smell toasty. Immediately remove from the heat and dump onto a cutting board to stop the cooking. If using pistachios, chop coarsely when cool enough to handle.
6. To make tahini sauce, place tahini in a bowl. Add lemon juice, 1/4 cup water, garlic and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Whisk until sauce is the consistency of honey, adding more water or a tablespoon of olive oil if necessary.
7. When the vegetables are cooked, set aside until ready to serve. (The vegetables should be served the same day they are made. They can be served at warm room temperature, or reheated just before serving.)
8. To serve, combine vegetables on a large serving platter. If using tahini sauce, drizzle on top. Sprinkle any garnish, if using (eg cilantro, parsley) and nuts on top and serve.
   

Pumpkin cupcakes and waffles

I had a little fall baking fest for Halloween. I used two recipes straight off Smitten Kitchen, so I will just link to them here. I am posting them here together in part because they make such a nice pair. If you get 1 regulation size can of pumpkin you can make the cupcakes for dessert and then turn right around and make the pumpkin waffles (1/2 or 1/4 size recipe) the very next day. And you can top those waffles with the left over maple cream cheese frosting. So delicious.

Pumpkin cupcakes

I made them exactly as described in the recipe. I was too lazy to figure out the frosting roses so I just topped them with black and white Halloween sprinkles.

Pumpkin waffles

I made a half recipe and it made 4.5 waffles on my regulation-sized round waffle making. So many waffles. A full recipe would make about 9. So, adjust accordingly. I used walnut oil in place of butter and it turned out nicely, so that's an option. Also, beating the eggwhites separately made the waffles really fluffy. I don't love fluffy waffles. If you prefer a cakier/denser waffle, consider not separating the eggs. I haven't tried this yet, but I expect it would be good. Let me know if you do give it a go.

Kale Chips

I finally got on the kale chips bandwagon. What took me so long?! They're quick enough to make (less prep time than kale salad, though there is a bake time) and super tasty. And healthy! You really don't need much oil to make them taste good. I made them for the first time last night and plowed through the batch before dinner. I saved "half" for M., though his "half" kept getting smaller the longer he dallied in the other room.

I used this entry from She Glows with a few modifications. The author provides a lot of good tips (how to keep your chips from being soggy, etc) as well as explanations for why she does certain things.

Kale chips
Serves 2-4 people
Preheat oven to 300F

1/2 large bunch of kale - washed and DRIED WELL
Strip kale leaves from their stems and tear into medium sized pieces (~2"x2")
Place in large bowl
Pour 1T EVOO over the kale
Sprinkle with 4 cloves of garlic, minced; black pepper; chili powder; salt and then massage the kale to get the oil and spices to really soak in. These spices could use all kinds of tweaking - go simple with just salt and pepper, perhaps, or garam masala to accompany Indian food.
Spread onto rimmed baking sheets such that the kale forms a thin layer. This is important - if the kale is stacked up it will end up soggy.
Bake for 10 minutes. Rotate pans so that the kale cooks evenly. Cook for an additional 12 minutes or so.
Remove from oven and let stand for 3" before enjoying.