Squash Casserole

Squash casserole holds a tie with macaroni and cheese as my favorite dish my Mom makes. Maybe it's because squash casserole is essentially the same as the macaroni and cheese my Mom makes, except squash take the place of elbow noodles, and the squash's own juices take the place of milk. If you will, you could say squash casserole is a healthier version of mac and cheese!

This dish is found at every Southern table for weeknight suppers and even special occasions. I get my mother's squash casserole only at Christmas when visiting home, so the dish in now a special occasion dish for me.I have the hardest time finding tender, young, yellow crookneck squash around these parts (always find straight squash, or overgrown squash with tough skins and pithy centers), so I actually grew my own this year. We use nothing else but yellow crookneck squash, so it's not the same to me with some other squash, but you certainly could use some other yellow summer squash. Just be sure the squash is young and tender, as this is very important to the texture of the casserole.Squash is boiled until tender and then mashed to varying degrees of mushiness. I like squash casserole mushed to oblivion, and also only slightly mushed. I like squash casserole.

So, I will eat them in a box. And I will eat them with a fox. And I will eat them in a house. And I will eat them with a mouse. And I will eat them here and there. Say! I will eat them ANYWHERE!On vacation a few weeks ago, a friend made squash casserole knowing I liked it so much, and commented that everyone makes squash casserole differently. It's true! She made hers with dill, sour cream, and Cheddar, and it was fabulous. I'm giving you a basic recipe with only onions and Cheddar cheese, but feel free to play around.

Squash Casserole
adapted from my Mother
serves 4-5

5-6 yellow squash, chopped
1 egg
2 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup onion, chopped
garlic salt, to taste
salt and pepper, to taste
1 1/2 cups sharp Cheddar cheese, grated

• Boil squash until tender. Drain water from squash.
• In a large bowl, add the squash, egg, butter, onion, garlic salt, salt and pepper. Mash together with a potato masher
• Add Cheddar cheese to squash mixture and combine.
  
• Pour into a casserole dish and bake at 350 degrees fro about 30 minutes.
  

Apple and Squash Risotto

A local chef ranted on their blog about not liking to accommodate special requests, but will do so...with some bitching. Oh, boy, did this chef bitch. About vegans, in particular.

What really got me was the example the chef used as an absurd vegan request — risotto.Sure, risotto tastes great made with butter, cream, and Parmesan cheese (probably tastes great with sausage, too), but when did risotto become a dish about dairy products? Not all risottos are made with cheese and cream; most seafood risottos aren't. And, not all risottos are made with butter; olive oil is often used.

Risotto is a dish with arborio rice, an Italian short grain rice, as it's star, not dairy. Creaminess comes, first and foremost, from slowly cooking the rice in small amounts of water or broth so as to coax out the rice's own starch.

Not sure why the chef got all frothy at the mouth about vegan risotto. It's quite simple to make, and make tasty.Apple and Squash Risotto
serves 4-6

4 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion
2 cups arborio rice
apples, peeled, cored and diced (about 1 1/2 cups)
butternut squash, peeled and diced (about 1 1/2 cups)
1/4 teaspoon curry powder
1 cup white wine (vegan wine if this matters to you, or skip if you don't do wine and just add more broth)
4 cups vegetable broth, warmed
salt and pepper, to taste

• Add olive oil to a large pot over medium heat. Add onions, and cook for 4 minutes until translucent.
  
• Add the rice, stirring well, and cook for 2 minutes.
• Add apples, butternut squash, and curry powder to rice. Cook for 4 minutes, stirring often.
• Add wine to the rice, stirring often, and cook until the wine has been completely absorbed by the rice.
• Add 1/2 cup of the vegetable broth, stirring often, until almost all of the liquid has been absorbed by the rice. Repeat this process, adding 1/2 cup of the broth at a time until all of the broth has been used. Add salt and pepper to taste during the cooking process. This process will last for about 20-30 minutes, or until the rice is tender, but al dente. The important thing here is to stay with the rice stirring the entire time.
  
• Risotto is best served immediately after cooking.
  

Roasted Squash and Beet Salad

Perhaps it won't take you three attempts at roasting squash (like it did for me) to make this salad with roasted squash and beets, dried cranberries, pepitas, and goat cheese inspired by a very similar salad I ate from the grab-and-go case at Talula's Table in Kennett Square.

Roasting squash is not hard at all, I promise. I just had a serious space case, and effed up royally -- twice in a row! But you will need to devote some time to roasting squash and beets, and toasting squash seeds, so that's why I'd deem this salad a special occasion salad, and not a quick what's-in-my-crisper-I'm-hungry salad.

This is really lame, but I'm not including a dressing. The salad at Talula's Table came with apple cider vinaigrette, and I hated it (liked the salad, obviously). I attempted an apple cider vinaigrette from Ina Garten for my rendition, and I hated it, too. According to everyone else, Talula's and Ina can do no wrong, so obviously I'm crazy. Just use your favorite vinaigrette. Mine is just straight-up balsamic vinegar.

Roasted Squash and Beet Salad
serves 6

2-3 large beets, peeled and cut into 3/4-inch dice
1 small butternut squash, peeled and cut into 3/4-inch dice
2 tablespoons olive oil
salt
pepper
1/3 cup pepitas
1/2 cup dried cranberries
6 ounces goat cheese
mixed greens, enough for 6 (who measures?), washed and dried

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. The next three bullets can all take place in the oven at the same time, but have different baking times
  
• In a baking dish, toss beets with 1 tablespoon olive oil, and salt and pepper to taste. Bake for 30-45 minutes, or until tender, flipping beets half way through. (You can bake beets whole, then peel and dice, too, if you wish, but it'll take about 1 hour)
• In a seperate baking dish, toss squash with 1 tablespoon olive oil, and salt and pepper to taste. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until tender (not squishy, though), flipping squash half way through.
  
• If using the seeds from the inside of your squash instead of purchasing pepitas at the grocery, wash pulp from seeds, dry seeds, and place in an oiled baking dish, sprinkle with a pinch of salt, and bake for about 25 minutes, or until golden, checking and stirring after 10 minutes.
• Time to plate! Arrange greens on either individual plates or on one large platter. Top with roasted beets, roasted squash, pepitas, dried cranberries, and goat cheese. And the dressing of your choice.