A Stack of Dishes

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appetizer

Sweet Potato Empanadas with Pesto Filling

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Digging around in the freezer can result in finding some ingredients to make some fun things like these Sweet Potato Empanadas filled with a dollop of pesto and served with a lime yogurt dipping sauce.

As food lovers we can become collectors of ingredients, like artists needs materials. Do you do this too? Wherever I go, either home or on vacation, I am constantly scouring for something new, or previously ignored. Sauces, frozen foods, unusual fruits and veggies- that sort of thing.

My studio is located in a mostly hispanic neighborhood, which can lend itself to some interesting finds. The markets stock fun things such as guava puree, tamarind blocks, frozen yucca, and several varieties of empanada wrappers.

Wrapping it up

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Blackberry Brie Flatbread Pizza

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Blackberry Brie Flatbread Pizza with Tarragon

It’s a cold messy Winter day here in NYC, the perfect day to turn on the oven and reshoot some recipes for the little cookbook I’m working on. It’s going to be a sweet gem of a tome of cocktail nibbles geared mostly for those sultry summer nights. This recipe is meant for the grill, not so much the oven.

A lot of people talk about the overwhelming work and effort of creating a cookbook. Perhaps because I love it so much, perhaps because it’s only 45 recipes, perhaps because I am my own boss-girl on this project- but I am finding it only joyful and fun. Then again, I’m only halfway there. And then there is selling it.

I’ll keep you posted on all this. You will all buy a copy right? I will give you the friends and family discount, I promise!

In the meantime, I hope you like this little sweetie. Take a good quality flatbread, smear some most excellent fresh ricotta on the bottom, then layer some slices of brie, sprinkle with juicy blackberries and roast in a 450˚ oven until the berries are bursting and the cheese is bubbling and runny. Splash some tarragon on top and then have at it. Easy breezy for cocktails on the deck.

So much for Winter, I’m ready for that…..

 

Browned Butter Maple Glazed Delicata Squash with Hazelnuts

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Delicata Squash that tastes like candy.

Behold, I have brought you another idea for your holiday table, the brilliantly easy to prepare delicata squash. Delicata squash has a special place in my heart since you don’t have to do any teeth gritted wrangling to slice it up. Man, slicing up acorn squash can be harrowing on the fingers, and can require a bit of muscle at times too. With the delicata though, the outer skin is so tender there is no need to peel, just slice, cook, and eat.

I have also absolutely fallen in love with browned butter. This is a direct result of an evening with Dorie Greenspan at Books Are Magic in Brooklyn last week, where she was holding court to promote her new cookbook: BUTTER. It’s one of 29 other small little books from the Short Stack Editions group. The books are simple pamphlet-like books all created around a single theme. They are just the most wonderful little gems and I just adore them. Sure, sure, you can get more for less- but there is something so utterly charming about this series. They are more like small art pieces than a standard cookbook, and I just love that about them. (stocking stuffers anyone?)

During the gathering Dorie served up some buttery treats, one of which was a Cinnamon Chili Caramel Corn that was sheer delight. I just became entranced with that nutty buttery caramely thing. Poor butter has been thoroughly ostracized for the past several years. I may have to single handedly bring it on back. Olive oil- I adore you- but butter? You must be my mistress. Browning butter is such a magic trick too. It doesn’t take any great skill (only a smidge of patience), and you get this amazing thing. Who doesn’t love that?

 

Browned Butter Maple Glazed Delicata Squash with Hazelnuts

serves 8

4-5 small delicata squash

4 tablespoons unsalted butter

4 tablespoons maple syrup (please use the real thing, it’s worth it here)

generous pinch of salt

1/4 cup of hazelnuts, toasted and chopped

 

Slice the squash in half lengthwise, scoop out the seeds and slice into even 1/4″ slices. Set aside.

Place the butter in a small light bottomed saucepan and place over medium low heat. Melt and continue to stir. The butter will sizzle as the water is cooked out. Just as this subsides and gets quiet, you will start to smell the nuttiness and see small bits settle to the bottom of the pan. When the butter is toasty, but not overly burnt, remove from the heat and pour the butter into a bowl. This will stop the butter from continuing to brown and possible burn. This all takes about 3-4 minutes.

Add the maple syrup to the butter and the salt. Stir and set aside.

In a large skillet, prepare with cooking spray and warm over medium heat. Add the slices of delicata and cook for one minute. Add 2 tablespoons of water, over the pan with a lid, and steam the squash for 2-3 minutes. Remove the lid and cook off any remaining water.

Add the buttery syrup mixture and cook gently over medium low heat until the squash is caramelized by the syrup, about 3 minutes.

Transfer to a platter and sprinkle the chopped nuts on top.