Tag Archives: winter squash

Butternut Bacon Pancakes

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A while back my husband was talking about how good my savory pancakes are, which was nice to hear. I most often make them with zucchini, especially when my garden is really producing.

The way I make savory pancakes is with a small amount of liquid, and very little flour. So mine are a not pancake with a little bit of veggies. Quite the opposite.

Then my husband suggested I make pancakes with butternut squash, and that’s when I realized I never had used any kind of winter squash in savory pancakes. I decided to include bacon, shallots, walnuts, and parsley for a perfect autumnal pancake.


Butternut Squash and Bacon Pancakes

6 ounces bacon, diced
2 eggs
2 ounces cream
Pinch of salt
1/2 teaspoon white pepper
1 – 2 pound butternut squash
3 small shallots, diced
1 1/2 ounces chopped walnuts
Chopped parsley
Approximately 2/3 cup flour

Using a large skillet, cook the bacon dice just until done; you don’t want it super crispy. Scoop out of the bacon grease using a slotted spoon, and place on paper towels to drain. Keep the skillet with the bacon grease on the stove.


In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, cream, salt and pepper; set aside.

Peel the butternut squash and remove the seeds. Using a grater, grate the squash. Place the squash in the bowl with the eggs.

Add the shallots, chopped walnuts, and parsley to the bowl and stir, then add the bacon and gently incorporate.

Add the flour by gently sprinkling it over the squash mixture and incorporating it to make the batter.

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Have a plate, a spatula and a large spoon ready next to the batter bowl. Place about 2 teaspoons of the melted bacon grease and 1 tablespoon of butter for each batch of pancakes.

Place two or three even spoonfuls of the batter into the skillet and smooth them as best as possible.


Cook for a couple of minutes, then gently flip over, and turn the heat to medium. You want browning on the outside, but you also need the inside to cook.

Flip the pancakes over one more time and allow the squash to cook for at least another 2 minutes, 6-7 minutes total.

Place the pancakes on the plate, heat the skillet hotter, add more bacon grease and butter, and finish the remaining batter.

If you don’t want to use bacon grease and butter, use a olive oil or grape seed oil.

Serve the pancakes hot or warm. They’re great alongside grilled chicken or turkey, but also lighter with just a green salad!


If you’re munching on them as is, try them with some sour cream! Fabulous!

Spaghetti Squash

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There’s a special place in my heart for spaghetti squash. I love all squashes, and my locally available winter squashes like butternut and acorn are great for stuffing or for soups. But spaghetti squash can be used like noodles! After cooking the squash, you use a fork to scrape out the strands of spaghetti, except they’re actually squash strands.

Now I have nothing against pasta, but of course a vegetable, even a starchy squash, will always be healthier, especially over traditional white pasta. Plus the texture is fun and different. It’s just an option. And you don’t need a spiralizer!

There are many ways to cook a spaghetti squash, but I’ll show you the one I now stick with because it’s foolproof.
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And I mostly love it served spaghetti and meatball style!

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Baked Spaghetti Squash

1 large spaghetti squash
Olive Oil
Salt
Pepper

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Using a cleaver, cut the squash lengthwise in half. (My halves aren’t perfectly matched, but I am always concerned for my fingers when I’m wielding a cleaver!)


Remove all of the seeds from inside the squashes. Then place cut-side up in a baking pan. Drizzle with a little olive oil, and season with salt and pepper.

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Cover with foil, and bake for about 1 1/2 hours. If you want the squash to brown a little, remove the foil from the pan and continue baking for about 15 minutes.

Let the squash cool, then scrape at the squash halves with a fork to free up the lovely spaghetti strands. That’s it!


Try spaghetti squash as you would spaghetti, or with a Puttanesca, or underneath grilled chicken and peppers.
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Or you can stuff the squash halves!


I prefer spaghetti squash used as noodles. You can stuff other squashes!

Pesto-Roasted Squash

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There are two varieties of winter squash I can depend on being available where I live. These are acorn squash and butternut squash. I discovered too late last fall that my local store quits selling pumpkin soon after Halloween. Lesson learned for this year.

I would love to be able to try all of the fabulous squashes I see in food bloggers’ photos from farmer’s markets, but because of my living in a more rural area of the United States, I must be satisfied with what I can get my hands on.

If I plan on roasting peeled chunks of squash, I always reach for the butternut. I mean, would you ever even consider peeling an acorn squash with all of those ridges?
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Alternatively, If I want to roast squash for a dip, a puree, or as vessels for stuffing, I reach for acorns.

Today, I’m roasting chunks of butternut squash, but using pesto instead of tossing the chunks simply in olive oil. It just adds so much flavor, and pesto is especially handy flavoring ingredient during the months when fresh herbs aren’t growing outside.

When I make large batches of pesto to freeze every summer, I always omit the cheese. First of all, it reduces the volume of pesto, and thus, the number of jars, and secondly, I prefer to add my own amount of freshly grated cheese when preparing a dish – such as, for example, pasta with pesto.
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So the pesto I’m using on this squash contains basil, parsley, garlic, pumpkin seeds, and olive oil. The flavor is condensed, without the dilution of cheese. I actually think the inclusion of cheese in the pesto might cause some burning and sticking during the roasting process. If you really want cheese on the squash, wait till the roasting is over, and sprinkle some on right before serving. I did not add cheese.

Pesto-Roasted Butternut Squash

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Farenheit.

Place 1/3 – 1/2 cup of pesto (without cheese) in a large bowl. Add a little olive oil, if necessary, to make a nice slurry. Set aside.
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Meanwhile, trim and peel a large butternut squash. Remove the seeds, then chop up the squash into uniform-sized pieces. Obviously, the smaller the pieces, the less the cooking time, so it’s really up to you and how well you know your oven. Just try to get the pieces similar in size.

Toss the squash pieces in the pesto mixture. Add a little more pesto if you think it’s necessary.

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Add a little salt only if you don’t include salt when you make pesto, which I don’t. Toss, and gently pour the squash into a large roasting pan. Just so you know, I happen to love my 15-year old Mauviel roasting pan, and highly recommend the brand. It’s non-stick and heavy duty.

Place the pan in the preheated oven. The squash should be tender within about 30 minutes, but it depends on your oven, and how small you cut up the squash. Test the squash at some point to make sure you don’t overcook it, or else you’ll end up with pesto-flavored squash mash!
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Today I served the butternut squash with some grilled filet mignon.

You can really mix and match the pestos to the proteins included in a meal. For example, a cilantro pesto would lend itself well to an adobo-rubbed filet. Alternatively, a lemongrass pesto would pair beautifully with an Asian-marinated filet.

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note: If you don’t have any leftover pesto to use simply blend up a slurry of any herbs you can find at the grocery store, such as basil, parsley, and cilantro. Add garlic and olive oil and make a thick marinade of sorts; nuts are not necessary.

Cooking in Autumn

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Pumpkins. I think about them a lot in the summer. It doesn’t matter if it’s 100 degrees out – I’m thinking of pumpkins.

I love autumn and all of the foods that it brings to life. I do love the summer months for fresh tomatoes and lovely ripe fruit, but seriously, there’s nothing quite like pumpkins. I think it’s not just about pumpkins themselves, but more about what they represent to me.

Fall is my favorite time of year, and it’s maybe my favorite eating season. I have a daughter like myself. We’re not too fond of the extreme heat of our summers, and pretty much count the hours until that first cool brisk day of autumn. We like wearing cardigans, we love pretty fall leaves, fireplaces, football games, hazelnuts, pears, gourds, and we love our pumpkins.

I started my blog at the end of September, 2012. WordPress tells me that I started it in August, but that’s when I purchased my wordpress theme. Then we left for a lovely three-week trek through Scotland, and it was right when we were back that I published my first post.

It was perfect timing, because fall was about to arrive where I live. Over the following months I wrote posts on pumpkin polenta, butternut squash soup, pumpkin pancakes, sweet potato risotto, pumpkin spazele, and acorn squash dip. I was definitely excited to write about autumnal dishes. Not the greatest photos – but fortunately, those have improved.

So now here it is 2013. I finished up my summer posts, and scheduled some that fit in quite nicely into the “shoulder” season between summer and fall. And then we took a long road trip through Colorado, Utah, Arizona, and New Mexico. As much as I love cooking, it was a nice break from the kitchen, as well as from the computer.

But during the whole time I was gone, I was receiving my weekly posts from hundreds of fellow bloggers. It was like they stole all of my pumpkin ideas, and beat me to the punch! It wasn’t even cold out yet! I seriously thought I was the only cooking pumpkin freak on earth! I was reading about pumpkin breads, pumpkin dips, and pumpkin smoothies. I was in shock! There were also pumpkin falafels and crepes! Why did I never think to make those?!!!

It took me a while to realize that it’s not just autumn that cooks and food bloggers love – it’s every season. And why not? If you love food, then you’re most likely seasonally driven.

Since it’s just the two of us eating at home now, I really don’t need to go too crazy on making everything pumpkin, although I will kind of miss it. In the past I’ve made the requisite pumpkin butter and as a result, I still have too many in my freezer. At some point, maybe for company, I’ll throw some canned pumpkin into a savory bread, or maybe in some sweet scones for a fun breakfast food. But I really can’t be too obsessed with turning everything pumpkin like I’ve done in the past. And based on the expansion of my waistline since I started blogging a year ago, this is probably a good thing.

If you do want some ideas for using pumpkin, either fresh or a good canned variety, here is a post I wrote this past February. I was obviously obsessed with winter squashes and resisting spring!

And speaking of spring, when it comes, I will most likely forget about pumpkins and renew my love affair with all things strawberry and asparagus. Happy Fall, folks!