A Stack of Dishes

Something good is cooking...

Gail Watson

The Amazing Delicata Squash Served With Grilled Steak and Espresso Vinegar

by

The gorgeous colors of fall. Golden Delicata squash sautéed to perfection.

Delicata is the perfect name for this lovely squash. It’s typically smaller than most robust fall squash, around 5-6″ in length, and it has a beautiful yellow color contrasted with dark green stripes. A fashion maven as well as a delight.

And it gets better- the skin is so fine that there is no need to peel! Taking a knife to a tough skinned fall squash can be a wrestling match sometimes, and that alone can be enough of a deterrent for me to just skip it altogether. The sweet delicata is my new best squash friend. Easy to slice, no need to peel, no need to lug some monster squash home from the market- and is just as bit delicious and healthy.

I tossed mine into a pan and they were done in just a few minutes. No need to pull out a baking sheet and roast, just a simple sautee and they are ready to serve. Delicata is also more delicate in taste too. I like my squash with a little bit of sweetness to it, so I added just a small touch of honey into the pan and finished with a few sprigs of fresh thyme.

Steak grilled to perfection is splashed with some espresso vinegar.

To accompany my squash I pan grilled off some sirloin steaks. The seasoning I kept to the classic, simply lots of salt and fresh ground black pepper. For the finish I splashed on some yummy espresso balsamic vinegar that I purchased last weekend when I was visiting my Mother in Greenport. There is a new store out there right on Main St. called Vines and Branches. It’s a gorgeous store stocked with rows and rows of flavored olive oils and balsamic vinegars. Both regular dark and white balsamic vinegars are infused with some amazing flavors such as cranberry pear, tangerine and juniper berry. Mother, daughter Olivia, and I circled around the shop and taste tested tiny sips of vinegar. Sounds like an odd thing to do to take vinegar straight, but they were all pretty delicious just like that! Needless to say, I walked out with a small armload that I just couldn’t resist.

The dark espresso vinegar I used on the steak has a deeply intense coffee flavor. Startling and fantastic! The little bit of the sweetness from the vinegar mellows the bitter edge of the espresso and the acidity adds the right touch of zing for the beef. They do ship, so be sure to check out their site.

It doesn’t take much to add a little something extra to a standard dish and elevate it to a place that you wouldn’t have imagined. However, if you’re not inclined to try the espresso vinegar- try a splash of traditional dark balsamic vinegar- or just leave it out altogether. A good steak is a good steak, and there ain’t nothing wrong with that.

 
Delicata Squash and Perfection Grilled Steak w/ Espresso Vinegar
It took me only 15 minutes to get this meal to the table. The squash sautés quickly as the meat is grilling.  A side of polenta is a nice addition if you’re looking for a starch.
serves 4
 
2 average sized delicata squash
2 cloves garlic
2T honey or brown sugar
2T olive oil
3T water
4-6 sprigs of fresh thyme
Maldon salt to finish
 
4 4-6oz sirloin steaks, ~1″ thick, set out 30 minutes before cooking
 
 
Preheat a grillpan on the stovetop on medium high for 10-15 minutes.
 
Generously season the meat with salt and fresh ground black pepper.
 
Place the meat on a greased grill pan. Allow to grill for 5 minutes untouched. Then flip and grill another 5 minutes for medium rare. Add another 2 minutes for medium and 4-5 for well done.
 
After removing from the grill let the meat rest on the cutting board for a few minutes to allow the juices to settle into the meat.
 
Meanwhile, while the meat is grilling you can prepare the squash.
 
Wash the squash and slice in half. Scrape out seeds and slice into .5″ half rounds.
 
In a large frying pan add olive oil and swirl around to coat pan set on medium heat. 
 
Crush and chop garlic and add to the pan and sauté for 1 minute. Toss in squash and arrange so all pieces have contact with bottom of the pan.
 
After about 3 minutes add water, thyme and honey and cover pan. Allow the squash to steam until the water has evaporated.
 
Remove the cover and shake pan to keep the squash from sticking and burning. Flip after 2 minutes. If the pan gets too hot and starts to burn, add a little more water to the pan.
 
The squash will turn a little translucent when done. Do not overcook to mush. 
 
To serve, slice the meat and arrange on plates. Splash with vinegar. Add the squash to the plate and sprinkle with a nice healthy pinch of maldon salt.
 
Enjoy!

Mapled Apple Hand Pies In a Brown Butter and Smoked Almond Crust

by

My version of Abby Dodge’s Apple Hand Tart
I am a fool for hand pies. I love them. I can make them all day. And who doesn’t like to eat a gem of a hand pie? I know I just posted an apple tart recently, but I made these pies today in honor of my new friend Abby Dodge, who has just come out with another outstanding book, this one called, Mini Treats and Handmade Sweets ~100 Delicious Desserts to Pick Up and Eat! Please read all about it here.
Abby is an incredible baker and an even more incredible person. I met her earlier this year at the NYC Cookbook Conference. She has an amazing grace and calm about her that I found mesmerizing. I am also terrifically jealous of her gorgeous gray hair- but that’s another subject. Abby has produced a long list of fantastic baking books, and each one should be on your shelf.
So here I am making pretty baked things to support my friend’s new book. So now you can forgive two apple treats in one week, yes?
Her recipe is titled: Brown Butter Apple Hand Tarts. The dough is made by first melting and browning the butter, and recipe uses eggs too. I’ve never made this type of crust before so I was intrigued. You can read about my other handpie dough recipes here, and you can see that I love to experiment.
For my version of her recipe, I added in a generous heap of finely chopped smoked almonds. This gives the crust an even earthier tone and a fantastic crunchy texture. The apples I kept pretty close to the recipe, though I split her 4 Tablespoons of honey into 2T of honey and 2T of maple syrup.
So there you have it.  Gorgeous afternoon delightfulness.
You can get the recipe here, and to recreate my version you would make the following changes:
For the crust:
2.5 c all purpose flour + 1c finely chopped smoked almonds, salted
omit salt in recipe
For the filling:
2T honey + 2T maple syrup
Happy Baking All!

 

Healthy Labneh with Honeycomb and Seeded Crackers

by

Homemade fat free labneh served with honeycomb and pistachios.

Homemade labneh has become a salvation. September has come barreling in with its usual madness. The days are whirlwinds of new routines, the sorrow as Summer fades, and the scramble to make sense of the new feel and rhythm of the season.

I am back to graduate school and this semester is packed. I’m only taking 3 classes, but they are all reading and writing heavy. This week alone was approx 400 pages of books and articles. It’s all wonderful stuff, and I am not the least bit unhappy about the subjects- it’s just well… whew! The tomes and pages are lined up at the end of my desk and they just haunt me. Reeeead meeeee. Reaaaad meee nooooooooow!

In another week or so I will get into my groove. I always do. Patterns will develop and a cadence and pace will fall in line and soon all will be in lock step. But for now- it’s more like organized chaos and that just freaks me out. Sometimes a lot, sometimes only a teeeny bit.

Cooking always brings me solace, and though it’s time away from demanding pages- it’s also a break from my thinking mind. There is quiet in my kitchen, and satisfaction in seeing something come to life in my hands as a result of time spent. There is something to that right? This is one of the reasons we like to cook, isn’t it? After putting in time and energy and your own particular flair into your food, there it is. On a plate. Looking all yummy and lovely. Look what I made!

And then, of course, you get to eat it.

Every day is theater. Every go round is a creation. Sure, not every day is award worthy, but hey, that’s okay- but I find it so soul satisfying. Sort of like coasting on a bike after long uphill climbs. What a blessing.

Homemade Labneh is a wonderful snack to have around. Making your own Labneh requires little more than time. Somewhere along the line I acquired a yogurt strainer (which I also use to make homemade ricotta btw). I dumped in a carton of Greek yogurt, covered it, and forgot it over the weekend. After 2 days I had lovely thick “cheese”. A very similar consistency to cream cheese with 0% saturated fat. Awesomeness. Nibble on it for your breakfast, or dress it up, like here, when you want to impress.

Rosemary fig seeded crackers

For now it’s the perfect snack for me to nibble on while I read. The Seeded Fig Rosemary Crackers above are the perfect accompaniment. I made these for a post earlier this year. I keep an unsliced loaf in the freezer and then defrost, slice and bake off when needed. There recipe is here. The beauty of that? I can slice off just as much or little as I need. (just a nice little aside).

The honeycomb I brought back from Thailand. Yes, it did ooze a bit into my luggage. Yes, I did have it wrapped up, but what can I say? It’s worth it. I am a bit excited about honey these days. I’m falling in love with it the way a sommelier can fall in love with Pinot Noirs. They are all so different tasting and aromatic. Sort of like golden jewels of deliciousness. My friend Gail Dosick has a friend who started a bee colony not too long ago (Thank you! the world needs people like you!) and I’m hoping I might get a bit of a taste of her first harvest. I hear it’s floral and divine. {fingers crossed}

Here come the holidays. This is a great go to. Lovely and rich tasting- but healthy and wonderful.

So no real recipe- like I said, strain a container of 0% Greek yogurt through a fine sieve or cheesecloth in the fridge for a day or so and you’re good to go. If you can’t find honeycomb regular honey is just fine.

Happy early Fall my darlings!