Savory Baked Acorn Squash (no sugar!) Recipe

Savory Baked Acorn Squash (no sugar!)

On a recent grocery shopping trip I bought an acorn squash, but after I got home I started to think: "Now what am I going to do with this? I don't want to cook it with brown sugar/maple syrup and make it uber-sweet. I want something savory!" It sat for a while in my pantry while I tried to come up with how to prepare it. My previous internet searches only pulled up recipes for the sugary version of this dish (boo!), so last night I finally just decided to try making this similar to how I prepare another squash (Spaghetti Squash) with the basic salt/pepper/butter mix (for Spaghetti Squash I add in parmesan cheese!) and see how the Acorn Squash fared.

Once I got to the seasoning stage in my cooking experiment, I decided to try 2 different seasonings - I had 2 different halves after all! 

 

Baked Acorn Squash (Savory, no Sugar) 10-27-2013

On the one on the Left (picture above) I added a couple pinches of dried Thyme sprinkled over the cut half. On the other (Right squash half shown in above picture) I added in a sprinkling of Garlic POWDER. (I already had salt on it so no need to use garlic salt as that would over-salt it). Recipe is written up below.

I tried the Thyme flavored half last night and I really liked it! Today for lunch I ate the Garlic flavored one today...and it was another winner. (I do like Garlic after all! Next time I might try mincing up some fresh garlic to sprinkle/spread on one. :).



--------------

RECIPE

Recipe is sized for a 2 person serving (one half squash per person)...
...or 1 person plus leftovers for a future meal. ;-)


Prep Time: approx 10-15 minutes (or as long as it takes for your oven to preheat)
Cook Time: approx. 40-60 minutes


INGREDIENTS:
1 Acorn Squash
1+ cup water
2+/- Tbl Salted Butter
Fresh Ground Pepper (to taste)
Kosher Salt (to Taste) - I prefer to use Kosher Salt as its easier to not over-salt things. :) Plus I like the tactile feel of it.

& one of the following Seasonings:
    - Thyme (dried) - about 2 pinches
    - Garlic Powder - sprinkle to taste


Directions
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees
2. Half the Squash (being careful to not cut yourself!) & remove the seeds/insides with a spoon.
3. Using a knife, score the flesh around the cut side of the squash (& also poke a few holes into the backside - the outer skin).
4. Place the squash cut side down in baking dish with about a cup of water.
5. Microwave for about 5-6 minutes. When oven is heated, move dish to Oven (covering dish with foil) and cook for approx 20 minutes or until starting to get tender.
6. Flip squash over so that the cut side is up and place about 1 Tbl of salted butter into each half (in the well).
7. Rub a bit of the butter (as it starts to melt) onto the scored edges, just enough to lightly coat it.
8. Grind fresh pepper (to taste) onto the cut squash, then sprinkle kosher salt onto the squash (also to taste).
9. I added a few pinches of dried thyme (sprinkled) to the Squash on the Left; for the squash on the right I sprinkled some garlic powder.
10. Return the dish to the oven for another 20-30 minutes (occasionally basting with the melted butter in the well).
11. Remove from oven when the cut edges are starting to brown and its easy to pierce the flesh of the squash with a fork.
12. Let sit (rest) a few minutes to cool before serving.

To serve, I cut just inside the rind/skin with a butter knife (as the flesh is now nice & soft) and score it a few times before serving it whole. Using your fork/spoon, dip pieces of the cut flesh into melted butter and Enjoy!
:)

Perfect weather for baking...

now I just need to find the TIME to get some baking in. :)

I recently bought a bunt pan that has a really cool design (its cast aluminum) and I SO want to try it out...especially as I'd like to make something for my next Civil War re-enactment (Moorpark - in 2 weeks) but should probably do a test run before I do a 'final run' on something to bring. :)

Plus with the fall weather, I love PUMPKIN items. Pumpkin Bread, Pumpkin Cookies, Pumpkin Pie...Pumpkin Spice Lattes from Starbucks ;-).

I just found this Pumpkin Spice Bread recipe on AllRecipes.com and want to either try it or compare it to another pumpkin bread recipe I have. (Pumpkin Cranberry bread. Yum! :). Of course, it doesn't have to be "Pumpkin" Spice Bread...it could be any spice bread. I just have a hankering to do a spiced bread and that's the first one that comes to mind. Any suggestions for another spice bread recipe I could try out? (Also, I guess I should check my historical cook books - both reprints of actual historical cook books and modern ones put out by interpreters, like Old Sturbridge Village's cook book).

Oh, and Molasses Ginger Cookies. I should totally make those too (especially for the Moorpark event). Sigh, so many things to do, so little time after work especially as I'm trying to be good and follow my Dr's advice at getting more sleep. :) (Hard, but working on it. I know I need it :).

Of course, I guess I could always try my hand at an old fashioned Pound Cake recipe. :)

And then there's Lemon Squares. (Always make these from scratch - using a recipe from my mom's old Peanuts/Snoopy cook book that's psychedelic green & fuchsia colors. Makes fantastic Lemon Squares! :)

Or a Lemon Custard...or a Pudding (one of the many English style ones, not the custard style American dessert that we call pudding...though that's yummy too :).

Can you tell my brain is focused on cooking & baking right now...and not on my work at hand? Speaking off....must get back to work now.
Ta!
:)

in a baking mood

so, I'm thinking of baking some cookies tonight, since the baking mood has apparently struck. ;-).

But what cookies should I bake? Hmmm...so many choices.

Chocolate Chip Oatmeal are always yummy. So are Molasses-Ginger Crinkle Cookies. Then there's Snickerdoodles...

:)

Any suggestions? :)

Homemade Cinnamon Rolls

Ok, as promised, here's a few pics and the recipe from when I made homemade cinnamon rolls from a week or so ago.

=)

Ready to Bake

* * * *

Fresh from the Oven

The Rolls turned out FABULOUS, though I realized I should have probably greased the sides of each roll as I placed them in the pan (in order to make it easier to pull the baked rolls apart from each other). Another (minor) critic is that next time I'll have more very softened butter ready when working on the butter/cinnamon/sugar layer. Having softened butter (but not *melted*) worked really well during the cooking to flavor the inside portions of the rolls during baking. Since I had run a bit short on softened butter, I quickly microwaved some butter for a few seconds, but it was too melty to work properly. (It all worked out - and I was able to use that melted butter - but the softened butter definitely works better for spreading on the dough). As for the cinnamon/sugar ratio - let's just say I used the suggested amounts as a starting point. (A Guideline =). I started with those amounts, and just started covering the dough with a layer of cinnamon and brown sugar. When it *looked* right, then I stopped. (I like mine cinnamony/sugary! =).

Instead of doing just "baker's flour" (which I didn't have on hand), I used a mix of all purpose flour and whole wheat flour (see recipe for ratio). I am certainly pleased with how the dough turned out, so I'll definitely use that mix of flours again.

Another note - the original recipe mentioned using an 8" x 8" pan. However, since I let mine rise for quite some time (I really wanted the rolls to *at least* double in size =), there was no way that I could possibly fit mine into the 8" x 8" pan. Instead, I managed to get them to fit into a 9" x 13" pan.

And lastly - next time I make these, *if* I don't want to bake ALL of the rolls at the same time, I might just freeze some of the formed rolls (uncooked/still in the dough stage - but all formed & ready to bake) so that I can just bake a few at a time.

The original recipe for both the rolls and the frosting were found on AllRecipes.com.

Click here for the cinnamon rolls and here for the icing/frosting.

(Note: Frosting recipe was part of another Cinnamon Roll recipe, submitted by a Pat Myers. I did not try the roll portion of the recipe. The icing/frosting is a fairly standard recipe for frosting, and it's hard to mess up or improve upon =).

However, me being me...I tweaked the recipe. =) So, I've rewritten the cinnamon roll recipe and incorporated my notes into it. (And I've included the frosting recipe/steps in my roll recipe)

Enjoy!

=)

* * * *

Ingredients – Rolls:
1 (0.25 ounce) package active dry yeast
¾ cup warm water (approx 110 degrees F or 45 degrees C)
– double check with Yeast package for optimum temp.
¼ cup white sugar
¾ teaspoon salt

1 egg, room temperature
2 ½ cups bread flour

(~OR~: 2 cups all purpose & ½ cup wheat -- my preference)

¼ - ½ cup butter, softened (*very soft*, but not melted)
1+ tablespoon ground cinnamon
½ + cup brown sugar

Ingredients – Icing/Frosting:
½ (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
¼ cup butter, softened
1 cup confectioners’ sugar (aka - powdered sugar)
½ teaspoon vanilla extract (My Preference: Watkins Original Double-Strength Vanilla )
1 ½ teaspoon milk


Directions:

1. In a small bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. (Careful that water temp is in correct heat range for the yeast!) Let the dissolved yeast stand until creamy (about 10+ minutes, depending on ambient room temperature).

2. In a large bowl, combined the yeast mixture with the sugar, salt, egg and about 1 cup of flower; stir well to combine. (You may want to use a whisk for this stage).

3. Stir in the remaining flour slowly, about ¼ - ½ cup at a time, beating well with each addition. (A wooden spoon works well at this stage).

4. When the dough has pulled together, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic. (About 8 minutes). Cover with a damp cloth and let rest for about 10-20 minutes. (You may also remove to a lightly greased bowl and cover it, to let it rest).

5. Lightly grease a baking pan. Depending on how big you will make your rolls, you may want to use a 9” x 13” pan (instead of an 8” x 8” pan).

6. Roll dough out onto a lightly floured surface to ¼ inch thick RECTANGLE. (This will help you roll the dough into an even cylinder shape later for cutting).

7. Smear the dough generously with the softened butter so that the dough is completely covered.

8. Sprinkle with both cinnamon and brown sugar either to taste and evenly covered. (Feel free to use more cinnamon & sugar if you like it extra cinnamony/sugary! =).

9. Roll up the dough along the long edge until it forms a roll. (Try to keep the roll tight, but don’t worry if it’s loose. You can always reform the cut roll into a tighter roll before placing it into the baking pan.)

10. Slice the roll into equal sized pieces (approximately 16) and place them in the pan with the cut side up. *Optional: You may want to brush the outside of each roll, including sides, with melted butter...or at least lightly grease the sides with cooking spray.*

11. Cover the pan with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight OR cover and let it rise at room temperature until doubled in volume. (Min. 45 minutes – but you can go more like 1 hr to 1 ½ hrs, depending on your ambient room temperature).

12. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Bake until rolls are golden brown, about 20 minutes.

13. While rolls are baking, make the icing: stir together cream cheese, softened butter, confectioners’ sugar, vanilla, & milk until well mixed.

14. Remove rolls from oven when golden brown and let them sit a few minutes. If serving immediately, top with frosting. If saving most of the rolls for later (ex. refrigerating them), save frosting until you re-heat individual rolls.

a Busy Thanksgiving Weekend - Part 1

Where to start?



Well, the day before Thanskgiving (Wed), I got off work early (yea for work closing early!! =) and was able to go home and start my baking. I had LOTS of items (cookies and such) on my list of "to bake"...of course.
=)


I baked all the rest of the afternoon/evening, with a brief stop to run out to the store to pick up more flour (didn't realize how low I was until I was in the middle of baking) and another break to cook/reheat some leftovers for dinner. (Still no microwave, so need to be creative in re-heating).

Cookies baked that afternoon/evening:
2 batches of Pecan Cookies (Great Grandma Florence Thelin's recipe =)
1 batch of Pumpkin Raisin Cookies
1 batch of Lemon Squares (made from scratch with freshly grated lemon zest & squeezed lemon juice...of course!)

The Pecan Cookies & Pumpkin cookies took a long time to bake, since both of those were baked at lower temps and would therefore take longer to bake all the way through. Plus there's the whole frosting the pecan cookies (and making the frosting) and topping with a whole (i.e. non-broken) pecan half (preferably before the frosting sets ;-) which can take a bit of time.

The only batch of cookies I didn't get made that night, which I wanted to do, was the batch of Chocolate Chip cookies. I was a little bummed, but I wanted sleep too.

Thursday morning, however, I was determined to bake them... So I did. =)

I was a bit late with arriving in time to help out with Thanksgiving Dinner (mid-day meal) prep, due to baking, getting ready for the day (I wanted to look nice - so I gelled, blow-dried and hot curled my hair before setting it in a 1940s look...it looked awesome by the way!), and making sure I had everything since I was planning on being gone for the next day. After the family Thanksgiving party, the plan was for me to join up with some friends in LA for the Enigma (UCLA) Thanksgiving Party, to which I had earlier been invited (Thanks Riz!). And since the next day (Friday) I'd be hanging out at LosCon35 manning the Costume Repair Station and then watching my friends perform in the Lux show that evening, I was able to get permission to crash on the couch at the FIRM that night (Thurs) so I wouldn't have to drive home late at night and come back in the morning. (Thanks guys! =). Anyways, that meant I had to pack for my time away as well as just my Thanksgiving day stuff, and that of course took a little time to think through and grab the items I might possibly need (and throw it in the back of my car with other stuff currently residing there ;-).

Thanksgiving with the family was great. Good food + good company = great times! =) Plus, it was nice to see my grandparents (especially since Grandpa's not doing well right now, and if I'm being realistic he probably won't make it to another Thanksgiving). I arrived around 1pm, and while the food was just about ready to serve, the grandparents hadn't arrived yet. They were still stuck in traffic, so the rest of us got to chat and keep the food warm as best as we could. =) Soon enough, the grandparents arrived, the greetings took place, a blessing on the food was said, and we all tucked into our scrumptious food.

Dinner at my family means a Turkey, stuffing/dressing, mashed potatoes, homemade gravy, yams, creamed corn (everyone's favorite!!), green beans, fresh baked rolls, cranberry salad (another of Great-Grandma Florence's recipes) and home-made pies! Such yummy dishes.
=)
Fortunately, I was able to refrain from stuffing myself, even though all the food was so yummy its kinda hard not to overeat.

Since we were at my folk's place this year, instead of all trekking down to Escondido (San Diego County), we got to use their new CA Poppies China (a reproduction of one of the sets of China used on the Santa Fe Rail Road, if I recall correctly). They're really pretty, and since they're reproduction of a Railroad China set, they're smaller sized than 'normal' china. Which is kinda cool since they all fit better on the table AND it means you can't overload your plate as much.
;-)

But I digress. As we leisurely ate our meal, we chit-chatted and in general had a good time covering a variety of topics in our conversation. (Not that I can recall any right now, mind you =). After dinner, my dad got a chance to show off his new flatscreen tv (to his folks and sister) with a showing of The Alps video. (http://www.amazon.com/Alps-Blu-ray-Michael-Gambon/dp/B001BEK892/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1228352291&sr=8-1 ) I must admit that this is a pretty cool video to see on a really good tv. Not only is the picture quality good on the tv, the video itself was filmed in IMAX *and* its Blu-Ray, so you KNOW that the resolution is amazing! All in all it was pretty neat to watch the gorgeous Swiss scenery as it flashed by on the screen.

Soon, though my sister (Sara) and her hubby had to leave for their next party, which was back down in San Diego with Jeremiah's extended family. After a family photo was taken, and a round of goodbyes had been made, SaraMiah departed. Next, Tim and Monica got to show off their photos (and photos taken by others) from their trip to Argentina earlier in the year. After viewing the photos, they too had to take off so they could join up with Monica's family Thanksgiving, and another round of goodbyes was made.

Not too long afterwards, I too made my goodbyes and headed up to LA to join in with the Enigma Thanksgiving (already going on, but I was just joining in when I was able to). When I arrived, there wasn't much parking (sorta expected that), but after circling the nearby streets for a bit I eventually found a not-terribly-*too*-far-away parking spot and made my way to the party. They were just serving dinner when I arrived. What great timing! =) I wasn't terribly hungry since I had only eaten a few hours earlier, but I did make a small plate and snack on a few items to tide me over till dessert.

I gotta say that the party was a lot of fun. I only knew a handful of people, but I did get to introduce myself to a number of Enigma people (or friends of Enigma) and occasionally someone, like Jen K, did remember to introduce me first. =) I even got to chat about costuming with one of the other gals there (who is interested in doing a costume for a Cthulu game that's coming up in January and wanted ideas for an outfit).

When the dessert came out, there were a couple of pies (including a yummy Lemon Meringue), a brownie creation (not sure what it was, but it was yummy) in a cast iron skillet, and my various cookies/treats. We definitely had plenty of dessert! And I got complimented on my desserts. (Yea! =)

And while the party was fun, it was a long day, and when David said he was interested in heading back to the FIRM (he still had stuff to work on to get ready for the Lux Theater show the next day) I decided to leave at the same time and give him a ride. Back at the FIRM, I got to chat with him while he got things together for the show, and also with Graydon when he arrived, and eventually we all called it a night. (Whereupon I got to crash on the couch...which is a very comfy couch, btw. Thanks guys! =)

And well, that's the end of my Thanksgiving Day, so I'll end Part 1 here. =)

(I'll continue with my weekend at LosCon in another post...later tonight most likely)