Butternut Squash Galette

It's still officially fall even though you wouldn't know it by looking outside today. Although, I have to say I love this kind of snow. It looks so pretty coming down, all fluffy and white, but nothing has been really sticking to the ground except on the grass and trees. It totally gets me in the mood for the holidays. Anyways, I digress. It's fall and I love cooking and baking with all the squashes available.

This weekend was my brother in law Chris' 40th birthday (I know, so young) and my sister threw him a little cocktail party for a few friends and family and I made a couple different types of crostini. One of them was butternut squash and ricotta, which was dee-lish. So I had some cubed roasted butternut left over and of course a little ricotta and so I decided to make a galette.

This was super easy to throw together, especially with frozen puff pastry. This galette is a lovely balance of savoury from the ricotta and feta with a hint of sweetness from the squash. It made a wonderful lunch today. And would be amazing for a brunch. I also happen to have some smoked mozzarella left over from the rice balls that I made for the party too, which I put in the galette. And I have to say it's the only thing I would change in the recipe. It was good but was a little too strong for the butternut squash, so next time I'm going to use regular mozzarella.

 I'm going to freeze the leftover galette for the car ride to Montreal this weekend. Yummy!

Butternut Squash Galette

1 sheet of puff pastry, thawed
1 small butternut squash, peeled, cubed, seasoned with salt and pepper and roasted, about 1 1/2 cups cooked
1 cup ricotta
1/3 cup feta, crumbled
1/2 cup mozzarella, cubed or shredded
1 egg
1/4 teaspoon grated nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 egg, lightly beaten, for the egg wash

Preheat oven to 375F.
Line a baking sheet with parchment. Roll out the puff pastry and cut the edges to form a rounded shape. Mix ricotta, feta, mozzarella, 1 egg, nutmeg, salt and pepper. Mound in the middle of the pastry leaving 1 1/2 inch border all the way around. Top with the butternut squash. Pull pastry up and over the edge of the ricotta and butternut squash, leaving the centre open. With a pastry brush, brush the pastry with egg. Bake for 40-45 minutes. Let cool completely before serving.

m xo

Blossoming Zucchini Pie

I had a little helper today. My niece Ella again. Thankfully she loves being in the kitchen just as much as I do, so when she is around and can spare a few minutes away from her iPad, she comes over to help with the chopping and stirring.

Today we decided to make zucchini pie because I had a few zucchini laying around from my moms garden (we didn't grow any this year). She also gave me a HUGE bag of zucchini blossoms (flowers), so I decided to use them in the pie also. But this totally optional as I know that they are hard to find. I, myself have gone to the farmers market down the street from me on a few occasions and they were sold out. I need to get there as soon as they open, which is like 7:30 in the morning. And well, I never did that. The flowers aren't really nessessary for this, I just think they make it look pretty. Lol.

To prepare the flowers, if you are using them, cut the bottoms off and split the flower lengthwise to remove the little pistil in the middle. Depending on how many you have, leave 5-6 to decorate the top of the pie and chop up the rest for the filling.

I normally make a frittata in a pan, but decided to change it up a bit by baking it a quiche baking dish. I sautéed the zucchini and an onion and mixed it in with eggs, a bit of cream, some herbs and cheese of course. I used Compte because, well, thats what I had. You can substitute Gruyere or mozzarella.

This dish is really nice because it can be served at room temperature, which means it can be made ahead of time. Great for brunch!

Zucchini Pie

Butter, to grease baking dish
Bread crumbs, to coat dish
1 tablespoon olive oil
4 cups sliced zucchini
1 medium red onion, chopped
6 eggs
1/4 cup half and half cream
1/4 cup parsley, chopped
1 teaspoon herbs de provence
2 cups Compte cheese, grated
12 zucchini blossoms or flowers, totally optional
Salt for the zucchini


Preheat oven to 350F.
Butter and coat a 12 inch, round baking dish. Set aside.
Place the sliced zucchini in a colander and salt liberally. Let it sit for 30 minutes.
Heat olive oil over medium-high heat and add the zucchini and the chopped onion. Cook until soft. Set aside and let cool. In a large bowl, mix the eggs, cream, parsley, herbs de provence, cheese and half the zucchini flowers, if using. Add the cooled zucchini mixture and pour in baking dish. Place 5-6 of the flowers decoratively on top and drizzle a little olive oil. Bake for 40 minutes until golden or a knife inserted in the middle comes out clean.. Let it rest for 10-15 minutes before serving.

m xo

Asparagus Frittata

Farmer's markets are just starting to open and sell their fresh produce in my area and I am all over them. I love going to see what they have and then coming home and plan our meals around the wonderful produce that I've bought.

This week I bought a few bunches of asparagus and fresh farm eggs and one of the things I made was this frittata. Growing up, we would have frittata at least once a week because it was a quick meal to make after work and delicious. Of course it always depended on what was in season or what what was in the refrigerator. One of  my favourite frittatas is potato, which I have to say, I make all year round. But I remember my mom making frittata to put in my fathers lunch to change it up from the usual cold cuts. Frittata is such a versatile dish because you can make it for breakfast, brunch, lunch and dinner.  And to this day, when I bring it for lunch, I can never wait for lunch time because I can't wait to have it. Isn't that funny?

I used 8 eggs and made a substantial frittata because not only did we have it for dinner, but John brought it for lunch the next day and I had it for breakfast. (see, I couldn't even wait for lunch) lol.

I used Comte cheese because it was what I happen to have in my refrigerator but you can use parmesan  cheese if you prefer.

I flip my frittata on an inverted plate and slide it back in the skillet and finish cooking but if you don't feel comfortable doing that, just make sure you use an oven proof skillet and finish under the broiler in the oven.

Asparagus Frittata

1 bunch of asparagus, cut into 1 inch pieces
2 tablespoons of olive oil
1 red onion, chopped
1 teaspoon salt or to taste
1/2 teaspoon pepper
8 large eggs
1 tablespoon chopped tarragon
2 tablespoons chopped chives
1/2 cup Comte, freshly grated

In a 10 inch skillet, cook the red onion and the asparagus in the olive oil over medium heat until softened. Season with salt and pepper.
In the meantime, whisk together the eggs, tarragon, chives and cheese in a bowl.
Lower the heat to a medium-low and pour the egg mixture into the pan. Cook and slowly drag the edges to the middle of the pan until the egg mixture is set. It should be lightly brown on the bottom. Place an inverted plate over it and with oven mitts on, quickly flip the frittata on the plate and slide it back in the pan. Cook until the bottom is lightly brown.
Slide onto a plate and cut into wedges to serve.

m xo

Spinach Ricotta Pie

We usually have lunch at my mothers every Sunday, and it always includes a pasta and some sort of meat (usually meatballs in sauce) but since she has become a snowbird this year, sadly we have to fend for ourselves. Can you believe that?! Hahaha! Just kidding.

So for this Sunday's lunch I decided to make a spinach pie.  Well actually, we had to have it for dinner because I forgot you have to thaw phyllo dough for a few hours.

I usually make this pie with an olive oil based pie crust but I didn't feel like a doughy crust so I decided to use phyllo instead. I only used 3 sheets, so if you're trying to cut back on carbs, this is perfect but you can use more if you want a flakier crust. And a tip I got from my Greek friend, Lena, who got it from her grandmother, sprinkle a few droplets of water on the phyllo before baking. It makes it a little crispier. Thanks Lena!

The leftovers were great for breakfast.

Spinach Ricotta Pie

8 oz. bag of spinach (more or less)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 shallot, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
475g ricotta
2 eggs
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
zest and juice of a lemon
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
nutmeg to taste
1 tablespoon bread crumbs
3 sheets phyllo dough
olive oil to drizzle on the phyllo dough




Preheat oven to 350F.  On medium heat put the spinach in a pan with a splash of water. Don't worry if the pan doesn't seem big enough, as the spinach wilts down, just add more spinach. Transfer to a cutting board, let cool and chop.

In the same pan, sauté garlic and shallot in olive oil until soft. Let cool.
In a bowl, combine spinach, sautéed onion and garlic, eggs, ricotta, parmesan cheese, zest and juice of lemon, salt, pepper and nutmeg.

In an 11inch tart pan with a removable bottom, place a sheet of phyllo and brush with olive oil. The phyllo will probably hang over the pan. Repeat with another 2 sheets. After brushing the 3rd sheet of phyllo, sprinkle with the breadcrumbs. Spoon in the filling and fold over the hanging phyllo all around the pie. Sprinkle some water and drizzle the dough with a little olive oil. Bake for 50 minutes. Cool for 10 minutes and remove the ring around the pie.

m xo

Shakshuka

Shakshuka! What a fabulous word! I love saying it. Shakshuka!

I also love the word Schenectady…but I digress.

What is shakshuka, you ask?  Shakshuka is a dish of eggs baked in a tomato sauce.

Mexicans have their huevos rancheros. Italians have eggs in purgatory. North Africans have shakshuka.

This is a perfect brunch dish. Be sure to serve it with lots of crusty bread to sop up the flavourful sauce.

Now I have to be honest here. I didn't have feta so I subbed with queso fresco. It was just as fab!

Shakshuka

3 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, chopped
1/2 teaspoon red chili flakes
1 pint of cherry tomatoes, halved
3 cups of crushed tomatoes
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1 bay leaf
3 tablespoons cilantro, chopped
6 eggs
crumbled feta cheese
cilantro to garnish

Place a large pan over medium-high heat and toast the cumin seeds until fragrant. Add the olive oil,

onion, garlic and chill flakes and cook until onion is soft. Add the cherry and crushed tomatoes, salt, sugar and bay leaf. Bring to a simmer and cover with a lid. Cook for 15 minutes. Stir in the cilantro. Make a little well in the sauce and crack an egg in it. Continue with the remaining eggs. Sprinkle a little salt on each egg and cover the pan with lid. Cook on low heat 10-12 minutes. Remove the lid and sprinkle with some feta and cover again a couple minutes until the feta has melted. Sprinkle with cilantro and serve.

m xo

Johnny's Granola

My husband John's go-to breakfast on the weekend is yogurt and granola. During the week it's a granola bar. No exceptions! He has been having a granola bar for breakfast for as long as I've known him. Only recently has he switched up his weekend breakfast to YOGURT and granola. Not a far stretch, I know. Ahhh, you gotta love him!
Granola is pretty easy to make. It's basically oats, whatever nuts and  dried fruit you like and some spices. I add shredded coconut because John likes it.
The dried fruit and coconut doesn't go in until the granola comes out of the oven, otherwise it would burn.
Just keep on eye on the granola because it could easily burn (or you could forget it) as I learned the hard way one summer. I put a batch in the oven and went out and sat on my stoop right outside the kitchen, chatting with my nieces. As I'm sitting there, I could smell something burning but thought it MUST be one of the neighbours. And I just kept talking and talking. Finally it hit me!! OMG!! My granola! Well needless to say I don't think I made granola for the next year. I was pissed…at myself of course. Hahaha!

Granola with Coconut and Cranberries

3 cups rolled oats
1 cup slices almonds
1 cup raw sunflower seeds
1/4 cup wheatgerm
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup honey
1/3 cup olive oil
1 cup dried cranberries
1 cup shredded, unsweetened coconut

Preheat oven to 300F.
Throw all the ingredients except the cranberries and coconut in a bowl and mix until combined. Spread out on a baking sheet and bake for 45- 55 minutes. Give it a stir after 30 minutes. When it is golden brown and your house smells amazing, it's ready. Take out of the oven and add the dried cranberries and coconut. Cool and store in air tight containers. I store mine in mason jars.

m xo

My new mug with Fresh Cranberry, Lemon, Lime Scones

I came home from work the other day and my husband had a surprise for me! Who doesn't like surprises?! 
He got me a coffee mug with MY cucinamarisa logo on it. He is so adorable! He has been so supportive and patient with my new blogging adventure. Example: I'll serve the dish that I'm about to blog and the poor man is just about to dig in and I'll yell "STOP!". I forgot to photograph the recipe. Hahaha! I would find this very difficult  without his encouragement.
And then of course there are all the computer challenges. He's teaching me as I go along and I have to say I'm really enjoying it. It's given me another creative outlet although I still have a lot to learn.
  I really wanted to show off my new mug with you guys but I couldn't just take a picture of it sitting all by itself. How boring would that be? So I decided to bake these scones.
 I had seen this particular recipe on the blog Joy The Baker and I liked it because A: it was easy and B: I had a huge bag of fresh cranberries that I bought at Costco. Also, they are not too sweet. Perfect with a cup of tea. 

Fresh Cranberry, Lemon, Lime Biscuits

3 cups flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
pinch of ground ginger
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup cold unsalted butter, cubed
1 large egg,  lightly beaten
3/4 cup buttermilk  (I used almond milk)
1 cup fresh cranberries
zest of a lemon  (I also used the zest of a lime)

milk to brush the tops of scones before baking
sugar to sprinkle on before baking

Preheat oven 400F.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a mixing bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, ginger, salt and sugar. Cut in the butter until it looks like little peas. I use my hands for this but you have to be quick because the butter has to stay cold. Thats what makes them flaky. Lightly beat the egg and milk and add to flour mixture until combined. Fold in zest and cranberries.
Turn out on floured board, pat it together and roll with a rolling pin to 1 inch thickness. Cut out  2 inch rounds. I used a glass for this. Place on baking sheet. Brush tops with milk and sprinkle with sugar. Bake for 15-18 minutes. Serve warm. Yummy.

m xo

When life gives you panettone.....

I love the month of December for so many reasons... The first snow fall. Twinkling white lights. Latkes with applesauce and sour cream. And PANETTONE. It has to be one of my favorite things. It's a rich brioche-like bread with dried fruit. Nothing like a slice with a cup of coffee or tea as an afternoon pick me up. By January though, I usually have a couple in my pantry that I need to serve so I decided to make bread pudding with it to bring to our nieces brunch. I used the traditional panettone with dried fruit but you can easily use Pandoro and add the fruit.

Panettone Bread Pudding 1 panettone 7 large eggs 3 cups whole milk 1 cup sugar 1 tablespoon vanilla Zest of an orange 1 teaspoon cinnamon  Pinch of salt

Cube the panettone and place in a lightly buttered casserole dish. Mix the rest of the ingredients for the custard and pour over the panettone. Push the cubes lightly down. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
Preheat oven to 350°F
Bake uncovered for 1 hour. Serve warm or at room temperature. 

 

Enjoy
m xo