Winter squash recipes

[Kerry Beal]

6 hours ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

 

Oh, my...I just googled "Rachel Ray garbage bowl" and it is actually a thing!  How do you use yours, Kerry?

 

Don't actually have one - but have seen them at the store. A simple stainless bowl works fine for me!

[Katie Meadow]

The only reason I would ever participate in this thread is this: to thank you all for keeping everything pumpkin in one place and giving the thread a clear and simple title so I know to avoid it. The only good pumpkin is a jack-o-lantern with a candle inside. And the only edible part of a pumpkin are the seeds, buttered, salted and roasted. The rest of that glop goes right in the garbage. And as you would imagine, I don't have any positive thoughts about that stuff that comes in a can.

 

The invention of pumpkin spice is a crime. The concept of a pumpkin spice latte is an insult to coffee. And just for the record, while I can't abide pumpkin pie or pumpkin bread, I adore sweet potato pie made from real yams or even sweet potatoes (or a mix!), but it must be totally without the spices that make it try to taste like pumpkin pie. Okay, done.

 

My vote for best breakfast the day after Thanksgiving: leftover sweet potato pie and coffee with chicory. 

[cakewalk]

Give the lady a slice of pumpkin pie ... with raisins!!

[heidih]

I abhor the fake pumpkin spice smell - think I saw something on  the internet the other day about a place being evacuated for noxious odor - yup! An office I visited frequently last year had one pugged in - smelled like bad curry all day...

 

But winter squashes are on my favorite list. Kabocha (Japanese pumpkin), aside from being beautiful, is a nice dry flavorful beast. I put it into microwave without even poking for a few minutes. After resting it is easy to clean out seeds and roast or otherwise use. I like it in a soup with coconut milk and Thai flavors.  

 

As a singleton I am partial to the personal size Delicata squash - halved lenghwise, cleaned, sliced to half moons , tossed with olive oil, miso, and hot pepper paste - roasted = heaven - I eat the whole sheet pan as a meal. 

Edited October 8, 2017 by heidih (log)

[heidih]

I forgot to mention a recipe I've wanted to try since I read a version in a Marlena de Blasi book. Here is a link to Ruth Reichl's version. Rich creamy baked in the pumpkin thing http://ruthreichl.com/2016/10/how-to-stuff-a-pumpkin.html/

 

[JoNorvelleWalker]

At the store this afternoon I went looking for cut up winter squash.  Quite a few varieties of squash but none pre-cut.

 

[heidih]

I've mostly seen those pre-cuts of big hard squashes online in images from Europe.  i have seen it locally in big Latin American focused markets.

Edited October 8, 2017 by heidih (log)

[suzilightning]

On ‎10‎/‎6‎/‎2017 at 5:56 PM, JoNorvelleWalker said:

 

Does your kitchen have a trebuchet?

 

just in time for pumpkin chuckin'

 

[suzilightning]

 

Seriously, though...

Squash in all it's forms are favorites here in the aerie.  Cheese pumpkins for soufflé s (I don't care for pies) or cheesecakes.  Butternut to chunk up and stew,  Acorn for baking, Hubbard, too.  I also like to fill ravioli with pureed squash and serve in sage and browned butter.  I also use canned pumpkin to make a pumpkin olive oil bread with raisins...and toast dope.

 

[gfweb]

I cooked my first kabocha squash the other week. It had been sitting in the pantry for four months. It was cut into wedges and roasted at 375f. It was beautifully caramelized on the cut side...sweet and a little nutty. 

 

I cooked my second KS tonight. It was none of the above. Same conditions. 

 

I'm assuming the storage caused sugars to convert and sweeten it. Anybody know any tricks to tell when a KS is old enough?

 

I recall a method involving initially roasting at 140 f which activates an enzyme that breaks down starch in butternut squash. Maybe my next attempt....

[MelissaH]

13 hours ago, gfweb said:

I cooked my first kabocha squash the other week. It had been sitting in the pantry for four months. It was cut into wedges and roasted at 375f. It was beautifully caramelized on the cut side...sweet and a little nutty. 

 

I cooked my second KS tonight. It was none of the above. Same conditions. 

 

I'm assuming the storage caused sugars to convert and sweeten it. Anybody know any tricks to tell when a KS is old enough?

 

I recall a method involving initially roasting at 140 f which activates an enzyme that breaks down starch in butternut squash. Maybe my next attempt....

That sounds like something Serious Eats did with sweet potatoes. For those of you who homebrew, it's kind of like what happens when you mash your grain in the beermaking process.