Squash

This, as far as I’m concerned, is the best time of year to cook. So much is still in season and these brisk, sunny fall days are made for browsing around the markets or driving out to the country in search of farm gate fare. The cool nights warrant warm, cosy, comfort food, which, I think, is my favourite kind.

Over Thanksgiving weekend, we took a drive down to Shantzholm Pumpkins on Bleams Road near Petersburg . We certainly weren’t the only ones. The cars were parked up and down the road in both directions, not surprising given the unbelievable weather we had.

Most people had come with their little ones in tow to play, check out the corn maze, and pick out pumpkins for the front porch. We went to have a look at the squash selection, which was abundant. I don’t know all the varieties, I’ll readily admit, but in that twisty, lumpy, wart-covered pile, I’m sure I saw acorn, hubbard and celebration squash. Suffice it to say, you’d find pretty much any kind you were looking for if you made the trip there or to any other pumpkin patch. I came away with only a little pie pumpkin, which is staying cool on my front porch while I decide what to make with it.

In the meantime, I’ve gone through several butternut and acorn squashes since they came into season, both of which I get weekly through my CSA farm share. I can’t seem to get enough of squash this year. Smoky butternut squash bisque with chipotle peppers in adobo is a lunch staple for me right now; I make at least one big batch every fall.

In the last week couple of weeks we’ve supped on roasted butternut squash and sage with pasta and baked acorn squash filled with sausage stuffing; breakfast has been pumpkin muffins (made with whatever squash is handy) or oatmeal with apple-pumpkin butter stirred in.

One of these days, when I find myself a quiet afternoon (or rather create one, because we never do find them, do we?), I’m going to make up a big batch of squash-filled ravioli. M hardier herbs are still thriving on the front porch and they’ll be put to good use for this recipe, which is, like all the best dishes, homey and simple.

We’ll have some for dinner one night and I’ll freeze the rest, because it not only makes for a great, basic supper some night down the road, it makes an elegant starter for something a little more eventful. Two or three ravioli are plenty in this case. You don’t want to stuff people full of pasta before the main event, whatever it may be.

The crispy sage leaves in this recipe are to die for. They’re earthy, buttery little chips, and they make a great garnish for soups and things, too.

This is adapted slightly from last fall’s Food & Drink magazine and serves six. It calls for hubbard squash, but you could use any kind you have handy. It also uses wonton wrappers, but I’ve done it with fresh lasagna sheets, which I cut into squares. Both are tasty.

If you do freeze these, you can cook them without thawing first, which is handy. But don’t lump all your uncooked raviolis into a baggie or container before you put them in the freezer; they’ll stick together and form one big mass, then fall apart when you try to cook them. (Trust me, I know).

Squash Ravioli with Sage Butter Sauce

1 small hubbard squash

vegetable oil

1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, plus some shavings to garnish

1 tbsp rosemary leaves, finely chopped

kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

pinch ground nutmeg

1 egg white

1 double package (400 g) wonton wrappers (or equivalent weight in fresh lasagna sheets)

1/2 cup butter

36 fresh sage leaves

1. Preheat the oven to 400°F).

2. Cut the squash in half, remove the seeds and then cut into wedges, leaving the skin on. Place the wedges in a lightly oiled roasting pan. Roast the squash for 1 to 1-1/4 hours, or until the squash is soft. Remove from the oven and leave to cool.

3. Discard the skin. Pass the squash through a food mill or purée in a food processor (you need one cup).

4. Add the cheese and rosemary to the squash purée and season with the salt, pepper and nutmeg.

5. Whisk the egg white with a teaspoon of water. Place one wonton wrapper on the counter and top with two teaspoons of the squash mixture. Brush the edges of the wonton wrapper with egg white then top with a second wrapper. Press to seal well. If desired, trim the edges with a fluted pastry wheel. Repeat with the remaining wrappers. Place the ravioli in a single layer on towel-lined baking sheets, and cover with another towel.

6. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and drop in the ravioli. Cook until the ravioli float and become slightly transparent, about three minutes. Drain well.

7. While the ravioli are cooking, melt the butter in a large frying pan, over medium-low heat, add the sage leaves and cook, turning once, until the leaves are crisp and the butter begins to brown, about 7 minutes.

8. Serve ravioli on warm plates, drizzled with brown butter and topped with sage leaves and a few shavings of Parmesan.

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Oktoberfest

As I write this, Oktoberfest is just getting under way. But as you read it, we’ll all be lamenting its end. Although I wasn’t born and raised with Oktoberfest, I’ve developed a special fondness for it. I’ve been faithfully attending first Friday festivities since my late university days when my then-boyfriend (now husband) introduced me to the boozy interiors of Moses Springer Arena.

Perhaps it has something to do with a long weekend being part of the kick-off, but everyone I know in these parts gets giddy when Oktoberfest rolls around. The mini-steins come out from the back of the kitchen cupboards and go ’round the necks. And the passion for the oom pah pah band is again rekindled.

Tonight, we’re skipping a Mexican night with a group of friends in Burlington (to whom Oktoberfest means nothing) and are instead having our KW friends over for some pre-Concordia beers. And while I won’t be going Martha Stewart-style with pumpkins carved like Onkel Hans, trays of schnitzel and carefully crafted potato salad, I’m hoping we can at least get a few sausages on the barbie and maybe even partake in some sauerkraut.

The place to go for these essentials is, of course, Stemmler Meats and Cheese in Heidelberg. Those living north of the city are no stranger to this institution – they’ve been in business 23 years now. But city folk may be altogether unaware of its presence – and that’s what I would call a shame.

I stopped in at Stemmler’s a couple of weeks ago for a chat with Kevin Stemmler, who co-owns the meat shop along with his brothers. Six years ago, they purchased it from their parents, Gerard and Maryann, who started the original Lobsinger Line location in 1985. Now Stemmler’s is in its third year at a new, expanded shop just a few doors down.

Knowing that I had Oktoberfest on the brain, Kevin gave me a little tour of the store and pointed a few things out: four kinds of schnitzel – pork, veal, chicken and turkey; rolled ribs; cabbage rolls aplenty.
There’s much in the way of really traditional stuff, too, like pickled beef heart, blood ring and pigtails. The latter are a Stemmler specialty, in fact – the shop is the official pigtail supplier to Concordia Club.

If, like me, you’re not sure pickled animal parts will go over well (tongue, anyone?) then you can easily get excited about the house-made sausage. There are countless varieties of bratwurst, including Oktoberfest-style (regular or smoked and made with a spice recipe from Nuremberg). Beyond that, there are your basic pork sausages, but also some specialty ones, too – sundried tomato and feta, Mediterranean (with green olive and feta), maple, spicy salsarica and Texas jalapeno sausage. Not German, I realize. But still… Yum.

Sauerkraut, sold by the bagful, is made by a local woman who cans and pickles a variety of items for the store. And mustard is another must-have. A scan of the shelves reveals several kinds – roasted garlic, horseradish, dill and shallot, apple-cranberry and seed-style. There are a few off-the-beaten track accompaniments, too – apple-horseradish sauce and several chili sauces and relishes made by the aforementioned sauerkraut lady.

Best about Stemmler’s is its commitment to buying from local suppliers. All meat comes from regional farmers. “We choose not to buy international,” Kevin told me. “We’ve always felt it was safer, healthier, fresher and better tasting to stay local. It’s also important to us to support local farmers and the economy. It’s about staying home. And we’ve been doing that long before it was fashionable.”

In recent weeks, Kevin said they’ve seen a 25 per cent increase in deli business. He attributes the surge to the public’s desire to shop for meat closer to home in the wake of recent listeriosis scares.

Either way, it’s a busy time of year with people stocking up on comfort food, be it turkey or be it pigtails. “Oktoberfest is the German way to give thanks for the season,” Kevin said. “We call it Thanksgiving, they call it Oktoberfest. It’s the same thing done differently, that’s the way I look at it.”
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Beyond the Great Wall...

Sitting down with one of Naomi Duguid and Jeffrey Alford’s cookbooks is not something you want to do with a few spare minutes of time. It requires a big cup of tea (or maybe a glass of wine) and several uninterrupted hours.

The traveling couple’s latest big, beautiful book, Beyond the Great Wall: Recipes and Travels in The Other China, has looked lovely on my coffee table since I got it this summer, but has not made its way into my hands outside of the occasional browse, much to my chagrin. The day with nothing to do but read and sip has yet to come, so I’ve instead relinquished myself to taking it in in bits and pieces, and very satisfying bits and pieces, at that.

Duiguid and Alford, who live in Toronto, have carved out quite a niche for themselves in the cookery book genre. Self-proclaimed “professional travelers,” they say the rest of their crafts – photography, research, cooking and writing – started as hobbies. Put them all together and this is what fills their award-winning hardcover tomes – stunning photography, musings on food, history and culture and, of course, recipes. All are based on a theme –Hot, Sour, Salty Sweet took readers on a culinary journey through Southeast Asia; Home Baking documented their travels into kitchens around the world to learn the art of bread making (and more).

Beyond the Great Wall – well-timed to be released during a spring and summer when China was very much the hot topic – looks past the culinary traditions of Beijing, Hong Kong and Shanghai (the Chinese food we’re familiar more with). Instead, it examines how people live and eat in China’s outlying regions – places like Tibet and Inner Mongolia – and the effort their people put forth to preserve their food and culture.

On October 21, Duguid and Alford (or possibly just Alford – they haven’t worked it out quite yet) will be participating in a dinner celebration of Beyond the Great Wall at Hannah’s Bella Bistro in Waterloo, part of a new food and book series the restaurant is putting on in collaboration with Words Worth Books. For $110 (or $155 per couple), hungry participants will get a copy of the book and enjoy a four course meal chosen from its pages by restaurant owner Hannah Santos. There will be a slideshow, commentary on the menu and, inevitably, some great discussion.

Though they’ve traveled extensively to promote the book since its release in April, Duguid told me recently that no two events have been alike; the dialogue has flowed in countless directions.

“It really depends on the crowd,” she says. “You know how conversations can take shape.”

That said, Duguid admits that she and Alford have a special fondness for university towns. “They’re not enormous cities,” she says. “And people are interested in the wider world. Those are our favourite venues, where you’re not fighting for attention in a huge city and people are prepared to come out and engage and not be so cool that they can’t show they’re having fun.”

Among the items on the menu for the evening: cheese momos with fresh tomato salsa (Chinese-style, with sesame oil), Mongolian hotpot and chicken pulao with pumpkin. Choosing what to make wasn’t an easy task for Santos, who describes herself as more freestyle chef and less recipe follower.

“It was actually really nervewracking,” she says. “I’ve never really cooked someone else’s menu. These are celebrated authors and in picking the menu items, I wanted to best represent them and honour them.”

For Duguid, seeing how chefs put the menu together is part of the fun in this type of event. “To have someone take a fresh look at it is always interesting. They can take a recipe and pair it with something new.”

This event is the first event in what Hannah and the Words Worth’s Bronwyn Addico are hoping will be a series. Next month, they’ll play host to Bonnie Stern, who will be coming in support of her new book, Friday Night Dinners. The evening will follow a similar format.

“We had done author events and book readings before, but nothing specific to cooking so this is sort of new,” says Santos. “We’re really excited about them.”

As for Duguid, she and her husband are just happy to be involved in introducing readers to new cultures and experiences. “That’s our job – and our pleasure,” she said. “This isn’t Chinese food. It takes place in the People’s Republic of China. But it’s not even going against stereotype. It’s just something that people don’t know exists. We’re happy to have them see that.”

More information on the Words Worth Eating events at Hannah’s can be found at http://www.hannahsbellabistro.com/ or www.wordsworthbooks.com. And do check out Alford and Duguid’s recently launched website/blog, too, at http://www.immersethrough.com/.
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Thanksgiving Brussels Sprouts

Rarely – okay, never – have I had occasion to cook a big, fat turkey. Our little house is too small to host the myriads for holiday dinners, so it’s always off to someone else’s place where my mom, mother-in-law or an aunt takes responsibility for the bird. I wonder sometimes when I’m going to learn to cook the turkey myself if someone else keeps doing it. I suppose I should enjoy it while it lasts, though; getting it right is a lot of pressure, really. Too dry is awful. Undercooked is worse.

This isn’t to say that I don’t contribute to the meal. I can solidly be relied upon to provide cranberry sauce – mine is not a sauce at all, actually, but a confit. The recipe, which came from my mom, uses dried cranberries, fresh thyme and caramelized onions. It’s made an appearance at both Thanksgiving and Christmas for the last few years (except the Christmas I said I’d bring it, and not only forgot to bring it but forgot to make it – I was getting married four days later and my mind was a little taxed. Nevertheless, it’s fantastic; email me at the address below and I’ll pass on the recipe).

I also seem to be called upon – as of late, anyway – to make a vegetable dish. Veg at Thanksgiving always seems to lean toward the creamy and the cheesy, doesn’t it? For a while there, I favoured a baked broccoli, cauliflower and carrot dish with lots of sharp white cheddar, breadcrumbs and grated horseradish. So good. But this year, I’m thinking brussels sprouts.

Those of you who will be dining with children probably wouldn’t dare serve brussels sprouts. There’s no shortage of adults that won’t go near them, either. The recipe below involves shaving the sprouts and sautéing them with shallots (unsung heroes, those shallots). I challenge you to give it a whirl. You’ll fool the haters – they won’t even recognize them.

I first made this to accompany braised lamb shanks and gorgonzola polenta but it’s a welcome addition to the Thanksgiving table, too. The cheesy, gratin-style vegetable dishes, while so yummy, probably contribute overly to that bloated coma we all end up falling into post-meal (and blame on turkey tryptophan).

The basic flavours in this recipe allow it to go with a multitude of dishes, so if you don’t make it now, do tuck it away for later. But here’s a reason not to wait – both brussels sprouts and shallots can be found at the farmer’s market right now, if you search them out. You might even find the sprouts as a whole plant, still spiraling up the stalks.

And if you do find a vendor who sells shallots, stock up while you can – they’re great to have around, so totally different from onions and an excellent addition to salad dressings (especially when roasted first).

This recipe comes from Bon Appetit magazine and serves eight. Enjoy – and Happy (early) Thanksgiving.

Shaved Brussels Sprout and Shallot Sauté

1 and 3/4 pounds brussels sprouts, outer leaves removed
2 tbsp butter
3 tbsp olive oil
12 medium shallots, thinly sliced (about 2 cups)
6 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
4 tbsp pine nuts, toasted, divided
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice

Working in small batches, place brussels sprouts in feed tube of processor fitted with thin slicing disk and slice. (If you don’t have a food processor, you could slice the sprouts thinly by hand).

Melt butter with olive oil in large pot over medium heat. Add shallots; sauté until almost translucent, about three minutes. Add garlic; stir one minute. Add brussels sprouts; increase heat to medium-high and sauté until tender, about eight minutes. Stir in three tablespoons of pine nuts and lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer to bowl. Sprinkle with remaining tablespoon of pine nuts and serve.
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