Roasted Squash and Leek Gratin

I don't usually choose the vegetarian option for my main dish, but when my mother-in-law served this at a family dinner a while ago I fell in love. Yes, I like just about anything with leeks, but I generally don't like butternut squash (it all goes back to this butternut mole soup I had to make every Friday for months...). This dish is really about the combination of flavors - the sweet-but-not-too-sweet roasty squash, the savory perfectness of the cooked leeks, the tang of the goat cheese, and then the toasted nuts and barley to round it out.
When I make this I think of Rachel Ray because you get the first three steps going all at once (and that's what she's all about - how many pots can you get going at once). So you rush around for 20 to 30 minutes getting everything set up, but then you pop it in the oven for the last 30 minutes and you're relaxed by the time it's ready.

Roasted Squash and Leek Gratin
serves 4 for dinner, 6 to 8 as a side

1 cup pearl barley (measured before cooking)
2 to 3 cups stock
1 large butternut squash, peeled and cut bite-sized
2 large leeks
2 T butter
5 oz. goat cheese
1 cup cream
3/4 cup hazelnuts, toasted and chopped

• Get the barley going (it cooks pretty much like rice): Rinse the barley, bring the stock to a boil, add the barley to the stock, cover, reduce the heat so it simmers for about 30 minutes. You can also leave the barley out if you want.
• Get the squash in the oven: Toss the peeled cubes with salt and pepper and olive oil, spread them out over two cookie sheets, roast in a 400 degree oven for about 20 minutes. They should be mostly cooked and just starting to brown on the edges.
• Get the leeks on: Remove the tough green parts and the roots, slice longways and then into thin half-moons, rinse well, saute in the butter until super soft - about 15 to 20 minutes.
• Spread the barley in the bottom of a buttered 9x13 pan.
• Toss the leeks and squash together gently (the squash might want to fall apart here) and layer over the barley.
• Dot the top of the casserole with pieces of the goat cheese, then drizzle the cream over everything and sprinkle the hazelnuts on top.
• Bake for 30 minutes in a 375 degree oven. Let it cool for a few minutes before serving.

Bratwurst with Cabbage and Granny Smith Apple

I'm a little obsessed with sausage right now. We sell our Sugar & Salt products out of the case at The Swinery and they make fantastic sausages (at first I thought the price was too high for our budget, but now that I've tried them it's hard to go back to the cheaper ones). They make the best bratwurst I've ever had. And they make Bacon Brats. Since the grill is covered for the season, I've been trying to come up with an excuse, I mean a recipe, to use these brats. There's one more complication - I don't love sauerkraut. I don't hate it, but if I bought some and didn't use the whole container it would sit in my fridge until it went bad. Maybe it can't go bad, but still, my fridge is full of pickles, I can't have sauerkraut taking up space. So here's a recipe that uses brats, fresh cabbage, and an apple to make it more interesting. We had it with buttered egg noodles on the side, but it would be great with boiled potatoes too. And some good mustard, if you like that sort of thing.

Brats with Cabbage and Apple
serves 4

1 pound (usually 4) bratwurst, substitute pretty much any other German sausage
1 onion, sliced thin
1/2 a cabbage (about 4 cups), use green or purple or savoy or your favorite
2 T butter
2 t caraway seeds (optional)
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1 t mustard
1 Granny Smith Apple, grated

• In a large, high-sided frying pan brown the brats on both sides over medium heat. You may need to add a little oil depending on the fat content of the sausages. Set aside - no need to cook them through because they're going back in later.
• Melt the butter in the same pan and add the onion. Saute until it's very soft.
• Shred the cabbage as thin as you can and add it to the pan with the caraway. Saute for about 10 minutes - until the cabbage has softened.
• Turn the heat to medium-low and add the brats back to the pan with the vinegar, mustard and salt & pepper to taste. Cover and cook for 15 minutes. Check in once during that time and add a splash of water if the pan seems dry.
• Add the apple and cook for 5 more minutes. If you like the liquid level in the pan, put the lid back on. If it seems too wet, leave the lid off.
• Serve with egg noodles or potatoes, dollops of sour cream and mustard, and maybe a sprinkle of parsley.

Warm Spinach and Brussel Sprout Salad

This didn't start out as a blog post dinner, it started off as a way to use up a huge stalk of brussel sprouts I impulse-bought when I was at a pumpkin farm. My favorite way to eat brussel sprouts is shredded up in this salad, but here's the part I hadn't thought of: I have an on-again-off-again relationship with vegetables anyway, I certainly wasn't going to be in the mood for a cold salad when it's been so dreary here lately. So the brussel sprouts were just sitting there taking up half my fridge. Then I thought to adjust that great salad recipe into something better suited for a seriously rainy day and now I'm hooked on warm salad. If you want to leave out the bacon and/or bacon fat, just substitute warmed olive oil. If you make extra dressing it will keep for at least a week, just reheat in the microwave before using.


Warm Spinach and Brussel Sprout Salad
serves 2 as a dinner

Dressing:
2 - 3 cloves garlic
4 slices of bacon
1 t mustard
3 T red wine vinegar
olive oil (maybe)
S & P to taste

Salad:
1/2 a bunch of spinach (about  6 cups), roughly chopped
12 - 15 brussel sprouts

• Shred the brussel sprouts just like they are mini heads of cabbage (cut off the ends, cut them in half from top to bottom, then cut in super thin strips).
• Cut the bacon into bite-sized pieces and cook in a pan until crispy. 
• Remove the bacon, but leave the fat in the pan. You need 3 tablespoons of fat and it depends on the bacon you use if you'll have that. If it seems like you don't have enough, add some olive oil. If it seems like you have too much, take some out of the pan (but save it in case you want to adjust the flavor later).
• Add the other dressing ingredients (not too much salt because most bacon is salty) to the pan on very low. Whisk well for a minute or two to heat the dressing and combine all the flavors.
• Toss the spinach, brussels, bacon, and dressing together and you're done (unless you want to add toasted walnuts, which I'm going to try next time).