Butternut squash cheesy pasta

Happy New Year! We have a new puppy in our house and boy oh boy does he not like me typing away on my laptop. He isn't a big fan of cooking either unless tasty treats hit the floor for him. Basically he isn't a fan of anything, be it a computer or a saucepan, that distracts our attention from him. However, he is willing to war with brussel sprout stalks while we cook!

Somehow we managed to cook some food yesterday to celebrate New Year's Eve at home. One of the dishes we made was a butternut squash pasta dish. I first made this dish with friends in Texas and we based it on a recipe in a macaroni and cheese cookbook. We had it as a side dish with a pork tenderloin that time around. And this time it was served with chicken tenders, potato wedges, and an assortment of dips.

First I put water on to boil and I began cooking the pasta when I started cooking the squash. I used about 3/4 lb. of fusilli.

Next I peeled, deseeded, and chopped 1 small butternut squash. I also chopped 2 cloves of garlic (the recipe calls for several cloves to be sauteed and several to be added raw at the end but I left out the raw garlic) and about 8 leaves of fresh sage.

On medium heat, I sauteed the squash in 1T butter until it was nearly cooked (about 10 minutes). I then added the garlic and sage and cooked this for 2-3 more minutes. I turned off the heat and added chopped prosciutto (1-2 ounces). I let this mixture stand while the pasta finished cooking.

When the pasta was cooked, I drained it and reserved about 1/4C of the cooking liquid to mix back in with the other ingredients. Here comes the cheese! And no less than three kinds! The recipe calls for creme fraiche, fontina, and parmesan. I used about 3 ounces of grated asiago, 1/4C parmesan, and 2T ricotta cheeses. I mixed these cheeses in with the pasta and cooking liquid and then added the squash mixture. Voila! Squash macaroni and cheese!

Am I a Southerner? And a Hippie?

In response to my husband digging around the kitchen the other night looking for snacks, I decided to make some homemade snack food. I was inspired by a lunch box snack posting on Apartment Therapy's The Kitchn. The hippie in me decided on homemade granola bars and the Southerner in my opted for cheese straws.

Roughly following the recipe for granola bars, I warmed the moist ingredients: cashew butter, brown rice syrup, honey, vanilla, and brown sugar. Meanwhile, in a bowl I combined puffed rice, oats, some Grape Nuts-like cereal, dried cherries, pumpkin seeds, and sunflower seeds. I sprinkled cinnamon over everything and then poured on the warmed sweet gooey mixture. I mixed everything up until it was all coated and sticky. I turned it out on a parchment paper lined pan and cooked it for 25 minutes at 325. After I took the tray out, I pressed down on the top and then let them cool. When cooled, I cut it up to make about 10 bars.

Next up the savory snack was cheese straws, which remind me of my grandmother. I am not sure she ever made them in the straw form but she definitely used a similar dough to make little round crackers. Tastiness!

I combined the room temperature butter (1 stick) with the cheddar cheese (8 ounces, grated) using a hand mixer. In another bowl, I sifted flour (1 2/3C) with dry mustard (1 1/4t), cayenne (1/4t), and salt (1t). I added the dry ingredients about 1/3 at a time to the cheese and butter continuing to blend with the hand mixer. I added 2T water to finish off the dough. I rolled it out and chilled it for about 20 minutes.

Then I sliced 1/2 inch strips and tried to twist them, which didn't work very well. I put them on a cookie sheet and baked them for about 12 minutes. I discovered you don't want them to brown at all but just look like golden cheesy goodness. They look lovely standing up in a pint glass for a little snack.

Pimento Cheese!

I have been trying to do a little bit of cooking in the morning before I leave the house for school. I usually make a side dish to go along with dinner or something we can each for lunch the following day. This morning my project was pimento cheese. Last week red and yellow bell peppers were as good a price as I have seen them for awhile: $1.99/lb. I bought one of each color and roasted them when we had the grill going for sausages. After they were nicely blackened, I put them in a brown paper bag to steam. Once they had cooled enough to handle I peeled them and took out the seeds. I put them in a jar in the fridge.
This morning I took out the roasted red pepper and sliced it up in to about 10 strips. I sliced an 8-oz. block of sharp cheddar cheese into chunks that could easily fit into the chute of my food processor. I started with the shredder attachment and alternated between adding cheese and peppers. Once I had shredded everything I moved everything to the side of the bowl in the food processor so I could put the regular chopping attachment in the bowl. I pulsed a few times so that the cheese and roasted peppers were mixed but I didn't want to turn it to mush. (This process is really best done using a meat grinder, but I don't have one.) I decided to store the cheese and roasted pepper mix without adding mayo but I'll add the mayo in batches as I use it for crackers or a sandwich.