Maple Glazed Butternut Squash

Squash, in some form or another is a requirement at the table on Thanksgiving. They are just so perfectly in season and once the winter sets in, it will be a while before something so perfect will be available again. I was planning to steam and mash mine with a little maple syrup and butter this year, but soon thought better of it once I realized that the other sides on our menu are creamed spinach and mashed potatoes. In an attempt to not serve an entire table of baby food, I decided to roast the squash instead.

A light coating in maple syrup allows the squash flavor the shine though underneath the surface. Sweet and hearty, this is a great accompaniment to a holiday meal consisting of mostly savory plates.

If making this for a holiday, the glaze can be made in advance. Roasting is best done on the top rack of the oven anyway, so if you have a roast or bird in the oven these guys should fit snugly above it. The day of, simply warm up the glaze, coat the squash and roast.

Roasted Maple Butternut Squash – makes 8 – 12 servings

2 medium butternut squash (about 2 lbs)
1 C maple syrup
3 T butter
1/4 t cinnamon

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Peel the squash using a vegetable peeler until it reaches the orange flesh under the skin. Cut the squash in half and scrape out the seeds and membrane using a large metal spoon.

Cut the squash into long, narrow pieces 1/2 to 3/4 inch by 3 inches.

Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Add the maple syrup and cinnamon and combine. Bring to a simmer and allow to bubble for 2 full minutes. Remove from heat, cool slightly. Mixture should thicken.

Toss with glaze and spread on a baking sheet. Roast for 15 to 20 minutes.

Yankee Cook’s Thanksgiving

We hosted Thanksgiving this year and what a blast! I didn’t get a lot of pictures from the process, which started on Monday, but I wanted to share a few of my recipes with you anyway. All of the vegetables came from local farms and everything was made from scratch, which was why the process took a few days, but it was so fun and so worth it! I’ve been making the Cranberry Sauce since I was eight, which wasn’t difficult, since it’s basically the recipe on the bag. Now we buy our cranberries fresh and local, not frozen. Check your local farmer’s market for a vendor. Fresh cranberries are becoming more and more popular.

As much as I love to experiment with new things, Thanksgiving is the exception. It’s the one day out of the year when the perfect menu has already been devised by years of regional tradition. Also, wouldn’t it be a little disappointing to show up to someone’s house for Thanksgiving and only to be presented with something other than what popular culture has told us the Pilgrims served? I mean really, when else are you going to roast a whole turkey? Any time, I suppose, but you get my point.

One last comment on turkey: We got a 19 lb beast of a turkey. Not the best move. I thought that brining would save the meat from drying out, but even so, the length of time it took to roast caused the breast meat to get a little more dry than I would have liked. In the future I plan to impose a 10 lb limit and get two turkeys if the crowd is that big. Sure, then we’d have competing stars, but I think they’d get over it. Each could hold court at opposite ends of the table and then there are more drumsticks to go around.

Yankee Cook’s Thanksgiving Menu

Turkey Gravy - makes 6 cups

2 C turkey pan drippings (should yield 1 C fat)
3/4 C flour
3 C Turkey Stock, heated (recipe below)
Helpful equipment: baster, gravy separator

After the turkey is finished cooking and while it’s resting, use a baster to collect two cups of pan drippings into a gravy separator. Wait a moment for the fat to float to the top. Pour off the brown (non-fat) liquid that sinks to the bottom into the stock. There should be about a cup of fat left over.

Pour the fat into a medium saucepan and bring to a slight simmer over medium heat. Gradually stir the flour into the fat, stirring with a whisk to smooth out any lumps. Stir for 3-5 minutes over medium heat. Mixture should thicken to the consistency of Greek yogurt.

Gradually whisk in the four cups of stock. Stir over medium heat until thickened to desired consistency.

Taste before seasoning. If using drippings from a brined or salted turkey, the gravy should turn out to be well seasoned already.

Turkey Stock – makes 3 – 4 cups (depending on how reduced it becomes while simmering)

8 C water
4-6 C chopped potatoes, onion, celery, herbs, etc. or reserved vegetable trimmings
Turkey neck, heart and gizzard

In a large stockpot simmer the vegetables in water for two to three hours partially covered. Remove from heat, discard vegetables and strain to remove any solids.

Return the liquid to stockpot and add the neck, gizzard and heart. Do not add the liver, as it will add a strong liver flavor to the stock. (Really, I just like to fried it in butter while I prepare the stock since no one else seems to like liver. I call it Frugal Gal’s Foie Gras. Yum.)

Simmer for two to three hours, partially covered until the neck is totally cooked and browned and the stock is reduced. Remove the neck, gizzard and heart. Strain the stock again to remove any solids.

Note: This can be made a one or two days in advance. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Maple Butternut Squash - serves 4 – 6

2 medium Butternut Squash
water
1/2 C half and half
1/2 C butter
2-3 T Maple Syrup

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut squash in half and de-gunk. Place cut-side down in a large baking dish with a half inch of water. Cook for 40-50 minutes until tender.

Scoop squash from shell. In a medium saucepan, mash the squash with a potato masher, add butter, half and half, and maple syrup. Combine with masher until the butter, half and half and maple syrup are evenly distributed.

Cranberry Sauce - makes 4 cups

4 C cranberries
2 C sugar
Water

Pour cranberries into medium saucepan cover with water, add sugar, bring to a boil and simmer 20 min. Pour into heat resistant serving dish and refrigerate. Serve chilled.

Ingredient Origins: Antibiotic/Hormone/Preservative-free Turkey – Vermont; Milk and Bread for stuffing – Vermont; Butter – Maine; Pumpkin – Maine; Shallots, squash, spinach, Brussel’s sprouts, beets, potatoes – New Hampshire; Half and Half – Massachusetts; Herb stuffing seasoning – Massachusetts; Cranberries – Cape Cod; Organic sweetened condensed milk – Iowa; Pecans – Arizona; Corn Syrup – UK

Roasted Pumpkin and White Bean Soup with Cornbread

This dish is inspired by the Three Sisters, a term referring to the farming practice of companion planting, which was employed by the Native Americans of the Northeastern United States to grow maize, beans and squash. The three plants were grown in a mound in order to allow for optimal nutrient distribution to the plants and soil – the bean plant produces nitrogen in the soil which the corn needs to grow. The practice also provides an ideal physical structure – the bean vines climb the corn stalk and the large squash leaves provide ground cover which keeps the soil moist and the weeds at bay, so everyone wins.

Roasting the pumpkin before adding it to the soup adds a richness of flavor as the juices condense. For cornbread, I like using corn flour in place of corn meal for a smoother crumb. When I taught colonial cooking, we used a cast iron dutch oven to bake cornbread over an open flame as colonial settlers would have done. The result is a more moist and dense texture than cornbread baked uncovered.

Roasted Pumpkin and White Bean Soup – makes 6-8 servings

1 C dry Great Northern beans
1 t +1 t dried rosemary
1 t salt
1 sugar pumpkin, seeded and roasted (instructions below)
1 T butter, melted
1/2 C red onion, chopped
2 C vegetable or chicken stock
Salt to taste

Start out by soaking the beans overnight.

Drain the water and refill the pot halfway with fresh water. Add the rosemary and salt to the pot and simmer for 1 1/2 hours.

Meanwhile, cut pumpkin in half. Remove the guts, reserving the seeds to make Roasted Pumpkin Seeds on another day. Brush with butter and place in a deep covered casserole dish or dutch oven. Cover and roast at 350 for 45 minutes. Remove pumpkin from casserole and place cut side up on a baking sheet. Brush again with butter, increase heat to 450 and roast uncovered for an additional 10 minutes. This is to bring out the sweetness. Be careful not to let the pumpkin dry out.

Remove the pumpkin from the oven and brush again with butter to prevent too much water from escaping as it cools. Allow to cool enough to handle without burning your delicate little hands. Scoop the flesh from the pumpkin halves and discard the skin.

Drain the beans. It’s okay if some of the rosemary escapes with the water, it was intended to flavor the beans as they simmered.

Melt the butter in the stockpot. Add the additional teaspoon of dried rosemary and onion. Allow to soften. Add the pumpkin and chicken stock and bring to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes.

Puree the pumpkin mixture in the blender until smooth. Combine with the beans, season to taste and serve with the cornbread.

New England Honey Cornbread – makes about 8 pieces

1 C flour
1 C corn flour
1 T baking powder
1/4 t salt
2 T butter, softened almost melted
1/3 C sour cream
1 egg
1/4 C honey
3/4 C milk

Mix the dry ingredients in a large bowl. In a smaller bowl, whisk the wet ingredients together until well blended. Stir the wet ingredients into the dry mixture until blended. Pour into a greased cast iron dutch oven and bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes, until a toothpick interted into the center comes out clean.

Ingredient origins: Beans – Georgia, Hormone-free Butter – Maine, Sustainably grown red onion – New Hampshire, Organic chicken stock – Oregon, Rosemary – unknown, Salt – unknown, Flour – Vermont, Corn flour – Oregon, Sour cream – Vermont, Honey – Massachusetts, Organic milk – Vermont