Squash au Gratin with Toasted Nuts

Creamy and flavorful, with a satisfyingly crunchy top. Note that the gratin is better fresh, and not as good left over. I may try to halve it next time, and use the remaining squash in another way.

Also, I see this mostly as a vegetable side, but Bittman suggests that paired with a green salad and some crusty bread it would make a light meal.

You'll notice that Bittman repeats amounts of ingredients in the recipe instructions. This saves a little bit of time since you don't have to check back at the ingredient list.

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Squash au Gratin with Toasted Nuts

Source: How to Cook Everything Fast by Mark Bittman
Yields a 9x13 pan of thin gratin

1 large butternut or other winter squash (2-2.5 lbs)
3 sprigs fresh sage or 1 1/2 teas dried
2 T olive oil
salt and pepper
1 c cream
1 c hazelnuts, pecans, or pistachios
4 oz Parmesan cheese (1 c grated)

Heat the oven to 450F.

Cut the squash in half crosswise, trim and peel it, scoop out and discard the seeds, and cut it into chunks. Shred the squash in a food processor with a grating disk (by far the easier method) or by hand with a box grater. Chop the sage leaves, if you're using fresh sage.

Put the squash in a 9x13-inch baking dish. Add the sage, 2 T olive oil, and a sprinkle of salt and pepper; toss and spread in an even layer. Pour 1 c cream over the top.

Cover the baking dish with aluminum foil and bake until the squash is tender and the cream is bubbly and thick, 15-20 minutes. Chop 1 c nuts. Grate 1 c Parmesan.

When the squash is tender, uncover the dish, sprinkle the cheese over the top, and sprinkle with the nuts. Return to the oven and bake, uncovered, until the top is lightly browned, about 5 min or more. Let cool for 1-2 minutes before serving.

"Mise en Place" and Mark Bittman

Not long ago I came across Mark Bittman's recent cover story in Time Magazine, "The Truth About Home Cooking." His goal in the article is to encourage more people to cook at home, since it's healthier and can be cheaper. Bittman claims that cooking shows and instagram streams--and I would add cooking blogs!--have made a fetish of food. We now think that if we cook and eat at home, it must be fancy food that takes hours to prepare. He says we should dial back those expectations for everyday eating--and that it is still possible to end up with delicious (and healthy) food. As part of the article Bittman offers a meals' worth of quick, easy recipes to help you get started, even if you feel like you don't know how to cook.

His new cookbook How to Cook Everything Fast continues this argument, and provides many strategies and recipes for cooking quickly at home. He debunks the myth of "mise en place" in home cooking--the principle of prepping all the ingredients before you start cooking. You know, those nifty bowls of chopped or already measured ingredients that are laid out magically in cooking shows. At a restaurant mise en place makes sense, but at home I find that it just adds time. Bittman says experienced cooks learn to prep as they go naturally, but his new cookbook actually incorporates the prep work into the recipe. (Of course it's always important to read the recipe all the way through, to make sure you don't get started without having an essential ingredient, or that you have to refrigerate overnight, but reading is different than prepping!)

A page from How to Cook Everything Fast, with the prep work in blue.

So much of Bittman's approach really resonates with me, as the main cook for a growing family. Meals that take a long time have their place, but what I always need more of are quick simple meals that taste good. I firmly believe in the importance of home cooking, for health, environmental, and social reasons. Yet I'm also raising 2.5 children right now, work part-time outside the home, and have volunteer obligations, so there's a lot on my metaphorical plate--I don't have time to cook for hours every day.

My lovely husband gave me How to Cook Everything Fast for Christmas, and I've been trying about one recipe a day. They're so approachable it's been easy. (And I am getting absolutely no kickback from highlighting this cookbook, so my motives are honest!) So you will start to see a lot of Bittman recipes from me. I don't usually make New Year's resolutions, but in 2015 I'm looking forward to lots of good, fast cooking. And of course, delicious eating around the family table.

High Altitude Sugar Cookies

My boys adore decorating cookies. Last year we did gingerbread cookies, and used some frosting gel stuff I bought at the grocery store. The combination of the gel and gingerbread tasted gross, so I decided to try sugar cookies this year. (And homemade icing.)

Once I figured out that it's easier to bake the cookies on the same parchment paper that you cut them out on, the recipe worked very well for our purposes. I actually don't love sugar cookies to eat--I prefer chewy cookies with some sort of chocolate--but they cooked up nicely and the boys love them.

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High Altitude Sugar Cookies

for approximately 5,000 feet above sea level

Source: Pie in the Sky: Successful Baking at High Altitudes by Susan G. Purdy
Yields about 50 cookies, depending on the size

12 T (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 c sugar
2 eggs
2 teas vanilla or almond extract
2 3/4 c all-purpose flour
3/4 teas baking powder
1 teas salt

Place oven racks so the oven is divided into thirds. Preheat oven to 350F.

Cream the butter and sugar until well blended. Beat in the eggs and vanilla, scraping down the bowl a a couple of times. Sift the dry ingredients into the egg mixture, then beat either with a sturdy spoon or the mixer on the lowest speed. Form the dough into a ball. If it feels too sticky, add 1-2 more T flour. (I didn't do this, and wish I had.)

Refrigerate the dough for 30 minutes. This step isn't absolutely necessary, nor is refrigerating each time you roll out the dough, but it does make the dough easier to manage.

Remove one third of the dough and leave the rest in the fridge. Spray a cookie-sheet sized piece of parchment paper with cooking spray. Use a lightly floured rolling pin to roll out the dough on the parchment paper, until it's about 1/8 of an inch thick. Dip the cookie cutters in flour to prevent sticking, and then cut out shapes. Leave 1/2-3/4 inch between cookies. Use the tip of a knife to help lift and peel away the between-cookie pieces, and leave the cookies on the parchment. Slide the parchment paper with the cookies onto a cookie sheet. Gather the dough scraps, place back in the fridge, and remove the next bunch of dough to roll out. Repeat as needed.

Bake the cookies for 8-12 minutes, until they look slightly golden around the edges. Slide the parchment paper off of the cookie sheet onto a cooling rack to cool.

If using icing: mix the icing as the cookies cool. Spread icing on cookies with a butter knife, or place some of each color in a plastic bag, seal the top of the bag, and cut a tiny hole in one corner of each bag with scissors. Squeeze the icing out of the hole to decorate as desired. Leave the cookies on the racks to air-dry the icing. When the icing is hard, store the cookies in an airtight container, separated by layers of wax paper.

Another decorating option: brush each cookie with some egg glaze, and sprinkle with finely chopped nuts, cinnamon, or sugar. Egg white is clear, and the whole egg results in a golden color. To make the glaze, mix beaten egg white or whole egg with 1 teas water.

Sugar Cookie Icing

Source: Pie in the Sky: Successful Baking at High Altitudes by Susan G. Purdy
Yields 3/4 c

2 T unsalted butter, melted and cooled
2 c sifted confectioners' sugar
1 teas vanilla extract or fresh lemon juice
2-3 T milk or water, as needed
Food coloring, optional

Combine the butter, sifted sugar, and vanilla or lemon juice in a medium bowl and beat with an electric mixer until smooth. Add enough milk or water a drop at a time to make the icing smooth enough to spread. Cover the icing when it's not being used, with plastic wrap or a clean,wet washcloth.

Layered Coconut Cookie Bars (or Pie)

For Thanksgiving I often make one apple cranberry pie and then try something new. This year I tried these cookie bars. At first I thought they were too sweet, even after switching the chocolate to dark instead of semi-sweet, but then they grew on me and they were popular with one of the littles in the household. They were a hit at a small family gathering, too! Also, I swear these get better after sitting a day or two.

I didn't make any high altitude adjustments, and I didn't notice any problems.

the last slice

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Layered Coconut Cookie Bars (or Pie)

Source: Half Baked Harvest
Yields a 9x13 pan or 2 "pies"

1 c (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1/2 c brown sugar
1/4 teas salt
3 teas vanilla extract, divided
2 1/2 c all-purpose flour (I used half white whole-wheat flour)
1 teas water
1 (13.5 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
4 T salted butter
1/3 c maple syrup
1 1/2 c roughly chopped walnuts (or pecans)
1 1/2 c shredded coconut (I used sweetened because that's the only thing I can find; I may try it with unsweetened coconut flakes next time)
2 c dark chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 9x13 pan or 2 pie plates with parchment paper allowing the side to hang over the dish.

In a large mixing bowl or bowl of a stand mixer, combine the unsalted butter, brown sugar, salt, and 2 teaspoons vanilla. Using a mixer beat the mixture until it is smooth, scraping down the sides a few times. Add the flour and water, and beat until combined.

Press the dough into the prepared baking pan. Bake for 15 minutes or until the crust is lightly golden; remove from oven.

Meanwhile, make the "caramel" sauce. Heat salted butter in a medium sauce pan over medium heat until lightly toasted, about 3 minutes. Add the sweetened condensed milk and maple syrup. Cook the sauce over low heat for 8-10 minute, stirring often to prevent the caramel from burning and sticking to the pan. Cook until it thickens slightly and turns light golden in color. Remove from the heat and stir in 1 teaspoon vanilla.

Sprinkle the top of the cookie base with chocolate chips. Next, sprinkle on the nuts and 1 cup shredded coconut. Pour the "caramel" over top of everything in an even layer. If needed, use a spoon to gently spread the caramel. Sprinkle the top with the remaining coconut. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until the top is beginning to brown and caramelize. Serve either warm or cool.

Holiday Berry Fool

Just in case you aren't interested in making pies for the coming holidays, here is a fruit dessert that is at least partially seasonal. Although here in the US we can find raspberries in the stores nearly year round, I'm sad to announce my own garden is no longer producing. However, the recipe can use frozen berries of either kind.

 

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Holiday Berry Fools

Adapted from Cook's Country Magazine
Serves 8 or more

1 pound fresh or frozen cranberries
2 c fresh or frozen raspberries
1/2 c orange juice
1 c sugar, plus 2 T
pinch salt
4 c heavy cream, chilled
6 oz. raspberries for serving (better fresh, but frozen will work)

Bring cranberries, raspberries, orange juice, 1 c sugar and salt to boil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium and allow to simmer until cranberries are softened and the mixture looks like jam, about 15 minutes (because of high altitude it took more like 30 minutes for mine to become jammy). Allow the mixture to cool slightly and puree (with blender, food processor, or stick blender--which I used since I don't like to clean either of the others), then press the mixture through a fine-mesh sieve. Chill in refrigerator for 4 hours or more.

In an electric mixer, beat 3 cups cream to stiff peaks. Gently fold into cooled cranberry mixture until no streaks remain. Fold remaining raspberries into fool mixture. Spoon mixture into goblets or dessert bowls.

Mix remaining 1 c cream with 2 T sugar and beat to stiff peaks. Dollop cream onto fools and serve.

The fools can be prepared in advance and remain in the refrigerator for up to 8 hours. 

Note:

Because our household is small I didn't mix this all together at once. The cranberry mixture can sit in the refrigerator for several days. At serving time I beat cream to equal the amount of cranberry mix per person, mixed it together, and stirred in berries to taste. I'm sure this recipe can be halved as well.

Chicken and Sweet Potato Tin Foil Dinner

As a teen aged girl I attended church-sponsored camps most summers (I attended a couple as an adult leader, too). One of my favorite things about camp was eating at least one tin foil dinner consisting of a hamburger patty, and sliced potatoes, carrots and onions. Pretty simple fare, really, but my parents never cooked them in the hundreds of camp fires my growing-up family built. In later years when we lived in a location that allowed back yard fires, my own family enjoyed them as our traditional New Year's Eve dinner. These we made a bit more complex adding herbs such as thyme and/or rosemary as well as a splash of beer. I recently tried a foil-baked dinner, cooked in the oven, which uses sweet potatoes and chicken as well as other flavorful additions.

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Chicken and Sweet Potato Tin Foil Dinner

Adapted from The Make-Ahead Cook and Cook's Country Magazine
Serves 4

To make sure the chicken cooks evenly, buy breasts of the same size. My butcher offers only enormous pieces of meat, so I chose to use two chicken tenders per foil pack.

5 T olive oil
6 garlic cloves, sliced thin
1 T grated fresh ginger
1/4 teas red pepper flakes
3/4-1 pound sweet potato, approximately, peeled and sliced 1/4 inch thick
4-8 radishes, trimmed and quartered
2 celery ribs, quartered lengthwise and cut into 2-inch pieces
1/2 large red onion, sliced 1/2 inch thick, layers separated
3/4 teas table salt
pepper to taste
4 6-oz boneless, skinless chicken breasts, trimmed (or use equivalent amount tenders)
2 T rice vinegar
2 T minced fresh cilantro, optional

Place oil, garlic, ginger, and pepper flakes in a small bowl and microwave until garlic begins to brown. In a large bowl combine sweet potato slices, radishes, celery, onion, salt and the garlic oil mix.

Spray the centers of 4 20-inch long pieces of heavy-duty aluminum foil (I used regular strength) with vegetable oil spray. 

Pat chicken dry with paper towels. Sprinkle with 1/8 teas additional salt and season with pepper.

Place one sheet of foil on the counter and arrange approximately 1/8 (or so) of sweet potato slices in 2 rows. Lay 1 chicken breast or 2 chicken tenders on the sweet potato slices. Place 1/4 of remaining vegetables around the chicken. If you have remaining sweet potatoes place them on top of the chicken. Repeat with remaining 3 sheets of foil. If you have additional oil mix drizzle it on top. Bring the sides of the foil together and crimp tightly, folding the foil over a couple of times. You want to leave some head space in the packs. Crimp the remaining two sides, again leaving as much space as possible while tightly closing the foil.

Refrigerate the packs for at least 1 hour or up to 24 hours. Adjust oven rack to the lowest position and preheat to 475F. Arrange the packs on a rimmed baking sheet and cook until chicken registers 160 degrees, 20-25 minutes. To check temperature the book recommends poking a hole with an instant read thermometer which will release steam. (Authors also recommend using a second 20 inch piece of foil to wrap over existing pack if the chicken isn't cooked. I can't bring myself to waste that much foil, so I just carefully opened one foil pack, watching for steam, and checked the temperature. With care the foil can be crimped a second time.) Let chicken rest for 3 minutes in foil pack.

Transfer the food to individual dinner places, carefully opening the foil. Drizzle the vinegar over the chicken and vegetables and sprinkle with cilantro. 

Almond Joy Rice Krispy Treats

Now, here's a rice crispy treat for grown-ups. See here for another option.

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Almond Joy Rice Crispy Treats

Source: The America's Test Kitchen Quick Family Cookbook

1 c sweetened, shredded coconut
1 c sliced or slivered almonds
1/2 c semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips (whichever you prefer)
3 T unsalted butter
10 oz marshmallows
1/2 teas vanilla extract
1/4 teas salt
5 c toasted rice crispy cereal

Prepare your pan by coating with cooking spray. A 9x13 pan results in 1-inch-thick treats, and 8x8 yields 2-inch-thick treats. I used an 8x8 in the picture above, but found they were too thick to eat easily. Something in between might be perfect.

Toast coconut and almonds in a large skillet over medium heat until they start to brown and they become fragrant. Shake the pan occasionally. Start checking at 4 or 5 minutes--total time will depend on your stove.

Melt butter in Dutch oven over low heat. Add marshmallows, vanilla, and salt and cook, stirring constantly, until melted and smooth, about 6 minutes. Off heat, stir in cereal, toasted coconut, toasted almonds, and chocolate chips until incorporated. Scrape mixture into prepared pan and press into even layer using greased spatula. Let cool at room temperature, about 30 minutes.

Store in an airtight container, if there are any left to save for later!