Buttery Butternut Bisque...A Perfect Taste of Fall

It's taken me a while to get into this whole fall thing, even though ironically enough, it's my most favorite time of year. Butternut squash screams autumn to me. I bought one, not gonna lie, a few weeks ago. I was planning on making bisque with it but just wasn't quite ready. The temperature is now 54 degrees and the leaves are falling. It's time to cook this squash.

I love it roasted with some butter and brown sugar. But I love it even more if I can eat it with a spoon. With heavy cream. And nutmeg. On the couch, in front of the fire. Butternut squash bisque is super easy to make and will definitely put you in the mood...for fall.

Butternut Squash Bisque
Makes a huge pot full

• One large butternut squash
• 3 stalks of celery, diced
• 1/2 bag of carrots, coarsely chopped
• 1/2 large vidalia onion, diced
• 7-8 cups chicken stock
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• olive oil
• 2 tsp butter
• 3 tbs brown sugar

Preheat your oven to 350.

Cut your squash in half. Place skin side down on a tray with a little drizzle of olive oil and roast in the oven for about 35-40 minutes or until a knife goes in easy.  I usually roast this a day ahead of time.

Once it's done and completely cooled, peel the squash and chop it into chunks.

In a large pot, over medium heat drizzle some olive oil and about a 2 tsp of butter.

Throw in the onion, celery and carrots. Saute for about 10 minutes or until the onion is translucent.

Pour in the chicken stock. Dump in the butternut squash. Turn up the heat to medium high and bring to a boil. Let cook for about 10 minutes, then turn down heat to medium.

Using an immersion blender, blend all ingredients until smooth. If you don't have an immersion blender, a regular blender will work too.

Once everything is smooth, add your heavy cream, brown sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg. Cover and let simmer for another 15 minutes.

 

 The result is a velvety, smooth, perfectly balanced bisque. 

Serve with a little drizzle of cream and fresh ground cinnamon.

 

You're Welcome.

The Perfect Pizza

I can't tell you how many times I cooked pizza before I finally found the best way to make it...on the grill.  We don't make it any other way. The grill is the only way and it comes out amazing and done in less than ten minutes. I do have to warn you that it is not easy and might take a few tries to get it down perfectly. We've been grilling pizza for a few years now but still screw it up every once in a while...mostly due to my lack of patience for waiting for the dough to rise. 
 

I usually start with making my own dough. My husband scolded me one time we messed up the pizza blaming it one the store bought dough.  Homemade dough just tastes better and has a little bit more elasticity...that is if you let it rise completely.

Pizza Dough Recipe 

Makes 1 large pizza about 14" or two 8" pizzas

Combine about 2 1/2 cups of flour, a tablespoon of sugar, sprinkle of salt and a teaspoon of garlic powder in a bowl. I say approximate measurements especially with the flour because you'll be using more when you go to stretch it out.

**Super important next step... get one cup of water to a temperature of 120 degrees.  You definitely need a thermometer for this. If it's too hot the yeast will die and result in your dough not rising at all. If it's not hot enough, the yeast won't activate and make your dough nice and stretchy either.  Once you have the perfect temp, dump in your yeast and whisk until it's dissolved.

I drizzle a tablespoon or two of oil olive into the yeast water. Pour that into your flour mixture and dig in. Hands are the best tools for this. When everything is incorporated, dump your dough out and knead for at least 8 minutes...another super important step! I'm so used to baking where you combine ingredients until they are just mixed so for a while I wasn't kneading enough. My dough would come out flat, dense and chewy.

Not the waiting begins. Even if you buy dough at the store, you still have to wait.  I make my dough first thing in the morning and leave it out on the counter, oiled up, always tightly covered and under a towel all day. Or if it's a sunny day, I put it outside.  It should take a few hours. The perfect temperature for dough to rise is 82 degrees.  The dough should just about double in size by the time it's ready.

Here's a good link to describe and show how to properly stretch your dough...

Some tips for stretching dough:

• Don't play with it too much. If you overwork your dough, it'll pretty much get tired and not wanna work anymore
• If you're using a wooden board, place a moist towel underneath it so it doesn't slide all around.
• Use enough flour so it's not sticky but not too much so it dries it out.
• Try to make it even thickness, about 1/2 inch.
• Small holes can be fixed with a little pinching

Fire up the grill...

While you wait for your grill to get up to 450, get all your ingredients in order...mise en place.  This is another really important part because once you get the dough on the grill, you're not gonna have time to walk away and grab everything.

We made two pizzas. It's a little easier to flip a small one then one really big one...and we both like different toppings.   Mine had homemade sauce, which I usually keep on hand in the freezer, homemade pesto made with fresh basil from my garden, plum tomatoes and red onion, both from the garden too! My husband's pizza had chicken, cherry peppers and jalapeno peppers from the garden.

Once you've got everything in place, preferably next to your grill, and the grill is hot and ready, oil up your dough with some olive oil. This is when my husband takes over cooking. The dough has to be totally brushed with oil so there is no chance of it sticking. If you add an excessive amount of oil, it will taste like fried dough, but has the possibility of catching on fire... I'd chance it! We put our dough on a big pizza board with a handle so its really easy to flip and move around. Makes my husband feel like a pro. You can use a wooden cutting board though.  Before you flip your pizza dough onto the grill, make sure it's not stuck to the surface by sliding it around. One of the first times we made grilled pizza, it stuck and folded up on the grill. It was impossible to spread out again. We made the best of it and just ended up with bite size pieces we dipped in sauce and threw toppings on.

When you have successfully flipped it onto the grill, close it for about three minutes. To test if it's done, peek under the dough to look for nice grill marks. It should lift off pretty easily. If it's about done, start brushing it with oil again for the next side to cook.  *Some people choose not to flip their dough and most likely cook it on a lower temp. We've tried that but prefer both sides cooked so you're not left with any raw dough.

  

As soon as you flip your pizza, start adding your toppings.  We usually end with the cheese so it sandwiches the toppings inside. Close up the grill and let it cook another four or five minutes until the cheese is melted. If you find that your pizza is done but the cheese hasn't melted yet, you can throw it under the broiler in your oven for a few minutes.

Let the pizza sit for a few minutes...if you can wait that long...before you cut it. 

 

It's seriously the best pizza you will ever make and maybe even eat.

 

Perfect for summer.  And for your husband to make.

You're Welcome :)

Last Minute Marsala

Somehow in between baking dozens of cupcakes for a fundraiser this weekend, I managed to make an amazingly delicious and pretty nutritious meal...and squeeze in a power nap. Usually when I have a huge amount of cupcakes to bake, we order out. Being as we are on a budget like most people, I figured I'd just make something quick.

I honestly wasn't expecting this to come out so good considering how quickly I threw it together and didn't really measure so hope my amounts below are accurate. I must have said "wow" at least 10 times when I was eating this, and I never say that about my food. But seriously, wow.  It made me think of the scene in What About Bob when Bill Murray is eating dinner at table with Richard Dreyfuss' family...."Mmmm, mmmmm, mmmm, mmmm....Mmmmm, mmmmm, mmmm, mmmmm. MMMMMMMM!" If you don't' know what I'm referring to, please go watch this movie immediately. My dad introduced us to the best movies.

Baby bella mushrooms were on sale last week so I had some in my fridge. I always have chicken on hand. My husband loves chicken and mushrooms....Chicken Marsala!  I rarely ever make it so that's what I did. The main ingredient in this dish is marsala wine which has it's own unique flavor and hard to substitute. Cooking with wine on a budget?! I bought 16oz bottle of marsala cooking wine by Holland House for a whopping $4.00 at the grocery store. You can find it at the package store for pretty cheap too.  It's an Italian wine, similar to a port wine or dry sherry but is what makes chicken marsala, chicken marsala.  I wouldn't recommend substituting it...just make the trip to the grocery store or package store, it'll be worth it.

You can serve this over cauliflower rice, brown rice or, mashed potatoes would be even better...but all I had was veggie noodles, which worked just as good and maybe a bit healthier.

Chicken Marsala
serves 2-3

• 2 large chicken breasts
• 3/4 cup chicken stock
• 1/2 cup flour (if you wanna make it gluten free, use corn starch)
• 3/4 cup marsala wine
• 1 tsp balsamic vinegar
• 1 cup of sliced mushrooms
• 1/4 cup diced onion
• 2 TBS olive oil
• 2 TBS butter
• 1 tsp oregano
• 1 tsp parsley
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• salt
• pepper

Pound out your chicken and cut the fat off. Combine oregano, flour, garlic powder, salt and pepper.

Dredge your chicken in the flour lightly on both sides.

In a large skillet, heat olive oil and butter over medium heat.

Cook chicken for about 4 minutes on both sides.  Set aside. I put mine in a casserole dish and in the oven on a super low temperature to keep it warm.

In the same pan, saute your mushrooms and onions. After they cook for about 3 minutes, add your chicken stock, marsala wine and balsamic vinegar. Add parsley and more salt and pepper to taste.

Let simmer for about 8 minutes. There should be enough leftover flour from the chicken to make a nice brown sauce.

Pour this over the chicken and serve. 

We had it with veggie noodles and KALE! I say that with excitement because I haven't eaten kale in over a year. I was eating it religiously for a while and trying new ways to cook it. Finally made some kale chips in the oven with sea salt and I ate them all in one night. Me and kale parted ways later that night as I tossed and turned in bed. I never thought I would eat it again. But it was pretty cheap at the grocery store so I bought some.



We have no more kale now.  Or leftovers.

Pineapple Makes Everything Better

I wish I had a pineapple plant in my backyard. Yep, it's a plant. I am obsessed with it. Seriously can't think of one thing that wouldn't taste good if it had pineapple in it. And please never buy it in a can, unless you enjoy metallic, corn syrupy, yellow mush. Sweet, sour, spicy, savory...it can be anything you want.  Grilled, chopped,  sprinkled on anything. My favorite way to eat it is on pizza. With bacon. I ate it pretty much everyday in Hawaii. When I came back, I needed it on everything. I miss Hawaii.

Look for a pineapple that has even coloring

One of my favorite summer salads has pineapple in it. It's not quite summer yet, but I am in the mood for pineapple all the time. You can actually serve this salad with just about anything. Over steak, on top of a piece of fish, as a side dish with some tortilla chips, lettuce wraps or all by itself. And it's just stupid easy to make...

Black Bean Summer Salad

Serves 4-6 people

• One can of Black Beans...I don't have the patience for soaking them 
• 1/2 cup of diced red bell pepper (I think I used about 1/2 of a whole pepper)
• 1/2 cup diced fresh pineapple
• 1 clove of garlic, minced
• 1/2 red onion, diced
• 2 TBS olive oil
• juice of one whole lime
• pinch of salt
• 1/2 of a jalapeno, finely diced
• 2 TBS fresh cilantro (I made the mistake of buying it dried once because I absolutely love this herb but can never finish a whole bunch and it doesn't freeze well...it was a complete waste because it has no flavor whatsoever. Now I just come up with stuff to make just to use it all up. Not such a bad thing!)

Drain your beans really well. In a large bowl, throw in your beans, onions, peppers, jalapenos and cilantro.  *A good tip to chop your cilantro is to take the back of the knife you just used to mince your garlic and "scrape" off the leaves.  Once you have a good pile, scrunch it all together and chop away.
Combine your olive oil, lime juice, salt and garlic. 

Pour on top of the bean mixture.

You should really let it sit in the refrigerator for a few hours so all the flavors really soak in. I would recommend adding the pinepple shortly before you are ready to serve it. That way the pineapple stays nice and firm and juicy.

Enjoy because it won't last very long!
 

You're Welcome.