Butternut Squash is Here

Butternut squash, the first of the ‘winter squash’, with it’s hard peel, is here. Although it is still very warm in the San Joaquin Valley, these yummy cool weather squash are ready to turn into soup, braise in fresh apple cider, stuff into fresh ravioli and make into traditional hand made gnocchi. I decide to try my hand at gnocchi and it was surprisingly is easy. You can do it alone but it was more fun in the classroom with several people to do the hand rolling. Do not be tempted to add more flour. Unlike other handmade pasta, this dough is wetter and softer. When they are all rolled, shaped and spread out on a floured pan, bring a BIG pot of water to boil. Cook them in two batches if your pot isn’t large enough to hold 3 times more water than gnocchi. Cooking is quick, so don’t start until the rest of the meal is ready. The ’sauce’ is fresh and traditional with the use of fresh minced sage.

Butternut Squash Gnocchi
From Sunset Magazine

Ingredients
Serves 8
1 butternut squash (about 2 lbs each
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
3 to 3 1/2 cups flour, plus more for shaping
3 tablespoons butter, melted
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh sage
1 Tbsp lemon zest
1/2 cup freshly shredded Parmesan cheese (or other hard cheese, such as Asaigo or pecorino), plus more at the table
Freshly ground black pepper
Preparation
1. With a ice pick or sharp knife, poke holes all over squash. Microwave it on high 10 minutes. Let sit until cool enough to handle. Halve squash lengthwise; scoop out and discard seeds. Flesh should be tender when scraped with a fork; if it isn't, microwave on high (cut side down) in 1-minute intervals until tender. Let sit until cool enough to handle. Scrape out flesh (discard peel) and mash until smooth.
2. In a large bowl, thoroughly combine 2 cups mashed squash (save any extra for another use), 1/2 tsp. salt, the white pepper, and nutmeg. Stir in flour, 1 cup at a time, until a dough forms (it will pull away from inside of bowl).
3. Turn dough out on a generously floured work surface. With well-floured hands, knead dough 10 to 12 times.
4. Divide dough in half and cover 1 batch with plastic wrap. Roll other batch into a 3/4-in.-thick rope and cut into 1/2-in.-long pieces. Press with the backside of a table fork. Put pieces on a floured baking sheet lined with parchment paper, and set aside. Repeat with remaining dough.
5. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Boil gnocchi until they rise to the surface, about 4 minutes; cook 30 seconds longer and then lift with a slotted spoon, making sure water drains from gnocchi, and place in a large serving bowl.
6. Gently toss with butter, fresh sage, lemon zest and cheese and a sprinkling of black pepper. Serve hot and pass extra cheese at the table.

Fabulous Fall Figs

Many of my students had never seen or tasted a fresh fig. This is because they are fragile, have a short shelf life and are hard to ship. This means few are ever seen in the grocery store except dried. Chuck and Mary Cornett picked about 20 fresh Mission figs and we made this amazing simple and gorgeous appetizer. We served it on a bed of fresh romaine lettuce and it was a 5 star dish. Let me know if you agree.

Grilled Wrapped Fig Appetizer
Wrap each fig with a slice of bacon or pancetta.
Alternate the figs with firm fresh peeled peach slices.
You may skewer them if needed with a toothpick or bamboos skewer that you soaked overnight.
Then roast/broil/grill until the bacon is brown and crisp. This is best done on a foil lined pan, to make clean up easy and to collect the yummy bacon-fig juices. It's a shame to do it on a grill and let the juices all drip down onto the flame. You can do it on the grill using a disposable pie pan.

I haven’t made this fig salsa yet but if I find figs at the Thursday night market or Saturday I will and of course I’ll get my camera out.
California Pepper Fig Salsa
Adapted from California the Fig Advisory Board
2 1/2 cups diced fresh California figs
1/2 cup diced red bell pepper
1/2 cup golden raisins
2 green onions, thinly sliced
1 jalapeño pepper; stemmed, seeded and minced
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon chopped or grated fresh ginger
Combine salsa ingredients in medium bowl and stir together. Cover and chill for several hours to blend flavors.

Rustic pear tarts

Last Saturday's seasonal table class meet, and after our trip to the Visalia Farmer’s Market, we brought back local Barlett pears from KMK Farms and Eversweet pears from O So Fresh Farms. With these beauties, we made 2 delicious pear desserts, a pear sherbet and these rustic pear tarts. They are easy, beautiful and yummy. You can also use the last of this summer’s fresh peaches instead. Or for a savory treat, replace the pears with some red cherry tomatoes roasted in olive oil and garlic, switch the orange marmalade out to basil chiffonade, and add fresh ground pepper and sea salt in place of the sugar.

Rustic Pear Tarts
From Sunset, SEPTEMBER 2008

Fresh pears and purchased puff pastry add up to an incredibly easy seasonal dessert.
serves 6

1 sheet (about 10 by 12 in.) frozen puff pastry (14-oz. package),thawed

2 or 3 firm-ripe pears, such as Bartlets, Bosc or Comice

About 1/3 cup orange marmalade

1 egg, beaten to blend

About 2 tbsp. raw sugar, (turbinado sugar)


1. Preheat oven to 375°.
2. Lightly butter 2 large baking sheets.
3. On a floured surface with a floured rolling pin, roll out pastry to 16 by 18 in.
4. Cut pastry in thirds lengthwise and in half crosswise. With a wide spatula, transfer the 6 rectangles to baking sheets. Prick the centers with a fork to keep them flat during baking.
5. Core pears and cut into thin wedges. Arrange, slightly overlapping, on pastry rectangles, leaving a 1 1/2-in. border bare (angle slices if necessary).
6. Warm marmalade in a microwave oven to melt, then brush over pears.
7. Fold border over edge of pears, stretching slightly and pressing down to hold. Brush new edges with egg, then sprinkle turbinado sugar over tarts, especially pastry edges.
8. Bake until pastries are richly browned, 25 to 30 minutes. Serve tarts warm or cool, with slightly sweetened fresh whipped cream.

Cooking with Fresh Grapes, II

Last year I planted a fence with root stock wine grapes, of Syrah and Counoise varieties from Tablas Creek Winery in Paso Robles. I like fresh grape leaves to stuff and make traditional dolmas. Because the vines were very young, I did not have grapes last year. But this year there were lots of succulent clusters under the big mature leaves.
Veraison, when the grapes turn from green to purple, was inconsistent, but regardless of the color, these small jewel-like grapes were delicious and very juicy. They inspired me to make what may become the first sign of fall, a rosemary flat bread studded with grapes, Gorgonzola, honey and fresh chives. You can use the fresh grape topping on a foccacia bread as I did or your favorite pizza dough recipe. The local honey from farmers Charlies and Mary Cornett, with my own home grown rosemary, grapes and chives made it a locavore specialty.

Rosemary flat bread studded with grapes, Gorgonzola, honey and fresh chives
ingredients

• 1 envelope active dry yeast
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 2 cups bread flour, plus more for rolling
• 3/4 cup warm water
• 2 teaspoons chopped rosemary
• 1/2 teaspoon fine salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
• 1/2 pound grapes (1 1/2 cups)
• Coarse sea salt
• 3 ounces Gorgonzola cheese, crumbled (1/2 cup)
• 1 tablespoon local honey
• 1 tablespoon snipped chives
directions
1. In a large bowl, whisk the yeast and sugar with 1/4 cup of the flour.
2. Stir in 1/4 cup of the warm water and let stand until slightly foamy, about 5 minutes.
3. Add the rosemary, fine salt, pepper and the remaining 1 3/4 cups of flour and 1/2 cup of water; stir until a dough forms.
4. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and knead until smooth, about 5 minutes.
5. Transfer the dough to an oiled bowl, cover and let rise in a draft-free spot until billowy and doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.
6. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 450°. Place a pizza stone in the bottom of the oven, and preheat for at least 30 minutes.
7. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface. Press and stretch the dough into a 13-inch round, then transfer to a lightly floured pizza peel. Press the grapes into the dough and sprinkle with sea salt.
8. Slide the flatbread onto the hot stone and bake for about 12 minutes, until the crust is golden and the grapes have begun to release some of their juices.
9. Sprinkle the cheese on top and bake for about 2 minutes longer, until the cheese melts. Slide the flatbread onto a work surface and drizzle with the honey and sprinkle with the chives. Cut into wedges and serve.

Cooking with fresh grapes?

Chicken Breasts Veronique
This recipe is from my personal family cookbook, and I think my mom found it in an early Napa Valley wine cookbook. It pairs oranges, a winter crop with grapes, a summer fruit. It is so delicious and beautiful that I crossed the “locavore line” and I bought Aussie oranges to make it. The Thompson grapes were give to by local Italian farmer, Mr. Colucci.

Serves 4
INGREDIENTS:
• 4 skinless boneless chicken breasts halves
• ½ cup of finely diced orange(this is about 1 med size orange)
• zest of the orange
• 1 Tbsp honey
• ½ cup dry white wine
• ¼ tsp dried tarragon
• 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter
• 2 tsp cornstarch dissolved in ½ cup cream
• 1 ½ cup Thompson seedless grapes
Sprinkle chicken breasts with 1 teaspoon salt and pepper. If they are thick, you can slice them in half lengthwise. If you have the time, place each piece between 2 sheets of was paper and pounding them into ½” cutlets. This will produce a very tender breast.
Melt butter in heavy medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken breasts to butter; sauté until light brown and cooked through, about 4 minutes per side. Add chopped orange and zest, honey, white wine. Crush the tarragon between your palms then add to pan.
Cover and simmer gently about 8-10 minutes or until the chicken is done. Remove breasts to a warm platter.
Deglaze the pan with the cream that has the cornstarch mixed in. Bring to simmer, stirring constantly. Add the grapes bring back up to a simmer. Do not boil after adding the cream as it will separate. Pour over the sauce over the chicken breasts,
Bon Appetit!
Ps. It will turn out perfectly if you’re wearing pearls a la Julia Childs, while you are preparing it 

Saturday night supper, from the generous farmers

I returned from my demo at Farmers Market with some lovely young yellow and red bell peppers, a gift from Becky of Terry Farms. They were small and tender so I stuffed them whole and skipped the precooking in the recipe below. I also baked them in my gas grill and at the half way point, I added a tri-tip roast. (I just refuse to turn on the kitchen oven when its so darn hot outside!)

I filled out the meal with a salad of farmer Betty’s Golden Gem orange colored cherry tomatoes and Armenian cucumbers, my home grown Juliet red tomatoes, feta, cheese, kalamata olives, a pinch of both chopped fresh mint and lemon thyme. I lightly tossed with DeLeonardis local olive oil and my dad Harvey’s homemade red wine vinegar. I used a trick I learned form Cook’s Illustrated, to keep the salad from becoming wet and soggy; before adding the other ingredients, I put the cut cherry and Juliet tomatoes in the salad spinner.
I paired the meal with Red Wire, a hearty red blend from New Zealand, see Rocky’s tasting notes at the left.

From Deborah Madison’s Vegetarian Suppers. I bought this little cookbook used and it’s loaded with vegetarian wine pairings and meal planning. Of course it’s hard to go wrong with her recipes, because her focus is seasonal ingredients from the local farmers.
Quinoa has the highest protein value of any grain and its flavor is comparable to couscous. It is sold in health food stores, and if you can’t find it can substitute rice

Stuffed Yellow Peppers

Ingredients
2 cups water
2 Tbsp water
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 pinch salt
1 cup quinoa, rinsed well
3 Tbsp olive oil, extra-virgin divided
1 bunch green onions, including 2 inches of the greens, thinly sliced
2 each jalapeno peppers, finely diced, seeded if desired
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1 tsp cumin ground
2 cups corn kernels, fresh or frozen, thawed, 3 ears cut off the cob
8 ounces spinach leaves
1/2 cup cilantro, freshly chopped
4 ounces feta cheese, crumbled
black pepper, freshly ground to taste
2 large red onions, thinly sliced
1/2 cup white wine
4 each large sweet bell peppers, yellow or orange
Directions
1. Bring 2 cups water to a boil in a medium saucepan. Stir in 1/2 teaspoon salt and quinoa. Reduce to a simmer, cover and cook until the grains are tender and reveal their spiraled germ, about 15 minutes.
2. If your peppers are large and mature, you will need to precook them. Bring a large pot of water to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Drop the peppers into the simmering water and cook until tender when pierced with the tip of a knife but not overly soft, 4-8 minutes.
3. Preheat oven to 400F.
4. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a wide skillet over medium heat.
5. Add scallions and jalapenos; cook, stirring, until softened, about 2 minutes.
6. Add garlic, cumin, corn, spinach and 2 tablespoons water and cook, stirring occasionally, until the spinach is wilted, about 1 minute.
7. Transfer these vegetables to a large bowl. Add the quinoa, cilantro and feta; toss to combine. Season with pepper.
8. Wipe out the skillet, add 1 tablespoon oil and heat over medium-high.
9. Add onion sliced and cook, stirring frequently, until they start to color around the edges, 3-5 minutes. Deglaze the pan by pouring the in wine and with a wooden spoon, scraping up any bits stuck to the bottom of the pan. Season with a pinch of salt and pepper and transfer the onions to one large or two medium baking dishes large enough to hold the peppers.
10. Slice peppers in half lengthwise without removing the tops or stems; remove the inner membranes and seeds. Or if the peppers are small, remove the stem and core, leaving them whole.
11. Transfer the peppers to a cutting board and fill with the quinoa vegetable mixture and place in the baking dish (or dishes).Drizzle the remaining 1 tablespoon oil over the peppers.
12. Bake the peppers until heated through, 20 to 30 minutes. Switch heat to broil; cook until tops are browned, about 4 minutes.
13. Serve hot, warm or at room temperature.

Calabacitas

The zucchini and other summer squash are still very abundant, so here's the Southwest side dish I demonstrated at Saturday August 15th Visalia Farmer's Market. I used cream and chopped thai basil and a few fresh diced tomatoes for the optional ingredients. Enjoy!

Calabacitas
Serves 4-6
Great with barbecued chicken, pork or steaks

2 Tbsp butter
1 Tbsp olive oil
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 medium white onion sliced
4 cups calabacitas (yellow or green squash) diced
6 green onions, finely chopped
1 cup corn kernels
1 cup roast green chili, seeded, peeled & chopped
salt and pepper to taste

optional seasonings:
½ cup chicken broth
1/4 cup whipping cream
diced fresh tomato
fresh chopped cilantro or basil
grated jack cheese

1. Sauté garlic, onion and squash in butter and olive oil for about 5 mins. Add the chopped green onions and sauté for 1 minute.
2.Add green chili, corn and optional liquid if used.
3.Simmer about 20 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
4.Add optional seasonings and simmer for 5 minutes. Serve hot.