Blog Archives

Pumpkin stuffed with Vegetables and Cheese

1

I love fall — just the smells hanging in the air fills me with a sense of adventure.  Woody smoke, apples, root vegetables, leaves burning…it is all there beckoning us to pay attention.  The other day, the Sisters were given a very generous donation of pumpkins from a local nursery.   It was a beautiful sight seeing them lining our walk in all different shapes and sizes.  Being the thrifty sort and hating to see anything go to waste, I knew we must use these not just to beautify our property, but to eat before they went bad.  When I got the call that a lunch was needed to feed our community of 200 people, I knew just the thing – homemade pumpkin soup –  Delightful!  We set about cutting the pumpkins into large chunks, roasting them in the oven, and then transferring them to our skillet where we turned it all into a yummy creamy pumpkin soup.  When we were all done, we still had pumpkins left over!  (It felt a bit like the feeding of the 5000!).  I remembered that a friend, returning from Italy, had brought me a wonderful recipe of a whole, roasted pumpkin layered with ham, sautéed vegetables and cheese.  It’s a perfect recipe to try at this time of year, especially with Thanksgiving just around the corner.

Print Recipe
Votes: 0
Rating: 0
You:
Rate this recipe!
Pumpkin stuffed with Vegetables and Cheese
SERVINGS
6-8people
CHANGE SERVING SIZE
people
COOK TIME
1 hr30 min
PREP TIME
30min
READY IN
2hr

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. Wash the pumpkin
  2. Preheat oven to 375°
  3. Cut the head of the pumpkin, making an incision horizontally about 2 inches down from the stem
  4. Place the top back on the pumpkin, wrap it in tin foil and place in a preheated oven for about one hour or until the pumpkin is almost fork tender.
  5. Remove from oven, let it cool slightly and remove the seeds. With the spoon, gently remove some of the flesh from inside the pumpkin and reserve.
  6. Generously salt and pepper the interior of the pumpkin.
  7. In a cast iron skillet, heat the olive oil and add the butternut squash and parsnips. Sprinkle with kosher or onion salt and pepper.
  8. When they are partially cooked, remove from the skillet
  9. Add onions and peppers to the same skillet, again sprinkling with salt and pepper.
  10. Once they have cooked a few minutes, add the mushrooms, followed by the zucchini, a few minutes later. Sautéing slightly.
  11. While the vegetables are cooking, grate your cheese and set aside and slice your ham into thin strips.
  12. Once the vegetables are prepared, in the cavity of your pumpkin, start layering in this order: ham, baby spinach, assorted vegetables, the reserved pumpkin, swiss cheese, parmesan cheese and repeat – two or three times, ending with cheese.
  13. Place the top on the pumpkin, place the pumpkin in a casserole dish or cast iron skillet, and return to the oven for about 45 min. or until heated through and cheese is bubbly. Let rest a few minutes and slice when ready to serve.

Andiamo Mangiare!
For a meal, serve this with homemade bread or rolls and a salad.

Spicy Almonds

Reply

I hope all of you had a very blessed and happy Christmas. Ours was a quiet celebration with reflection on what Christmas really means. But of course we had wonderful food to help us do just that. And the season continues as we face the new year and the celebration that goes with it. My favorite party is appetizers; small savory bites and wonderful hot cheesy dips. One great dish to prepare that everyone loves is spiced nuts. I love sweet and spicy, but decided to try out some spicy ones. They are easy and delicious and you can adjust the heat according to taste.

Print Recipe
Votes: 0
Rating: 0
You:
Rate this recipe!
Spicy Almonds
SERVINGS
CHANGE SERVING SIZE
COOK TIME
18minutes
PREP TIME
READY IN

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  2. In a saucepan combine all ingredients except almonds and salt. Bring to a simmer over medium heat and cook for about 3 minutes.
  3. Pour over almonds and combine well.
  4. Pour almond mixture onto a pan lined with parchment and cook in oven for 15 minutes.
  5. Remove from oven and sprinkle with salt to taste. Let cool. Enjoy!

Hot Ham and Cheese Pockets with Mustard and Chutney

Reply

Next week we start harvesting apples. How the year zips right along, from planting to harvest to seed again. We haven’t quite finished dealing with the pears yet, but we are getting there. Many more jars of chutney, and maybe some cordial to warm us in the winter months. I wanted to try the pear chutney in my favorite hot ham and cheese sandwich, so I made up some bread dough, slathered in some of our homemade mustard and a good dollop of the pear chutney, baked it until the cheese was oozing out the sides and it was quite good! Served with a nice bowl of butternut squash soup, who could ask for more on these nippy fall days? 

Print Recipe
Votes: 2
Rating: 1
You:
Rate this recipe!
Hot Ham and Cheese Pockets with Mustard and Chutney
SERVINGS
CHANGE SERVING SIZE
COOK TIME
PREP TIME
READY IN

Ingredients

Instructions

Bread dough:
  1. Dissolve yeast in warm water, add sugar, and let sit until bubbly.
  2. Add salt, olive oil and enough flour to make a just-sticky bread dough that springs back to the touch after kneading for about 5 to 10 minutes.
  3. Keep adding flour until not sticky.
  4. Put back in bowl, and cover.
  5. Let rise about 1 hour or until doubled in size.
Filling:
  1. Divide dough into 6 lumps.
  2. Roll out into 7 inch circles.
  3. Spread center of each circle with mustard, then grated cheese, chutney, and finally ham bunched on top.
  4. Pull up edges of circle, and press edges together to form a ball.
  5. Place with seam side down on a pan lined with parchment.
  6. Let sit about 15 minutes.
  7. Brush tops with olive oil, and bake in a 350 degree oven for about 20 to 25 minutes, or until bubbly and golden.

Vegetable Stack Sandwich on Homemade Focaccia with Pesto and Ricotta

Reply

Vegetable Stack Sandwich on Homemade Focaccia with Pesto and Ricotta

Print Recipe
Votes: 0
Rating: 0
You:
Rate this recipe!
Vegetable Stack Sandwich on Homemade Focaccia with Pesto and Ricotta
SERVINGS
CHANGE SERVING SIZE
COOK TIME
35-40mins.
PREP TIME
READY IN
155mins.

Ingredients

Instructions

Focaccia:
  1. Pour the warm water in a small bowl.
  2. Sprinkle the yeast, sugar and 2 Tablespoons of the flour over the the water.
  3. Stir until dissolved, and then let sit until foamy, about 15 minutes.
  4. In a large bowl, place the 4 Tablespoons olive oil, salt, 1 cup of the flour and the yeast mixture.
  5. Whisk hard until smooth, about 3 minutes.
  6. Add the remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, stirring until a soft, sticky dough is formed.
  7. Turn onto a floured surface and knead to form a springy ball, dusting with flour to prevent sticking, about 3 minutes.
  8. Place the dough in a greased deep container, and let rise until triple in bulk, about 1 1/2 hours.
  9. Grease a 17 x 11 inch baking sheet and sprinkle with cornmeal.
  10. Place the dough ball on a lightly floured surface.
  11. Press and flatten the dough.
  12. Lift and pull gently, stretching to fit the baking sheet.
  13. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rise at room temperature until doubled in bulk.
  14. Meanwhile combine herbs and 1/3 cup olive oil, let sit for 30 minutes.
  15. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
  16. Using fingertips or knuckles, gently poke indentations all over the surface of the dough about 1/4 inch deep.
  17. Drizzle the oil/herb mixture over the surface of the dough, letting it pool in indentations. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes until nicely browned.
  18. Sprinkle with salt if desired.
Stack Sandwich:
  1. Lay the eggplant out onto trays lined with paper towel, sprinkle with salt, and let sit for about 10 minutes.
  2. Blot with more paper towel.
  3. Place eggplant, zucchini, red pepper and onion on baking sheets greased with olive oil.
  4. Brush all vegetables generously with olive oil, sprinkle with kosher salt. Bake in a 400 degree F oven until tender.
  5. Cut Focaccia into squares, and then cut into 2 layers. Spread each layer with pesto, and the bottom with 2 teaspoons ricotta.
  6. Place baby spinach next, then a slice of eggplant, onion, tomato, a couple of slices of zucchini and finally some strips of red pepper.
  7. Place top layer of focaccia on this and you have a great sandwich!

My Mom’s Potato Salad

1

Memorial Day is supposed to be the kick off for summer, but it was a little questionable with the cold temperatures and constant rain. The vegetables in the garden seemed happy enough  — potatoes, beans, leeks all were thriving with the extra moisture they were getting. I was a little concerned that steaks on the grill weren’t going to do all that well in the pouring rain. Monday dawned clear and warmer, and we were able to have our picnic as planned. It was delightful and almost sparkling in the sunshine. I made my favorite potato salad. My sister has always made it this way, and I recently realized that this is also the way my mother always made it. The secret is in the salad dressing going on the potatoes while they are still warm  and making it a day ahead so the flavors have a chance to develop.

Print Recipe
Votes: 0
Rating: 0
You:
Rate this recipe!
My Mom’s Potato Salad
SERVINGS
CHANGE SERVING SIZE
COOK TIME
PREP TIME
READY IN

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. Cook potatoes in a pot of boiling salted water until tender.
  2. Drain and transfer to a bowl. Pour on the vinaigrette.
  3. Let sit for a few minutes.
  4. Then combine the remaining ingredients. Cover and refrigerate overnight or until cold.

Vichyssoise

Reply

I have to confess that I am a cold weather girl. Beach towels on hot sand do not do it for me, but crisp fall days with a north breeze blowing through the trees is what can send me into ecstasies of spirit. I grew up my first few years in Western Massachusetts — hills and valleys, tall trees and loads of fall color, apples, pumpkins…Of course here on the Cape we have our share of fall color, but it is much later, and much more subtle… There is nothing quite like late October sun slanting across a salt marsh — who knew that grass could have that much color! Anyway, back to the present, where we are just experiencing our first hint of fall. The gardens are definitely slowing down. We have pretty much seen the last of the tomatoes, summer squash; still getting some lettuce, beans, eggplant, broccoli, and the first of the leeks. Our leeks this year are really fat and healthy. I love the subtle flavor of leek as compared to onion, and include it in stews and soups, risottos and stuffing’s. I think it is showcased the best though in a vichyssoise. Yes, this is a cold soup, but is also delicious served warm, with a garnish of fresh thyme and parsley, and  pretty easy to make!

Vichyssoise

Print Recipe
Votes: 0
Rating: 0
You:
Rate this recipe!
Vichyssoise
SERVINGS
CHANGE SERVING SIZE
COOK TIME
30 - 40mins.
PREP TIME
READY IN

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. In a large pot, heat the butter until foamy.
  2. Toss in the leeks, stirring to coat.
  3. Cook for several minutes, until translucent.
  4. Add the chopped potatoes, stock, and thyme.
  5. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer.
  6. Cook, partially covered, for 30 to 40 minutes until potatoes are completely cooked through.
  7. Remove from heat.
  8. Working in batches, blend in a blender. (With hot liquids only fill one third full, and hold blender top with hand while blending)
  9. Blend until smooth.
  10. Add the heavy cream, and add salt to taste, and serve warm.
  11. Garnish with chopped herbs. If you have any leftover you could enjoy it the next day cold.
  12. If you have any leftover you could enjoy it the next day cold.