Sasha's Kitchen: Squash Fig Crostini

I was looking for a new fall recipe for a dinner party that I was throwing and came across a delicious sounding recipe for ricotta/squash crostinis with sage in Bon Appetit magazine.  I decided to modify up the original recipe with some perfect mission figs that I had just ordered with my FreshDirect delivery, Turns out that figs and butternut squash are just the perfect food combination for fall.  I made the crostinis for my dinner party a small plate, served on a large platter for when everyone had just arrived.  They were a huge success and I'd be happy to serve them again at my next fall dinner party.

Sasha's Fig & Squash Crostini
1 15 oz container of ricotta cheese
1 loaf of french or italian bread, sliced and toasted
sage leaves
2 T of butter
1 container of mission figs (cop up about half a cup)
butternut squash (enough for two cups)
3 1/2 T of olive oil
fresh lemon juice and olive oil for vinaigrette

First, chop up about two cups of the butternut squash.  Chopping butternut squash is such a pain and takes some work.  I wish I had bought it pre-peeled and chopped, but I didn't. Here you need to peel the squash and cut it up into a nice dice so it is east in the end to spoon over the bread.  Mix the squash with 2 T of oil and a pinch of sugar.  Preheat the oven to 425 and broil the squash for 25 to 30 minutes on a rimmed baking sheet, tossing occasionally.  Allow to cool completely.  You can store the squash in the fridge.  Heat the other 1 1/2 t of oil in a small pan and add about 24 sage leaves.  Cook until the edges begin to curl and turn dark green.

Spread the toasted bread slices with the ricotta and cover with the squash, adding some figs.  You will need about a half cup of figs, chopped and two cups of squash.  Add the sage leaf and season with some pepper.  Toss a vinaigrette with lemon and olive oil and sprinkle on a light vinaigrette just before serving.   The original recipe calls for some lemon zest in with the ricotta but I left that out since my husband, Brad isn't a big fan of lemon.

Sasha's Kitchen: Squash Fig Crostini

From Amasea's Kitchen in Sun Valley: Very versatile bread rolls

OK, so I don't have any pictures of the making of this, and I apologize -- I'm so scared of bread and baking that I wasn't at all sure if it would actually work.
But it did!
Oh hurray happy day, it did!

Of course, I can't really take any credit. The recipe is from a recent issue of Bon Appetit's e-mail newsletter, and I followed it pretty faithfully. I didn't even make any adjustments for high altitude (which actually I should have; the dough ended up being too liquid and would have resulted in an easier-to-use ingredient and cleaner look if I'd added more flour).
I also didn't have any black sesame seeds, so I just added a few extra regular sesame seeds...but I didn't need to; the final product has a nice sesame flavor but could have used maybe a few fewer seeds. I also added salt and pepper to the filling, but that salt ended up being a bit too much when added to the salt in the dough. The pepper was good, though.

I've eaten entirely too many of these appetizer-ready rolls for dinner tonight, and have realized how versatile they'd be. I'm anticipating making this recipe again quite often, substituting in for the filling hot pepper flakes, feta cheese, chopped pine nuts, pressed garlic, sundried tomatoes and any number of other tasty things.

If you didn't click the link above, here is the recipe from Bon Appetit:

Ingredients
2 teaspoons active dry yeast
2 teaspoons Kosher salt, divided
2 teaspoons sugar, divided
1 3/4 cups plus 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled, cubed
1 large egg plus 1 yolk
1 1/4 cups coarsely chopped scallions
1/2 cup coarsely chopped fresh cilantro
1/2 cup sesame seeds
1 tablespoon black sesame seeds
3 tablespoons olive oil plus more for bowl and brushing

ingredient info:
Black sesame seeds can be found at better supermarkets and at Asian and Indian markets.

Preparation
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Pour 1/2 cup warm water (105°-115°) into a small bowl. Sprinkle yeast, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1 teaspoon sugar over; let stand until mixture bubbles, about 10 minutes.
Place flour, butter, remaining 1 teaspoon salt, and remaining 1 teaspoon sugar in bowl of a stand mixer with dough hook attached. Rub in butter with fingertips until mixture resembles coarse meal. Beat in egg, yolk, and yeast mixture, scraping down sides.
Knead on medium speed until dough is soft and smooth, about 5 minutes. Form dough into a ball; transfer to a large, lightly oiled bowl. Cover and let rise until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
Meanwhile, combine scallions and cilantro in a food processor and pulse to finely chop. Transfer mixture to a medium bowl; stir in all sesame seeds and 3 tablespoons oil and set aside.
Preheat oven to 350°. Roll dough into a 18x9" rectangle. Spoon scallion mixture evenly onto center and spread mixture to corners of dough. Working from one short edge, roll dough rectangle into a cylinder. Cut cylinder into 3/4" dough swirls. Transfer dough swirls to prepared baking sheet; brush with oil. Bake until golden brown, about 30 minutes.

From Amasea's Kitchen in Sun Valley: Very versatile bread rolls

Sasha's Kitchen: Chili Con Carne

So, I have not been feeling great this week, hence the lack of cooking and lack of blog posts. But, I figured I could share one that was a winner that I have not yet had the time to write about. 

Last time I wrote about chili, it was my recipe for turkey chili which my husband and I both really enjoyed as our first foray into chili making. This time, we tried out a recipe for Chili Con Carne from Bon Appetit, which I followed with a couple of modifications. It was also delicious and another terrific meal with plenty of leftovers. I made half of the recipe in the link (which is posted below) and it was still enough for us to get two meals out of it. Yummy!

Chili Con Carne (based on Bon Appetit recipe)

2 T Canola Oil

2 pounds lean beef chunk, cubed

1 medium onion, chopped

1/2 of a head of garlic (about eight cloves), peeled and diced

1/4 cup ancho chili powder

1 T cumin

1/4 tsp allspice

1/8 tsp cinnamon

1/8 tsp cloves

6 oz dark beer (I used Guinness)

1 14 oz can diced tomatoes in juice

1 tsp dried oregano

1 T tomato paste

3 T masa (or pureed frito chips, which worked just fine)

grated Shelburne Farms 2-year Cheddar

chopped fresh cilantro to taste

chopped fresh tomatoes, to taste

fat free sour cream, to taste

pinch of pepper to taste

1 cup of water

Heat the canola oil and sear the beef cubes, half at a time. Cook until browned, stirring, for about three minutes. Transfer to a bowl and set aside.

Add a bit more canola oil if needed, and saute the onion for about 8-10 minutes. Add the garlic and saute for another two minutes. Add the ancho chili, cumin, allspice, pepper, and cloves and stir until fragrant, another minute or two. Add the beer and stir for a minute, before returning the beef to the pot. Then, add the tomatoes, a cup of water, oregano and a pinch of salt. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and cover partially with lid ajar. Simmer for about 1 1/2 to two hours, until the meat is tender. Cool for about an hour.

Then, simmer again over medium heat. Stir in the tomato paste and pureed fritos/masa, which will thicken the chili. Simmer until thickened, uncovered, for about 20 minutes, adding a quarter cup or water or so if the chili becomes too thick.

Top with cheddar, chips, sour cream, and diced tomatoes.

Sasha's Kitchen: Chili Con Carne