Ellen's Fall/Winter Fest

Though my dinner club feels like it was ages ago (and truly it was in a different year) below are some of the recipes and photos of the evening. Even if I wasn't able to physically say it the day of, thanks to everyone for coming!



Stuffed Mushrooms
In my opinion this makes a ton of filling, so you can easily double the number of mushrooms without making more filling. Also I re-made this with using fresh onions instead of onion powder and it was good too!

12 whole fresh mushrooms
1 tbsp veggie oil
1 tbsp minced garlic
1 (8oz) package cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp ground cayenne pepper
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray baking sheet with cooking spray. Clean mushrooms with damp paper towel. Carefully break off stems. Chop stems extremely fine, discarding tough end of stems.
Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and chopped mushroom stems to skillet. Fry until any moisture has disappeared, set aside to cool.
Stir in cream cheese, parmesan, black pepper, onion powder, and cayenne pepper. Using a little spoon, fill each mushroom cap with a generous amount of stuffing. Arrange the mushroom caps on prepared cookie sheet.
Bake for 20 min in the preheated oven, or until the mushrooms are piping hot and liquid starts to form under caps. 


Winter Squash Soup with Gruyere Croutons
Taken from SmittenKitchen.com, Adapted from Bon Appétit, December 1996
Serves 8
1/4 cup butter
1 large onion, finely chopped
4 large garlic cloves, chopped
3 14 1/2-ounce cans low-salt chicken broth
4 cups 1-inch pieces peeled butternut squash (about 1 1/2 pounds)
4 cups 1-inch pieces peeled acorn squash (about 1 1/2 pounds)
1 1/4 teaspoons minced fresh thyme
1 1/4 teaspoons minced fresh sage
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/8 cup whipping cream

Melt butter in large pot over medium heat. Add onion and garlic and sauté until tender, about 10 minutes. Add broth, all squash and herbs; bring to boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer until squash is very tender, about 20 minutes.
Working in batches, puree soup in blender. Return soup to same pot. Stir in cream and bring to simmer. Season with salt and pepper. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Chill. Rewarm over medium heat before serving.)

Balsamic Braised Brussels with Pancetta (though I just threw in bacon, not pancetta...)
Taken from SmittenKitchen.com, Adapted from Sunday Suppers at Lucques
Serves 6 to 8 as a side

1 1/2 cups fresh bread crumbs (though I found I needed far less)
2 teaspoons thyme leaves
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil plus an extra glug or two for drizzling
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 pounds medium-sized brussels sprouts, washed and trimmed
Salt and pepper
6 ounces pancetta in small dice (1 1/2 cups)
3 tablespoons minced shallots
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
1 1/2 cups veal stock, rich chicken or vegetable broth, more if needed
2 tablespoons chopped parsley

Heat oven to 350 degrees. In a bowl, mix bread crumbs and thyme with a couple glugs of olive oil, and spread on a cookie sheet. Toast, tossing frequently, until golden brown, 10 to 12 minutes.
Heat butter and remaining olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat until foamy. Add brussels sprouts, sprinkle with S&P, and sauté, tossing frequently, until lightly browned, about 7 to 10 minutes. Add diced pancetta, and sauté, tossing frequently, until sprouts are well browned and softened slightly, and pancetta is crisp, about 10 to 15 minutes more. Reduce heat, add shallots and garlic, and sauté until fragrant, 2 minutes.
Increase heat to high, add balsamic vinegar and stock, and cook, tossing frequently, until sprouts are glazed and tender, about 20 minutes; add more stock if needed. Taste, adjusting seasoning if necessary, and sprinkle with chopped parsley. Transfer to a warm serving bowl and scatter bread crumbs on top.






Wintery Fall Salad with Apple Cider Vinaigrette
Salad inspired by a few different recipes
Green mix lettuce with arugula
Red onions (soaked in cold water 1 min to remove bite)
Toasted pumpkin seeds
Apple slices
Crumbled goat cheese
Dressing was something sorta like this:
1 cup apple cider
1/2 cup olive oil
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
2 tbsp honey
salt and pepper to taste

Broccoli-Basil Mac and Cheese
Taken from 101cookbook.com
Disclaimer - I made a mistake and tripled my pasta while only doubling the rest, which is why it was dry
Serves 8 - 10
1 small butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cut into tiny chunks
olive oil
1 bunch of basil, stems removed
2 slices of good brown bread, stale or dried out in the oven
1/2 small head of broccoli, roughly chopped
4 tbsp creme fraiche or sour cream
1 3/4 cups grated white cheddar cheese
1 3/4 cups grated gruyere cheese
large handful cherry tomatoes
3 cups (300 g) macaroni elbows

Preheat your oven to 400F with a rack in the middle. Put a large pot of water on to boil. Place the squash on a large baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and bake for 20 - 25 min, or until golden.
In the meantime pulse half of the basil, all of the bread, the broccoli and a lug of olive oil in a food processor until you have a fine crumb. Transfer to a small bowl.
In a separate bowl combine the creme fraiche and grated cheese.
Place the cherry tomatoes in the food processor with the remaining basil. Pulse a couple of times to break things up, then add the cheese mixture and stir well.
Boil the pasta in well salted water, so it is slightly undercooked. Drain, reserving a big cup of hot pasta water for later use. Return the hot pasta to the pan and add the cheese mixture to it. Add the squash and give it a good stir. Add pasta water to thin the sauce to consistency of cream. It can be a bit runny as the pasta will soak it up in the oven.
Transfer everything to a large baking dish or casserole. Sprinkle the green breadcrumbs evenly across the top and bake for 20 - 25 min or until the topping is crunch. Remove from oven and wait 10 min before serving.

Pear, Cranberry and Gingersnap Crumble
This was my fav of the night, sorry no photos!
From SmittenKitchen, Adapted from Sweet Melissa Patisserie

Crumble
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup granulated sugar
3 tablespoons packed dark or light brown sugar
1 cup gingersnap crumbs (4 ounces or about 16 cookies)
1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
1/8 teaspoon table salt
Pinch of white pepper, especially if your gingersnaps aren’t particularly snappish
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled

Filling
2 pounds (about 4 to 5) large ripe pears peeled, halved, cored and sliced 1/4 inch thick
1 1/2 cups (6 ounces) fresh cranberries
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch

Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Stir together the flour, granulated sugar, brown sugar, gingersnap crumbs, ginger and salt. Stir in the melted butter until large crumbs form.
In a 1 1/2 to 2 quart baking dish, mix the pears, cranberries, lemon juice, lemon zest and vanilla. In a small bowl, whisk the sugar and cornstarch together then toss it with the fruit mixture in the pan.
Sprinkle the gingersnap crumble over the fruit. Set the crumble on a foil-lined baking sheet (in a 2 quart dish, mine didn’t come close to bubbling over but I see no reason to risk it) and bake it for about 45 minutes, until the crumble is a shade darker and you see juices bubbling through the crumbs.