The Garden Apartment

Acorn Squash Ravioli {waiting in the wings}

This little guy has been waiting in the wings for a long time. 

 

Or rather, he's been sitting in my fridge since November. At that point in time, the weather was much warmer and I was happily farmer's-marketing every weekend. I found my acorn squash at the Bigg Riggs booth at the Old Town Alexandria Farmer's Market and was so smitten with him that I proceeded to take him home for a little photo shoot in my neighborhood. 

I had to be very inconspicuous while photographing him, given how nosy neighbors can be. I didn't want anyone thinking I was a little looney and all, you know, taking photos of a squash and a couple of pumpkins. Upon exiting the garden apartment, I safely concealed him in a hip-looking bag and wandered off to a quiet spot which seemed free of curious dog-walkers and stray afternoon strollers. 

I don't think anyone saw me.

So, that was me, two months ago. Smitten and in-love as I could be with my acorn squash. That is, until he landed a spot in my crowded fridge. 

Where I proceeded to forget about him for an entire two months while I ate things like this, this, and this. 

But, he's been a good sport through all the rejection. He's held up well, and was perfectly fit and prepared to be the object of my affection again. You see, that's the wonderful thing about winter fruits and vegetables. They have an amazing shelf life.

I decided to feature him in acorn squash ravioli. He would be the main star of the dish, slowly roasted before being pureed with a mixture of onions, garlic, sage, ricotta, and parmesan cheese. Then, he would be wrapped in wonton wrappers, boiled quickly, and covered in a sauce of browned butter and fresh sage. 

Isn't that worth waiting for? 

With no further ado, here is the recipe.

Acorn Squash Ravioli with Sage Butter  View Print Friendly Version 

Serves 4 (Main Course) or 6 (Appetizer)

• 1 acorn squash, diced and roasted*
• 1/4 Cup yellow onion, diced 
• 2 TB fresh sage, choped
• 1 TB butter 
• 1 garlic clove, minced 
• 1/4 Cup Ricotta Cheese 
• 1/4 Cup Parmesan Cheese 
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg  
• 1/2 tsp sherry vinegar 
• dash of red pepper flakes 
• salt and pepper 
• 1 package of wonton wrappers 
• semolina flour or cornmeal (for dusting) 
• small bowl of water (for preparing the ravioli) 
• 4 TB butter 
• 2 tsp fresh sage (+ more to taste) 
• walnut oil (optional) 

Make the Ravioli Filling

Pre-heat the oven to 350 F. To get maximum flavor from the squash, peel the rind and dice into small cubes. Place the cubes on a foil or parchment lined baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil. Roast for 30-45 minutes until all sides are nicely caramelized. *Note: If you don't have the time (or patience) to peel the squash and cube it, you can alternatively follow this procedure: halve the squash. Place each half cut-side down on an oiled parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake for 30-45 minutes.

 

In the meantime, warm 1 TB butter in a medium sauce pan. Saute the onions and 2 TB chopped sage until the onions are transparent. Add garlic, salt, and pepper. Saute for one minute longer, then set aside.

When the squash is finished roasting, combine the squash, onion mixture, ricotta cheese, parmesan cheese, nutmeg, sherry vinegar, and red pepper flakes in a food processor. Pulse until the texture is creamy. Add salt and pepper to taste.

 

Assemble the Ravioli

Lightly cover a piece of parchment paper with semolina flour or cornmeal (this will prevent the ravioli from sticking). Have ready: a stack of wonton wrappers, a small bowl of water, a brush, additional semolina flour or cornmeal.

Place 1-2 tsp of squash filling in the center of the wonton wrapper.

 

Brush the outside edges of the wonton wrapper with water. 

Fold the two outer points of the wonton wrapper together to make the wonton into a triangle. 

Press from the inside of the ravioli (near the filling) outward to seal the ravioli. This will help to remove any air bubbles that might be on the inside. 

 

If necessary, fold over any extra dough on the outside to make a neater shape.

Repeat this process until all of the squash filling has been used. This recipe should make between 30-40 raviolis.

 

Place the raviolis in a large pot of boiling water for 3-5 minutes before serving with sage butter sauce, or your sauce of choice. If you'd like to make these ahead of time, they can be frozen in an air-tight ziplock bag, and then prepared at a later time.

Make the Sage Butter Sauce

Heat 4 TB butter in a sauce pan over medium heat until it begins to brown. Add 2 tsp of freshly chopped sage, salt, pepper, and a dash of walnut oil (optional). Serve atop acorn squash ravioli immediately.
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I hope you enjoy this recipe, and please let me know if you try it.

As for myself, I will be taking a long weekend away from cooking in order to celebrate John's birthday. We are off to New Orleans. And look- he received the perfect present to prepare himself for impromptu jam sessions in the French Quarter.

If only he knew more than the three glorious "power" chords from the instructional DVD that came with the guitar. 

Ah well, we'll have a good time anyway.

Di(sh)patch from the DuPont Circle Farmers Market: Baked Ricotta Tarts with Mashed Potato Crust

Despite encountering massive traffic jams and pre-inaugural motorcades, a trip to the DuPont Circle Farmer's Market last weekend was well worth the trouble. After arriving back home in Virginia, I whipped up a delicious baked ricotta tart with a mashed potato crust. I topped it all off with some delicious roasted tomatoes and caramelized onions. Read about it, or scroll down for the recipe.

Cute pink radishes at the Dupont Circle Farmers Market: Sunday, January 11th, 2009.

Though I live across the river from the typically traffic congested Washington, DC, a Sunday morning drive to the city is normally a quick twenty minute trip. So when I asked my friend Bethany to join me this weekend, I imagined our drive to the DuPont Circle Farmer's Market would be something of a leisurely jaunt. 

I couldn't have been more wrong.

Somehow, I missed the warnings that this Sunday was the practice run for inauguration. After being rerouted due to road closures, and then stopped due to a large "practice motorcade" passing us by, we drove out of the White House area, crossed the Memorial Bridge back to Virginia, crossed over the bridge again back into the city, and finally arrived at the DuPont Circle Farmers Market an hour later. There's nothing I appreciate more than practicing for traffic jams and road closures before the real deal occurs this coming Tuesday.

Well, at least we got a good parking spot.

The bounty at DuPont Circle never fails to amaze me, especially given that it is January. There were several good finds, including the adorable pink radishes pictured above.

How about this fresh purple and green kale from Spring Valley Farm and Orchard?

I also found some freshly pressed pear cider at Black Rock Orchards. I was intrigued and brought a pint home with me. It was good, but I'm partial to the tangier taste of apple cider.

The next fun find was from Quaker Valley Orchards who was offering popping corn on the cob. Of course I brought some home with me.

Following the instructions given on the sign, I stuck one in the microwave for a minute and a half. Voila!

 

Among other finds was a nice piece of buffalo flank steak from Cibola Farms, some sweet potatoes and cherry tomatoes from Sunnyside Farms and some of my favorite ricotta cheese from Blue Ridge Dairy.

If you live in the Washington DC area, and you haven't tried Blue Ridge Dairy's ricotta cheese yet, I highly recommend that you do. Personally, I'm not a big fan of most ricotta as it tends to lack flavor. But, this ricotta is so creamy and features just the right subtle flavor that I will eat it by the spoonful. What's more- it's 99 percent fat free-- which is amazing considering how creamy it is. {If you can't get Blue Ridge Dairy's ricotta, try to seek out a ricotta made by a small producer who takes care to preserve the cheese's delicate flavor while producing it.}

I've been intrigued by a lot of recipes for baked ricotta, but I had never tried making it. Many of the recipes I've seen called for either a simple baking of the ricotta mixed with a little egg. Many others called for sweet dessert-like concoctions.

All sounded good, but I wanted to make a supper tart. I also wanted to try a new crust: one made with the flesh of a baked potato. After a little research on baked potato and mashed potato crusts, I came up with a pretty good concoction (if I do say so myself).

After filling the pre-baked potato crust with a simple ricotta mixture, I topped the finished tarts off with some delicious oven roasted tomatoes, caramelized onions, olives, and fresh basil. These garnishes are all optional, but certainly made the tart extra-delicious. You can always use leftover caramelized onions from another dish, or you can caramelize the onions and roast the tomatoes up to a day before assembling the tart. 

Baked Ricotta Tart with Mashed Potato Crust             Print Friendly Version 

This recipe yields 6 mini tarts, or one 9" tart. If using mini-tart pans, this recipe can easily be halved to make 3 mini tarts.

Ingredients

For the Crust:

• 2 medium baking potatoes, baked or microwaved (about 2 Cups of potato)
• 1 TB + 1 tsp milk
• 1/4 Cup Flour
• 2 tsp olive oil + extra for brushing the crust
• salt and pepper, to taste

For the Filling:

• 3 Cups Ricotta Cheese
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1/2 Cup Parmesan Cheese, grated
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• salt and pepper, to taste

Optional Additions:

• slow-roasted cherry tomatoes 
• caramelized onions
• fresh herbs
• olives (I recommend Kalamata)
• toasted pine nuts

Directions

Bake the Crust:

Pre-heat the oven to 350 F. 

Remove the baked potato from the skin and mash. Add milk, flour, olive oil, salt, and pepper. Mash until the mixture comes together. If the mixture feels too sticky, add a small amount of flour until the mixture is malleable, but will not stick to your fingers.

If using mini-tart pans, place the pans on a large cookie sheet.

Lightly brush 6 mini-tart pans or one large 9" tart pan with olive oil. Scoop the mashed potato mixture into each tart pan. 

Use your fingers to press the mixture into the pan. When the potato mixture has been completely pressed into the pan, lightly brush the outside of the mixture with olive oil.

Bake the crust for 30 minutes, or until the crust is beginning to turn golden-brown. Remove from the oven.

Make the Filling:

Combine all the filling ingredients. If desired, you can add caramelized onions or fresh herbs to the filling.

Scoop the filling into the pre-baked crust(s). Return the tarts to the oven and bake for an additional 30 minutes.

If adding slow roasted tomatoes to the top, you may want to remove the tarts at 20 minutes. Press the tomatoes into the top of the ricotta mixture, then return the tarts to the oven for the remaining ten minutes.  

All other additions (caramelized onions, fresh herbs, olives, pine nuts) can be added to the tart after it is removed from the oven.

Allow the tarts to cool slightly, remove from their pan, and serve as a delicious brunch item or as a light (and delicious) main course with a side salad.

Peach and Ginger-Spiced Pecan Galette {A Cure for the Winter Blues}

This peach and ginger-spiced pecan galette is sure to cure the winter blues. Featuring preserved peaches from the summer complemented by spices typically used in wintertime gingerbread, this pastry acknowledges that it is still winter (but remembers warm summer days fondly)

Every January I get a mean case of the winter blues. Despite the forboding signs that IT- January- is coming every year, January never fails to hit me in the face like an unexpected bluster of frigid air.

You see, I happen to like November and December. The memory of warm weather isn't too far away and events like the falling of colorful leaves and the first snow flakes feel invigorating and wonderful.

But then January hits. That invigorated feeling drops off quickly when the sky is continually gray and the air is still cold. 

Perhaps it's that this first month of the year marks the end of November and December's celebrating and embracing the season by putting up twinkle lights, decorating trees, and listening to nonstop holiday music. In January it's all over and it's suddenly time to take all these things down, put them out to the curb, and return to the normal program.

But it's still cold outside- and we all need something to get us through the next few months!

With this, I bring you my brief list of New Year's Resolutions (followed by my recipe for peach and ginger-spiced pecan galette):

I resolve to continue embracing the winter season (even if I have to dig into the depths of my freezer for summer produce).

I resolve to keep my twinkle lights and tree (small though it may be) up for a little longer.

And now, I present you with my first indulgence of 2009. Appropriately, it features the same spice mix found in gingerbread cookies and some of my favorite summertime peaches- which I froze by the bagful this September. 

Peaches and gingerbread are complementary flavors. You'll often find recipes for peach crisp with gingersnap crumble crusts. While this sounded delicious, I wondered if I couldn't make something a little bit different.

I decided to make a galette. If you aren't familiar with galettes, they are wonderful free-form tarts (see this great David Lebovitz tutorial on making a galette here). 

Because I planned to use a juicy fruit, I decided to put a molasses and spiced nut layer on the tart before adding the peaches. This layer would add an interesting flavor as well as protect the pastry from getting soggy on the bottom.

With no further ado, here is the recipe.

Peach and Ginger-Spiced Pecan Galette  Printer Friendly Version Here

Dough  From Alice Waters The Art of Simple Food

• 1/4 Cup ice-cold water
• 1 Cup All-Purpose flour 
• 1/4 tsp salt 
• 6 TB cold butter, cut into small cubes

Have the ice cold water ready and set near your food processor. Tip: I typically keep a bowl of ice water and the 1/4 Cup Measure handy for quick retrieval.

In a food processor, combine the flour and salt. Add the cold butter and pulse until the butter is in large clumps. Note: For making a galette, it is recommended that the butter clumps are larger than a pie crust. For a typical pie crust, the butter should be pea-sized. In other words, don't process the butter as long as you usually would!

Pour in three-quarters of the water down the side of the bowl, mixing for 30 seconds or less. Keep adding water if needed. Tip: You will know the dough is ready when it clears the sides of the bowl during processing. But, be careful not to over-process!

Roll the dough into a ball. Set on top of a large square of plastic wrap. Press the ball into a disk. Cover the disk tightly with the plastic wrap. Use the tension of the plastic wrap to smooth out any wrinkles in the dough.

Let the dough rest, refrigerated for one hour.

Spiced Pecans:

• 1 Cup of pecans or walnuts
• 2 TB brown sugar 
• 1 tsp cinnamon 
• 3/4 tsp ground ginger 
• 1/4 tsp allspice or ground cloves 
• pinch of salt  

In a food processor, pulse all ingredients until crumbly. Set aside.

Have Ready:

• 2 tsp molasses 
• 1 1/2 Cups peach slices mixed with 1 tsp of flour (I used frozen peaches preserved from the summer)  
• 3 TB sugar  
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon 
• 2 TB butter (optional)

Assembly Instructions

Preheat the oven to 375F. 

Remove the dough from the refrigerator. On a clean, lightly floured surface begin to roll out the dough in a shape of your choice. Note: If you have a flat- no elevated edges- baking sheet, you can roll your dough on a piece of parchment directly on the baking pan. Otherwise, be sure to transfer the dough to the baking sheet before adding the toppings.

Remember the hint about processing the butter in large clumps? If you look at this photo, you can actually see the butter as the dough is rolled out. The large clumps of butter help to make the finished dough flakier.

Once the dough is rolled out, spread the 2 TB molasses around the center of the galette. Leave a two inch border of dough (you will be folding this over the fruit in the end).

Sprinkle the spiced nuts on top of the molasses.

Spread the peach mixture on top of the nuts.

Fold the dough edges over. If desired, you can make fancy crinkles or folds into the dough on top. Or, you can keep it simple, the way I did. 

Sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon. I recommend getting the sugar and cinnamon on the dough too.

If desired, dot the peaches with the 2 TB of butter. 

Place the galette on a parchment lined baking sheet. Bake for about 30-35 minutes, or until the dough is lightly browned.

Enjoy a slice, warm or cold, alone or with ice cream. 

And while you eat your galette, think ahead fondly to warm summer days-- but don't forget to enjoy the winter months!

Farmer's Market Vanilla Ice Cream {and Family}

Spending time at home in the Midwest, I enjoyed a fun visit to the local farmer's market followed by an experiment in making ice cream with my five-year-old niece and six-year-old nephew.

South Bend, Indiana isn't the kind of place you'd expect to find a bustling year round farmer's market. Nothing against my hometown, but it becomes something of a frigid winter wonderland between November and March every year.

After arriving amid an ice storm (on a flight that nearly landed twice before finally arriving safely on the ground an hour late), my mom mentioned that we might go to the farmer's market. Farmer's market? Really?

Sure enough, we ventured downtown to the (thankfully) indoor marketplace Saturday morning.

The market becomes something of a craft show/ farmer's market/ other food goods during the winter months. Nevertheless, there were some legitimate farmers selling the usual winter fare: apples, pears, and root vegetables.

My most exciting purchase? A whole dozen Jumbo eggs for a mere $2.00-- half the price of my market eggs in the DC area. I told the farmer that it was a good price, but he seemed unimpressed by my enthusiasm.

My niece seemed to enjoy the farmer's market for another reason: candy corn.  Not exactly organic, local, or healthy, but it made her smile anyway. 

Back to the local purchases, I was particularly excited about the dozen eggs. One of my Christmas presents for my parents was the Williams Sonoma Ice Cream Book, along with some good quality chocolate, vanilla beans, and lovely glass ice cream dishes. You see, my parents have something that I very much covet for myself (once I dwell in a place larger than the Garden Apartment): an ice cream maker. 

My niece and nephew are five and six years old, the perfect ages to act as cooking assistants.  Being their first time making ice cream, I thought we'd keep it simple and make vanilla ice cream.

The Williams Sonoma recipe is a very rich custard based recipe. In fact, the custard itself was so delicious that I had to restrain myself from eating it all before putting it into the ice cream maker.

My niece prides herself on her ability to crack eggs. She asked if I'd let her crack the eggs, but in fact, we only needed the yolks for this recipe. I demonstrated how to separate the whites from the yolks. Amazingly, she was able to do the rest of the eggs (5 more) all by herself. 

Once the custard was nice and creamy, we ran it through a fine mesh sieve before storing it in the refrigerator for a few hours.

At 7PM, I excitedly announced to the kids that it was time to process the ice cream. 

They came running into the kitchen at record speed. We went through the entire process of pouring the custard into the ice-cream maker and then turning the machine on. Alas- after 25 minutes of very eager waiting. . . we found that we still had room temperature custard. Hmm. 

At this point, my engineer husband decided to consult the owner's manual. What a novel idea! Upon reading the instructions, we discovered that we actually had to freeze the barrel for up to 22 hours. We apologized to the kids, and sent them to bed with promises of ice cream the next day. 

The following day, we again went through the steps of pouring the custard:

 

Willow was a good helper for Uncle John.

Harrison was a good observer. . . 

And Uncle John decided to be a little silly with the remaining custard.

Twenty-five successful minutes later we had real frozen vanilla ice cream. The kids ran around the house providing spoonful samples to all the adults. Then, we made ourselves delicious ice cream sundaes.

If you'd like to try this recipe, check out the Williams Sonoma Ice Cream Book (with lots of other wonderful ice cream recipes), or access the recipe here.