What's a Girl to do With a Butternut Squash?

It's butternut squash season. I love butternut squash. Dad usually gives me a bite or two when he bakes them in the oven. I always beg for more. The other night he gave in. I later threw up on the oriental carpet in the dining room. But, now that I think of it, it might have been the bowl of oatmeal he gave me earlier in the day. It did look a bit like oatmeal. I love oatmeal.

Now, this new recipe is definitely not for dogs. It is a fresh take on butternut squash and it is light and fresh and really easy to make. Except for peeling the butternut squash! Who wants to peel a butternut squash? So Dad just cut off the ends and cut it in quarters and grated it. Being careful not to grate in any of the peel.

Raw Butternut Squash Salad With Raisins and Ginger

1 butternut squash (about 1 1/2 pounds), peeled, seeded and grated

1/2 cup raisins

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1 to 2 tablespoons sherry vinegar, or to taste

1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger

Salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Combine the squash, raisins, oil, vinegar and ginger in a salad bowl; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Toss, then taste and adjust the seasoning. Serve immediately, or cover and refrigerate for up to several hours.

Yield: 4 servings.

Ryan and Grace's Boston Lettuce and Radish Salad

Ryan and Rufus

So, Ryan and Grace surprised everyone by preparing a very delicious dinner. Not that we didn't think they had it in them. We just didn't think they would want to. Moral of this story: never underestimate the capabilities of bored youngsters. They created the menu, set and decorated the table, and served the meal with flair (Sophia helped). I helped too. I licked the plates clean.

The menu consisted of a very elegant Boston lettuce and radish salad and eggs en croute (more about that soon).

The Stage Was Set

Ryan and Grace's Boston Lettuce and Radish Salad

1. 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2. 2 tablespoons sherry vinegar
3. 1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
4. Salt and freshly ground black pepper
5. 2 bunches radishes (about 20)—tops reserved for another use, radishes very thinly sliced
6. 3 heads Boston lettuce, outer leaves discarded and tender inner leaves torn

In a large bowl, whisk the extra-virgin olive oil with the sherry vinegar and Dijon mustard and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Add the sliced radishes and Boston lettuce to the bowl, toss well and serve right away.

Grace and Rose

Dogs Love Pasta

If you've been reading my blog, well then, you know that Suddie Loves Pasta. No. Make that Suddie Loves, Suddie Loves, Suddie Loves Pasta.

Well the people at The Pasta Shoppe came across my blog and decided to send me some of their Dog Lovers Pasta. It's really intended for humans, but the pasta is formed into little paw prints and bones. It's really, really cute. They also sent me a boat load of their other pasta products including both 100% Whole Wheat Petite Pasta Nests and Spinach Basil Garlic Petite Pasta Nests.

We are going to be sampling them all over the next month or so and reporting back to you. First in the pot will be the 100% Whole Wheat Petite Pasta Nests made with a simple and delicious Pomodoro Cotto sauce. Check in next week to see how it goes. In the mean time, check out The Pasta Shoppe website, pastashoppe.com. As they say, the world is full of pastabilities!!

Who Will You Be This Halloween?

Well...I already know that my grandson, Cooper, is going to be the cutest bumblebee ever!

You see, he already buzzed around in a pet parade near his home in Connecticut and was even asked to participate in a picture contest at his local pet store. Isn't he the cutest!! Four months old now.

As for me, I haven't quite decided what I will be this Halloween. Grammie Jill gave me all sorts of good suggestions and, while we were in Columbus weekend, I tried on all sorts of costumes. So far, I think I like Suddie Panda Bear the best. What do you think?

Bloomin' Rose

My grandaughter, Rose, at 4 months.

You Say Tomato, I Say Beagle

Beamer is a Babe

Do you remember my friend Beamer? You know from my post Dogs of The Corn!! If you don't remember, check it out. You'll find a really great recipe for Creamed Corn if nothing else. But you will find something else cause there are more pics of Beamer and he is a HUNKSTUD!

You know... they say you can tell a lot about a boy by the way he treats his mother. I don't go in for that cause I have the BEST BOYS and they don't call, they don't write, and they hate to talk on the phone.

But, anyway, Beamer is so sweet with his mom. But then she is BUNKYCOOKS of bunkycooks.com. You know what that means? Lots of good food all the time. What's not to like? You see she is like this real famous, but down-to-earth, food blogger.

The Sexy Chef, Colin Bedford

In addition to great, easy-to-follow recipes and great sexy celebrity chef interviews, BUNKYCOOKS has THE BEST giveaways ever. I am always entering to win one of these great kitchen-related items. Well, guess what, I finally won!! And it is a fabulous Magimix by Robot-Coupe Vision Toaster. It is an amazing toaster with a window that allows you to watch your toast toast. What could be more fun? Watching paint dry? Oh no! It is very cool. It has this great feature that allows you to toast only on one side which, as BUNKYCOOKS points out, is great for Bagels:


"One of the features that I really like about the Magimix Vision Toaster is the bagel toasting option. You can toast one side of the bagel so you don’t end up with an overly crisp bagel that nearly breaks your jaw when chewing it. I always opt out of toasted bagels at restaurants for that reason. With this toasting feature, you can have slightly toasted bagels on one side and still have them chewy on the other."

It also has a defrost setting for toasting frozen bread. It's great! I love it. Thank you for BUNKYCOOKS!! Do you believe I've developed a taste for lightly-toasted biscuits? I won't have them any other way. Magimix, you have CHANGED MY LIFE.

Now, you really can't go on about MS. BUNKYCOOKS without sharing one of her recipes. Here's one that's sure to make you drool.

bourbon bread pudding with ice cream and caramel sauce

Yield: 8-10 servings Prep Time: 1 hour Cook Time: 40 minutes Total Time: 1 hour, 40 minutes

This rich and elegant dessert can be made ahead of time and refrigerated before baking. If you use a softer brioche (I used a pullman brioche loaf), you may only need a 1 pound loaf. The pullman loaf has very heavy crusts that are removed before cutting into 1/2 inch pieces.

ingredients:
1/2 cup raisins
1/3 cup bourbon (I used Woodford Reserve)
1.9 pound brioche or egg bread loaf, crusts trimmed and bread cut into 1/2-inch cubes (I used a pullman brioche loaf) * See note above
8 large eggs, at room temperature
2 cups heavy cream
2 cups whole milk
1 3/4 cups sugar
1/4 cup bourbon (I used Woodford Reserve)
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Homemade vanilla ice cream or very good store bought vanilla ice cream
Homemade caramel sauce (or your favorite recipe)

directions:
1. Place raisins in a small bowl. Pour bourbon over the raisins, stirring occasionally to be sure they are all thoroughly soaked in the bourbon. Soak at least one hour and longer, if possible.

2. Once raisins have soaked, place bread cubes in 13 x 9 x 2-inch baking pan and sprinkle raisins over the top of the bread cubes. Whisk eggs, whipping cream, milk, sugar, bourbon and vanilla extract in large bowl to blend. Pour over bread cubes and raisins. Let stand 30 minutes, occasionally pressing bread into custard mixture. (Can be prepared 2 hours ahead. Cover and refrigerate.)

3. Preheat oven to 350°F. Bake until pudding is set in center, about 40 minutes. Cool slightly.

4. Serve warm topped with vanilla ice cream and caramel sauce.