Delicata Squash Pie & A Happy Thanksgiving

Once again, Thanksgiving has come and gone like a flash in a pan. The bird has been carved, the dishes washed, and there is a refrigerator stacked with multiple Tupperwares of thanksgiving dishes. The left over sandwiches are soon to come.

I am not sure if your Thanksgiving experience is anything like mine, but here, getting ready to feed 27, we did some prep work on the Wednesday before T-Day, but regardless of how much was prepped, it was still a mad dash on Thursday. The kitchen was full from eight in the morning, and as it got closer to turkey time, it got more hectic. Yet somehow, even though you are not sure how it will all get done, it always does, and it is always an amazing spread.

Acorn Squash Stuffed Nut Loaf

Nut loaf will always remind me of Paris. Not because they serve nut loaf in Paris; I am not sure that any Parisian has even heard of it.  But because that was where I was when I first heard of it, and tasted it. I had no idea what to expect, I was fearful that it would be very dry and leave a funky after taste like so many meat dishes reinvented into vegetarian soy dishes tend to be (even though I did have confidence in the cooks.)

And with such an unappetizing name as nut loaf, I was doubtful. But despite it's bad fortune, nut loaf is awesome.

Savory Grey-Blue Hubbard Crumble

Of all the winter squash varieties, I would say that the grey-blue hubbard is by far my favorite. It's not only it's unusual impressionistic color that appeals to me, but also it's tear drop shape. It's funny because something about this squash reminds me of a pregnant woman. It looks more of a work of art than a fruit, and it reminds me of the deep beauty you can find in nature.

Buttercup bread with walnuts & candied ginger

There is nothing better than this time of year. The temperature has dropped, the nights are longer, and you know that the holidays are just around the corner. While summer is a great time of year, Autumn is a great time to spend in the kitchen. It's not too hot to bake and there are a bunch of fun new fruit to play with.

I have always loved it when winter squash becomes available at the grocery store. They come in all different interesting shapes, colors and sizes. It almost felt like going to an exhibit rather than the grocer.

Dulce de Leche Cake with Slivered Almonds

Cake is such a glorious food. It indicates birthdays, anniversaries, holidays, and festivities all around. Even everyday cakes feel celebratory. People get excited when there's cake, and even more so when it is freshly made homemade cake.

The funny thing is that I don't even really like cake all that much.

Chickpea & Potato Curry

Curries have always been, in my mind, an exotic, passionate, and complicated dish. Not exotic in that you have to travel to far and distant lands to get some; no, we can even get it in a box at the local grocer. But exotic in the sense that the flavor takes you somewhere else, and you can taste a world of culinary culture and history. A seemingly infinitely complex flavor of many different spices and seasonings used to arrive at a perfectly balanced curry.