squash mac & cheese

I LOVE THIS DISH.  But I seriously fretted about what to call it.  Because it's a lighter mac & cheese, but calling it "light mac & cheese" is such a culinary turnoff.  Might as well tell folks to chew on some saw dust, eh?  "A slimmer mac & cheese" sounds even worse.  "Healthy mac & cheese" means zero people will want to make it, much less eat it.  "Mac & cheese that is just as delicious as regular mac & cheese and you can't even tell it has squash in it!" was just getting pathetic.  I felt desperate.  So I settled on owning up to exactly what it is.  And exactly the right (read: wrong) person called me as soon as I'd typed the title of my post. 

 

Meagan.  My beloved friend who abandoned me for Washington, D.C. several years ago and who I've been attempting to coax back home ever since.  She called to catch me up on her weekly goings on, as we do most weekends. 

 

"What are you doing?" she asks.

 

"I'm working on a new post," I respond.

 

"Oooh!" (She's a Chena Girl cheerleader. LOVE her.) "What's the recipe?" she asks.

 

(SUPER.  Here we go...) "Um...squash mac & cheese???"  I cautiously utter.

 

"EWWW!  Gross.  Who would make that?"

 

SEE?!  SEE WHY I FRETTED ABOUT THE NAME OF THIS RECIPE??!!  Because of the Meagans in the world.



You see, the Meagans of the world don't understand that just because you sneak a little squash in a recipe does NOT meant the recipe is ruined!  I wish I could explain to everyone JUST HOW INCREDIBLY DELICIOUS THIS MACARONI AND CHEESE IS!  Seriously, you can't even taste the squash, and yet it adds a velvety richness to the dish and allows you to cut out nearly half the butter and cheese.  I served it to friends at a dinner party once without telling them it's healthy little secret until they'd devoured the entire casserole.  The proof is in the eating.
 

I take my blog recipes very seriously.  (Ok, I don't take myself very seriously, but I'm totally serious about my food.  Ask anyone who has ever met me, like, ever.)  I only post my favorite recipes here, and this mac & cheese fits the bill.  What I love about it is that you can serve it two ways.  It's perfect right from the stove top (my nieces demolished it when I served it to them, more than any alien orange-y box mac & cheese concoction-- a seriously proud Auntie moment).  Or bake it in a casserole dish topped with buttery breadcrumbs and bake until bubbly and golden.  

So to the Meagans of the world, I say this:  broaden your horizons, and embrace the squash. 

(And to one Meagan in particular:  remember when you totally hated Brussels sprouts?  And I told you that you hadn't had them cooked the right way and you need to try them roasted?  And when you did you loved them and it like totally changed your life forever?

 Yup.  It's like that.)

Squash Mac & Cheese

adapted from Barefoot Contessa

1 pound cavatappi or elbow macaroni

4 cups 2% milk

4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter

1/4 cup flour

2 cups shredded gruyere cheese

1 cup shredded extra-sharp cheddar cheese

one 12 ounce package cooked frozen squash, thawed

1 pinch nutmeg (scant 1/4 teaspoon)

1 tablespoon of kosher salt

fresh ground pepper

1 1/2 cups panko breadcrumbs, plus 2 tablespoons butter or olive oil

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Bring a large pot of water to boil.  Add salt to the water (a heavy 5-finger pinch) and a drizzle of vegetable oil.  Add the pasta and cook until al dente (or until there's a little bite to it- just don't cook it to mush).  Drain the pasta.

Heat the milk in a saucepan, but don't boil it.  Melt the butter in a large pot, add the flour, and stir for 2 minutes with a whisk over medium heat.  Add the milk, turn the heat down to medium-low, and whisk until thick and smooth, about 10 minutes (it takes a little longer because you're using less flour and butter).   Be careful to whisk often or the milk can burn on the bottom of the pot.  Once thickened, remove from the heat.

 

Add the cheese, 1 tablespoon of salt, pepper, nutmeg, squash, and macaroni.  Stir until combined.  At this point, it's ready to serve as is!  Or...

 

Butter a 9 x 13 inch casserole dish.  Pour the mixture into the casserole dish.  Melt 2 tablespoons of butter (or substitute 2 tablespoons of olive oil if you prefer) and combine it with the panko breadcrumbs.  Top the mac and cheese with the breadcrumbs.  Bake for 30-35 minutes until bubbly and browned.

 

Enjoy!

xo H
 

roasted vegetable & kale salad with honey vinaigrette



Here's what I think. When you make something this healthy that tastes this good, it is your responsibility as a human being to share it with the world. And by world, I really mean with all my girlfriends. Because who needs a tofu popscicle or dairy-free/wheat-free/vegan/bilingual/yoga-enthusiast green smoothie when you can eat something that tastes DELICIOUS and probably cures cancer at the same time?!

 

(*NOTE: this salad has not been proven to cure cancer.)

I made this salad for my friend Ann a few weeks ago, and she raved about how lip-smackingly good it was.  It typically serves 4, but we polished off all the greens and veggies between the two of us.  That alone should tell me it's worthy of a blog mention.

 

But what REALLY told me it was a great dish was when she texted me the next morning: "I dreamed about your salad.  That's how good it was."

 

It made my day.

 

This recipe also outs me as a kale groupie.  Is there such a thing?  I think so.  The interwebs are chock full of recipes for kale smoothies, kale chips, kale pasta, kale quesadillas, kale pesto, and even kale ice cream.  (For the record, I think that sounds totally gross.  But I'd probably try it.)

 

Americans have gone a little kale nutso of late. 

 

But when a vegetable this nutritious tastes as good as it does, it's worthy of jumping on the kale bandwagon.  And one of the best things about it is that it grows particularly well in cooler climates, which is perfect for our Alaska gardens.  I can't wait for summer!

 

 

Kale is a tougher green, so I toss it with a little vinaigrette and let it sit for a bit to tenderize.  This calls for a lot of roasted veggies, and I ended up using two baking sheets to give all of the vegetables enough room to roast instead of steam.

 

I think this salad is the perfect example of how a salad can be a main course.  If you're looking to slim down for swimsuit season, or want to increase your intake of vegetables without dreading it, this is an ideal meal to kickstart your plan.  Delicious and filling, you'll feel totally satisfied after you've cleaned your plate (and I swear you won't miss the absence of meat, although it's equally wonderful served with a fillet of simply grilled wild Alaska salmon).

 

The vegetables I used are merely a guideline.  Use what looks best at the grocery store or farmers market.  Think eggplant, zucchini, sweet potatoes, or cauliflower.  All would work equally well in place of the ones I use. 

 

Cook what you love- a guideline for this salad and a motto to live by.

 

Roasted Vegetable & Kale Salad with Honey Vinaigrette

 

Adapted from Sunset Magazine

 

Serves 4 hearty Alaskan appetites

 

For the salad:

1 bunch kale (about 8 ounces or 4 cups), stems removed and chopped into ribbons

4 small or 2 large beets, peeled and cut roughly into 1 inch pieces

1/2 small butternut squash, peeled and cubed into 1 inch pieces

1 small red onion, sliced into 8 wedges

1 medium fennel bulb, sliced into 8 wedges

1 red pepper, chopped into 1 inch pieces

3 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 cup coarsely chopped walnuts

3/4 teaspoons salt

several grinds of fresh ground pepper

2 oz. goat cheese, crumbled

 

For the vinaigrette:

1/4 cup red wine vinegar

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1/2 teaspoon salt

several grinds of pepper

2 tablespoons honey

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

 

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Toss vegetables with the oil, salt and pepper in a large bowl, and place on one or two large baking sheets.  (If you use two, put the beets and red onion together so that the beets don't "bleed" purple all over the rest of the veggies.)  Roast for about 40 minutes or so, turning once (and rotating baking sheets from top to bottom if you're using two), until tender with crispy golden edges.  Ten minutes before you pull the veggies out of the oven, sprinkle the walnuts on the baking sheet with the veggies to toast them.

 

2. Whisk vinegar, oil, salt, pepper, honey, and Dijon mustard.  Toss kale with 2-3 tablespoons of the dressing in a large bowl.  Let the kale sit in the dressing for 5-10 minutes before assembling the salad.  Place kale on the salad plates

 

3. After the vegetables have cooled for 5-10 minutes, using the same large bowl used for the kale, toss the veggies and walnuts with 2-3 tablespoons (or more) of the dressing.

 

4. Top the kale with the veggies and walnuts, and top with crumbled goat cheese.  Serve with the dressing on the side.

 

Enjoy!

 

xo H