The Food Thread

dankind said:

deadendp said:

F Me In The Brain said:

Chili and Stew.  Always better, for my money, plus one day.

Agreed. It needs to hang out to get happy. 

rgambs said:

Tonight I'm making butternut squash carbonara.
It's one of my very favorite meals, so I'm excited already.  There's something alchemical about the way winter squash transforms when combined with onions, garlic, peppers, and salt.  It's magic.
The squash, peppers, and garlic are from last year's garden, so it has that extra-special aspect to it.

Here's a rough rundown of the recipe...
1 med-large squash
Pasta of choice, I prefer penne rigati/mezze penne/mostacolli. Match the sturdiness of the pasta to desired thickness of sauce
1 large onion
2 cloves garlic
2 cups or so of peppers, sweet and hot blend is best
1lb bacon
Chicken broth/bouillon
1/2-1 cup Heavy cream
Parmesan cheese
Salt 
Pepper 
Pinch of Nutmeg

The squash can be peeled, cubed, and sauteed with the bacon and veggies, or you can bake it and scoop the squash out of the skin. The second way is easier, but the first produces more flavor on day 1.  The leftovers are like chili, the flavor all sets together to make it better.  
Either way, you fry up the veggies and the bacon, and you put half the bacon in the food processor with the squash to blend it through the "sauce" with the broth and heavy cream. The peppers and onions can be blended through or left in pieces, I prefer to blend it all through, as the flavors all meld together better than way.  Dress with parmesan to taste.
The simplicity of the ingredient list does not come close to adding up to the flavor they produce in the finished product, which I why I say it's alchemy.  I like it thick and pasty, not too saucy, but that is something you can easily customize.  I like it spicy and salty as well.  The important part is onions, peppers, and squash together.  Bacon too, but it would be delicious even without.
I usually add some chicken chunks for the protein and to give me something to chew on so I don't eat too fast.  Garlic bread on the side is always a good choice.

If anyone is looking for something different to make that isn't too fancy, give it a try!

deadendp said:

rgambs said:

Tonight I'm making butternut squash carbonara.
It's one of my very favorite meals, so I'm excited already.  There's something alchemical about the way winter squash transforms when combined with onions, garlic, peppers, and salt.  It's magic.
The squash, peppers, and garlic are from last year's garden, so it has that extra-special aspect to it.

Here's a rough rundown of the recipe...
1 med-large squash
Pasta of choice, I prefer penne rigati/mezze penne/mostacolli. Match the sturdiness of the pasta to desired thickness of sauce
1 large onion
2 cloves garlic
1-2 cups or so of diced peppers, sweet and hot blend is best
1lb bacon
Chicken broth/bouillon
1/2-1 cup Heavy cream
Parmesan cheese
Salt 
Pepper 
Pinch of Nutmeg

The squash can be peeled, cubed, and sauteed with the bacon and veggies, or you can bake it and scoop the squash out of the skin. The second way is easier, but the first produces more flavor on day 1.  The leftovers are like chili, the flavor all sets together to make it better.  
Either way, you fry up the veggies and the bacon, and you put half the bacon in the food processor with the squash to blend it through the "sauce" with the broth and heavy cream. The peppers and onions can be blended through or left in pieces, I prefer to blend it all through, as the flavors all meld together better than way.  Dress with parmesan to taste.
The simplicity of the ingredient list does not come close to adding up to the flavor they produce in the finished product, which I why I say it's alchemy.  I like it thick and pasty, not too saucy, but that is something you can easily customize.  I like it spicy and salty as well.  The important part is onions, peppers, and squash together.  Bacon too, but it would be delicious even without.
I usually add some chicken chunks for the protein and to give me something to chew on so I don't eat too fast.  Garlic bread on the side is always a good choice.

If anyone is looking for something different to make that isn't too fancy, give it a try!

That sounds fabulous! I am the only one in the house who could eat it but I would happily enjoy it. Thanks for sharing the recipe!

I watched a video yesterday on how to make polenta. Not difficult, but surprisingly time intensive. Had some in Boston the last we visited. Didn't knock my socks off, but the video did teach me why it was $18 for an inch of polenta at the bottom of a cereal bowl with three tiny meatballs that looked like they rolled out of a Chef Boyardee can. 

dankind said:

deadendp said:

rgambs said:

Tonight I'm making butternut squash carbonara.
It's one of my very favorite meals, so I'm excited already.  There's something alchemical about the way winter squash transforms when combined with onions, garlic, peppers, and salt.  It's magic.
The squash, peppers, and garlic are from last year's garden, so it has that extra-special aspect to it.

Here's a rough rundown of the recipe...
1 med-large squash
Pasta of choice, I prefer penne rigati/mezze penne/mostacolli. Match the sturdiness of the pasta to desired thickness of sauce
1 large onion
2 cloves garlic
1-2 cups or so of diced peppers, sweet and hot blend is best
1lb bacon
Chicken broth/bouillon
1/2-1 cup Heavy cream
Parmesan cheese
Salt 
Pepper 
Pinch of Nutmeg

The squash can be peeled, cubed, and sauteed with the bacon and veggies, or you can bake it and scoop the squash out of the skin. The second way is easier, but the first produces more flavor on day 1.  The leftovers are like chili, the flavor all sets together to make it better.  
Either way, you fry up the veggies and the bacon, and you put half the bacon in the food processor with the squash to blend it through the "sauce" with the broth and heavy cream. The peppers and onions can be blended through or left in pieces, I prefer to blend it all through, as the flavors all meld together better than way.  Dress with parmesan to taste.
The simplicity of the ingredient list does not come close to adding up to the flavor they produce in the finished product, which I why I say it's alchemy.  I like it thick and pasty, not too saucy, but that is something you can easily customize.  I like it spicy and salty as well.  The important part is onions, peppers, and squash together.  Bacon too, but it would be delicious even without.
I usually add some chicken chunks for the protein and to give me something to chew on so I don't eat too fast.  Garlic bread on the side is always a good choice.

If anyone is looking for something different to make that isn't too fancy, give it a try!

That sounds fabulous! I am the only one in the house who could eat it but I would happily enjoy it. Thanks for sharing the recipe!

I watched a video yesterday on how to make polenta. Not difficult, but surprisingly time intensive. Had some in Boston the last we visited. Didn't knock my socks off, but the video did teach me why it was $18 for an inch of polenta at the bottom of a cereal bowl with three tiny meatballs that looked like they rolled out of a Chef Boyardee can. 

Nonsense. I grew up dirt poor on polenta--only we called it mush. You got hosed.

tempo_n_groove said:

rgambs said:

Cliffy6745 said:

That looks very very good

Yeah, except my garlic bread never makes it to my plate intact lol

Thanks Cliffy!

PS, the garlic bread is Cole's brand and it's pretty top-notch as far as freezer garlic bread goes.

You mentioned last years harvest, were the squash, peppers and onions pickled?  Canned?  Rotten?

deadendp said:

rgambs said:

tempo_n_groove said:

rgambs said:

Cliffy6745 said:

That looks very very good

Yeah, except my garlic bread never makes it to my plate intact lol

Thanks Cliffy!

PS, the garlic bread is Cole's brand and it's pretty top-notch as far as freezer garlic bread goes.

You mentioned last years harvest, were the squash, peppers and onions pickled?  Canned?  Rotten?

 Squash and peppers came out of the deep freeze.  Garlic is just shelf-dried, onions don't last long.  This year I'm going to dry a bunch and grind up onion powder because I lose 10-20 lbs to rot through the fall every year.

Dehydrate? 

deadendp said:

rgambs said:

deadendp said:

rgambs said:

tempo_n_groove said:

rgambs said:

Cliffy6745 said:

That looks very very good

Yeah, except my garlic bread never makes it to my plate intact lol

Thanks Cliffy!

PS, the garlic bread is Cole's brand and it's pretty top-notch as far as freezer garlic bread goes.

You mentioned last years harvest, were the squash, peppers and onions pickled?  Canned?  Rotten?

 Squash and peppers came out of the deep freeze.  Garlic is just shelf-dried, onions don't last long.  This year I'm going to dry a bunch and grind up onion powder because I lose 10-20 lbs to rot through the fall every year.

Dehydrate? 

Yeah, that's the plan for this year. I planted about half of what I usually do, but I usually lose half or more anyways, so if I can keep them in better shape I should come out even.

Okay. I re-read it and know that you are drying and pulverizing, but would you want to keep some back and not grind all of them up? I know I have purchased mixes and seasoning that had dehydrated onion and not just the powder. 

What type of onions do you grow?

Seeds or sets? 

The family who owns Blessing Acres Produce (Millersburg) told me the onion seeds are very small and onions are pretty heavy feeders. We buy the best sweet candy onions from them. But just looked. Apparently they don't store as well as some other varieties.