Pizza with Sweet Potato, Kale & Goat Cheese...and Happy Thanksgiving

Recently I had a bit of a dinner mishap involving a pizza.  On the way to the table with my freshly made pizza, I somehow managed to tilt the peel in such a way that most of the slices of my pizza slid off and onto the floor.  All landed cheese-side down (of course).  The three slices that remained on the peel made a meager dinner for two. There were other things in the house to eat, but I really wanted to eat the pizza.  It was the first time I had made this particular pizza and it was delicious.  After we finished our pizza snack I eyed the ruined slices in the sink, hoping that some might be salvageable after all.  I have to admit that it was with much regret that I turned on the disposal.    

I wish I were able to cite the original inspiration for this pizza, but I can't.  I was flipping through old issues of Food & Wine, Bon Appetit and Gourmet on a mission to find something particular (I don't recall now what it was I was looking for).  I remember seeing the words "sweet potato pizza" in an index and being intrigued enough to turn to the recipe.  I had assumed that the sweet potatoes would be sliced or cubed, and then roasted or sautéed and scattered over the pizza.  Instead of that, the pizza was "sauced" with a smear of sweet potato purée.  I posted a winter squash pizza made the same way a few years ago.  Since I like that pizza a lot, I mentally tucked away the image of this one and returned to whatever it was I was doing before it caught my attention.

It was this image that inspired me the night of our ill-fated pizza.  I had some beautiful Beauregard sweet potatoes from my last visit to the farmers' market in addition to some local Red Russian kale and red onions.  Along with some goat cheese I knew I had the makings of a pretty stellar pizza.  And it was.  I should console myself with the thought that I didn't drop all of the slices.

Since I didn't get any pictures of the finished pizza that night, I knew I would have to make it again if I wanted to post the recipe.  I decided to make it again sooner rather than later because Thanksgiving is upon us, and at some point it occurred to me that this pizza would be a great way to use up leftover sweet potato purée from your Thanksgiving dinner (assuming that your Thanksgiving sweet potatoes don't include marshmallows). Or, it would make a great dinner for the night before Thanksgiving—just cook an extra sweet potato while you are preparing your sweet potatoes for the next day's feast.   If you don't have any kale, any number of things you might have on hand would be delicious in combination with the sweet potatoes...an assortment of cheeses...something salty like bacon, prosciutto or sausage....some caramelized onions or sautéed mushrooms...

I do hope that you will give this idea of a sweet potato-"sauced" pizza a try, but mostly today I would like to take a moment at the beginning of this week of Thanksgiving to wish all of my visitors a very happy Thanksgiving.  I hope that none of your food winds up on the floor (unless it is a purposeful gift for a beloved furry companion).  And may you find yourself at a peaceful table....laden with delicious foods....in the company of those you love—and who love you—best.

Pizza with Sweet Potato, Kale & Goat Cheese

1 medium sweet potato—about 12 oz.  (Beauregard, Jewel & Garnet are all good choices)

Salt, Pepper & Nutmeg

2 T. Olive oil, plus more for brushing

1 small red onion (about 6 oz.), cut into a 1/4-inch dice

pinch of red pepper flakes

1 fat clove of garlic, finely minced

1 bunch Red Russian kale (Green Kale or Tuscan Kale will also work), stems stripped away and discarded

Pizza dough (see below)

3 1/2 to 4 oz. goat cheese, coarsely crumbled

3/4 to 1 oz. (1/4 to 1/3 cup) finely grated Pecorino

Prick the sweet potato in several places.  Place on a small baking sheet and transfer to a 400° oven.  Bake until tender and oozing sugary syrup—about 40 minutes to an hour.  When cool enough to handle, remove the skin and discard.  Mash the flesh with a fork and season to taste with salt, pepper and nutmeg.  You should have about 3/4 cup of sweet potato purée (see note).  Set aside.  (Sweet potatoes may be prepared ahead...or leftovers may be used.) 

While the sweet potatoes roast, cook the onions and kale:  Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the kale and cook until tender—about 7 to 10 minutes. Drain and spread on a baking sheet to cool. When cool, squeeze firmly to remove as much water as possible.  Chop coarsely and set aside.

Heat 2 T. of olive oil in a sauté pan set over medium heat.  Add the onion, along with a pinch a salt and the pepper flakes and sweat until the onion is very tender and beginning to caramelize—15 minutes or so—regulating the heat as necessary to keep the onion from burning.  Add the garlic and continue to cook until fragrant—a minute or two.  Add the kale, toss with the onion-garlic mixture and cook until the kale has given up any remaining excess water and has begun to sizzle in the olive oil (add a bit more if the pan seems dry). Set aside.

Build the pizza: Roll the rested dough out into a 11- to 12-inch round (the dough will continue to stretch another inch or so in diameter when you spread the sweet potatoes) and transfer to a baking sheet, pizza pan or pizza peel that has been dusted with flour or cornmeal.  Brush the dough with a little olive oil.  Spread the sweet potato purée over the dough, leaving a 1/2-inch border.  

Spread the kale mixture over the sweet potato and crumble the goat cheese evenly over the kale.  

Scatter the Pecorino evenly over all. 

Bake the pizza: If using a pizza pan or baking sheet, place the pizza in the pan on a pre-heated pizza stone in a pre-heated 450° to 500° oven. Bake until the crust is golden brown on the bottom and the cheese is tinged with golden brown, about 12 to 15 minutes. To insure a crisp crust, slide the pizza off of the pan and onto the pizza stone as soon as the crust is set (after 4 or 5 minutes). 

If using a peel, slide the pizza directly onto the preheated baking stone. Bake until the crust is golden brown on the bottom and the cheese is tinged a golden brown color—about 8 to 12 minutes.

When the pizza is done, transfer to a cutting board and cut into wedges and serve.

Note (added November 2015):  I have noticed this year that the sweet potatoes have tended to be a bit drier than usual.  If you find yourself with an unmanageably stiff and dry sweet potato purée, drizzle in a bit of olive oil...or milk...to let it out to a more spreadable consistency.  

Printable Recipe 

Pizza Dough:

1/2 cup warm water (100º-110º)
1 1/8 t. active dry yeast
1 1/4 to 1 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 T. olive oil
1/2 t. salt

Place the water in a large bowl and add the yeast. Let soften for a minute or two. Add 3/4 cup of the flour and whisk until smooth. Add the oil, salt and another half cup of the flour. Stir with a wooden spoon to form a soft dough that holds its shape, adding more flour if necessary. Sprinkle some of the remaining quarter cup of flour on a smooth surface. Scrape the dough out of the bowl and sprinkle with a bit more of the flour. Knead the dough, adding just enough flour to keep the dough from sticking, until the dough is smooth and springs back when pressed lightly with a finger—about 5 to 10 minutes. Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled bowl and cover the bowl with plastic wrap. Let the dough rise until it has doubled in size—about 1 hour. Punch down the dough and turn it onto a lightly floured surface and form into a ball. Cover with a towel and let rest for 15 to 20 minutes. The dough is now ready to be shaped, topped and cooked or frozen.

Food Processor Method: Place the water and yeast in a small bowl and let sit until the yeast has dissolved. Place 1 1/3 cups of the flour and salt in the food processor fitted with the metal blade and pulse to blend. Add the oil and yeast/water mixture and pulse until the dough is homogenous. Begin to run the mixture in long pulses until the dough is smooth and elastic—it shouldn't take more than a minute. If the dough seems wet and sticky, add some of the remaining flour a tablespoon at a time, pulsing after each addition. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured counter and give it a few kneads by hand.

Variation for a Whole Wheat Crust: Instead of unbleached all-purpose flour, use 3/4 c. bread flour and 1/2 to 3/4 c. whole wheat flour (the new “white” whole wheat flour is a good choice).

Printable Dough Recipe

Pasta with Roasted Winter Squash

I have been debating whether or not to post today's pasta recipe.  I feel like I post pasta too often.  But maybe this isn't the case after all...  In looking back, I haven't shared a pasta recipe since August.  Maybe I just eat a lot of pasta.  In any case, I wanted to share the recipe I'm posting today for reasons beyond deliciousness (although that would be reason enough):  It is a "single ingredient" pasta featuring one of my favorite vegetables of the season (Winter Squash) and for all practical purposes, it is made with items you probably already have in your pantry, making it an ideal weeknight dinner.    

This time of year I almost always have a collection of Carnival, Sweet Dumpling and Acorn squash  hanging out on my counter.  The displays at the market and in the grocery stores are so beautiful that I can't pass them up.   Sometimes they languish a bit as I work my way through other more perishable purchases...kale, chard, Brussels sprouts, broccoli, cauliflower, white top turnips, etc.  But invariably I come to an evening when all of these other items have been consumed and these great keepers of the Autumn harvest remain.  This pasta is a perfect dinner for those nights. 

As I said at the start, it is likely that all of the other necessary ingredients for this pasta are in your pantry.   Most Americans keep a selection of dried pastas on hand.  For this pasta, bucatini is my favorite and  linguine is a close second, but perciatelli or gemelli...even spaghetti...would all be fine.  And if you keep pasta on hand it is not too much of a stretch to assume you will also have garlic, hot pepper flakes, olive oil and pine nuts.  As far as the cheese is concerned,  Pecorino is my first choice—I love its salty tang in contrast with the sweet squash—but Parmesan would be fine.  And if you happen to keep Feta around, it would be a delicious choice, crumbled generously over the finished dish.  The only remaining ingredients are fresh herbs.  And you might wonder that I think of these as pantry staples.  But with the exception of the parsley (something that is pretty much a pantry staple at my house) the herbs—thyme, rosemary and sage—are all late autumn hangers-on in the herb garden.  Even if we hadn't had such a mild Autumn this year, I can almost always reliably harvest these herbs up until Thanksgiving.  If you only have one of these herbs...or you don't have parsley...you can (and should) still make this pasta.  Just use what you have...it will still be delicious.

Ingredients for half of a recipe

As far as inspiration goes, I can take very little credit for this particular pasta.  It is almost completely lifted from a Martha Stewart Living recipe.  I have only tweaked it slightly.  Stewart's recipe is finished by placing a large spoonful of ricotta on top of each plate.  I have never tried it this way.  The creamy, soft, sweet character of this cheese seems too similar to the roasted squash...I want more of a contrast.  (I have made it topped with crumbled Ricotta Salata...which is quite good.).  But this is only a small change...hardly worth mentioning except that when you look at her recipe you will notice the difference and might wonder. 

The biggest difference in our versions is the way that I combine the squash with the pasta.  Stewart's recipe directs you to divide your seasoned oil in half.  One half is used to reheat the roasted squash, the other is used to dress the cooked noodles.  The dressed noodles are then plated and topped with the dressed squash.  When I make my version, I simply warm the squash in all of the oil (and I admit it...I use quite a bit more oil in my version) and then toss the warmed squash with the pasta.  The difference in this final step is simply a matter of preference and you should prepare it in the way that works best for you, in your kitchen.  I think it is worth mentioning that when you warm the squash in the oil (at least for the way I prepare this dish) you are not trying to obtain a smooth emulsified purée of seasoned squash and oil.  Rather, the squash should look chunky and rustic, with the seasoned oil still visible—sort of coating, rather than blended with, the squash.

Finally, I like to finish the dish with a generous shower of toasted pine nuts.  They add subtle texture and echo the sweetness of the squash.  I think toasted crumbled walnuts would be good too.  Since they have a bitter character, they will provide a flavor contrast rather than an echo...but they would be delicious, never-the-less.

As always, there are so many directions to go with this pasta.  Besides varying the cheese, the herbs and the style of noodle, you could add other flavor elements. Julienned prosciutto or cooked bacon/pancetta would all be delicious (in which case the final touch of a dollop of fresh ricotta would be perfect).  Wilted greens would be a nice addition too.  Once you start thinking about dressing pasta with roasted, shredded squash, a world of possibilities open up.  No wonder I eat pasta so often.

  

Pasta with Roasted Winter Squash,

Pecorino & Pine Nuts

2 lbs. winter squash (Acorn, Sweet Dumpling, or Carnival)

2/3 c. olive oil, plus more for brushing the squash

6 cloves garlic, peeled and lightly crushed

1/2 t. hot pepper flakes

1 t. each minced Rosemary, minced Sage & minced Thyme

1 lb. Linguine, Bucatini, or Perciatelli

3 T. minced flat leaf Parsley

2 oz. finely grated Pecorino

1/3 c. pine nuts, lightly toasted

Cut the squash in half and scoop out the seeds.  Brush the cut surfaces and the cavity with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Arrange the squash, cut side up, on a cookie sheet and roast in a 400° oven until fork tender—about 45 minutes to an hour.  Set aside to cool slightly.  When cool enough to handle, scrape the flesh away from the skins (leaving the flesh in rustic shreds).  Discard the skins. 

Pour 1/3 to 1/2 cup of the olive oil into a large sauté pan set over moderate heat.  Add the garlic cloves and allow it to barely sizzle in the oil...reduce the heat if necessary.  

When the garlic is pale golden (this will take about 5 minutes), remove and discard.  Add the pepper flakes and the rosemary, sage and thyme and cook for about 30 seconds to allow the pepper flakes and herbs to flavor the oil.  Add the squash, breaking it up with a fork or wooden spoon.  Heat the squash through.  Remove the pan from the heat and keep warm while you cook the pasta.

Add 2 to 3 T. of salt to a large pot (6-qt) of boiling water.  Add the pasta  and cook until al dente.  Drain, reserving a cup of the pasta water.  Add the pasta to the sauté pan with the squash and toss and stir to coat, adding some of the pasta water if it seems dry.  Add the parsley and as much of the remaining olive oil as you like; toss to combine.  Taste and correct the seasoning.  Serve, topped with the Pecorino & pine nuts.  Serves 5 to 6.

Variation:  Replace the Pecorino with a generous quantity of coarsely crumbled Ricotta Salata or Feta.

(Recipe adapted from Martha Stewart Living)

Printable Recipe

Chocolate-Espresso Snowball Cookies

I know it isn't even Thanksgiving yet, but I've already started thinking about my Christmas baking. Cookies, to be precise. Every year I teach a holiday cookie class. Last year's class was dubbed "cookie-ganza" by a friend because instead of teaching old beloved favorites, I taught a class of mostly new recipes...which meant I spent a good portion of the fall baking (and eating) Christmas cookies. The recipes for many of those cookies ended up on my blog...but a few did not. Chocolate-Espresso Snowballs—the first cookie I tested—was one of those that I didn't post. Since I made a batch this morning (sort of a warm up for the baking extravaganza to come), I thought I would share the recipe now.

The idea for this recipe came from Food & Wine magazine. They published a recipe for Chocolate Espresso Snowballs in December of 2011 (Gourmet published an almost identical recipe—called Mocha Pecan Balls—way back in December of 1993). When I looked closely at these recipes I realized that they were just variations on my old childhood friend "Russian Teacakes" (sometimes called "Mexican Wedding Cakes" or "Snowballs"), made with cocoa and the grown-up addition of espresso. Since I have always thought my preferred version of Russian Teacakes (learned in Junior High Home Economics...I think it is probably a Betty Crocker version) was the best, I decided to adapt that recipe rather than use the one published in Food & Wine and Gourmet.

I only have one bit of advice for making these cookies—but I think it's important. Be very careful not to over bake them. One of the things I have always liked about the Russian Teacakes that I make is that they are tender and moist. If over baked even slightly, they are quite dry...they lose almost all of their charm. The same goes for this chocolate and espresso version. In fact, one of the reasons I made these cookies today was to double check the recipe before my class rolled around. Last year, after testing this recipe and coming up with a cookie that kept calling me back to the cookie tin for just one more, the cookies that I made for my class were just OK. I was puzzled by this. I thought that I might have written something down incorrectly in my final version of the recipe—although I suspected that I had probably just baked them a bit too long. Well, this must have been the case. The cookies I made today were delicious...but I kept a careful eye on the oven as they baked. You will know the cookies are done by the way they look: the surface of the dough will have lost its wet sheen and the cookies will have puffed slightly and begun to crack. 



Once they look like this, remove them from the oven right away. They will be too fragile to remove from the baking sheet at this point. Allowing them to rest on the sheet for a minute (no more) will give them time to firm up. At that point, they may be transferred to a wire rack...or, you may do as I do and simply slide the entire sheet of parchment off of the cookie sheet (only do this if you are using a cookie sheet without a rim). 

If you like Russian Teacakes...and chocolate....and coffee..., I think you will like these cookies. They pack a strong mocha flavor punch...have just bit of soft crunch...and are tender and moist. And there is absolutely no need to wait until Christmas to make a batch.

Chocolate-Espresso Snowballs

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour (9 oz.)

3/4 c. pecans (3 oz.)—it is not necessary to toast the pecans for this cookie

1/4 c. cocoa (20 g.)

2 T. finely ground espresso beans (10 g. or 1 pod)—or use 2 t. instant espresso powder

1/2 t. salt

2 1/4 sticks (18 T.) unsalted butter

1/2 cup powdered sugar (2 oz.)

1/4 cup granulated sugar (1.75 oz.)

1 t. vanilla

Place the flour and pecans in a food processor and process until the pecans are finely ground.  Add the cocoa, espresso and salt and pulse to blend.  Set aside. 

Briefly cream the butter and sugars.  Beat in the vanilla.  Add the dry ingredients and mix to form a soft dough.  Chill for 1 hour, or overnight.

Mold into 1-inch balls 

You may portion the dough with a cookie scoop, but I think it's easiest
 to divide the dough into six equal portions, roll each portion into a
log and then cut the logs into 10 equal segments.

and place on parchment-lined baking sheets, spacing the cookies at least an inch apart.

Bake the cookies in a 400° oven until the tops appear dry and the cookies have puffed slightly and begun to crack—about 9 minutes (be careful not to over bake...the cookies will be dry).  Cool on the sheets for one minute (the cookies are too tender to transfer from the sheets when they first come out of the oven).  Allow the cookies to continue to cool for another 5 minutes.  Roll the cookies in powdered sugar (be gentle, they break).  

Finish cooling on a wire rack.  Sift more powdered sugar over the cooled cookies to give them a neater look.  Store air tight.

Makes 5 dozen cookies

Printable Recipe

Autumn Salad of Red & White Quinoa with Roasted Delicata Squash & Apples

Occasionally when I propose recipes for a class, I don't have a finished recipe ready.  Instead, I propose a recipe title that expresses a food idea that appeals to me.  Most of the time developing the recipe to match the idea is a pleasure.  Such was the case with three of the recipes in my recent Squash and Sweet Potatoes class.  I posted two of these recipes last month (Rice Gratin with Butternut Squash & Mushrooms and Marbled Chocolate & Pumpkin Cheese Tart) and I am posting the third today: Quinoa & Roasted Winter Squash Salad with Autumn Fruits & Pistachios.  Along with the recipe, I thought it might be fun to share how I went from title to finished recipe.

The title of this recipe was purposefully vague—this gave me some creative wiggle room as the class approached.  "Winter Squash" could be any number of the delicious squash that are flooding the market right now...Butternut, Kabocha, Red Kuri, Acorn, Sweet Dumpling, Delicata, etc.  (Although, I knew it would not be Butternut or Pumpkin since those two were already slated to appear in other recipes.)  "Autumn Fruits" is also conveniently imprecise...it could mean a dried fruit of some kind, or an apple...or pear...maybe cranberries...or even pomegranate.  And the word "salad" allows leeway to include greens...or not.  To me, it is the presence of a vinaigrette that makes a salad, so as long as I included that, I knew I would be in good shape. 

When I began to think seriously about this recipe, I settled on Delicata squash for the "winter squash" portion of the salad.  Delicatas are one of the easiest of the winter squashes to prepare—they only need to be scrubbed, halved and seeded to prepare them for cooking.  The thin skin is attractive and tender when cooked, so it can be left on.  The flavor too is easy and friendly—nutty and slightly sweet.  I can't imagine there are too many people who wouldn't like the taste of this squash.  It is particularly delicious when roasted, making it a perfect candidate for  my salad recipe.

Delicata and apples...ready to be roasted

To be honest, when I proposed the recipe I knew I wanted to include chunks of roasted apple in my salad.  I love apples with winter squash (although, roasted pears would have been good too...).  My dilemma was what other fruits to include.  Since I had chosen to put pistachios in the salad (something that I have appreciated in combination with winter squash and grain pilafs since I developed a bulgur pilaf that featured these two in combination), I thought something red would be nice...Christmas is coming, after all.  This limited me to pomegranate or dried cranberries or cherries.  I had planned on pomegranate, and then at the last minute, just before I threw the pomegranate into my first test run of the salad, I decided I wanted something slightly chewy (as opposed to crunchy) and reached for the dried cranberries instead.  I loved the way this turned out—not only because of the texture they add, but also because of their pronounced sweet-tart flavor.  Soaking them in orange juice emphasized these great qualities...and added another nice flavor element as well.  If you don't want to use orange juice, apple cider would be a good choice too.

In the end I did decide that my "salad" should include greens. I love the addition of Arugula to the Quinoa, Beet & Avocado salad I posted a couple of years ago...and there are still such beautiful greens available locally.  Just this past weekend I purchased a bag of hearty Autumn lettuces that included (among other things) Beet greens, Arugula, young Red Russian Kale and an Asian green similar to Tatsoi (unfortunately, I can't remember its name).  I couldn't believe how good these greens were (I started to eat them right out of the bag as I was washing them...no dressing...no olive oil...they didn't need a thing).  These greens had more substance than baby lettuces, but at the same time had not been allowed to reach the point of maturity where they had to be cooked (the grower jokingly told me that he called them "teen-aged greens").  

When I was testing the salad I used a package of Organic Girl mix ("supergreens") that included Red & White Chard, Arugula, Spinach and Tatsoi.  Any of these greens I have mentioned—alone, or in combination—would be delicious in this salad.  They will stand up to the bulk and weight of the quinoa as well as the strong flavors of the other ingredients.

To round out the flavors of my salad, I used sherry vinegar and Feta cheese.  Sherry vinegar is excellent with apples, and its inherent nuttiness makes it good with the roasted squash.  The Feta provides a nice salty accent...really waking up all of the other flavors. 

Finally, as is obvious from the pictures, I chose to use a combination of white and red quinoa.  My original plan had been to use all white quinoa.  White is the kind that I'm in the habit of keeping on hand...and like everyone else, I often cook out of habit.  I do think that the salad would be just fine made with all white quinoa, but at some point between the time I proposed the recipe and when I began testing  the recipe I happened to see a bag of mixed quinoa—white, red and black.  It was so pretty that I decided I wanted to make my salad with a combination of two colors of quinoa.  If you don't want to purchase two colors of quinoa, I would choose to make the salad with all white instead of all red.  The white provides some quiet relief in the midst of what was in the end a very colorful salad. 

I loved the way this salad turned out.  It is loaded with flavor and substantial enough to stand on its own as an entrée (which is how I have enjoyed it).  If you are a person who must have animal protein with your evening meal, I imagine it would make a nice side dish...particularly for pork.  Best of all, unlike most salads that include raw greens, this one holds up beautifully.  It would be a great contribution to a pot luck dinner...and I can vouch for the fact that the leftovers make a fine lunch the following day.  

Quinoa & Roasted Winter Squash Salad 

with Autumn Fruits & Pistachios

1/2 c. olive oil, divided

1 small red onion, cut in a 1/4-inch dice (about 1 cup)

1 c. quinoa, well rinsed (1/2 cup white and 1/2 cup red, if available)

1 1/4 c. water

1/3 to 1/2 c. dried cranberries

1/3 c. freshly squeezed orange juice (from Valencia oranges, if available)—see notes & variations

1 lb. Delicata squash, well-scrubbed (see note)

1 large apple (8 or 9 oz.)—something with a sweet-tart character and that holds its shape when cooked...I prefer Pink Lady, but Braeburn or something similar would also work 

1/2 c. pistachios, toasted and coarsely chopped

3 to 4 t. Sherry vinegar

2 1/2 to 3 oz. hearty greens (see notes)

2 to 3 oz. Feta (optional)

Warm 2 T. of olive oil in a medium sauce pan set over moderate heat. Add the onion along with a pinch of salt and sweat until onion is soft and beginning to caramelize—about 10 to 15 minutes. Add the quinoa and continue to cook and stir until the grain is well-coated with the oil, lightly toasted and hot through—1 or 2 minutes. Add the water, along with some salt, and bring to a full boil. Reduce the heat, cover and cook, until tender—12 to 15 minutes. Let rest, covered and off of the heat, for 5 minutes. Spread the quinoa on a sheet pan to cool.

While the quinoa cooks, prepare the vegetables and fruit: 

Place the dried cranberries in a small bowl and cover with the orange juice. Let sit for at least 15 minutes.

Halve the squash lengthwise, scoop out the seeds and discard. Cut the halves of the squash lengthwise, then cut crosswise into 1/2- to 3/4-inch thick pieces. 

Peel the apple. Cut it into quarters and remove the core. Cut each quarter into three wedges and cut the wedges in half cross-wise.

Toss the squash and apples with enough olive oil to lightly coat. Season with salt and pepper and spread on a baking sheet. 

Roast in a 400° to 425° oven until tender and caramelized—about 30 to 40 minutes.

Carefully turn the squash and apples over with a pancake turner about 2/3 of the way through the cooking time. Let the squash and apples cool. 

To make the salad, place the quinoa, squash, apples, dried cranberries and orange juice in a large bowl. Add the pistachios and toss to combine. Drizzle a tablespoon of sherry vinegar and a quarter cup of olive oil over all. Toss to combine. Add the greens and toss again. Taste and add more sherry vinegar if necessary. If the salad seems dry, add more olive oil...or more orange juice, if you like. 

Serve with the Feta crumbled coarsely over. Serves 4 as an entrée, or 6 to 8 as a side.

Notes & Variations:

• If you like, you may use an Acorn, a Sweet Dumpling or a Carnival Squash. Halve and scoop out the seeds as for the Delicata and cut cross-wise into 1/2-inch thick slices. Cut the slices into bit-sized lengths. 
• If you prefer, you could substitute a peeled and cubed squash for the slices of squash—Butternut, Red Kuri, Kabocha, etc. 
• Try substituting apple cider for the orange juice. 
• For the greens, I love an Organic Girl blend that includes red & white chard, spinach, arugula and tatsoi (called "supergreens". Baby kale would also be delicious.

Printable Recipe

Homemade Yogurt Revisited

About a year ago I wrote a post chronicling the early stages of my foray into yogurt making.  Although there have been a few bumps along the way, I am happy to report that I am still making yogurt and that the yogurt I am making now is better than ever.  I can't imagine going back to store bought.  Since my original post was about the things I was just beginning to learn about the process, now seemed like a good time to share some of the things I have learned over the past year.  If you have never made your own yogurt...or if you missed my previous post...you might want to go back and give it a quick read to familiarize yourself with the basics before reading today's post.

After I had been making yogurt successfully for a couple of months, I had a sudden dip in the quality of my yogurt.  It started with a batch that took way too long to set.  Successive batches were thinner and had an odd rope-y kind of texture.  I began to ask around to see if I could discover what was going on.  What I found was that it seemed to be common knowledge among my yogurt-making friends that yogurt culture at some point just begins to diminish in strength.  The generally accepted way of dealing with this is to simply start over with a fresh culture. 

Well, this seemed like a very unsatisfactory solution to me.  Yogurt is an ancient food.  Cultures have been kept alive for centuries (how would we have them today if this were not the case?)  Surely there was something I was missing.  And as it turns out, there was.  While looking around on line, I ran across a company that sells heirloom yogurt cultures.  Their cultures are touted as being indefinitely reusable (some of the comments praising their products were from people who had been making yogurt from the same culture for over a year).  In reading over their site, as well as an NPR discussion of "eternal starters" (that linked me to their site), I discovered that keeping these heirloom cultures viable involved using them to make yogurt every five to seven days.  This sounded promising.  I thought about ordering one of the heirloom cultures so I could give it a try, but it was the middle of the summer and the risk of the culture dying from the heat in transit made me hesitate.  Furthermore, I had just restarted my yogurt making with some Dannon plain, so I thought I would first give the every five to seven days thing a shot with the culture I already had.  This was in August, and I am still using the same culture...with no indication of failure thus far.

The main reason I wanted to write this post was to share this little bit of information about having to make yogurt every five to seven days.  I read many blog posts and on-line magazine articles about making yogurt when I first started and found no mention of it.  I occasionally found an honest soul who admitted they had had a failure and then had to start over with a fresh culture, but by and large the issue seems to be unaddressed (perhaps I have just been looking in the wrong places...).  I'm guessing that this is because many people who make yogurt have naturally fallen into a yogurt making schedule that is more frequent than once a week.  For these people, they will have automatically avoided the problem I ran into.  In my house we consume about a quart of yogurt a week.  I had been making a half gallon of yogurt every two weeks or so.  Since reading about all of this, I have simply adjusted my schedule to making a quart every seven days.  It is an easy thing to adjust your schedule—along with the quantity that you make—so that you can maintain the viability of your culture.  

You might wonder why it was so important to me to be able to find a way to perpetuate my own yogurt culture. Why, one might ask, not just accept the fact that you will have to occasionally start over?  Well, the answer is that the yogurt I make seems to get better and better with each successive batch (this is probably one of the great advantages of an heirloom culture).  The first few generations of yogurt when I start from a commercial yogurt are always a bit milder than I would like.  I really like tangy yogurt and having to always start over would give me a continuous supply of mild yogurt, which is not what I want.  The yogurt I make also seems to get thicker with each successive generation.  Right about the time that the yogurt I was making had become thick, creamy and tangy was when I had my first failure.  I had no desire to go back to the mild, thinner yogurt of those first few batches. 

One final note:  I have no idea how rigid one has to be about consistently following an every five to seven day schedule.  It is probable that the yogurt you purchase to start your first batch will be more than five to seven days old.  And, I know from experience that the culture will remain viable for a few generations even if it is being made as infrequently as every two weeks.  To be honest, in August when I happened across the "every five to seven days" bit of wisdom, I was making yogurt from a store bought culture I had purchased in July and with which I had been following my haphazard—about every two weeks—schedule.  (If I were to guess, I would say that I was probably at about my third generation with that particular culture).  Instead of starting over yet again, I simply began making my yogurt every five days to see if I could reinvigorate my culture.  It was about two months ago when I transitioned into making it consistently every seven days.  I assume if I have to deviate from this schedule a bit in the future that my culture has become strong enough to be somewhat forgiving (I'm sure I'll find out).  In any case, I am extremely happy with the yogurt I am making now.  And you can be sure that as I learn and experience new things in my yogurt-making journey, I'll keep you posted (here, or on my Facebook page).

Here is the way I make yogurt now:
(I haven't changed my method too much over the past year—you can look at my first post for pictures)

Before you begin, gather the following:

a quart of whole milk (I use local, organic)

a tablespoon (15 grams) of yogurt (a commercial brand with live and active cultures or your own from a previous batch—no older than five to seven days)

a 3-quart saucepan

a candy thermometer and/or an instant read thermometer

a heat-proof rubber spatula

a ladle

a clean 1-quart jar (or 2 pint jars)

a clean insulated cooler.

Fill the cooler with warm water (115° to 120°), cover and set aside.  Place the glass jar in a 215° oven (after 10 minutes, I shut the oven off and open the door slightly so that the jar will cool down before I fill it—it's nice if it's still warm, but if it's too hot, it can kill the yogurt culture).  Place the tablespoon of yogurt in a small bowl and set aside.

Pour the milk into the saucepan, clamp the candy thermometer on the side of the pan and set the pan over medium-high to high heat.  Heat, stirring occasionally, until the temperature reaches 180° F.  Turn off the heat and let cool to 110° F (stirring occasionally).  I should mention that I have an electric stove.  Consequently, when I turn the heat off, the temperature of the milk continues to rise as the burner cools—often reaching a temperature of 200°F.  I actually think this is a good thing.  I remember reading somewhere (I don't happen to remember where) that holding the milk at (or slightly over) 180° F for a few moments will help firm up the milk proteins, which will in turn help produce a thicker yogurt.  I have no idea if this is true or not, but allowing the milk to heat to 200°F (over the cooling burner) and then cool down more slowly than it would if I actually removed it from the burner has worked well for me—my yogurt is nice and thick.

When the milk has cooled down to 110° F, ladle a small amount into the bowl with the tablespoon of yogurt and stir with the rubber spatula until completely smooth.  Add more milk until the yogurt is of a pourable consistency.  Pour this mixture back into the warm milk (scraping with the spatula to get all of it) and stir well.  (I have learned since my last post that this is called inoculating the milk.) Pour the inoculated milk into the prepared jar and seal the jar (screw on the lid or put on the rubber ring and clamp the jar shut).  Place the jar in the cooler filled with warm water, adding or removing water so that the level of the water is even with the level of the inoculated milk in the jar.  (I actually always pour the water out that has been keeping the cooler warm and start with fresh warm water...simply because my cooler doesn't do a great job of keeping the water warm enough and I want to start the yogurt culturing process no lower than 115° to 120°--I use my instant read thermometer to check the temperature.)

Close the cooler and let the yogurt sit undisturbed for at least five hours.  At the five hour point you should have yogurt. It will be obviously set (tilt the jar slightly to check—but don't jostle it too much). The longer you allow it to stay in the warm water, the sharper the yogurt will taste. I prefer mine at about six hours, but you can let it go even longer. 

Remove the jar from the cooler.  Dry the outside of the jar with a towel, open the jars and wipe the condensation off the inside of the lid.  Place the yogurt in the refrigerator and let it cool with the lid off.  When thoroughly chilled, close/cover the jar.

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Update, Summer 2018:

In mid-June, out of the blue, my almost five year old culture died.  I was very sad about this.  There was something very satisfying about having learned how to sustain a culture...and having done it for so long.  Furthermore, the yogurt I was making had just gotten better over the years.  It was tangy (store bought yogurt--even Dannon, the source of my original culture-- tasted bland by comparison), thick and creamy...every time.  It was a source of a daily "I can't believe I get to eat something so delicious for breakfast!" thought.

I wish I knew why it died.  I can only assume that I got the water in my cooler too hot.  There was a final batch that was able to reproduce one generation of yogurt...but no matter how many times I went back to this batch to make a jar, the jar I produced wouldn't set another batch of milk.  Someone with more knowledge of these things could probably tell me what happened.  I admit that my schedule had been a bit wobbly due to lots of travel for family graduations...but I was never more than a day outside of my 7 day window.  The only other thing that happened, is that I left the the last viable batch (that was able to reproduce), uncovered in the fridge for almost 24 hours by accident (I have always been very good about closing it after just a few hours once it was cool).  Perhaps this had an effect.

Oh well.  Since there was nothing to do but start over, I did.  I decided to try a few other starter cultures to see if I liked the result better than Dannon.  I tried Strauss Family Whole Milk Plain.  This was very good--thick and tangy.  It had a slightly different flavor profile (almost like buttermilk) than the Dannon.  I like the Dannon better.  I also tried the Bulgarian Heirloom culture from Cultures for Health (mentioned above).  I was not a fan.  Their products are very popular...and they have a good reputation...so I'm assuming my issue was that I have just cultivated a taste for whatever cultures Dannon is using.  So...I went back to Dannon....and am once again making thick, tangy and delicious homemade yogurt.

Over the five years I have been making yogurt I have made a few changes to my process.  I'm going to go ahead and alter them in the text above...but I'll mention what they are here.  I used to let my yogurt sit for about 5 1/2 hours in the warm water.  It is usually done in 5, but more time produces a more pronounced tangy taste.  I typically let it go for about 6 hours.  Occasionally I'll make yogurt over night--in which case it often goes for seven hours.

I also no longer bother to check the temperature of the water in the cooler at the mid-way point.  If I start it with a water temperature of 120°, it always stays warm enough to set the yogurt.  In the winter time the water temperature might dip below 100° by the end of the culturing period, but this doesn't appear to affect the taste or the set in any way.