CSA Members 2010: Newsletter Archive

Please order by December 1st and pay in advance of your delivery -- honey is bottled to order, and needs two weeks lead time to process. Please contact us with the quantity, delivery site, and preferred date of delivery. You may pay via check or via Paypal -- see special orders at the top of our sign up page.

Please keep your empty boxes, or return your empty boxes to your drop site just before the December pick up. We will not pick up empty boxes before this time, and would like to keep the drop sites tidy for our wonderful hosts! Thank you!

Check out your favorite recipe website for the tried and true holiday dishes -- my favorite site is Epicurious.com. Great recipes from cooking magazines and lots of reviews from those who have tried them.

Summer shares are now available!

See our CSA offerings & sign up now!

Maple-Braised Butternut Squash with Fresh Thyme

Feel free to use other varieties of Winter squash with this -- carnival squash (the squatty, striped squash) will work well!

ingredients

• 6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) butter
• 1 3- to 31/2-pound butternut squash, cut lengthwise in half, peeled, seeded, cut into 1-inch cubes
• 1 1/4 cups low-salt chicken broth
• 1/3 cup pure maple syrup
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh thyme
• 1 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon (or more) black pepper

procedure

Melt butter in heavy large deep skillet over high heat. Add squash; sauté 1 minute. Add broth, syrup, thyme, salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper; bring to boil. Cover, reduce heat to medium, and cook until squash is almost tender, 8 to 10 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer squash to large bowl. Boil liquid in skillet until thickened, 3 to 4 minutes. Return squash to skillet. Cook until tender, turning occasionally, 3 to 4 minutes. Season with more pepper, if desired.

Adapted from Bon Appétit, November 2010, by Diane Morgan

Sautéed Parsnips and Carrots with Honey and Rosemary

To add richness, sauté three ounces sliced pancetta until crisp; crumble over before serving.

Carrots can take a bit longer to cook than parsnips, so if the carrots are large and mature, sauté them for a minute or two to soften slightly before adding the parsnips.

ingredients

• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 pound carrots, peeled, cut into 3x1/4x1/4-inch sticks
• 1 pound parsnips, peeled, halved lengthwise, cored, cut into 3x1/4x1/4-inch sticks
• Coarse kosher salt
• 2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary
• 1 1/2 tablespoons honey

procedure

Heat oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add carrots and parsnips. Sprinkle with coarse kosher salt and pepper. Sauté until vegetables are beginning to brown at edges, about 12 minutes. DO AHEAD: Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and chill.

Add butter, rosemary, and honey to vegetables. Toss over medium heat until heated through and vegetables are glazed, about 5 minutes. Season to taste with more salt and pepper, if desired.

Bon Appétit, November 2007, Molly Stevens

Baked Winter Squash with Apple Stuffing

This is a favorite of ours. Simple, easy to prepare, and delicious!

ingredients

• 2 Carnival squash (or other moist Winter squash, such as acorn, delicata, butternut or Sweet Dumpling squash)
• 4 small apples, diced
• 4 stalks celery, diced
• 2 leeks, minced or 2 small cipollini onions, quartered and sliced thinly
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
• 4 Tbsp butter
• 4 Tbsp water (as needed)
• Pinch of salt

procedure

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cut squash in half and remove seeds. Place cut side down in a shallow baking dish with about 1/2 inch of water. Bake for 55 minutes or until tender.

Sauté leeks and celery in butter until soft, then add apples and sauté a few minutes longer. Toss in walnuts, then add another tablespoon of butter, water and salt. Put in a small baking dish and cover. Bake stuffing for 30 minutes or until tender. Spoon stuffing into squash and serve.

Baked Escarole

ingredients

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 tablespoon flour
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 head escarole
• 2 ounces (at least) gorgonzola
• bread crumbs
• salt & pepper to taste

procedure

Melt the butter in a sauce pan over low heat and stir in flour until a thick paste forms. Slowly add the milk to the flour stirring constantly to make a simple white sauce. Simmer while you cut escarole in half, rinse, and steam in a double boiler until wilted, about 5 min. Arrange escarole, cut side up, in a shallow baking dish, and cover with white sauce. Break the cheese into small pieces and sprinkle over sauce, top with bread crumbs, then bake in a preheated oven at 400° for about ten minutes or until lightly browned.

Pumpkin Cheesecake with Caramel Swirl

for Crust

• 1 1/2 cups ground gingersnap cookies
• 1 1/2 cups toasted pecans (about 6 ounces)
• 1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
• 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted

for Filling

• 4 8-ounce packages cream cheese, room temperature
• 1 2/3 cups sugar
• 1 1/2 cups pumpkin
• 9 tablespoons whipping cream
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground allspice
• 4 large eggs
• 1 tablespoon (about) caramel sauce (see the Apple Tart recipe below to make your own)

procedure

For pumpkin:

Cut pumpkin in half. Bake at 375 degrees, cut side down, in ½ inch of water, until very soft (about 50 minutes). Scoop flesh from skin and puree in a food processor until smooth. Let drain as needed in a sieve about 5 minutes.

For Crust:

Preheat oven to 350°F. Finely grind ground cookies, pecans and sugar in processor. Add melted butter and blend until combined. Press crust mixture onto bottom and up sides of 9-inch-diameter springform pan with 2 3/4-inch-high sides.

For Filling:

Using electric mixer, beat cream cheese and sugar in large bowl until light. Transfer 3/4 cup mixture to small bowl; cover tightly and refrigerate to use for topping. Add pumpkin, 4 tablespoons whipping cream, ground cinnamon and ground allspice to mixture in large bowl and beat until well combined. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating just until combined. Pour filling into crust (filling will almost fill pan). Bake until cheesecake puffs, top browns and center moves only slightly when pan is shaken, about 1 hour 15 minutes. Transfer cheesecake to rack and cool 10 minutes. Run small sharp knife around cake pan sides to loosen cheesecake. Cool. Cover tightly and refrigerate overnight.

Bring remaining 3/4 cup cream cheese mixture to room temperature. Add remaining 5 tablespoons whipping cream to cream cheese mixture and stir to combine. Press down firmly on edges of cheesecake to even thickness. Pour cream cheese mixture over cheesecake, spreading evenly. Spoon caramel sauce in lines over cream cheese mixture. Using tip of knife, swirl caramel sauce into cream cheese mixture. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate.)

Release pan sides from cheesecake.

Bon Appétit, November 1993

Apple Tart with Caramel Sauce

for Caramel sauce

• 1 1/2 cups (packed) dark brown sugar
• 1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream
• 6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter

for Crust

• 1 1/4 cups unbleached all purpose flour
• 3/4 cup powdered sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) chilled unsalted butter, diced
• 2 large egg yolks

for Filling

• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 tablespoon unbleached all purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
• 6 large McIntosh or Golden Delicious apples (about 2 3/4 pounds), peeled, quartered, cored

procedure

For caramel sauce:

Bring sugar, cream, and butter to boil in heavy medium saucepan over medium-high heat, whisking constantly until sugar dissolves. Boil until caramel thickens enough to coat spoon thickly, whisking often, about 10 minutes. Sauce can be made a few days in advance. Warm it over low heat, whisking thoroughly to avoid burning.

For crust:

Blend flour, powdered sugar, and salt in processor. Add butter and blend until coarse meal forms. Add egg yolks. Pulse until moist clumps form. Gather dough into ball; flatten into disk. Wrap and chill at least 1 hour. DO AHEAD Dough for tart crust can be made 1 day ahead. Keep chilled.

For filling:

Whisk first 4 ingredients in large bowl to blend. Add apples and toss until evenly coated.

Preheat oven to 375°F. Roll out dough on lightly floured surface to 13-inch round. Transfer to 9-inch-diameter tart pan with removable bottom. Cut overhang even with top of pan sides. Press sides of dough to bring 1/4 inch above sides of pan. Arrange apple quarters, cut side down, in circle around outer edge of pan, fitting snugly. Cut remaining apple quarters lengthwise in half; stand in center of tart, fitting snugly.

Bake tart until apples are tender, about 1 hour 15 minutes. Remove tart from oven; brush with some of caramel sauce. Cool tart to room temperature. Rewarm remaining caramel sauce. Drizzle tart lightly with sauce. Serve, passing remaining sauce separately.

Bon Appétit, November 2006