Sweet Brown Butternut Rice

I was always scared of rice because I hated it growing up but I have recently learned more about it (thanks Alton Brown!) and have become a big fan of rice with stuff in it. Still don't much like it plain or the boring white/brown varieties. But different kinda of rice are fun! I went to WHole Foods a while back and they can be very expensive for some things. They had cereal-type dispensers set up wiht about 20 different kids of rice, and unique ones. I bought a bunch of different kinds (nice, at the grocery store you have to buy 5 pounds at a time - ugh!). One was "sweet brown rice" a short brown rice. I decided to try it out on a whim. SO good. YUM. I loved it!

1 cup sweet brown rice

1 T EVOO

Add both to medium pot over medium high and stir often to toast teh rice a bit. Add:

1 onion, diced

1 (small) or 1/2 a butternut squash, in bite sized pieces (I buy the pre-peeled kind since my upper body strength is lacking, and it is needed to get the hard rind off)

cook another couple minutes, stirring, until onion is softened.

Add about 2 cups of stock. Let simmer, stirring frequently. I think I added another 1/2-3/4 cup of stock - as needed (taste the rice when the stock is soaked up to see if it is soft enough or not).

Towards the end but before totally done, add 1 medium tomato, chopped and about 1 cup of frozen corn. Add a pinch of salt, a few tsp of cinnamon and ginger, a dash of nutmeg, and a tsp of white pepper (more mellow and suble than black I think).

SO good! Nice and creamy texture and a sweetness from the rice, squash and spices.

Butternut Fries

To make these, I cut into a butternut squash and seeded it and cut off the peel. Then I cut it into fry-sized pieces (yeah... I got a workout just from cutting - ooff!!). Tossed with olive oil, kosher salt and a decent amt of cumin. Roasted at 450 for about 25 min, turning 1/2 way. Sqeeze lime juice over it and serve.

The end result was a little softer than I would have liked but regardless, was SO good. The cumin really went well with the squash, and gave it a nice little kick. I think next time I will broil it at the end to crisp it up a bit (ryan's suggestion :) )

Butternut Gnocchi with BBB Sauce

Because I am SO into seasonal foods lately, I decided to make butternut squash gnocci. I found various recipes online and since they were all basically the same and I used my own twists, I am claiming this one as my own.

Gnocci

2 cups whole wheat flour

2 eggs

1 small butternut squash

salt and white pepper

nutmeg, cinnamon, ginger, allspice

Slice squash in half and coat cut side with EVOO and season with salt and white pepper. Roast, cut side down, until soft through. (I did it at 450 degrees and it took about 30 minutes but depends on the size of the squash). Let squash cool enough to handle, and then peel, deseed, and scoop flesh into a bowl. Let squash cont to cool to room temp (I just stuck it in the fridge for a few) and add flour, eggs, spices. Mix with hands. Add more flour as needed so the it becomes adough mixture. Roll small amts off a spoon into a pot of boiling water (about walnut sized) and let cook 2-3 minutes after floating. Remove with slotted spoon and toss with sauce.

Note: this makes a TON for 2 ppl so I cooked up half the dough and the other half is wrapped in saran in the freezer to cook up at a later date.

Balsamic Brown Butter

I used this recipe for the sauce from Emeril.

Balsamic Brown Butter:

2 sticks unsalted butter (i just used one but with the same amt of other ingred)

1/4 cup minced shallots

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

3 tablespoons chiffonade fresh sage

Salt

I also added some loosely chopped chanterelle mushrooms right before taking the sauce from the heat. They really went well with the dish.

For the Balsamic Brown Butter: In a medium saucepan, cook the butter over medium heat until brown bits form and it has a nutty aroma, about 3 minutes. Remove from the heat and add the shallots, balsamic vinegar, and sage. Stir well. Adjust seasoning, to taste.

Overall it was really good! Ryan isnt a big fan of mushrooms... but he really liked it. I am not a big fan of gnocchi... but I really liked it. Normally, gnocchi seems kind of doughy and flavorless to me, but this was healthy (well minus the sauce) and flavorful! I served it alongside filet... what a decadent meal!