butternut squash and taleggio pizza

While throwing miscellaneous articles of clothing and magazines into my weekender this past Friday, I glanced at my camera and made the conscious decision that I would not be needing it. I had no plans for cooking anything and this weather is far from picturesque. Nope, I wouldn't come across anything photo-worthy while I was in Connecticut for the weekend (hence the photo fail above courtesy of my Macbook "camera").

Then inspiration struck early on Saturday morning via Twitter when someone wanted a suggestion for something new to do with winter squash. Given my vast and equally diverse wealth of knowledge on all things epicurean, I immediately knew what to recommend.

Turn it into a pizza topping, of course.

I mean, if nothing else, I make myself laugh. Out loud. Often. Because, you see, I am hilarious. And not the least bit modest about it.

Every time I suggest making pizza, I laugh (a maniacal little snicker). I laugh because I'm fairly confident a lot of you are thinking I'm a one-trick pony. All I make are pizzas. But that's just fine with me. Because until you've had a taste of this pony's well rehearsed trick (I'm sorry for how that comes out), all the eye-rolling and pigeon-holing will come to an end. And I'll be laughing all the way to the...

Well, see, now there's nothing funny about the fact that I can't finish that sentence.

Butternut Squash and Taleggio Pizza

1 medium-large butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cut into 1/2 inch cubes

1 tbsp. olive oil

1 tbsp. maple syrup

4-5 cloves of garlic, whole and not peeled

1-2 tsp. fresh sage, finely chopped

salt and pepper

2 shallots, thinly sliced

fresh pizza dough

taleggio

Preheat the oven to 400F. On a baking sheet, toss the butternut squash with the garlic cloves, sage, olive oil, maple syrup, salt and pepper. Roast for 20 minutes and allow to cool.

While the butternut squash cools, raise the oven temperature to 450F (make sure pizza stone is in oven). Stretch out the pizza dough to desired thinness. Brush the dough with a little garlic oil and then top with a scattering of the butternut squash followed by a sprinkling of shallots. Bake the pizza on a pizza stone for about 10 minutes (the crust should be just starting to brown). Top with evenly distributed pieces of taleggio and allow to cook for another 2 to 3 minutes until the cheese has completely melted and the crust is nicely browned and cooked through.

To serve, top the pizza with some lightly dressed baby arugula. Devour.

(no) turkey day

Alright so time is flying and it's already that time of the year again. The one day where everyone in America is focused on one thing and one thing only: dinner. Which quite frankly is my focus every other 364 days of the year but hey, whatever. In fact, it's kind of odd. The Thanksgiving meal is not one that particularly moves me. There's almost too much tradition involved that it doesn't leave room for anything new or creative. But I get it. It's a comfy meal because it's consistent. And we all love a little consistency in our lives wherever we can get it. And if it happens to be by ways of Pepperidge Farm Stuffing in a bag, well, then so be it.

But here's the thing. This year's Thanksgiving crowd has dwindled to a somewhat sad number. Three (now four). And actually, that's quite alright because I'm taking this year as an opportunity to say goodbye to the turkey.

How many of you did I lose on that bold statement? Hear me out though. Last year, I went through the trouble (willingly, of course) of brining the bird for a solid 36+ hours then roasting it breast side down first (which apparently also maximizes juiciness) then flipped it back over, basted it with its juices, etc. I did everything humanly possible to make sure that last year's turkey would not come out dry. And while it might have been slightly juicier than in years past, slightly is the operative word here. All that work for not nearly enough in return.

Fact of the matter is, turkey is almost always inevitably dry. And it's something that I think a lot of people forgive because they can drown it in gravy and pull the "but it's tradition card." But here's my argument: I want what I put out to be the absolute best that it can possibly be. Always. And if that means by throwing some chickens into the oven to roast just until they're perfectly crispy on the outside and tender, flavorful, and JUICY on the inside, then that's what I'm going to do. All the "traditional" sides will be there to make us all feel like we're playing along with the holiday minus some trytophan-induced drowsiness.

So after that long winded but required explanation, this year's spread will be as follows:

Starters:

Oysters Danish Style with Cucumber and Pickled-Shallot Relish (Daniel Boulud recipe from New York Magazine)

One or two soft, slightly stinky cheeses served with grapes and sliced apple

Main Event:

Roasted Chicken with Orange, Lemon, Garlic, and Sage

Ing's Mashed Potatoes

Brussels Sprouts with Cranberries (last year's biggest hit. make these!)

Maple Roasted Butternut Squash

Homemade Cranbery Sauce with Orange Zest

Baby Greens with Bosc Pear and Goat Cheese dressed with Maple Balsamic Vinaigrette

Dessert:

Obligatory Pumpkin Pie (and one of the only sweets I indulge in)

So who's stepping up this year and helping in the kitchen? My hope is for all of you to contribute to at least one dish that you can proudly present at the table to your family and friends. Whether it's one of the recipes shown above or one of your own, I'd love to hear what's going to be dished up on your plate this year.

Happy Thanksgiving!