Stuffed Summer Squash

My favorite thing about spring and summer is the farmer’s markets. I’ve loved them ever since I was a little kid, begging my mother to take me the waterfront market in my hometown.

I was enamored with the flowers – dinnerplate Dahlias that were easily the size of my head, the crafts – beads and bits and bobs and amazing wood carvings from the local tribes, and the food, oh lordy the food – vegetables in every shape and size and color, more than the mind could process at once.

I still have that sense of giddy excitement when I walk through a market, myriad possibilities running through my brain, challenging me to create and experiment. The opportunity to talk with the people who are growing my food, to interact with the people in my community – it’s bliss. Pure and simple bliss.

While walking through a farmer’s market recently (or possibly three…) I spotted these gorgeous globular summer squash that were just begging to be stuffed. They make a beautiful side dish or, if you get them just a bit bigger than this, a lovely main course along with a salad.

Stuffed Summer Squash

4 globe summer squash

8 oz. Shitake mushrooms, stems discarded and caps sliced

1 clove garlic, minced

2 cups cooked brown rice

4 oz Taleggio cheese, cubed

Preheat the oven to 425⁰

Slice off the tops of the squash and scoop out the center of the squash. Rub them down inside and out with a little olive oil and season to taste with kosher salt and pepper. Set aside.

In a heavy bottomed skillet sauté the shitake mushrooms and garlic in a little olive oil until the mushrooms start to brown. Add the brown rice and cook just long enough to warm through. Remove the mixture from the skillet into a heat proof mixing bowl and toss with the cubed Taleggio cheese (you can do this in the skillet, but it might get a little messy). Season to taste with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper. Divide evenly between the 4 squash. Bake on a parchment lined baking sheet (or in a casserole dish) for about 30-35 minutes, or until squash is tender.

french onion grilled cheese sandwiches

When I was very young my idea of tomato soup and grilled cheese involved a lovely can of Heinz tomato soup (Canadian) and Kraft cheese slices (also Canadian). I haven’t had either for a while, largely because I’m afraid that, as with many other flavors from my childhood, I’ll try them again and realize that they are, in fact, pretty gross – and my memories will be ruined.

I don’t think that’s something you’ll have to worry about with these grilled cheese sandwiches, though. Creamy fontina and assertive gruyere meld with rich, buttery caramelized onions and deliciously sour sourdough bread. Goes well with tomato soup or on its own with a light salad.

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grilled shrimp with sweet corn polenta

Grilled shrimp, salty pancetta, sweet corn, and creamy polenta.

Indubitably delicious.

I saw a recipe photo on the cover of Food & Wine last month that inspired this. I think it was actually a saffron risotto with grilled shrimp, but polenta sounded so much better. It was surprisingly easy and the flavor pay off was definitely high.

Not a single complaint. It even made fabulous leftovers for lunch the next day.

Make this, people will love you. You know, even more than they already do.

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phyllo pizza with smoked mozzarella and roasted cherry tomatoes

One of the golden rules of entertaining is to never use your dinner guests as guinea pigs. Use recipes that you've made at least once before to avoid any surprises or flops. The last thing one needs at an already stressful time is to find out that hey, that should have been a teaspoon of baking powder not baking soda, or perhaps that fritter didn't need the extra egg. Save yourself some headaches and just try it out before hand.

Of course, since I'm saying this it should be patently obvious that I disregarded all of those things.

Nor did I follow the recipe.

Thankfully, it was more delicious than I could have ever expected it to be. It was probably one of the easiest, tastiest recipes I've tried in the last year.

I can hear you right now, though. "Phyllo pizza? You want me to use those paper-thin sheets of pastry surely sent straight from Hades to make us pull out all of our hair? It tears at nary a glance, let alone picking it up or brushing it with butter! Wars have surely been started over this temperamental devil-food!"

Have no fear, my dears. If thawed properly phyllo dough is a breeze to handle. And by thawed I don't mean using the recommended directions of letting it sit overnight in the refrigerator. That's going to give you a cold, gummy mess that will make you feel like tearing your hair out. And let's leave that pretty coif alone.

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This is one of those perfect weeknight entertaining dishes that looks impressive but is incredibly easy. It's a kind of cross between a chicken milanese and a latin chicken milanesa a caballo. The best part about this recipe is how make ahead friendly it is. You can bread the chicken hours before you need them and pull them out and fry them whenever.

They are exceptionally moist and the truffle salt adds such a luxurious level of flavor - even I was surprised at how well all of the flavors really meshed together. The crispy coated, moist chicken, the umami earthiness of the truffles, the acidic bite from the lemon-dressed salad, and the creamy richness of the poached egg. If you have it on hand I can't imagine that a drizzle of truffle oil would hurt the finished dish, either.

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