I'll admit it, it was a very long time before I liked nuts in certain things - my savory dishes especially. I think it all started with a salad I had a favorite local restaurant - a lettuce salad with raspberries and walnuts topped with grilled chicken breast that had been basted in a raspberry sauce - after eating that I was amazed at how long I'd turned my nose up at the addition of nuts in certain things! I don't have too many recipes involving them, but this one and a Honey Pecan Pork Chop recipe are my favorites.
And I must say, this recipe quickly became a favorite of mine - it's easy and it's different. The biggest problem I have with this recipe is the fact I forget how fast it comes together, lol! I always seem to not get the timing right with this one for having everything ready for dinner, lol. It's that fast. The sauce is created in the pan, and it only involves a few ingredients. I did discover today that it's best eaten when made - for the documenting of the recipe purposes, I made this early in the day and had it for dinner tonight, and it just does not reheat very well, lol. The cream sauce just breaks and never quite comes back together. I've never had an instance of not eating it at the time I've made it, so this was a new discovery, lol. Usually I make it, it's eaten and gone, lol. So, today was something new that I learned, and an important thing learned to pass along! :-)
The ingredients are simple - for me it's the pre-made "fresh" butternut squash ravioli (you can also use frozen or if you can't find either fresh or frozen, you can use cheese ravioli), heavy cream, brown sugar, toasted pecans, butter, shredded parmesan, nutmeg and sage. As for the sage, in the summer when the sage in my herb garden is going strong, I usually grab the fresh, but when it's not ready yet - the dried works very well. The only things not pictured here, (and it seems to never fail that I forget something in the ingredient documentation! LOL), are the salt and the dash cayenne pepper.
Start by cooking the ravioli according to the package directions...while they are cooking start your sauce...
Part of the recipe is toasting the pecans in a large dry skillet. Takes 1-2 minutes over medium-low heat - it's super easy, but you just need to keep an eye on them. It doesn't take much for them to go too far - from toasted to burnt pretty quickly, lol.
Once you get them toasted, add the butter and stir until melted - then stir in the brown sugar, salt, nutmeg and cayenne... The original recipe called for 1/4 cup brown sugar, I actually just usually use 3 tbsp firmly packed, as to me the 1/4 cup gave it too much sweetness.
Next, you remove the pan from heat and stir in the heavy cream and the sage. Another change I've made to the recipe for my tastes, is to add 1/2 cup heavy cream - not exactly waistline friendly, but seems to coat the ravioli better and tastes good too!
Once you have that done, and well blended, add drained ravioli and toss gently to coat. Top with Parmesan cheese, and serve! Or I usually top the individual servings with Parmesan cheese before serving.
Sage-Pecan Butternut Squash Ravioli
Originally from Taste Of Home magazine
4 servings
1 pkg (18 oz) frozen butternut squash ravioli or 2 pkg. (9 oz. each) refrigerated butternut squash ravioli or, alternatively, 2 pkg. (9 oz. each) refrigerated cheese ravioli
3/4 c chopped pecans or walnuts
3 tbsp butter
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
Dash cayenne pepper
1/4 heavy cream
2 tbsp minced fresh sage or 2 tsp dry rubbed sage
Shaved or shredded Parmesan cheese
1) Cook ravioli according to the package directions.
2) Meanwhile, in a large dry skillet, toast pecans over medium-low heat 1-2 minutes or until lightly browned, stirring occasionally. Stir in butter until melted. Stir in brown sugar, salt, nutmeg and cayenne. Remove from heat; stir in cream and sage.
3) Drain ravioli; add to skillet and toss to coat. Top with Parmesan cheese.
from Kris B.
Well, where to begin? There is food in this post. There are even a few LOLs, but there is not much food photography from me. I will explain and I bet you all will be thankful that my photos are non-existent this week.
The plumbing saga at my house continues...really, that is a good thing! I have seen pictures of our coroded pipes under the house; they are not pretty! So, having them all replaced is a absoluely necessary. They are fifty-two years old. Sometimes I think my insides may look just like those pipes. LOL! When you think about all that is involved in this process of completely replumbina a house, the inconvenience and discomfort to us has been minimal. There were a few days when we had one functional bathroom instead of three. We have had a couple hours of no water at all. The end is in sight, but to get to the end means that right now we can't run water down the kitchen drain. The upshot of that is no washing dishes. On most days, that would be just fine. LOL! However, when you are trying to take "pretty" photos of food and its preparation, an inability to wash dishes is problematic. I prepared this week's recipe using a minimal number of bowls and utensils and only those that could be washed in the bathroom sink:-) Though this approach was more or less successful, it didn't make for very appealing photos.
Another side effect of all of the digging necessary for the plumbing fix, as well as all of our recent rain, is that the sugar ants have decided it necessary to seek a higher, dryer place to live. Earlier in the week, that was my kitchen. I managed to convince them that they really didn't want to take up residence here by mixing a solution of powdered sugar, borax and water, soaking a cotton ball with the mixture, and placing it under the dishwasher, which was their point of entry. It was not a very pleasant housewarming gift. I haven't seen any ants since.
Despite all the weirdness around here this week, the stuffed yellow squash came out pretty darn good. It is a simple recipe that, with the exception of the squash itself, requires only kitchen staples.
INGREDIENTS
4 yellow squash (Those with a nice fat end work best.)
1 medium yellow onion, diced
Olive oil
4 cloves of garlic, minced
2 Cups Panko breadcrumbs
3/4 Cups freshly grated Parmesan cheese, divided
1/2 tsp dried basil
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1 egg
Salt and pepper to taste (I use Kosher salt.)
Preheat overn to 400 degrees. Place a baking sheet in the oven to preheat as well.
Cut the squash in half lengthwise. From each half, scoop out the seeds and pulp and place them in a bowl.
Pour a splash of olive oil in a saute pan. Saute the diced onion and minced garlic for a few minutes, then add the scooped out squash, salt, and pepper to this mixture. Continue to cook until the squash becomes tender, about 6 minutes. Remove from heat and return the squash mixture to the bowl.
Add the Panko breadcrumbs, 1/2 cup of the Parmesan cheese, the basil, oregano and the egg. to the cooked squash mixture. Mix until thoroughly combined. Spoon the stuffing back into the hollowed out squash halves. Sprnkle the tops with the remaining Parmesan cheese.
Place the squash halves on the preheated baking sheet. Bake for 12 minutes or until the tops become golden brown.
Thank you all for your support and understanding. Hopefully things will be back to normal around here next week. These little inconveniences make me realize how many things that I have that most days I take for granted. Friends are not one of those things, however! I am grateful for each and every one of you!
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