Kosher Street: Fall Recipes

By Sarah M. Lasry of Kosherstreet.com for Matzav.com

Butternut Squash Salad with Candied Pecans

My poor husband never ate a butternut squash until he met me. Now he eats so much of it, he has wonders how he lived without it all these years. I am a fanatic about butternut squash. I love it in soups, as an added element to grains or as its own simple side dish. Here is a salad that I invented when I just ran out of ways to eat all the butternut squash that sits in my kitchen.

1 ½-2 cups butternut squash, peeled, cut into bite-size cubes

2 Tbsp. olive oil

1 cup whole pecans

2 Tbsp. brown sugar

¼ tsp. cinnamon

Pinch of nutmeg

½ cup orange juice

2 tsp. lemon juice

1 lb. spinach leaves or romaine hearts

2 pears, peel on cut into bite-size pieces

In a large skillet, over medium heat, sauté butternut squash cubes in olive oil about 5 minutes. Lower flame, cover pot and let the squash cook for another 10-12 minutes, stirring occasionally. The squash is ready when it can easily be pierced with a fork. Remove squash from pan and set aside.

Using the same frying pan as the squash, scrape up the leftover bits and leave them in the pan. Add the whole pecans and sauté them over medium-low heat. Add the brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and cook, stirring constantly for about 2 minutes or until pecans are coated. Remove pecans from pan, and add to butternut squash.

Again using the same pan, stir in the orange juice and lemon juice, using a spatula to scrape the bottom of the pan. Let the juices come to a simmer and remove from flame.

Place lettuce, pears, squash, and pecans in a bowl. Drizzle with juice mixture, and toss to coat.

I  love November, because all my local groceries are carrying FRESH cranberries. But I am so surprised that so many people I know, hardly get as excited as I do. I truly stock up on them, stacking those precious little berries in my freezer to have on hand to make those yummy cranberry recipes I have copiously filed away, all year round!

With Thanksgiving around the corner, I thought it would be a great time for me to pull out one of my favorite cranberry muffin recipes that I use to make in my café this time of year. For whole wheat muffins, these are surprisingly moist and delicious.

Whole Wheat Cranberry Apple Muffins w/ Lemon-Ginger Glaze

For Cake:

2 ¾ cups whole wheat flour

1 tbsp. baking powder

½ tsp baking soda

½ tsp salt

1 tbsp ground cinnamon

2 tsp ground ginger

1 ¼ cups low-fat milk

2 extra-large eggs

½ lb. unsalted butter, melted and cooled

1 ½ cups coarsely chopped fresh cranberries

2 cups finely chopped apples

¾ cup coarsely chopped walnuts, toasted

¾ cup packed brown sugar

¾ cup granulated sugar

For Glaze:

1 cup sifted confectioners’ sugar

1-2 tbsp. lemon juice

¼ tsp. ground ginger

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and ginger in a large bowl. Make a well in the center of the mixture and add the milk, eggs, and butter. Stir quickly just to combine. Add cranberries, apples, walnuts, and both sugars and stir just until all is combined.

Heavily grease a 12 cup muffin pan. Spoon cake batter to the top of each cup. Bake for 20 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

While muffins are cooling make glaze. Using a whisk, mix all ingredients together. Dip tops of muffins into glaze and place on a wire rack with parchment paper underneath to catch all drips.

What do I use cranberry sauce for?  Well I love it as a side dipping sauce served on the side to a lot of my meat dishes (chicken, beef, turkey, lamb). I love sweet & savory combos. I also love it mixed in to some cake batters, frostings and I mix it in to one of my favorite bbq sauce recipes that I have for short ribs.

But the reason I stock up is for this recipe my mother invented many years ago for Simple & Delicious Cranberry Chicken that she would make for Shabbat or Weeknight Dinner all the time. Literally this recipe takes 5 minutes to prep and the chicken comes out fantastic

Cranberry Chicken

Ingredients:

1 whole chicken in pieces or 1 package of chicken thighs & legs

2 sweet potatoes, sliced into thin rounds

2 1/2  cups cranberry sauce

garlic powder

ginger powder

kosher salt

fresh black pepper

dried parsley flakes

Directions:

Pre heat oven to 400F

Late out your chicken pieces and pat them dry with a paper towel.

Generously sprinkle on both sides of the chicken pieces, the garlic, ginger, salt, pepper, and parsley flakes.

Lay half of your sweet potatoes slices on the bottom of your baking pan. Then lay your chicken pieces on top. Spread out the rest of your sweet potato slices on top of the chicken.

Loosen your cranberry sauce up in a bowl (add a little hot water if you need to). Pour the sauce evenly over all the chicken and potatoes. Throw another pinch of all the spices over the sauce and put the chicken in the oven to bake.

Bake for about 1 1/2 hours.

{By Sarah M. Lasry of Kosherstreet.com for Matzav.com}