Spaghetti squash, like eggs, is one of those foods that gets me so pumped about what food is.  It's a squash like any other squash, but then you run your fork through it after baking and BAM!  Perfectly formed spaghetti strands.  Food can be amazing, and spaghetti squash needs no embellishment, which is why I paired mine with a simple and quick sage and walnut butter sauce.  This is a classic sauce...you don't always have to reinvent the wheel in the kitchen. But it pairs so perfectly with the delicate squash, and it's so yummy to boot.  Vegetarian or not, this is a fantastic Fall supper.

Ingredients:
1 spaghetti squash, about 2 lbs. (whatever size you use, you just have to adjust the cooking time; if you use a 3 lb. squash or larger, increase the butter to 5 tbsp.)
3/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. coarse ground black pepper
4 tbsp. butter
10-15 fresh sage leaves
1/2 cup shelled walnuts, roughly chopped
1 tbsp. grated parmesan or pecorino cheese

Our 2 lb. squash would serve about 3 entrée sized portions.  The 3 lb. (logically) would serve more!

Step 1:
Preheat your oven to 400 degrees with the oven rack in the middle of the oven.  Using a sharp knife, carefully halve your squash lengthwise and scoop out the seeds from each half.

Step 2:
Place each half on a rimmed baking sheet, flesh side up.  I put parchment down first, like always, so that in case the squash leaks or bubbles, I don't have to clean up a sticky baking sheet, I just have to throw away the parchment.  Season each half with a 1/4 tsp. of the salt and pepper, then place 1 tbsp. of the butter and 2 sage leaves in the hollows of each squash half.

Step 3:
Bake the squash on the middle rack until the flesh is just soft, about 40-45 minutes. For a larger squash, this may be closer to an hour. Remove the squash from the oven and let cool until you can work comfortably with it, about 15 minutes.

Step 4:
Here comes the fun part.  Using a fork, simply run the prongs long-ways across the flesh, and it will form spaghetti strands.  Just try to keep that lovely pool of butter in there, tossing it with the squash as you go.

The squash is still plenty warm, and the sauce takes a couple minutes to throw together, so just let the squash chill out for a bit.

Step 5:
Heat the remaining butter in a large skillet over medium heat, then add the walnuts and toast for about a minute, letting the butter foam and sizzle.  Then add the remaining sage leaves and stir them around for about a minute as well, until they start to crackle in the pan.

Done! Add the spaghetti to the pan, toss to combine and warm through for about a minute or two.  Add the rest of the salt and pepper if you need to and serve, topping with the grated cheese.

Both fresh tasting and comforting, this meal will warm your belly up in the best possible way.

Spaghetti squash is a little too delicate for a hearty marinara, but a fresh chunky tomato salsa would work marvelously, as well as an herbaceous pesto, if you'd rather give those a try.  Somebody was obviously playing with their food to begin with if they discovered you could turn squash into noodles.  So why not play some more? :)

~Lauren

Sometimes when bags of potatoes are on sale buy-one-get-one free at the market, my husband and I have to indulge, even though it leaves us with 6-10 lbs. of potatoes on our hands.  Our worst fear is that we'll decide against it, but then next week we'll need potatoes and feel like total chumps because we missed out on a free bag!  However, that leaves us with a bunch of potatoes, and in need of recipes!

On our anniversary trip Doug and I had escargot en cocotte, which was snails cooked in a small sturdy pot with a wonderfully luscious sauce of olive oil, tons of parsley and garlic.

I was not about to cook snails at home, but I had to come back to Pennsylvania and do something with that amazing sauce, and potatoes seemed like the obvious choice.  But, the question in my mind was, how do I impart tons of flavor into the potatoes, but allow them to retain their great potato flavor? I decided to take a leaf out of the en cocotte book with this one.

Ingredients:
1-1.5 lbs small red potatoes, scrubbed clean with skin left on
4 cloves of garlic, minced
3 tbsp. olive oil
1/4 cup chopped parsley
1/2 tsp. kosher salt

Step 1:
Cut the potatoes into about 1-inch pieces.  Depending on the size of the potatoes this could mean halving them or quartering them.

Step 2:
Add the olive oil and garlic to a cold 10-inch skillet or wide-bottomed saucepan.  Heat it over medium-low heat, and when the garlic starts to sizzle, add the potatoes, parsley, salt, and a tbsp. of water.  Stir to evenly coat the potatoes, cover, and cook for about 10 minutes, until the edges are starting to turn translucent.

The science: One of the culprits of flavorless potatoes is water.  If you overcook potatoes when you are boiling them, they get waterlogged and this flushes out all of the flavor.  If you've ever had flavorless mashed potatoes, that is the culprit.  By basically poaching these potatoes in olive oil and just a tiny bit of water to keep anything from burning, the only liquid they will steam in is their own juices!  You will get potatoes that have tons of herb and garlic flavor, but that actually taste like potatoes.

Step 3:
After the first 10 minutes, give everything a stir, then re-cover and cook for another 10 minutes, or until the potatoes are cooked through.  When you can insert a paring knife into a potato piece and it meets no resistance, you are there!

Simply pour the potatoes into a dish and serve!

These yummy, luscious potatoes are the perfect side dish to just about anything from roast chicken to steak.  Eat and enjoy!

~Lauren

This is an easy, filling recipe that has been a go-to for Jay and myself for the past few years. It's also a great meatless meal or side, depending on what you need!

I'm not feeling super great today, so instead of rambling on, I'm going to go ahead and jump right into the recipe. Enjoy!

Ingredients
1 large yellow onion, diced
2-3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 can Hunt's tomato sauce
1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed well
1 large bunch swiss chard
2 tsp yellow curry powder
1 tsp cilantro
1 tsp cumin
salt and pepper to taste

Step 1. Warm a medium pot or large sauce sauce pan over medium-high eat, then toss in the garlic and onions. Saute until the garlic is fragrant and the onions are translucent.

Step 2: While the onions and garlic saute, dice and blanch your swiss chard by dropping the greens into boiling water for 2 minutes, then cooling immediately (either in ice water, or by running under very cold tap). This will soften the chard and remove some of the bitterness without eliminating all of the awesome vitamins it carries.

Step 3: Once the onions are ready, toss in the chickpeas and the spices, stirring to combine. Saute for a few minutes to allow the flavors to marry.

Step 4: Then, add in the tomato sauce and (drained) swiss chard, again stirring to combine. Saute for 10-15 minutes, taking care to keep the heat low enough that the tomato sauce doesn't splatter everywhere. This will allow the flavors to blend, and the swiss chard to soften further. 

Cooking this dish uncovered also means that the tomato sauce reduces, and you end up with a stew-like consistency in the end. Yum!!

Enjoy!

- Kaitlin

I have a wonderful friend who is a vegetarian, and she lives in New York, where my husband and I try to make several trips a year to visit.  For my birthday this summer she got me a book full of recipes from beloved NYC restaurants, and I wanted to cook up a vegetarian entrée from it and use it on the blog in her honor, but the pasta I liked the most had prosciutto in it.  Now, I happen to love this tasty little cured ham, but I knew that would not fly for a veggie-only eater, so I figured I could just remove the meat and we'd be good to go...except that left literally just the pasta and the cheese sauce, which would make for a heavy, coma-inducing meal.

The prosciutto, besides being awesome, does the important job of cutting through all that dairy with a salty bite, so I knew it was a simple question of adding in ingredients that would do that same job, but instead of the pig, I'd turn to veggies instead for the task!

Ingredients:
1 lb. ziti or penne dried pasta
2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp. butter and 1 tsp. butter, separated
1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes
1 medium shallot, minced
2 medium cloves of garlic, minced
8 oz. baby portabella mushrooms, sliced 1/4 inch thick (you can buy them pre-sliced)
2-3 tbsp. capers, drained and rinsed
1 cup half and half
1 28-oz. can petit diced tomatoes, drained of their juices
1/4 tsp. black pepper
salt
9 oz grated parmesan cheese, or 3 cups

*This dish will serve 6 people.

Step 1:
Fill a large stockpot with water, bring to a boil, throw in a hefty amount of salt, and cook the pasta, until it is about 1 minute underdone.  At this point, drain the pasta then add it back to the pot along with the tomatoes, and stir to combine.  Keep warm, allowing the pasta to soak up any excess tomato juices. 

Meanwhile, while the pasta is cooking, heat the extra virgin olive oil and tsp. of butter over medium heat in a 12-inch nonstick sauté pan. (The cheese sauce will be formed in this pan later.  If you don't want a scorched mess on your hands, it has to be nonstick!)  Add the shallot, garlic, red pepper flakes, and a pinch of salt and sauté for about 1 minute.

Step 2:
Add the mushrooms, another pinch of salt, and cook for 6-8 minutes, until the mushrooms have browned and released their liquid.  They should go from looking like this:

To looking like this!

Step 3:
Add the capers and cook for about 30 seconds.  Then add the tbsp. of butter, the half and half, and 2 cups of the parmesan cheese, along with the black pepper.  Turn the heat to medium-high and simmer for 2 minutes until all the cheese has incorporated into the sauce and it has thickened ever so slightly.  It is also somewhere around this step that you want to pre-heat your broiler.

Step 4:
Add the pasta and tomatoes to the skillet and toss (carefully) to combine.  Transfer to a 9x13 baking dish and sprinkle with the remaining cup of parmesan cheese.

Step 5:
Place under the broiler for 4-5 minutes until the top is nice and brown.  Serve immediately!

*Note, while I have never had a problem using a glass pyrex dish under the broiler for a couple minutes, I cannot advocate this action, as pyrex is technically not broiler-safe.  Like I said, I've never had a problem, but there are documented cases of pyrex literally breaking, cracking, or exploding, because of exposure to intense broiler heat.  Don't be a daredevil, and use a broiler-safe casserole dish if you have one!

If you noted the use of capers, red pepper flakes, tomatoes, and mushrooms, and nodded your head knowingly, then you are a genius!  These ingredients, whether for their saltiness, spiciness, acidity, or "meatiness", cut through the sauce and keep it from being too heavy.  This is a very strong parmesan sauce, almost like an Italian mac and cheese.  Serve it up with a glass of wine and a simple salad, and even somebody like me will never miss the prosciutto!

~Lauren