Spaghetti Squash with Thai flavors

Ever wonder what to do with spaghetti squash besides use it as a pasta substitute?  Well, this recipe won't help you there, but it is a new take on the usual spaghetti squash with spaghetti sauce.  This time, it's topped with a cheap, easy copy of Pad Thai (go ahead and add scrambled egg if you want; I just didn't have any laying around when I whipped this up).

Pad Thai sauce is totally worth the purchase, by the way, and adds a sweet-sour tang to all kinds of things, even fries.

Spaghetti Squash with Thai flavors

Serves 4

1 tablespoon peanut oil
1 medium spaghetti squash
1 tablespoon minced ginger
1 red bell pepper, cut into bite-size pieces
2 cups chopped red cabbage
1 small yellow onion, thinly sliced
1 large carrot, cut into thin rounds
1 small bunch broccoli, cut into bite-size pieces
1 bunch cilantro, chopped
3 tablespoons Pad Thai sauce
1 tablespoon Sriracha
1 tablespoon rice vinegar

Garnishes for serving:
4 scallions, thinly sliced (white and green parts)
1 tablespoons diced cucumber
2 tablespoons chopped peanuts
Lime wedges

Split spaghetti squash in half lengthwise.  Place cut sides down in a shallow pan of water, cover the pan in foil, and bake in the oven at 425°F (no need to preheat) until soft, about 20 minutes.

Steam broccoli and carrot slices until crisp-tender.

In a large pan, heat the oil over medium.  Sauté the onion until soft, about 8 minutes.  Add the red pepper, ginger, and cabbage and cook, stirring occasionally, until all vegetables are soft., about 10 minutes.  Stir in the steamed broccoli and carrots, cilantro, Pad Thai sauce, Sriracha, and rice vinegar.  Lower heat to low and cover, allowing flavors to incorporate (about 5 minutes, or however long it takes for the squash to finish).

To assemble, scrape the cooked spaghetti squash into a serving dish and season with salt and black pepper to taste.  Pour vegetables on top and garnish individual dishes with scallions, cucumber, peanuts, and lime to taste.

Make it at Home: Chicken Osso Buco

Osso Buco is traditionally a dish made with veal shanks and dribbling with marrow, but I like the lighter version made with chicken.  It's a great way to use cheaper dark meat and keep it super tender, and osso buco, after all, is country Italian food, so I think this is a respectable way to honor the most likely purpose of the dish (namely, feeding people on the cheap).

Altitude Chophouse in Laramie, WY has a great chicken osso buco, and so does Trapper's in Parker, CO. But this is an easy dish to set up and allow to stew at home, and it makes great leftovers, so it's crazy to not just do it yourself.  Here's my version.

Chicken Osso Buco

Serves 8

8 medium (about 2 1/2 pounds) chicken thighs
2 tablespoon(s) canola oil
Salt
1/2 bag(s) (8 ounces) carrots
1 large onion
1 large celery stalk
1 can(s) (4 1/2- to 16-ounce) Italian-style stewed tomatoes
Chopped parsley and grated lemon peel, for garnish

Remove skin and fat from chicken thighs. In 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat, heat canola oil and cook chicken thighs and 1 teaspoon salt until chicken is golden on all sides. Remove to plate. Meanwhile, dice carrots, onion, and celery.

Using the chicken drippings remaining in skillet, cook carrots, onion, and celery over medium heat until lightly browned. Return chicken to skillet; stir in stewed tomatoes. Over high heat, heat to boiling. Reduce heat to low; cover and simmer 25 minutes or until chicken is fork-tender and juices run clear when chicken is pierced with a knife. Sprinkle with chopped parsley and grated lemon peel.

Serve with cooked pasta or rice.

Pasta with earthy, autumnal flavors

This quick meal is pure fall to me, particularly because of the sage, I suppose.  If you can't find decent-looking asparagus (it sometimes gives an encore presentation in the fall), use whatever green vegetable you like: broccoli, Brussels Sprouts, or even frozen peas would be good here.

There are multiple bitter elements in this dish (walnuts, radicchio, gorgonzola), so the lemon juice and honey are meant to balance that.  If it still seems too bitter to you, you could cut down on (or eliminate) one of the bitter components, add more honey to taste, or add a spicy element, like crushed red pepper flakes.

Farfalle with Radicchio and Asparagus

Serves 4

2 teaspoons olive oil
1 small head radicchio, sliced
1 small yellow onion, peeled and thinly sliced
6 sage leaves, chiffonaded
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 bunch asparagus, cut into ½-inch pieces
¼ cup walnuts, roughly chopped
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 cups farfalle or other medium pasta shape
1/8 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
2 tablespoons crumbled gorgonzola
1 tablespoon honey
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Bring a medium pot of well-salted water to boil.  Cook pasta according to package directions.

Steam the asparagus pieces until bright green.  If you have a steamer insert, this can be done directly over the pasta water; check to make sure they don’t get mushy.

Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large pan over medium heat.  Sauté the onion until soft and fragrant, about 8 minutes.  Lower to heat to medium low and add the radicchio, garlic, and walnuts, stirring occasionally, until garlic becomes fragrant, about 2 minutes.  Stir in the steamed asparagus, sage leaves, and lemon juice and season with salt and pepper to taste.

When the pasta is done, drain and add to vegetables.  Add honey and cheeses and stir well to thoroughly coat.  Taste for seasoning, add more salt and pepper if necessary, and serve.

Make it at Home: Lentil Loaf

I appreciate a great restaurant, but I'm cheap and like eating in my pajamas, so I always want to steal my favorite recipes and make them at home. This Grinch-like spirit has inspired a series of "Make it at Home" posts, starting with this one, in which I attempt to copy some of my favorite restaurant dishes so that I won't have to change into respectable clothes.

A good lentil loaf used to be hard to find, but vegetarian cafes like Chicago Diner and Sweet Melissa's in Laramie, WY have figured it out. This is a simple, lightened up version of the old 1970s brick that turned so many of us off of vegetarian eating in the first place, and it's just as homey and comforting as a greasy meatloaf made with low-grade meat and filler, without having to ingest cartilage.


Hearty Lentil Loaf

Serves 6

● 1 1/2 cups lentils
● 3 1/2 cups vegetable broth or water
● 2 onions, diced
● 2 cloves garlic, minced
● 3 tablespoons olive oil
● 2 cups cooked rice (I like jasmine)
● 1 teaspoon salt
● 1/4 cup barbecue sauce or ketchup
● 1/2 teaspoon sage
● 1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.  In a large soup or stock pot, simmer the lentils in water or vegetable broth until cooked, about 30 minutes. Drain thoroughly then mash the lentils until they are half mashed.

Saute the onions and garlic in olive oil for 3 to 5 minutes, or until soft. Combine the onions, garlic and olive oil with the mashed lentils and add the rice, salt, ketchup or barbecue sauce, sage, and Italian seasoning.

Gently press the mixture into a lightly greased loaf pan. Drizzle a bit of extra ketchup on top if desired.  Bake for 1 hour. Allow to cool 5 minutes before serving.

Goes great with horseradish mashed potatoes (just mash some potatoes with garlic, olive oil, and horseradish.).