Acorn Squash?

[KimKelly]

I just joined a local CSA and am so excited! I've received so many things that I use every week, but also a few that I really don't know what to do with .

Acorn Squash for example... I've done a search and come up with some pretty fancy recipes. i'm looking for something really simple. Someone referenced a "favorite" standby of butter and cinnamon. This sounds really appealing, but I'm not sure how to cook it? I read in a number of recipe that the squash should be sitting in water... is this cut side up or down? I can't imagine that it would be down if we put on the butter and cinnamon, but why the water at all?
And would something like this work for Butternut squash as well? We have a really beautiful one!

And how about persimmons? I've never had one and am a little afraid of trying it! Do I peal it? Eat the skin? I've heard different thoughts on that...

Thanks for any tips!!!

Kim

[RenaH]

When I was a little girl and my mom had a huge garden, she grew acorn squash. She would halve them, clean them up a bit, then put butter and brown sugar inside. She would top them with mini-marshmallows and bake until tender. It's a very low-brow preparation, but no recipe required, and we all loved it.

You're on your own with persimmon...Mom never grew that!

Rena

[irishspy]

I saw the following made yesterday on Robin Miller's "Quick Fix Meals." It looked pretty straightforward to fix:

Stuffed Acorn Squash (http://tinyurl.com/8eqmb) .

Hope this helps!

[ADM]

Re: "the squash should be sitting in water... is this cut side up or down? I can't imagine that it would be down if we put on the butter and cinnamon, but why the water at all?"

Cut squash in half, place, cut-side down, in a pan with a little water added (to prevent burning and to keep the squash moister). Bake 350 degrees, 30-45 minutes, OR, until it tests tender when pierced with a fork. Serve with butter, and salt and pepper, to taste.

You can make tiny sausage meatballs, bake 350 degrees, 30 minutes. Drain well, Serve in hollows of the squash. Add a Fried Apple sidedish! That menu screams, "FALL" at me!

(Plan to use a heavy knife to cut the squash in half!)

[Grace]

ADM's way is one way to cook an acorn squash, but my Mom always sort of more "roasted" ours as opposed to steaming it.

She cooked it kind of like Rena's Mom did - cut side up, butter dotted in the center, and then covered in foil and baked. Once it was done, she would mash up the inside with a fork (while still in the skin) and mix in brown sugar and cinnamon. She served it straight from the skin, although you could scoop out the flesh into a bowl and mash/mix it there if you wanted (I do that sometimes because the skin is soft and "wobbly" after cooking).

[ADM]

There is more than one way to do everything and none should be discounted.

When I was a kid I would have voted (even insisted) on the brown sugar, cinnamon and marshmallow recipes! It was years before I realized that sweet potatoes were good, even if they weren't candied. I have made the recipes, you mention. Now that I am cooking lighter, I have come to realize they add unnecessary calories and sometimes mask the natural vegetable taste.

What I am really trying to say - "If any recipe means comfort food to you, "Go for it!"

[Clover]

What kind of persimmon do you have? If it's the Fuyu, the sort of flattish one, you can eat it while it's firm, including the skin. They're good in salads. If it's the Hachiya, the acorn-shaped one that is pointed at one end, you have to wait until it's very soft, which takes quite a while if it's firm now. Then just cut it in half and eat it with a spoon. Don't eat the skin. Or--scoop the flesh into a bowl and add some cream. Yummm. So good.

[PattiA]

Here's my new favorite acorn squash recipe. It is simple to make and tastes wonderful. A wonderful fall recipe.

Instead of pan cooking the sausages, I usually put them on a broiler pan and bake them for 20 minutes when the squash is baking. I slice the cooked sausages in half lengthwise, then slice them into 1/4 inch slices. Much easier than removing the sausages from the casing.

I use sweet italian chicken sausage. It is well worth making the full recipe because this freezes well. I either vacuum seal each squash half in a quart bag or wrap each squash half in foil then put the foil packages in a freezer bag.


* Exported from MasterCook *

Acorn Squash Stuffed with Sausage and Pears

Recipe By :
Serving Size : 8 Preparation Time :0:00
Categories :

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
-------- ------------ --------------------------------
4 medium acorn squash
16 ounces chicken sausage
1 onion -- chopped
4 cloves garlic -- minced
3 cups chopped pears
1 1/2 cups part-skim ricotta cheese
2 tablespoons fresh parsley
1 /2 cup panko -- or soft bread crumbs
2 tablespoons parmesan cheese -- `

Preheat oven to 350.

Cut each squash in half crosswise and remove seeds. Cut a small slice off each squash bottom to help the squash stand upright. Place squash, cut side down, in a baking dish. Bake, uncovered, for 45 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a large skillet, cook sausage, onion, and garlic until sausage is no longer pink and onion is tender. Remove from heat, drain off any fat. Stir in ricotta, pears, and parsley.

Turn squash cut side up on the baking dish. Season with salt and pepper. Spoon sausage mixture into the baked squash, mounding the mixture as necessary. Bake, uncovered, about 20 minutes or until squash is tender.

Stir together bread crumbs and parmesan cheese. Sprinkle over filling. Broil for 3-5 minutes or until crumbs are toasted.

Description:
"Roasted acorn squash stuffed with a savory sausage filling."
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

[ADM]

Re: "It is simple to make and tastes wonderful."
PattiA, Thanks for posting the recipe. It looks simple, and sounds wonderful!

[jhoulihan]

I just had acorn squash for dinner tonight... yum! Anyway, I also roast my acorn squash. I cut it in half, scrape out the seeds and gunk, and roast it in the oven for about an hour or so. The temperature really depends on what else I am cooking :) Tonight was roasted chicken, so it was in the oven at 375 for an hour.

I really like to put a little butter, brown sugar and maple syrup in the cavity and roast it like that. Then when it is soft, just scrape it out into a bowl and kind of mash it up.

Enjoy :)

[Judy K.]

I'm with jhoulihan on this. The best acorn squash I've cooked recently was cut in half, seeds scraped out, put cut side down into a pan sprayed with nonstick cooking spray and baked in the oven with whatever else I was cooking. I think the temperature that night was about 425. The cooked squash had a shiny dark green skin and the cut side was pleasantly brown. The flesh was very soft and sweet. I spread a very small amount of butter on mine. DH put more butter. That's the beauty of this plain squash. You can sprinkle whatever you want on it after it is cooked.

[erin elizabeth]

The October 2005 issue of Everyday Food had a whole section on acorn squash. Maybe your library has it?

We do our brown sugar/butter squash in a 9x13 (or whatever kind of pan will fit your squash securely) filled with water, then cover all with foil to sort of steam roast them.

I find with all types of winter squash, high heat and a little oo, salt, and pepper does the job. You can cut the acorn squash into rings or half rings, throw it on a baking sheet, drizzle on oo and sprinkle on salt and pepper, and roast at 400/450.

Here's one of the recipes that intrigued me from EF 10/05 because it is savory:

Preheat oven to 400. Cut two squash in half and clean out seeds. Brush all cut sides of squash with 2 tbsp oo. Season generously with salt and pepper. Place halves, cut side down on baking sheet and bake until almost tender--about 30 min. Flip over and sprinkle on 1/4 c finely grated Parmesan. Return to oven and continue baking until tender and browned, about 15 minutes.

[skupe123]

I stuff mine with apples. nuts and raisins or even with chili. They are both delicious.

[skupe123]

I love persimmons and think it's wasteful to cook them. I just like munching on them for snacks. They are pretty high in fiber.

Suz

[dorothyntototoo]

I fix acorn squash in the microwave. Cut in half & scoop out seeds. Put cut side up in microvable casserole. Lightly salt. Put brown sugar & butter inside - cinnamon optional. Cover with lid or waxed paper. Microwave on high setting about 8 minutes, testing for doneness. When finished tastes like sweet potatoes.

Dorothy

[dorothyntototoo]

I fix acorn squash in the microwave. Cut in half & scoop out seeds. Put cut side up in microwavable casserole. Lightly salt. Put brown sugar & butter inside - cinnamon optional. Cover with lid or waxed paper. Microwave on high setting about 8 minutes, testing for doneness. When finished tastes like sweet potatoes.

Dorothy

[dorothyntototoo]

Here's another acorn squash recipe to try:

Cranberry Apple Acorn Squash

Ingredients:

2 medium acorn squash
Olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
1 cup Fresh or Frozen Cranberries, chopped
1 cup 1/4-inch cubes apple
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
3 tablespoons melted butter
1/2 teaspoon grated orange peel

Directions:

Conventional oven:
Preheat oven to 350ºF. Cut squash into quarters; remove seeds. Place squash, cut side up in a greased baking pan. Lightly brush each wedge with olive oil; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes.

In a medium bowl, mix together remaining ingredients. Spoon cranberry-apple mixture into squash, dividing evenly among wedges. Return to oven and bake, covered, an additional 15-20 minutes or until apples and squash are tender.

Variation for Microwave oven:
Cut squash into quarters; remove seeds. Place cut side up in microwaveable dish. Lightly brush with oil; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Spoon cranberry mixture into squash. Cover with microwave-safe plastic wrap. Cook on HIGH for 10-15 minutes or until squash is tender. Let stand for 5 minutes.*

*For smaller microwave ovens, cook 4 squash quarters at a time for 8 to 10 minutes. Repeat with remaining squash.

Makes 4 servings.

[Connor's mom]

PattiA - THANK YOU for this one!

I made this tonite using TJ's garlic chicken sausage and fat free cottage cheese in lieu of ricotta (because it was all that I had). It was out of this world, EASY, and terrific flavors. It has to be light and low carb if that matters to you. Will definitely be a repeater.

Would highly recommend

[surfer376]

ACORN SQUASH & APPLE SOUP

Recipe By: Kitchen Basics Inc.
Serving Size: 8
Preparation Time: 1:15
Categories:

Amount Measure Ingredient Preparation Method
2 medium acorn squash seeded & halved
1 quart Kitchen Basics Chicken Stock
3 each green apples peeled and diced
2/3 cup chopped onion
1 1/3 cups apple cider
1 tablespoon fresh ginger root peeled & grated
1 1/3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
White pepper to taste
Yogurt or sour cream & chives (garnish)

Bake squash about 45 minutes at 350°. Allow to cool; cut in half, remove seeds and core. Combine stock, apples and onion in stockpot or dutch oven. Cover and cook over low heat for 10 minutes. Add squash pulp, apple cider, lemon juice and ginger. Cover and simmer until ingredients are very tender, about 20 minutes.

Season with pepper if desired. Puree soup in batches in blender or processor. Ladle into bowls. Garnish with yogurt or sour cream and chives.

Back to Kitchen Basics

http://www.kitchenbasics.net/pages/recipes/acornSquashSoup.html