Winter Food

October 6, 2011

Winter Food

I’ve been looking forward to fall and winter this year.  I’ve been craving cool, damp, blustery weather.

I love it when the nighttime temperatures start dipping low enough, usually in October, to justify making my favorite warm and filling wintertime meal: stuffed acorn squash.  This year it happened about a week ago, right before I started tech rehearsal for the current show, so I got one last decent meal before my week of 13-hour days started.

Take an acorn squash and use a heavy knife to knock off the stem and cut it in half lengthwise.  Scoop out the seeds.  Turn the halves upside down in a shallow pan with about 1/8-1/4″ water in the bottom.  Roast in the oven at 350° for about 45 minutes; they’re done when tender enough that you can fairly easily stick a fork through the outer skin.

It’s good if it starts to caramelize a little bit around the edges.

While the squash is roasting, slice up an apple and a small onion.  In a skillet, melt butter and sauté one or two links of sweet Italian sausage, crumbled out of its casing.  When the sausage is almost cooked through, add the onions and apples and cook until tender.

Turn the cooked squash halves right side up and shred the flesh inwards with a fork.  Season with salt and pepper.  Fill the hollows to overflowing with the sausage/apple mixture, and spice with cinnamon, nutmeg, or cardamom.

Enjoy, and stay warm.

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