I paired this meal with my Tilapia en Papillote of which I am an endless fan. If you select the link you'll see I blogged about it using sole before but this time substituted Tilapia. Either fish works very well.
Time: 90 minutes
Difficulty: Easy
Brown Sugar-Maple-Acorn Squash
How can you resist them with that mouth-watering picture that is just wheeling you in with its delicious sugary goodness? This squash comes out so sweet and tender that you can scoop it like a puree and will continue to devour it until you are left with only skin.
Ingredients:
1 acorn squash
1 tsp butter
3 tbsp brown sugar
3 tbsp maple syrup
Get your oven preheating to 400 degrees. In the meantime find a sharp, long knife and slice the acorn squash down the middle so it will be in two halves. The squash is very hard to cut so make sure your knife is strong and you do not cut yourself (or break the blade) while slicing through the thick vegetable.
Use a spoon to scoop out the seeds and mushy stuff in each half of squash. When that is done use the knife to make a number of small cuts on the inside of the squash - this will allow the syrup mixture to seep in more easily.
Grease a glass baking dish and place the squash halves in it, skin sides down. Pour several tablespoons of water into the pan around the squash. This will keep the skin from burning and sticking or getting too dried out.
Put 1/2 tsp of butter into each half. Add 1.5 Tbsp of brown sugar to each half. Add 1.5 Tbsp of maple syrup to each one. To be honest I probably added more like 2 Tbsp to each since I love maple syrup (and brown sugar) but 1.5 will be plenty and cut down a little more on the calories. Mix the mixture in the squash lightly for a few seconds with a spoon.
Place the dish in the oven and cook for 1 hr 15 min - 1 hr 20 min. When it comes out the squash should be very tender. When you eat it just use a spoon and scopp the pulp directly out, leaving the skin as a bowl at the end.
Crisp Smashed Potato Cakes
Time: 1 hr
...and now it's time for potatoes! Have you been eagerly awaiting their arrival? I mean, who doesn't eagerly await the arrival of anything that combines potato, cheese, and crispiness?
Ingredients:
2 lbs potatoes
1 tbsp butter
2/3 cup 1% milk
1 tsp olive oil
1 cup chopped green onions
1/3 cup shredded cheese
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 cup panko
(note: this recipe is based upon one from Cooking Light)
Wash your potatoes and cut them into 1 inch pieces. I prefer to leave the skin on but you can remove it if you prefer. Place them in a pot of water and bring to a boil, then turn the heat down a bit and simmer for 15 minutes or until the potatoes are quite tender. Drain the potatoes and return them to the pot on the stove. Add the butter and milk. Stir well until you have nicely smashed potatoes.
Now, get your oven preheating to 425.
While your potatoes are simmering you can start on the other pieces of the recipe. Heat the olive oil in a pan over medium high heat. Add the diced green onions. Stir frequently to avoid burning and cook for about 5 minutes or until they are getting browned and wilted. Remove them from the heat.
Put the smashed potatoes in a bowl when they are slightly cooler than when they first come off the stove. Add the sauteed green onions, cheese, salt, and pepper. I used shredded cheddar cheese but feel free to substitute whatever is in your house or whatever your favorite cheese is. I think that mozzarella, asiago, monterey jack, etc would all work very well here. Stir well until the mixture is blended.
Pour the panko into a shallow plate or dish of some sort. Form the potato mixture into patties and dredge them in the panko, making sure to coat both sides well. This will give an extra crisp to the cakes when they are cooked. Place the cakes on a greased cookie sheet.
Bake for 12 minutes, flip the patties (carefully) and then bake for another 12 minutes. They should be crispy and golden when done.
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