Lemon Ricotta and Butternut Squash Crostini

Fun fact: I don't like the smell of raw butternut squash.  Ripe or not, when I smell raw butternut squash I notice a sour aroma.  But don't fear, the sour smells resolves with cooking. And the taste, oh the taste, when seasoned and sweetened, is warm and comforting.  One of my favoritebutternut squash dishes is the Autumn Squash Soup from Panera Bread.  I have yet to find or make a recipe that compares to Panera Bread's soup so I leave this soup to the Panera professionals.  If you have a great copycat recipe please send it my way.

Fun fact 2: My husband doesn't like butternut squash, but, and this is a big but (and I cannot lie), he loves this appetizer.

He specifically asked me to make it for our Quarantine Easter.  But a global f@cking pandemic prevented us from making this appetizer.  Our family is taking this physical distancing thing seriously.  I've only physically gone into a grocery store once since March 16 and that was because tons of items on my grocery pickup were unavailable, including butternut squash, lemon, and sage, and I wanted to see if the items were really "unavailable" or if the shoppers were just too overwhelmed / lazy / burnout / all of the above(?).  The short version of that story is many items I wanted were available when I went in to the store, but the items I needed to complete this dish were not.  So fast forward to last week when I was finally able to get my hands on lemon, sage, and a beautiful seeded baguette from my local health food store and we were in business.



I first had a variation of this appetizer served at a holiday hosted by my husband's aunt, a phenomenal cook.  We haven't shared Easter or Thanksgiving with that part of his family in a few years now, but this appetizer is still one of my absolute favorites (and clearly my husband's as well).  It is sweet and savory and when assembled is a gorgeous few bites of food.

It is also a great dish to let guests DIY.

Another reason I love this appetizer is the ricotta, butternut squash, and sage may be cooked the day before.  Just make sure you let the elements come to room temperature before serving.

Lemon Ricotta and Butternut Squash Crostini 

Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

• 20 ounces of butternut squash, peeled, seeded, roughly chopped
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (EVOO), divided
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 sourdough baguette, sliced 3/4 inch thick
• 3/4 cup ricotta cheese
• Zest of one lemon
• Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Toss butternut squash with 2 tablespoons EVOO, brown sugar, nutmeg, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper and transfer to parchment paper lined baking sheet.  Roast squash until soft, approximately 30 minutes, tossing butternut squash halfway through.  Once roasted, set squash aside *(see notes below).
2. Meanwhile combine ricotta and lemon zest in small dish.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  Set aside.
3. Heat butter in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Once butter is melted add sage and cook until sage turns dark green and edges start to curl, approximately 2 minutes.  Transfer sage to plate lined with paper towels to absorb excess oil.  Reserve butter in skillet for next step.
4. Once butternut squash has roasted, reduce heat to 350 degrees **.  Dip one side of bread in sage butter.  Transfer bread to baking sheet butter side up.  Toast bread until browned, approximately 10 mins.
5. Layer toasted baguettes with lemon ricotta, butternut squash, and a piece of sage.  

      Or transfer the elements to pretty dishes and let your guests get their DIY on.

Notes:
* Taste before serving and season with additional salt and pepper to taste if needed.  I tend to like things salty, my husband not so much, so I tend to be conservative with the salt (IMHO).
** If you are bougie and have two ovens, use your second oven to toast buttered bread slices while the squash finishes roasting. 

Pork Chops with Apples and Herb Mustard Gravy

Creative recipe name right?  What I wanted to call this recipe was BIG ASS Pork Chops with apples, but what if kids are reading this?  And by kids I mean Master Chef Junior wannabes.  And side note, if you are reading this, and ARE a Master Chef Junior wannabe or former contestant, I am so flattered!

It's apple picking season here in New Jersey.   I look forward to our yearly excursion to pick apples and then reward ourselves with warm apple cider donuts and apple cider.   After all, you do get a ton of steps walking the orchards looking for the apples that make the cut to bring back home.

If you are wondering what happens to the apples that don't make the cut they get thrown.  Carter clearly has a pitching arm.  And apple picking is even more fun now that I have a toddler who loves all things apple picking too.  

Every day Carter used to ask for a "nana" aka banana, but since apple picking this past weekend he wants an apple in the morning and an apple in the evening.  

Considering we bought a gagillion (I'm making gagillion a thing) apples, I oblige his requests.  Plus a little natural fiber can't hurt...  While I love apples too, especially with yogurt dip or cashew butter, I often need a break from eating them in their raw state.  And apples and pork are a tried and true fantastic pair.

Anyone who knows me knows I love pork and sweet and savory combinations are my jam.  My Pork Chops with Apples and Herb Mustard Gravy is both sweet and savory.  This recipe uses apples and apple cider, not apple cider vinegar.  When I hear "apple cider" I automatically think of vinegar so it's important we clarify that now since the two, while fabulous, are not the same.  However, I love apple cider vinegar, and have made this recipe sans apple cider with ingredients most people keep in their cupboard pantry (us small house folk don't have pantries).  If  you don't have apple cider, an alternate sauce base is 2 ounces apple cider vinegar, 2 ounces chicken stock, and 2 teaspoons honey combined.  Feel free to use smaller pork chops and or boneless, but adjust the cooking time accordingly.  While restaurants may tell you that the chef recommends a medium rare pork, I do not like, nor recommend eating pork raw.  Neither does the USDA who make the following recommendation when cooking pork:

Cook all raw pork steaks, chops, and roasts to a minimum internal temperature of 145 °F as measured with a food thermometer before removing meat from the heat source. For safety and quality, allow meat to rest for at least three minutes before carving or consuming. For reasons of personal preference, consumers may choose to cook meat to higher temperatures.  (Link to full article here)

Now on to the recipe.  If you try it, let me know how you like it and leave me some love in the comments below.

Pork Chops with Apples and Herb Mustard Gravy

Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

• 2 bone in pork chops, 1.5-2 inches thick (the thicker the better... am I  right?  You know I am)
• 2 apples, cored and thinly sliced
• 2 tablespoons butter, divided
• 8 tablespoons apple cider, divided
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 1 teaspoon chopped fresh herbs (I like rosemary and thyme)
• 1/4 teaspoon Wondra flour
• Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Preheat  oven to 400 degrees
2. Season pork chops on both sides with salt and pepper
3. Melt 1 tablespoon butter in oven safe pan over medium-high heat.  Cook pork chops for 5 minutes per side or until browned
4. Once pork chops are browned on both sides add 6 tablespoons of apple cider to pan and immediately place in the oven to finish baking for 10-15 minutes or until pork reaches an internal temperature of 145-160 degrees
5. While pork is baking, melt remaining 1 tablespoon of butter in a sauté pan over medium high heat.  Add apples and remaining 2 tablespoons of apple cider and cook moving apples  around in pan for 5-10 minutes until apples are browned and beginning to soften.  Once cooked, remove from heat, and season with salt and pepper to taste
6. Once pork is cooked remove from pan and allow to rest for 3 minutes
7. While pork rests whisk in mustard and herbs into pork pan drippings until combined.  Whisk in Wondra flour for one minute to thicken sauce
8. Serve pork chops over sautéed apples.  Top with pan dripping gravy

I recommend serving the pork chops with sheet pan roasted potatoes and asparagus (recipe to follow so stay tuned).  In the meantime check out my other potato and asparagus recipes:

Roasted Asparagus
Crispy Parmesan Roasted Potatoes

For those of you who didn't notice I will now be providing links to printable versions of my recipes.  Ideally I will  update all my recipes with printable links in the future, but cut a girl some slack while I enjoy the end of my maternity leave with Luke.