butternut squash risotto

{life here day 3}

hi there
weeknight dinners are still always such a puzzle for me. the day's always seem to fly by and suddenly it's dinner time.
but last night we gave dinner a little thought ahead of time and decided to try butternut squash risotto.

i'm so glad we did,  it was warming and comforting on a cool night and so delicious.
we added a tossed salad and were good to go.

 here's the recipe i played around with: 

Butternut Squash Risotto from emeril lagasse on the food network

  

you will find easy directions following the link above

and a few notes from me:

don't be afraid to substitute ingredients. i didn't have mushrooms, so i topped it with caramelized onions. i also didn't have the shallots (didn't seem to harm the taste at all.)  the butternut squash puree was an easy way to cook the squash and the touch of honey made it even more tasty.  salt and pepper were the only spices i used or needed.

give it a try,  it wasn't hard to do at all and i think you'll love it.

until tomorrow

sue

ps; i want to hear if you tried it for yourself.

 

 

Strugfoli

The baking of Christmas cookies is a large part of the holidays for my family.  We have certain ones that have been handed down through the generations and are still baked every year.  The recipe's may have changed slightly,  but the feeling and memories are as strong each time.

For as many Christmas's that I  remember, my mother would talk about a cookie she always had as a child. She could not remember it's name, just what it looked and tasted like.  Shaped like a cone or tree, it was bits of fried dough stuck together with honey and sprinkled with bits of candy.  A centerpiece on a plate, everyone would simply break off a piece.

This year I did a little searching to see what I could find.  In "The North End Italian Cookbook" I came across a recipe for Strugfoli.  Sounded just like what I was looking for.  So I gave it try.

Here's the recipe, if you'd like to give it a try.
2 cups peanut oil
2 cups sifted flour
1/4 tsp salt
3 eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup honey
1 tbsp sugar 
1 tbsp multicolored sprinkles
Mix the flour &  salt in a large bowl -make a well in center of flour - Add the eggs, one at a mix slightly after each using a fork or tossing with your fingers. Add the vanilla- mix well to make a soft dough
Turn dough onto lightly floured surface & knead for 5 mins. - Divide dough in half and lightly roll into 1/4" rectangle- cut the dough into 1/4"wide strips - use the palm of your hand to roll the strips to pencil thickness- Cut each strip into pieces about 1/4" long.
Heat oil in deep saucepan to 365 degrees.  Add enough pieces to hot oil so they float uncrowded- Fry 3 to 5 mins until lightly browned, turning often during cooking. - transfer with slotted spoon to paper towels to drain - Finish frying all the pieces.
Meanwhile cook the honey and sugar in a separate pan over low heat for about 5 mins.
Remove from heat and add the deep fried pieces. - Stir to coat all the pieces with the honey sugar mixture
Put the Strugfoli on cookie sheet and put in refrigerator to chill slightly
Transfer to serving platter and arrange in a cone shaped mound -**Note..wet your hands first, this part was tricky**
Sprinkle with multi colored candies 
Chill in the refrigerator to set the shape desired and cool the syrup. Serve by breaking off individual pieces

Maybe kept in a box for up to 2 weeks. 

**My take on it...good not great..but being my first time making it..it definitely could be the cook.
**I thought it could have used more flavor but the kids loved it!

**I've since found a few slightly different versions of this recipe here and here


If you've made this or have another recipe for this dessert I'd love to hear about it. 
I plan on trying to improve on it myself.

Happy Holiday Baking and Don't forget there's still time to enter my holiday giveaway



Sue