Butternut Squash Canneloni with Sage Cream

I have made this dish 3 times, and every time I like it even more! I initially made this for my "vegetarian Thanksgiving" dinner I hosted on the fourth Wednesday of the month. Since then, I have perfected the recipe to be a perfect combination of sweet and savory. To top it off, it is a vegetarian-friendly recipe!

3 1/2 pounds butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cut into 1-inch pieces
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
1 pound whole-milk ricotta cheese
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 large egg yolks
1/2 pound fresh mozzarella cheese, coarsely grated (2 cups)
nutmeg
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/3 cup loosely packed vegetable stock (it also works with chicken stock, but I specifically made this dish veggie-friendly)
1 package of cannelloni noodles, prepared according to box directions
4 ounces finely grated Parmesan cheese (1 1/4 cups)

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Toss squash, oil, and 1 teaspoon salt on a baking sheet. Season with pepper. Bake until light gold and tender, about 30 minutes. Let cool.

Reduce oven temperature to 375 degrees. Combine ricotta, cream, yolks, mozzarella, and a pinch of nutmeg in a medium bowl. Season with salt. 

Melt butter in a small saute pan over medium-high heat. As soon as it starts to sizzle, add sage, and cook until light gold and slightly crisp at edges, 3 to 4 minutes. 

Place squash in a medium bowl, and mash 2/3 of it with the back of a wooden spoon, leaving the other 1/3 in whole pieces. Gently stir in sage-butter mixture and stock. Season with salt and pepper. (This alone was delicious!) Stir in about 1 cup of the chopped mozzarella to the butternut squash mixture, distributing evenly.

Gently spoon the butternut squash and sage mixture into each of the cannelloni noodles. Do this carefully, as the noodles have the tendency to rip if you are too aggressive. Gently place each of the noodles into a casserole dish.

Spread the ricotta mixture evenly over and around the noodles. Top with the remaining mozzarella, and sprinkle with parmesan.
Place baking dish on a rimmed baking sheet, and bake until cheese is golden and bubbling, 30 to 35 minutes. Let stand for 15 minutes before slicing and serving.

NOTE: I originally made this recipe as lasagna, which worked out well. For whatever reason, I have never been keen on lasagna. Even though noodles are noodles to some extent, I loved this version even more!

Guinness Lamb Stew

This was a great recipe to start out the New Year! It also set the bar incredibly high, because this was scrumptious! It created the ultimate winter dish: it had tender meat, delicious root vegetables, and of course Guinness. Enjoyed on a Sunday evening, it certainly satisfied our cravings for a hearty stew. The one downside to the dish is that it takes about 3 hours to make. What makes up for the lengthy time is the fact that once you pop everything into the Dutch oven, you can basically ignore it. I hope that you enjoy this dish as much as I did!

8  teaspoons  olive oil, divided
2  cups  chopped onion
1/4  teaspoon  dried thyme
1 1/2  teaspoons  chopped fresh rosemary
3  tablespoons  all-purpose flour
2 1/2  pounds  boneless leg of lamb, trimmed and cut into 1-inch cubes
1  teaspoon  salt, divided
3/4  teaspoon  freshly ground black pepper, divided
2  cups  Guinness Stout
1  tablespoon  tomato paste
3  cups  fat-free, lower-sodium beef broth
1  bay leaf
2  cups potato, peeled and cubed
2  cups carrot, peeled and sliced diagonally into 1/2" pieces
1 medium turnip, peeled and cubed

Heat a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add 2 teaspoons oil to pan.  Add onion, thyme, and rosemary; sauté for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Place onion mixture in a large bowl.

Place flour in a shallow dish. Sprinkle lamb evenly with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Dredge lamb in flour, and shake off excess.

Return pan to medium-high heat. Add 1 tablespoon oil to pan. Add half of the lamb mixture to the pan and sauté for 6 minutes. Make sure to turn occasionally so that the lamb browns on all sides.

Add browned lamb to onion mixture. Repeat the procedure with remaining lamb and remaining 1 tablespoon oil.

Add beer to pan; bring to a boil, scraping pan to loosen browned bits. Cook until reduced to 1 cup (about 5 minutes). Return onion mixture and lamb to pan. Stir in the tomato paste and cook for 30 seconds. Add broth and bay leaf, then bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer for 1 hour and 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Uncover and stir in potato, carrot, and turnips. Simmer, uncovered, for 1 1/2 hours or until meat and vegetables are tender. Stir in remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt and the remaining 1/4 teaspoon pepper.

Riesling Poached Pears

This was an elegant dessert that was surprisingly easy to make! Except for the frequent basting, it is also relatively hands-off so it is a great thing to pop in the oven during dinner. It also made the apartment smell terrific! The combination of the cinnamon, honey and bay leaves created a wonderful aroma, perfect for the winter months.

4 ripe pears, with stems, washed and dried
2 cups Riesling
1/4 cup honey
4 cinnamon sticks
4 bay leaves
4 strips orange zest

 Preheat oven to 400°F.

Cut a thin slice off of the bottom of each pear, so they will stand upright. Arrange the pears in a 9- to 10-inch pie dish. Whisk wine and honey in a medium bowl until well blended and pour over the pears. Add cinnamon sticks, bay leaves and orange zest around the pears.

Roast the pears, basting every 15 minutes, until they are wrinkled and tender, about 45 minutes to 1 hour, depending on the type of pear used. It is a good idea to check the pears more frequently as the end of cooking time approaches. I know that I ended up roasting them for over an hour to ensure that they were tender.

Use a slotted spoon to transfer the pears to shallow bowls. Pour the wine mixture into a small saucepan; bring to a boil. Boil until slightly thickened, about 5 minutes. Drizzle over the pears and garnish with the cinnamon sticks, bay leaves and orange zest. Serve warm, at room temperature or chilled.