Happy Anniversary Weekend Herb Blogging

a shameless self-promotion . . .

One of our photos from Italy has been entered in a photo contest. Our photo is currently 20 out of 374 photos. You can vote by clicking here.

Remember a 10 is good!

*smile*

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This is my fourth post for the Weekend Herb Blogging event started by Kaylyn of Kaylyn Kitchens.  Each week someone takes on the immense task of 'hosting' the event. This involves gathering up all of the information and putting it all into a enormous post! This week is special because it is the second anniversary of the event. For those who aren't up on the math that is 104 weeks of herb blogging.

For this week's round up we were asked to submit a recipe which combines a vegetable and a herb. Now while it wasn't stated I assume that this means nothing with meat could be submitted. This narrows my selections down considerably! LOL

For my post, I've decided to use one of my favourite recipes of the year, Butternut Squash with Tangerine Sage Glaze. Why have I selected this? Well it combines one of my favourite herbs - sage (which I blogged about last week) and it includes one of my least favourite vegetables - squash. ICK

Mom insisted on having squash for Thanksgiving and when mom insists - good sons comply! So I searched for a recipe which could be made ahead of time and which didn't have lots of sugar and butter like so many baked squash recipes do. Everyone agreed that this was a great choice!

The recipe for Squash with Tangerine Sage Glaze originally appeared in Bon Appetit in November 2004.

8 pounds butternut squash with long necks
1 cup fresh tangerine juice, divided
1/2 cup whipping cream
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter
2 tablespoons grated tangerine peel
Fresh sage leaves (about 30)

Preheat oven to 375°F. Cut neck off each squash. Peel necks and cut crosswise into generous 1/3-inch-thick slices. Overlap slices in 2 large baking dishes. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Spoon 6 tablespoons tangerine juice over squash. Spoon cream over squash; dot with butter. Bake squash until beginning to brown, about 30 minutes. Mix tangerine peel into remaining 10 tablespoons juice; drizzle over squash. Place 1 sage leaf atop each squash round. Bake until squash are very tender and tops are browned in spots, about 30 minutes longer (do not turn squash over at any point). (Can be prepared 4 hours ahead. Let stand at room temperature. Before serving, heat in 375°F oven until warm, about 15 minutes.)

For those of you who don't know much about butternut squash and just can't survive without knowing more  . . . here goes . . . They are easily found in supermarkets just look for a beige colored gourd which is slightly shaped like a vase. The butternut is a more watery squash and tastes somewhat similar to sweet potatoes. It has a bulbous end and pale, creamy skin, with a choice, fine-textured, deep-orange flesh with a sweet, nutty flavor. It weighs from 2 to 5 pounds. The oranger the color, the riper, drier and sweeter the squash.

Comments

[Kalyn]

I didn't get an e-mail from you did I? Anyway, it wasn't received if you sent one, but I saw this in my technorati links so will include it! Thanks for participating.

[Jerry]

Hi Kaylyn - yes I sent one and it didn't bounce back either. GRRR The joys of technology!

Thanks for your help.

[Valli]

I love squash so this is a perfect recipe for me. Squash has a natural sweetness, so, need to cover up it's wonderful flavours with complexity.

[Jerry]

Valli - I agree, I wonder if the reason I don't like so many squash recipes is that they load on the sugar!

[Anna Haight]

This looks wonderfully delicious!

[Jerry]

Anna - it tastes as good as it looks!

[Zoe]

I love butternut squash and the sound of this recipe. However, I don't like tangerines much. What other fruits do you think would work here?

[Jerry]

Zoe - you could use oranges or clementines. It was the combination of citrus, sage, and the dquash that was so powerful!