Butternut Squash and Mushroom in Puff Pastry

Last year when I was in school and had a large, beautiful kitchen, I fell into the habit of making the New York Times' Dining Section recipe each Friday when I got out of class and had the time to challenge myself in the kitchen.

One of the best recipes I ever made was from the November 5, 2010 edition of the Times--a butternut squash and mushroom wellington. It was an ideal fall recipe: warm, mellow, rich, and delicious. Today, to celebrate the first day of Fall, I decided to give the recipe a reprise, with the added pleasure of using my own squash (for those of you who are keeping track, I have used 3 squash and given 1 away; 8 remain, so stay tuned for more squash recipes!).

The recipe takes fragrant cremini mushrooms and pairs them with butternut squash that is cooked in butter and caramelized with maple syrup. Shallots, thyme, white wine, and goat cheese make these pastries to die for.

The Recipe:

4 tablespoons butter
1 small butternut squash (1 1/4 pounds), peeled, seeded and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1 teaspoon maple syrup
1/2 teaspoon thyme
1/8 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 large shallot, finely chopped
3/4 pound cremini mushrooms, trimmed and roughly chopped
1/3 cup dry white wine
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 (14-to-16-ounce) package puff pastry
1 cup crumbled goat cheese

1. Heat the oven to 400 degrees and line a large baking sheet with parchment or tin foil.

2. In a very large skillet over high heat, melt 2 tablespoons butter. Add the squash in a single layer and cook, undisturbed, for 4 minutes. (If squash won’t fit in a single layer, cook it in batches). Stir and continue to cook until squash is golden, 7 to 10 minutes more. Stir in the syrup, thyme, paprika and 1/4 teaspoon salt; cook one minute. Scrape mixture into a bowl.

3. Turn the heat down to medium and melt the remaining butter in the skillet. Stir in garlic and shallot; cook 1 to 2 minutes. Add the mushrooms and remaining salt. Cook until mushrooms are soft and their juices evaporate, about 10 minutes. Stir in the wine and cook for another few minutes before stirring in the pepper and additional salt.

4. On a lightly floured surface, unwrap the puff pastry. Cut into 2 5-by-15-inch rectangles. When you've done this, move your pastry sheets to the baking sheet to avoid the disaster of transferring them when they are filled with ingredients (which I totally did not do). Spread mushrooms on each pastry rectangle leaving a 1 inch border (the original recipe suggests leaving a 1/4-inch border, but I highly recommend a bigger border so you have more room for wrapping the pastry closed). Spoon the cheese crumbles over the mushrooms, and spoon the squash over the cheese.

5. Brush the exposed borders of dough on each rectangle with a little water or egg white. Fold the long sides up to meet in the middle and pinch together to seal; pinch the ends, too. Carefully turn the pastries over so that they are seam down (otherwise, they will open and explode when you are baking them--not good). Bake until they are puffed golden, and firm to the touch, about 30 minutes. Let cool for 10 minutes, slice and serve.

These are not too difficult, aside from the puff pastry which can be tricksy. Just treat it delicately, and be careful not to break or tug it too much and you should be fine.

Check out the original recipe on the NYT website!: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/10/dining/10apperex.html

Photos courtesy of the New York Times.

Two Words : Strawberry Cheesecake

My boyfriend Alex's birthday was fast approaching, and I had no idea what to make him. Last year, I had truly outdone myself with a ridiculous chocolate cake from Epicurious--the Mile High Chocolate Cake, which comprises four layers of chocolate glued together with butter and more chocolate. This year, I wanted to do something different, but I wasn't sure what. I flipped through the photos of to-die-for cakes on the Food section of Pinterest trying to find something. Finally, I stumbled upon a photo of a chocolate cake that eventually led me to another cake entirely--Martha Stewart's Strawberries and Cream Cheesecake.

I love strawberries. I love cheesecake. What deranged person doesn't? (Well, I know some people but we won't talk about them). Alex, being an intelligent human being, also loves strawberries and cheesecake, especially when they are combined.

The cake was pretty labour-intensive and must have used every pan / bowl in my broom-closet-sized kitchen, but hot damn, it was good.

I've made cheesecakes before, but they were always too dry and not as delicious and when I had gotten them from New York landmarks such as Junior's or Zaro's. The trick with this cheesecake was the way in which it was baked. When I first read the instructions, I had one of those, "Wait...what...?" moments. I read the steps about 3 times, feeling my blonde hair absorbing all my intelligence, until I realized that while it sounded terrifying, the step was probably not so bad in practice. Martha instructs that you wrap a springform pan in 2 layers of tin foil, place it in a roasting pan, and fill the roasting pan with boiling water until it reaches half way up the springform (O_O). But, once you do it, it's not too hard. My kitchen was not equipped with a baking pan large enough to accommodate my springform, so I did it gangsta style: in a cast iron frying pan.

The cake was per-fect. In every way. The strawberry layer was superb, the mascarpone cheese made it taste like a real, authentic, restaurant-quality cheesecake. My boyfriend's eyes rolled back with delight, his new roommates realized I was worth keeping around, his sister, with whom I have a gentle baking competition, admitted defeat and I got a piece of cheesecake.


The Recipe:

Ingredients:

1 pound strawberries, hulled
3 tablespoons light corn syrup (*alternative: I substituted honey for corn syrup and it was delicious!*)
1 cup finely ground graham crackers (about 4 sheets)
1 cup plus 3 tablespoons sugar
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 pound plus 13 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs, room temperature
1 vanilla bean, seeds scraped and reserved (you can also use 3 tsps of vanilla extract if you cannot find / afford vanilla bean)
8 1/4 ounces mascarpone cheese, room temperature

Steps:

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Place strawberries in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet. Drizzle with corn syrup, and toss gently to coat. Bake until syrup thickens and strawberries turn deep red and shrink slightly, about 1 hour 30 minutes. Transfer strawberries and syrup to a medium bowl, and mash with a potato masher. Let cool completely.

Raise oven temperature to 350 degrees. Stir together graham cracker crumbs, 3 tablespoons sugar, and the melted butter in a small bowl. Press mixture into the bottom of a 9-inch springform pan to make an even layer. Bake until crust is firm to the touch and has just darkened, about 10 minutes. Transfer pan to a wire rack, and let crust cool completely.

Reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees. Put cream cheese into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment; mix on medium-low speed until creamy, about 2 minutes. Scrape down sides of bowl, then gradually add remaining cup sugar and the salt. Scrape down sides of bowl; add eggs, 1 at a time, mixing well after each addition. Scrape down sides of bowl, and mix in vanilla bean seeds and mascarpone until very creamy and no lumps remain, about 3 minutes. (Reserve vanilla bean for another use.)

Transfer 5 cups cream cheese mixture to bowl with mashed strawberries; stir to combine. Pour strawberry-cream cheese mixture on top of crust; smooth with an offset spatula. Carefully spoon dollops of plain cream cheese mixture on top, smoothing with an offset spatula.

Wrap the exterior of the springform pan in 2 layers of foil; set in a large roasting pan. Fill roasting pan with boiling water until water reaches halfway up the sides of the springform pan. Bake cheesecake until set, about 1 hour to 1 hour 10 minutes. Remove springform pan from water bath, and transfer to a wire rack to cool. Refrigerate until cold, at least 4 hours (up to overnight).

Voila!


Recipe courtesy of Martha Stewart Online: http://www.marthastewart.com/340256/strawberries-and-cream-cheesecake