Butternut Squash Ravioli with Sage Butter Sauce

With the crazy influx of squash on hand, I decided I needed to find some new squash recipes to try out. I happened to recall a really bad date I had been on a few months before I met Mark. I had been set up by an acquaintance with this guy, but while my initial impression was that he seemed nice, it didn't take long before things went downhill, and fast!

In fact, the ONLY part of the night I have even remotely fond memories of was what I ordered when he took me to The Green Mill in Sioux Falls: Butternut Squash Ravioli with Asparagus.

I decided that I just HAD to try to replicate this incredible creation on my own, so I started looking for recipes. However, apparently I didn't look hard enough, because what I settled on tasted absolutely NOTHING like the delicacy that I experienced at The Green Mill. But like I said in my initial blog entry - I'm not just going to share with you my successes, but also my failures. I will admit - we had about 4 ravioli each, then threw the rest out. And I seldom, if EVER throw food away. It was that bad :(

But I digress...here was the process:

I found the recipe on AllRecipes.com, which I've tended to have pretty good luck with. I read a few of the reviews, decided that if so many people LOVE it, it must be awesome, right? WRONG! About the only thing this recipe got "right" was that it really was "easy"...well, easy, considering I had already prepped and baked the squash.

The Recipe:

The filling:
* 1 large butternut squash - halved lengthwise, peeled and seeded
* 2 tsp butter
* salt and ground black pepper to taste
* 1/2 tsp allspice
* 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
* 2 tsp ground cinnamon
* 1/2 C Parmesan cheese

* 50 wonton wrappers
* 1 tsp egg white, lightly beaten
Sauce:
* 1/4 C unsalted butter
* 1/4 C chopped fresh sage leaves
* salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

I started by blending in all the filling ingredients (after heating up my squash in the microwave for a couple minutes), and it looked like this:


Living in such a small town, I didn't have the option to be picky about these wonton wrappers (they only had one kind), so I went with these:

I laid out the wonton wrappers on a piece of wax paper (to make clean-up easy). I brushed them around the edges with egg whites with my new pastry brush, then added about 1 Tbsp of the filling in the middle.

I then added another wonton wrapper on top to close them up, and set them aside to get ready to cook.

While I was prepping the ravioli, I got a large pot of water boiling on the stove.

Then, I dropped the ravioli in to boil for 3-5 minutes, just like the recipe said.

Unfortunately, also living in a small town, they didn't have any fresh sage even for sale at our grocery store, so I thought I'd just try melting some butter with ground sage. I'm positive this was a horrible move, but in my opinion, the sauce shouldn't have to "make" the meal - the ravioli themselves should have been fine without needing a sauce to make them awesome.

The finished product ( which tasted as bad as it looks):

The Review:

I wouldn't say the flavor was ridiculous, it was just so....starchy, and without a delicious flavor, it was just like this thick, pasty mess coated in butter.

I won't entirely write off squash ravioli, since I KNOW that there must be recipes to try. But for now, I'm looking forward to trying some new squash recipes - like soups and pancakes!

Lions and Tigers and...Squash???

The Dilemma:

After Mark and I made it back from Ireland, we were SO excited to make a trip down to Iowa for the weekend to visit our two new little additions to the family - my nephew Reign, and niece Kaleigh! (Yep - they're adorable!)


While I was inside at the farm visiting with my sister and Mom, Mark headed outside to check out "the Great Pumpkin", and ended up striking a deal with my Uncle Kenny to take some butternut squash off his hands. I was pretty happy, thinking he might pick up a couple squash to take home with us. I obviously underestimated my husband: He picked up NINE decent-sized squash!!



Of course, we're REALLY big fans of butternut squash, so it wasn't even a question as to what we were going to do - bake them up and freeze them!

So I got started!

The Process:

I started out by washing all the squash, then drying it off and slicing it in two halfs lengthwise.


Next, I scooped out all the seeds.

I then filled my roasting pan, and a 9x13 pan about 1/3 full with water, and placed the squash face-down in the pan.

I then baked the squash at 350 for an hour.

After removing them from the oven, I let them cool for a bit before attempting to scoop out the innards and letting them cool even more. (Those puppies were HOT!!)

We ended up with a LOT of squash to freeze - probably around 20 cups! And now, we're SO ready for autumn meals! Between the corn and squash, bring on Thanksgiving!!

Spiced Apple and Pear Pie

The other day, Mark and I went grocery shopping and picked up some delicious Bartlett pears from the store.  I LOVE Bartlett pears.  LOVE them!  But when putting them away, one of us (both deny this) put them in the fridge instead of the fruit bowl, so when we realized the error of one of our ways and took them out of the fridge, they were starting to go bad, and quick!  I decided that something must be done!

Last autumn, we were at a Bible Study where the hostess served a wonderful Spiced Pear Pie, and I thought I might try it.  But then I realized that I had a TON of Courtland apples I had also picked up, and I thought to myself, "Self - why don't you google to see if you can come across an apple AND pear pie recipe."

So I did!  And I found THIS gem, which I will keep for all of eternity!

Spiced Apple and Pear Pie

Kudos to FoodNetwork for the recipe!

First, I made the crust (although I think you could use any pie crust recipe for this one):

Crust Ingredients:

2 1/2 C all-purpose flour
1/4 C sugar
3/4 tsp salt
3/4 C cold, unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks), diced
1 large egg
3 to 4 Tbsp very cold water

Crust Directions:

Whisk the flour, sugar, and salt together in a medium bowl. Rub 1/4 cup of the butter into the dry ingredients with your fingers until completely absorbed. Then rub in the remaining butter until it resembles cornmeal mixed with pea-size bits of butter. (If it gets warm and sticky, refrigerate it to chill.)

Beat the egg with 3 tablespoons of the water; then drizzle it evenly over the dough. Lightly stir the dough together with a fork. (The dough should just hold together when you squeeze it together, with some dry crumbly bits.) If the dough is really dry, sprinkle it with the final tablespoon of water. (To make the dough in food processor, see below.)

Divide the dough in half and wrap each half in plastic wrap and shape into disks. Refrigerate at least 1 hour or up to 2 days. (The dough can be frozen for 2 months. Defrost dough in the fridge overnight.)

Filling Ingredients:

1/2 lemon
6 baking apples (Golden Delicious, Cortland, or Mutsu)
1 1/2 3 baking pears (Bosc or firm Bartletts)
2/3 C sugar, plus more for sprinkling on the pie
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp fine salt
Generous pinch freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 C unsalted butter (1/2 stick)
1/4 C all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 large egg, beaten

Filling Directions:

Finely grate the lemon zest and set aside. Peel, core and then slice both the apple and pear into 1/2-inch slices.



Squeeze the lemon juice over the fruit, then toss fruit with the sugar, cinnamon, ginger, salt and nutmeg.


Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the fruit and cook, stirring until the sugar dissolves and juices simmer, about 2 minutes. Reduce heat to medium, and cook, uncovered, until the fruit softens and the juices evaporate some, about 10 minutes.

Evenly mix the flour into the fruit; then cook about a minute more to thicken the juices slightly. Stir in the vanilla and lemon zest; and remove from the heat. (The filling should resemble a tight compote.) Cool completely.

Putting it all together

If you've ever made a pie before, you know what to do. If you haven't, follow these instructions (or just click on the link at the top of the page and find them there):

Lightly dust the work surface with flour. Roll a disk of dough into an 11 to 12-inch circle. Transfer the dough to 9-inch glass pie pan (see photo), trimming so it hangs about 1/2-inch over the edge of the pan. Fill the crust with the prepared fruit so it mounds slightly in the center. Roll the remaining dough into a 12-inch circle. Brush the rim of the crust with some of the egg.

Roll the dough onto the rolling pin and unroll it over the fruit so it hangs over the edge of the pie pan by about 1/2-inch. Trim crust if needed, reserving the scraps for decorations or for patching, if needed. Fold the top crust edge under the bottom one, then press the edges together to seal. Cut trimmed scraps into designs if desired and set aside. Flute the crust by pressing a finger into the crust against the other hand's index finger and thumb to make an even impression. Repeat every 1/2 inch around the pie to create a ruffled edge (see photo). Refrigerate the pie for at least 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, place a rack in the lower third of the oven and heat to 425 degrees F.

Brush pie with egg and place cut dough designs on top if desired. Brush again and sprinkle with sugar. Cut 6 to 8 small steam vents into the top of the dough. Place pie on a baking sheet and cook for 15 minutes, then reduce the temperature to 375 degrees F. Bake until the crust (both top and bottom) is golden brown, about 50 minutes more. If the edges begin to brown too quickly, cut a pie shield out of a piece of aluminum foil and cover the edges (see photo). Cool on a rack.

Serve pie warm or at room temperature with whipped or ice cream. Keep pie, covered, at room temperature for a day, or refrigerate for up to four.

The finished product:


Of course, when I make pies, I always like to share them with friends and family, so we were glad when we realized that Mark's cousin, Drew, was in town for the weekend, so we took it with us to church down in Worthington and enjoyed it with some family down there. It got RAVE reviews, so I'm thinking this will be one of those for the archives :)