Skill Level: Moderate

Sausage and Quinoa Stuffed Squash

Pure Fall (or any season) yumminess! I find butternut squash adds a lovely sweetness, while the sausage adds fat and salt and flavor. The quinoa gives the dish body, and the spinach, well, how can you go wrong with spinach? I toss in a little ricotta for extra flavor. It’s all good.

This works equally well with acorn squash. If you are going with butternut squash, make sure it is relatively symmetric. A very large head and small tail will cook at different levels, leaving the the tail done long before the big part of the squash is done. This leads to an especially tender tail — meaning you have to be extra careful when scooping out the flesh.

Grilled Polenta

What is the saying? Man cannot live on rice and potatoes alone? Hmm, maybe that’s not it, but I do love rice and potatoes. Still, in the interest of reducing monotony, it’s good to introduce new things into my repertoire.

Truthfully, I love polenta. It’s one of those flexible foods that goes with so many things…and it’s so fast and easy to prepare. I like mine with just salt and butter, but have friends who swear a couple of dashes of Tabasco make it heavenly.

While I am sure others have terrific ideas for polenta (now I’m wondering how it would do as a stuffing in a chicken breast…someday), I have two simple go-to preparations: basic (cooked on the stove) and grilled. I’ve heard tell of people making basic polenta in the oven, but it seems like more work than it’s worth to me (correct me if I’m wrong!). If you want to serve this as a side dish, stop at Step 3.

Sweet Potato Latkes

When life — or the season — gives you sweet potatoes, the creativity comes out. It turns out, these great veggies are pretty much in season all year round in Southern California. What I used to think of as a holiday food, served over-sweet and mushy, is now an everyday part of my cooking repertoire.

Thus, yes, allowing me to prove I can serve meals that don’t feature ordinary rice or variations on regular potatoes. Add the obligatory comments about the healthiness and lower calorie count of sweet potatoes here (and those claims are, of course true).

Since I’m not Jewish, latkes are just another way to make potatoes interesting. And since I usually have more sweet potatoes than regular potatoes on hand, well, the connection was obvious. When I searched for basic recipes, I was pleasantly surprised to find a recipe by my friend Sarah topping the search results (see the link in the Notes section). Her recipe was the basis for mine.

Needless to say, I make enough for leftovers during the week. Yummy!

Roasted Carrots

As you might guess, I am a huge proponent of roasting vegetables. Maybe it’s because I’m rebelling against my canned-vegetable youth. Or maybe it’s because roasted veggies are just so, so good. Or, more likely, it’s a bit of both.

Roasting brings out deeper flavors from vegetables, and it’s a year-round preparation. Once grilling season starts, substitute the grill for the oven. And note how the change in cooking method impacts the flavor.

No matter how you do it, roasting veggies, including carrots, requires just a few ingredients. You can, of course, play with flavors (I love my carrots with curry spices or just a dusting of cumin).

Roasted Butternut Squash

Some years, the butternut squash never seems to stop coming. Sure, it makes for excellent soups, but even I can only eat so much of the stuff. And since I love roasted veggies, it only makes sense that a roasted butternut squash dish is in my repertoire.

I’ve served this as a side at dinner and as an appetizer at parties. I’ve also witnessed my husband snatching cubes of squash from the baking sheet while I’m busy with other tasks. Of course, I’m guilty of the same crime, so I can’t complain.

Roasted Brussels Sprouts

I’m going to guess that you, like me, see the words “Brussels sprouts”, and think “no way”. Chances are your early experiences with this lovely vegetable were of the over-boiled and under-flavored variety. Indifference is the death knell of many a vegetable, and I believe Brussels sprouts have suffered the most.

Despite my bad beginnings with this vegetable, they continued to intrigue me. If everyone hated them, I wondered, how come they were still being sold and consumed in great quantities? Shouldn’t a food that is reviled become, well, extinct? Curious, I began to explore this food.

And I am so glad I did! (And, apparently, so is my husband. I frequently catch him popping them into his mouth like they’re candy.)

Here’s the deal: Brussels sprouts should not be boiled, stewed, or otherwise cooked until mushy. Brussels sprouts must be roasted to bring out their full flavor. They don’t require much in the way of additional seasoning beyond salt and pepper. Serve hot or as part of a roasted vegetable salad.

I’m presenting two cooking options for these fine veggies, oven roasted and pan roasted. Both are equally easy — the method I choose is largely dependent upon what else I’m making that night.