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Michael Chiarello’s Roasted Winter Squash

Barbara Feiner — Sat, 06 Nov 2010 07:00:02 +0000

If you’re a fan of TV cooking competitions, you know cheftestants sometimes do themselves in by going overboard with ingredients. Judges remind them to simplify their dishes and allow natural flavors to shine through.

Chef Michael Chiarello, a finalist on the first season of Bravo’s Top Chef Masters and owner of Bottega Napa Valley, gets it. Simplicity trumps fussiness, and his food is clean and elegant. (Check out his recipes for Radicchio Salad and Home-Style Minestrone.)

As noted yesterday, the roasting process is ideal for winter squash, as the vegetable’s natural sugars caramelize as it cooks. Add some organic butter, salt and pepper, and you have an easy-to-prepare side dish for your Thanksgiving table.

4 Simple Ways to Prepare Winter Squash

Barbara Feiner — Fri, 05 Nov 2010 17:54:24 +0000

’Tis the season to buy winter squash at your local natural and organic food store or farmers’ market.

Whether you select the acorn, buttercup, butternut (above) or Hubbard variety, you’ll enjoy numerous health benefits, as well as a tasty entree or side dish.

Let’s review the four basic ways to get cooking.

1. Bake/Roast

This method is super-delicious because it caramelizes a squash’s natural sugars:

Turn Organic Wine into an Elegant Sauce

Barbara Feiner — Mon, 06 Sep 2010 14:51:58 +0000

Drinking organic wine: a pleasurable way to help protect your heart.

Cooking with organic wine: a quick way to add sophistication to any dish.

One of the easiest, but underutilized, ways to glaze meat, fish and seafood, salads and veggies, and desserts is to make a wine reduction sauce. As the name implies, you’re simmering wine over a low heat until it reduces by half and becomes syrupy:

3 Tips for Perfectly Grilled Organic Veggies

Barbara Feiner — Fri, 06 Aug 2010 15:30:08 +0000

Crosshatched grill marks give food that professional-chef look.

So, how can you grill summer’s organic vegetables to perfection?

Make sure your grill grate is clean. Pretreat it with a nonstick cooking spray. (Don’t spray a hot grill.)
Purchase the right tools, including long-handled tongs and a grilling spatula. Tools should also be pretreated with nonstick cooking spray.
While large chunks of bell pepper and sweet potato can be placed directly on the grill, smaller veggie cuts may require a grill basket so they don’t fall through the grate.

Tune in next week for a new grilled-veggie recipe: Warm Tomato and Cucumber Salad.

Photo: ben.chaney