Winter Vegetable Lasagna

My birthday's coming up this Saturday [today!] and my parents (and little sister) came up to visit and celebrate this past weekend. I thought it might be fun to celebrate by showing off a little: cooking something seasonal and fun. Not mention challenging. So I cast my net out for something I could create with the limited choices available in January. Winter vegetable lasagna answered the call.

I love making lasagna. If I could make only one dish to sum up the kinds of food I love to cook, lasagna would probably be it. I think that's why this dish spoke to me. It added my favorite winter squash, with my favorite starch (interesting enough in my favorite color, which is usual for it), with a new green that I have always wanted to try. All in my favorite sauce and cheese of course.

Lasagna is not an easy dish. Nor is it one for the impatient. Still, this delightful little number was perfect for our winter celebration.

Winter Vegetable Lasagna

Inspired by Frenchtown Community Garden

[What you need]

1 butternut squash
1 bunch swiss chard
3-5 blue potatoes (amount depends on size of potato. You also don't have to use blue, but they're pretty and very good for you!)
1/2 lb chorizo or Italian sausage
lasagna noodles
tomato sauce
~8 oz ricotta cheese
~8 oz mozzarella cheese
sage to taste

[What to do]

1. Cube squash and potatoes; Devein the chard and cut into strips.
2. Precook veggies and meat. I sauteed the chard, boiled the squash and potatoes in the microwave, and browned the meat on the stove. I'm certain your choice method will work just as well here.
3. Combine the veggies, meat, and a generous helping of sage.
4. Grease a 9x13 pan (Lasagna sticks. My sister buys disposable pans to make her lasagna it can get that bad.), arrange the noodles and layer tomato sauce, both cheeses, and filling mix.
5. Repeat until you have reached the top of your pan. Add one final open layer to the top. It looks pretty that way.
6. Cover and bake at 350*F for 50-60 minutes

[I find that I am slowly turning into my bisnonna as I write this recipes. I have a tendency to want to give you a list of ingredients and say "now go for it!". I'm resisting, of course.]

Comfort Food: Fried Squash

Apples and pumpkins aren't the only perfect fall ingredients. There's another beautiful vegetable that has been popular lately and is my own personal favorite food of fall: butternut squash.

There are many ways to prepare butternut squash. Countless recipes abound. A personal favorite of mine is probably the least healthy, not going to lie, but that's way we call it comfort food, right?

One fall weekend afternoon, a few years back, my mother and aunt brought by a squash and started a tradition. We fried up the squash together and probably ate it all before it got anywhere near the table. It became something we did together and now whenever I make this dish, I think of my mother and aunt and I standing around the stove in the kitchen, sneaking way too hot discs of squash directly from the pan.

Fried Butternut Squash

As far as I know: via Madre and Zia Leslie

[Ingredients] - Amounts vary depending on desired yield

Butternut Squash

Italian Breadcrumbs

Eggs

Milk

Olive oil

[What to do]

1. Peel squash and cut into discs (the thinner the better)
2. Mix egg and milk into a bowl (you need less than you think)
3. Dip each disc into milk/egg mixture and then into breadcrumbs (Bisnonna would say that you have to use separate hands for this task. getting milk/egg into the breadcrumbs or vis-versa is a huge no-no).
4. Fry discs in a flat pan with about a 1/2 inch of olive oil.