The humble acorn squash

For some reason, I didn't eat much squash growing up.  But as an adult, I've really grown to love them. First of all, they come in many shapes, colors, and sizes, which makes them fun to shop for. Second, they can be very pretty, even uncooked, just sitting on your kitchen counter. Third, they're very good for you. And fourth, I like the way they taste, which is the real dealbreaker in the Hungry Dog's kitchen.

We got two acorn squash recently and I spent a week or two mulling over what to do with them. I'm not sure if it's good or bad for squash to sit around, but that's what often happens to squash at my house. If I can't see any outward signs of deterioration, I assume it's ok to for them to hang around for a bit. I wonder if they get bitter as they get older? That's probably something I could research on the Interweb. But you know, I'm sick of researching stuff that way. I think too much of my life is spent Googling things I only have a middling interest in.

Back to the squash. Aren't they pretty? I like the little orange spots on the right one.

Squash are fine roasted and relatively plain. But I liked the idea of jazzing them up, taking them from a pleasant but unexciting side dish to a satisfying and striking main course. So, I decided to stuff them.

The first step was cutting them open, pulling out the seeds, and roasting them with olive oil, salt, and pepper. They're pretty on the inside, too.

While the squash roasted, I considered the stuffing. I had a few things in the fridge that needed to be used up, including some San Marzano tomatoes, two Saags sausages, and some fresh herbs. I was inspired by my fellow blogger Bob, who seems fearless when it comes to forging ahead without recipes, only armed with what he's got on hand and what he's in the mood to eat. I love that. So here's to you, Bob.

I made some pseudo-Mexican rice, with tomatoes, onion, garlic and chicken broth. Once the rice was done, I mixed in the diced-up sausages, parmesan, and chopped parsley and chives. Then I tucked the stuffing into the baked squash and sprinkled a little extra cheese on top.

This is what they looked like as they were about to go into the oven. Not bad, poor lighting aside.

I baked them for about 15 minutes, just to warm up the stuffing and melt the cheese, then stuck them under the broiler for a few minutes for color and crispiness. And what do you know, stuffed acorn squash is pretty good! Although, it could have used a little sauce, a finishing touch to pull it all together.

Acorn squash would be delicious stuffed with any number of things: risotto, ratatouille, orzo, jambalaya. You could make the filling as simple or as complex as you like. Anything that provides deep flavor and heartiness would work well and elevate the humble, mild-mannered squash to main dish status.

A night out with Steamy Kitchen

Last night I had the good fortune to be invited along for a little foodie feeding frenzy.

Jaden Hair of the fabulous blog Steamy Kitchen, happened to be in town touring for her new cookbook. My sometime virtual friend and newfound real-life friend Ben, from Cooking with the Single Guy, decided to pull together a few local food bloggers to welcome Jaden to the Bay Area and was kind enough to include me and the husband in the festivities.

We met at Otoro, which may just be my new favorite sushi joint in San Francisco, where we ordered a slew of goodies, from seaweed salad to monkfish liver. Along with Ben and Jaden, we were joined by Stephanie from Wasabimon and Sean from Hedonia. Rather than recounting the entire evening, check out Ben's great post, complete with awesome action shots of Jaden serving noodles, as well as a group photo in which the husband towers like a giant over the rest of us dwarfs. Really, he's only 6'2" but in the picture he looks about 8 feet tall.

Thanks again to Ben for organizing a lovely evening out. It's so fun to meet new people who share a common interest. And how often do you meet strangers and 30 minutes later find yourself willingly sharing a bowl of communal ramen, particularly in the age of pig flu? Not often, I say. It was a great night.

The case for fried rice

This morning I woke up and discovered I was stranded without breakfast.

Usually I have some bread for toast, or something I've baked, or in a pinch I'll eat a yogurt, which I dislike but will eat under the assumption that it is good for me. Breakfast is definitely my least favorite meal. I'm not much for eggs, waffles, pancakes, French toast, oatmeal, or other typical breakfast items. Yet somehow those cartoons I watched as a kid about how breakfast was the most important meal of the day have really stuck with me. I try to eat something every morning to get my feeble Hungry Dog brain moving before heading to work.

I was about to resign myself to an apple when I remembered I'd made fried rice the night before.

Before you judge, let's break it down, shall we?

You've got your rice, which is a carb. Same as toast, right?

You've got protein: bacon and a little egg. 

And, you have lots of vegetables. I add whatever I've got on hand to my fried rice, which in this case was a veritable cornucopia: Napa cabbage, carrots, celery, red pepper, peas.

All the major vitamins and nutrients are covered. So when you really get down to it, homemade fried rice is probably healthier than what a lot of people eat for breakfast.

"But Hungry Dog," you're thinking, "fried rice is full of oil and salt. Not very healthy for someone on the sad side of 30."

Yeah, so? Oil and salt make the world go round. Let's live a little, people.

And you can't tell me this doesn't look good.