If you read food blogs, then you’re probably aware of the Daring Bakers, a group that started a little over two years ago.  The brainchild of Yvonne and Lis, it started small – just a group of bakers who wanted a new baking challenge every month.  The group grew to include thousands of bakers all over the world, recently launched a new web site, and this month initiated the Daring Cooks, which will focus on cooking challenges.  My decision to participate in this group certifies that I have lost my marbles.

I have been crazy busy this year.  And yet I blog, participate in The Daring Bakers, Tuesdays with Dorie, Pies with That (are you sensing a baking addiction here?) and, far too occasionally, I join the Bread Baking Babes and Bread Baking Day.  I also decided to sign up for Recipes to Rival last year, because I figured that woman cannot live by yeast, flour, butter, and cream alone.  Last week, I went round the bend and, cackling like a lunatic at my computer, I hit “send” and joined Natalie’s new endeavor, baking through the Bread Baker’s Apprentice (for this, I blame Susan of Wild Yeast Blog, because she wrote about it.  If I hadn’t read her blog, a regular addiction, I would have remained blissfully ignorant).

Despite all this, moved by an unfathomable force, I joined in the Daring Kitchen’s maiden voyage and made ricotta gnocchis.  Lis and Yvonne chose the recipe from The Zuni Cafe Cookbook: A Compendium of Recipes and Cooking Lessons from San Francisco’s Beloved Restaurant. What a great choice!  I grew up making potato gnocchi at home, and I hadn’t made them in years, an oversight I’ve been wanting to remedy.

After reading about the troubles others had if they didn’t drain the ricotta enough, I made sure – or thought I made sure – to drain the ricotta.  It still wasn’t enough, so I added a couple tablespoons of flour and a little extra parmigiano reggiano to help these little guys hold together.  I grated a little lemon zest into the mixture, as well as some salt and pepper. I threw together as simple tomato sauce, and topped the whole thing with a little more parmigiano reggiano.  I have to say, after the whole draining-the-ricotta thing, these dumplings are really fast and easy to make and cook.  And want to hear something funny?  I used a tub of frozen ricotta that I had stashed away a couple months ago.  So now you know – the recipe works with frozen, thawed ricotta.

The verdict?  Wonderful taste, just wonderful.  Somehow I hit just the right of lemon zest – enough to enhance the mixture, but not enough to overwhelm it.  Texture?  It was light and fluffy, but I think I’m a potato gnocchi gal at heart, and that’s probably what I’ll stick with in the future.  I like a tad more density to my gnocchi. But I am so glad that I gave this a try.  If you’d like the recipe, check out Lis’ blog, or here, and the Daring Kitchen website to see the results of the other cooks.

Like I’ve said before, we do eat something else besides baked goods around here, and the roasted spaghetti squash and orzo salad above are an example. I made this about eight weeks ago, using a bunch of little pastas I had laying around, as well as a squash that I’d found for a good price at the market.

I roasted some garlic and mixed it in with the squash, which worked out well, inasmuch as raw garlic would have completely overwhelmed the vegetable. A little olive oil, salt and pepper, and a wee bit of parmigiano reggiano, and that was it – a lovely and healthy little vegetable side dish.

I am on a mission: to use up food items in my pantry and freezer. Like most people, I will buy this or that to use for a specific dish, then I forget all about it. Or I shop for produce, and loose a cucumber in the back of the refrigerator.

Not one to waste food, I discovered said English cucumber tucked away in a corner of the “chill chest,” to coin a phrase from Alton Brown. I also had some feta cheese to use up, as well as a bag of orzo that had been sitting around for a while. Oh, yes, and that red onion. And a lemon or two. What to do?

Well, I turned to Rachael Ray after seeing her whip up a Pine Nut Orzo salad on her show, 30 Minute Meals. Master Chow and I thought it was nice on its own when we had it at lunch, but it really shone when we paired it later that evening with a rib eye steak (for him) and some scallops and shrimp (for me). Since I have half a pound of orzo left in the cupboard, I’ll be making this again!

Pine Nut and Orzo Salad
Adapted from a recipe by Rachael Ray
4 to 6 servings

Drain orzo and add to the onions and lemon juice, along with the pine nuts, parsley, feta crumbles, about 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, salt and pepper. Top with the olives, tomatoes, and cucumbers.

I was apprehensive to give this a try, but it looked so good! And the Chow household is glad that I did, as it is now on the repeat list.

We love butternut squash. However, I am not a fan of most lasagnas – too much cheese (yes, there is such a thing), and acidic tomato sauces. So, I decided to combine and tweak two recipes from the Food Network, one by Giada De Laurentiis, and the other by Michael Chiarello.

I was pleasantly surprised at how the flavors melded; not one thing stood out more than anything else. There are a few key things to remember when you make this. First, season the major components as you go along, or you could easily end up with an unpalatable mass. Second, use herbs and spices that you like. Third, think twice about using no-boil noodles; a reviewer of one of the aforementioned recipes warned that the starch overwhelmed the delicate flavor of the squash. Finally, you can cook the squash in advance and freeze it for a couple of weeks, before thawing and using it in the recipe.

The lasagna freezes very well, so you can put it together in advance, freeze it, and pop it in the oven on the day you plan to use it. If you do that, I recommend pulling it out of the freezer at least 4 to 5 hours before you plan to eat. Let the lasagna sit at room temperature for about two hours. Preheat the oven to 350 F and bake at that temperature for two hours, covered with foil. Why so long at this temperature? So that the center warms up – I can’t tell you how many times I’ve made a frozen lasagna, and the middle is still stone cold!

Turn the oven temperature up to 375 F and remove the foil. Cook for another 45 minutes, or until cheese is golden, melted, and bubbly. Another thing I don’t like about most lasagnas is burned mozzarella cheese on top. Blech. Cooking it this way avoids that problem, as well.

Now, on to the recipe!

Butternut Squash Lasagna

Adapted from Giada De Laurentiis and Michael Chiarello

Roasting the Squash

• 2 large butternut squash, about 4 to 5 pounds (I actually used a combination of kabocha and butternut)
• 1/4 cup water (more, if needed)

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Cut the squash in half lengthwise, and scoop the seeds out with a spoon. Place the squash face down on a rimmed baking sheet (you may need more than one). Place the baking sheet in the oven, and pour about 1/4 cup water in the pan to prevent burning. Roast the squash in the oven until very soft and beginning to brown, 40 to 50 minutes, stirring once or twice.

Remove squash from oven and let cool until you can handle it comfortably. Scoop out the flesh into a large bowl and allow to cool. At this point, you can continue, or freeze the squash for later use.

Preparing the Squash Mixture

• 14 fresh sage leaves, finely chopped
• 1 Tablespoon finely chopped fresh thyme
• 1 to 2 inch sprig of fresh rosemary, leaves removed and finely chopped
• 1/4 teaspoon almond extract
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• 1 cup ricotta cheese (low fat is OK)
• 1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese (Parmigiano Reggiano is best)
• 1 large egg

Have a large mixing bowl standing by. Puree the squash in a food processor (you may have to do that in batches), and put it in the mixing bowl. When you puree the first bit of squash, add the sage, thyme, rosemary, almond extract, salt, pepper, and nutmeg. After you have combined all the pureed squash, taste the mixture and adjust the seasonings. After you have done this, mix in the egg, and the ricotta and Parmesan cheeses. Set aside.

Making the Bechamel (white sauce)

• 6 cups whole milk (2% is fine, but do not use nonfat, or sauce will not thicken properly)
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon allspice
• 2 teaspoons salt
• Freshly ground black pepper

In a large saucepan, bring the milk to a slow simmer over medium heat. In a large pot, melt the butter over medium-low heat. Add the flour and stir. Add about 3 cups of the milk, and whisk vigorously to prevent lumps. Bring to a boil, while whisking continuously. Add the remaining milk and whisk again. Add the salt, pepper, allspice, and nutmeg. Adjust the heat to low to maintain a slow simmer, and cook until the sauce coats the back of a spoon, about 5 minutes, whisking frequently. Remove the saucepan from the heat. Makes about 8 cups.

Preparing the Lasagna Noodles

• 12-15 lasagna noodles, each 6 1/2 by 3 inches
• 1 Tablespoon kosher salt (important, or your lasagna will suffer in the flavor department)
• extra-virgin olive oil

In a large pot of boiling, salted water, cook the lasagna sheets until they are slightly undercooked. In my case, the package said to cook for 10 minutes, so I cooked them for 7 to 8 minutes. Drain the sheets and spread them on a baking sheet. Drizzle them lightly with olive oil and set aside.

Putting Together the Lasagna

• 2-3 cups of mozzarella, grated (if you put it in the freezer for 30 minutes, it will be easier to grate) Use 3 cups if you like lasagna really cheesy.
• 1 cup of grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Butter a 9 by 13-inch baking dish. Spoon a ladle of bechamel into the dish and spread to coat the bottom. Place a single layer of lasagna sheets on top of the bechamel. Spread some of the squash mixture evenly over the lasagna sheets and sprinkle about 2 tablespoons of mozzarella cheese and 1 tablespoon of grated Parmesan on top. Repeat this step until all ingredients are used, using 1 to 2 ladles of bechamel for each layer. You should end up with 3 to 4 layers, depending on how you divide your ingredients per layer. Keep building the layers until the pan is full, to about 1/4-inch from the top. Finish with sauce, and cheeses directly over the last layer of noodles.

Cover lasagna with foil. Place pan on a rimmed baking sheet, and bake in the middle of the oven for about 1 hour. Remove the cover, and continue cooking for another 15 minutes until golden brown and bubbling. Allow lasagna to rest before slicing. Serve warm.