I am so lucky to have an amazing family – my brother Erik manages Bramble Berry’s retail store, my Dad was my first mentor for Bramble Berry and my Mom was my first salesperson. This weekend, Dad and Mom came up to visit and make good on a Father’s Day gift that we promised: a 6 course meal!
After starting our day with an awesome boot camp fitness class, my sister in law (Cheriss) and I cooked all day on Saturday. We made many yummy dishes and documented much of the day in photos. I am excited to share all the recipes with you over the next few months, starting with the undisputed favorite of the evening: Butternut Squash Turnovers.
I got this recipe from ‘Food & Wine‘ magazine and followed it exactly the way the instructions suggested, with mouth-watering results.
Ingredients:
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
3 large leeks, white parts only
1/2 pound shiitake mushrooms
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 tablespoons thyme leaves
salt & pepper
2 pounds butternut squash
14 ounces all butter puff pastry
3/4 pound goat cheese
1 large egg, beaten
Step 1: Preheat oven to 375. On the stovetop, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large skillet. Dice the leaks into 1 inch cubes and add to olive oil. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until softened (around five minutes). Add shiitake and cook, stirring often, until liquid has evaporated (about another five minutes). Stir in chopped garlic and thyme and cook for an additional two minutes. Season with salt and pepper and transfer to a bowl.
Step 2:Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and lightly oil the parchment. Peel the squash (we cut the squash into manageable pieces and cut the skin off. Using a vegetable peeler didn’t even make a dent). Toss the squash with 2 tablespoons of olive oil, season with salt and pepper. Spread the squash on the baking sheet and bake for 25 minutes until the squash softens and begins to brown. Add this browned squash to the leeks and mushrooms and toss.
Step 3: Roll out pastry puff flat (we bought ours in sheets so got to skip this step). Cut the pastry into 4″ squares. Spoon as much of the mixture as you can safely fit into the pastry squares, leaving room for a generous dollop of goat cheese. The recipe suggested 2 tablespoons of vegetables and 2 tablespoons of goat cheese but there’s no way we could have fit that much into the little pastry puffs. Lightly brush the edge of the squares with beaten egg (the egg acts like a glue). Fold the squares over to form triangles and crimp the edges with a fork for a snazzy finished look.
Step 4: Put turnovers on a baking sheet (mine stuck so make sure yours is non stick or generously oiled). Brush the top of the turnovers with the remaining beaten egg. Bake for 25 minutes or until pastry is golden brown. Serve warm and wait for the accolades to roll in.The entire recipe took about 90 minutes to prep, stuff and cook and was well worth it. The turnovers were delicious!
Lauren, You totally should try them BUT set aside a good hour for prep. They really did take a little bit of time. And honestly, the 'healthy eating' might not be so healthy with these (cheese and puff pastry?)…
Oh Anne-Marie- They look delicious. We are on a whole new healthy eating kick here at our house and will have to give them a try.
Looks delicious!
Sounds delish. Will have to try that when I have a chance.
Glad you are all liking the recipe. It was WELL worth the trouble (though at the time, Cheriss and I doubted it greatly).
And I should have been wearing an apron but I guess when you work with lye on a regular basis, you get really good at keeping your work area clean =)
Kat, Good question! Yes, the ELFman was in the building, cleaning pots and pans, running out for things we couldn't find at our previous 4 grocery store runs and being awesome moral support.
We ended up running the diswasher 4 times that day (full) even WITH all of the ELF help. =)
Sounds awesome, I can't wait to try these!
Anne-Marie,
That recipe is a definite must do!
Sounds like a wonderful Thanksgiving Meal pre-cursor!
Thank you for the recipe! I was just looking for recipes myself – since starting this business the very very last thing I feel like doing is cooking!
Normally I absolutely love to cook but have had little incentive what with my messy kitchen and all.
But doesn't it follow that a soapmaker would have to, of a necessity, have a love of anything that has to do with chopping, drying, baking, cutting, and of all things, mixing?
You are the hostess with the mostest! And I agree with TeresaR…..you and Martha, dear Martha, can cook and look great at one time! That eludes most of us, and I have ruined many an outfit in the kitchen.
Now, my only question is…..did you have Chris and Elf in the kitchen doing all the pots and pans?
ha ha! who did the cleanup?
Looks delicious. I'm a foodie, so I like to try new dishes all the time.
That looks like a lot of work! You did a beautiful job of it though. Mmmm.
Jacquelyn's right: you look great, and how neat you are to not get flour all over yourself! I'd have flour all over my clothes, my hair, and my face.
Looks yummy, I can't wait to try this recipe.
And you look so lovely, too, A-M. I would have flour all over that black outfit. Obviously you are not a messy cook!
Where do you get your energy?
That looks amazing!