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Autumn Dishes in Nature's Wrapping
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Article By: Bruce Weinstein and Mark Scarbrough
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Every month, discover new recipes and cooking ideas to help you enjoy the simple but elegant pleasures of a delicious, easy-to-prepare meal. This month: Have your dish and eat it, too — autumn recipes that come in their own packages.
Busy or not, here we come. Every month the "Everyday Gourmet" serves up new recipes, cooking tips and ideas for dishes that are elegant in taste and presentation, yet simple enough to prepare and enjoy in a snap.
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Overpackaging has invaded the way we cook. If you watch TV cooking shows, it often seems as if the package is as important as the dish. "Presentation," they stress. "Let's take a look at my tablescape."
Really? Most nights, we just want dinner on the table. So it's a bonus to find small dishes that are themselves perfect packages — neat little bundles that are dinner and serving container in one.
Nature's full of perfect culinary packages. Clams and mussels come to mind.
Snails, too, for the daring. And the stuffed baked potato — a little casserole on its own — with an outer skin you eat right along with the stuffing. It's grace and sophistication bound up in a homey container.
In that vein, acorn squash may well be nature's perfect casserole: sweet, savory, practically a meal in itself. Even the skin is edible after it's been roasted. Hollowed out, the squash becomes a warm little pot for our herbed rice stuffing — a great dish to take the chill off a fall evening. Want to make it even easier? Stop off at a Chinese restaurant on your way home and pick up a container of cooked brown rice.
And don't forget apples. Stuffed, they've long been the perfect dessert, a sweet holder that becomes part of the treat. Here, we've stuffed them with prunes, walnuts and honey, a wonderful combination that really sets the tone for the season. If you like, serve the apples with a dollop of fat-free yogurt.
There's something elegant in all this simplicity. You can truly have your casserole and eat it, too.
Stuffed Squash
Makes 4 servings
POINTS® value | 4 per squash half
These savory bundles make an elegant meal, whether for the family or your next dinner party. For the best taste, use freshly grated Parmesan.
Ingredients
- 2 medium acorn squash
- Nonstick cooking spray
- 8 ounces cremini or white button mushrooms, cleaned and thinly sliced
- 3 medium scallions, thinly sliced
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1/2 tsp dried rosemary
- 1/2 tsp rubbed sage
- 1/2 tsp dried thyme
- 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
- 1 1/2 cups cooked brown rice
- 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 3 Tbsp dry vermouth or dry white wine
Instructions
- Position the rack in the center of the oven and preheat oven to 375°F.
- Split the squash in half, stem to bottom, and scoop out the seeds. Spray a baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray and place the squash on it cut side down. Bake until tender, about 50 minutes.
- Meanwhile, spray a large skillet with nonstick cooking spray and set over medium heat. Add the mushrooms, scallions and garlic, and cook, stirring frequently, until the mushrooms give off their liquid, about 4 minutes.
- Stir in the Worcestershire sauce, rosemary, sage, thyme and pepper. Cook 1 minute.
- Remove pan from heat and stir in the rice, cheese and vermouth or wine.
- Once the squash are fork-tender, turn them cut side up and fill each with a quarter of the rice mixture. Bake until warmed through, about 10 minutes.
Stuffed Apples
Makes 4 servings
POINTS value | 5 per apple
Here's a Plan-friendly fall dessert that you can make ahead by letting the apples cool to room temperature.
Ingredients
- 4 medium baking apples, such as Rome, Cortland or McIntosh
- 2 tsp lemon juice
- 10 pitted prunes, finely chopped (5 ounces)
- 4 Tbsp walnut pieces, finely chopped
- 3 Tbsp honey
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 2/3 cup water
- 1/2 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
Instructions
- Position rack in center of oven and preheat oven to 375°F.
- Use a melon baller to core the apples; you want to remove the core and seeds, leaving enough room for the stuffing. Start at the top by the stem and scoop down into the flesh, pulling up the core and hollowing out the apple without breaking through the sides or the bottom. Leave at least 1/2 inch apple flesh at the bottom. Rub the lemon juice over the exposed apple flesh.
- Mix the prunes, walnuts, honey and cinnamon in a small bowl; stuff a quarter of the mixture into each apple. Set apples in a 9-inch baking dish or other small roasting pan. In a small bowl, whisk together water and orange juice, and pour over the apples.
- Bake until soft, basting often with the pan juices, about 1 hour. Cool at least 10 minutes before serving.
Modifications
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Store them covered for up to four hours or refrigerate for up to two days. Reheat the apples in a microwave on high for about 25 seconds.
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