A Gratin to Remember...

While we are nearing the end of the winter season, some regions in the U.S. are still coping with the impending bad weather, Snowpocalypse and Slushfest 2010. All of these low temperatures and precipitation provide us with the best excuse ever to stay home, hunker down and bake up a mean casserole that'll stick to your ribs and tastes great with a good IPA (I prefer Dogfish 60 Minute). Pour yourself a beer and prepare yourself for hearty deliciousness!

Butternut Squash and Mushroom Gratin Bake

1 Medium Sized Butternut squash-peeled and diced into 1 inchish cubes
3 whole Portabella mushroom caps-diced into 1 inchish pieces
2 cups cooked brown rice-well drained
1 1/2 cups milk (preferably whole or 2%)
2 cloves garlic-mashed with the flat end of your chopping knife (or chopped/diced just enough to open the clove and let the flavors loose)
3/4 tsp dried thyme leaves
A pinch of ground nutmeg
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 cup grated Asiago cheese
1 cup Panko bread crumbs

Preheat oven to 375

-First, steam the diced squash in a small amount of water until you can easily put a fork into the center of the squash. Drain the water and set aside.
-Heat the milk, garlic, nutmeg, thyme and black pepper until slightly bubbling, NOT boiling. Strain the mixture and reserve the flavored milk in a bowl for pouring later.
-Grease or spray a glass baking dish. Add cooked rice, steamed squash and diced mushrooms. Mix vegetables and rice gently, so as to not break up the squash too much. Pour flavored milk over the mixture. Evenly distribute the bread crumbs over the mixture. Repeat with the asiago cheese.
-Bake at 375 for 12 minutes
-Broil on low for 5 minutes to brown the cheese and bread crumbs to perfection

*Pour yourself another beer and eat a big bowl of this stuff. A game of Scrabble makes for an excellent dessert substitute afterward...let's make some memories people!

You are the wind beneath my wings

It tickles me so to announce that the smallest bite is growing in readership thanks to the support of my friends and family. To show my appreciation to them, I've decided to have a delicious giveaway contest!

The first 3 readers to prepare a recipe from the blog and send me a photograph of the finished product will receive a batch of chocolately treats lovingly prepared by yours truly. This prize in food form, is a preview of things to come from the smallest bite which I am so proud to share with my fellow foodies.

Please post your entries in the comment box under this special post by Friday, February 19 2010! If you have any complications, please feel free to email me: season_j@hotmail.com. Good Luck Lovelies!

Nacho Average Lasagna

And this is Nacho Average Fire Hydrant! On a recent trip to Brooklyn, to re live my culinary childhood, my husband and I spotted this proudly painted hydrant in the Bay Ridge section of the city. It was clear that we had landed in an Italian neighborhood, and it's occupants were proud of it! While we were in my hometown, we ate hamburgers at two, yes two, different locations (The Vegas Diner and Skinflints), lemon Italian ices and pastries from the West End Bakery. All of this eating took place in a 3 hour period and though I could hardly eat another bite, I wondered why, while in one of the Italian food capitals of the Northeast, hadn't we stopped for some baked ziti or some other Italian-American specialty?
Well, the truth is, while I am very proud of my heritage and its impact on the world of food, I'm kinda sick of eating it. And cooking it, for the most part, involves hours of meat braising and pounds of mozzarella and ricotta cheese, which can grow tiresome...I wondered how I could combine tested versions of beloved Italian recipes with other culinary cultures that I love? The result of this question is...

Nacho Average Lasagna

1/2 Yellow Onion -diced
2 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 tsp Ground Cumin
1/2 tsp Dried Oregano
2 cups Hot Salsa
2 cups cooked Brown Rice
1 can Black Beans-drained of liquid
1 whole ripe Avocado-Removed from skin, de-pitted and sliced
2 cups Mexican Blend Shredded Cheese
8 flour or corn tortillas
2 Tbsp Butter
Salt and Pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 375 degrees

-Saute diced onion in olive oil until translucent. Add cumin, oregano, black beans, brown rice and 1/2 cup of salsa. Cook on low heat for approx. 5 minutes.
-While rice mixture is cooking , melt the 2 tablespoons of butter in a skillet on medium heat, brown both sides of tortillas in butter
-Remove rice mixture from heat after 5 minutes, add salt and pepper to taste
-In a 13 x 9 greased/sprayed baking pan, layer the browned tortillas, rice mixture, salsa, sliced avocado and cheese and repeat until all ingredients are used. Because the pan is rectangular and the tortillas are round, it is best to lay them in the pan like a Venn diagram. (That is that there will be overlapping circles of deliciousness in the center!) Top the layers with cheese and bake in heated oven until cheese is melted and browned.
Ole!