Dorie suggests plating these sealed vegetable packets and letting each guest have the pleasure of savoring the first fragrant puff of steam when the seal is broken. My friend, Ruth, enjoyed the moment.
My! My! My!
Everything about this week’s FFWD recipe was a delicious, winning, you-must-make-this, choice. Let’s just forgeddabout last week’s not-so-good and race quickly on to better and best: Brown-Sugar Squash and Brussels Sprouts** en Papillote.
The cubed squash, apples, halved Brussels sprouts, olive oil, salt and pepper are easily and simply mixed together.
Dorie echoed my original thought when I first read this recipe. “I don’t think I’d ever have put the squash and Brussels sprouts together if they weren’t packed into the bin side by side,” she said. “And it was just a stroke of luck that I had both an apple and fresh sage, which is perfect with the vegetables and fruit.”
Divide evenly between four non-stick, 12-inch squares of aluminum foil. Frankly, this was the hardest part and, yes, I counted!!!
To my surprise and Dorie’s, what pleased her most about this serendipitous side was ‘the play between earthy and sweet’.
I sprinkled brown sugar over each bundle and topped with fresh sage. Earthy. Sweet.
Although this is really a recipe for your Fall menus, it is tasty in Winter also. Once again, our Doristas who live in South America and Australia, where it is Summer, are very, very good sports.
I sealed the packets, leaving room so the ingredients can steam, and put them in the refridgerator.
Because I am particularly busy right now, I bought a pound package of pre-cut, cubed squash so it took only 15 minutes to throw this together. I also made the packets in the morning, refrigerated them and added a few minutes to their baking time.
Luckily my veggie-lovin’ Colorado friends, Peter and Ruth Frey, joined me for this week’s successful taste testing. The Freys, enroute to a two-month stay in Cambria, California, stopped to observe my January 31st house-closing (or to “manage” my emotional fall-out if there was a closing glitch).
To accompany this week’s FFWD recipe, I served a green salad and Yotam Ottolenghi’s “Very Full Tart”, a delicious recipe from his cookbook, “Plenty”.
Fortunately we enjoyed two sunny days of exploring Nevada’s outdoors fueled by wonderful food, drink and friendship. Plus, we were able to celebrate yesterday’s successful house closing/sale before their leaving for Callie this morning.
The reason Peter is not smiling is that he had already begun to open his packet before Ruth and I scared the hell out of him by telling (well, yelling at) him to STOP. I needed a photo, of course. A long-time professor at Northwestern University, he understands ‘learning experiences’ and patiently re-sealed his packet for picture-taking. But, he’s all-business so couldn’t smile.
Peter’s silent compliment to the cook.
To see how my FFWD colleagues handled their tinfoil this week, go to our group link. If you want to try this recipe, and I urge you to try it, go here.
I enjoyed introducing my Colorado friends to Nevada’s outdoor hiking opportunities. Nevada is over 80% public land, forty-eight million acres of that land is administered by the Bureau of Land management. Since Ruth and I are both volunteer forest rangers in Colorado’s High Country, she especially enjoyed our hikes at Lake Mead, the Red Rocks National Conservation Area and Black Mountain, a totally different experience from hiking in the Rockies.
** These tiny cabbage-like vegetables are named after the Belgian city of Brussels, which has an “S” on the end. The correct spelling is “Brussels sprouts.”
Can you believe I couldn´t find a single brussels sprout this week? They say it´s the heat wave. I´ll make this as soon as I can get my hands on some. I love sage with apples and butternut squash, so I´m not surprised most enjoyed this. That tart looks fantastic Mary! I just love that book. Have a great weekend!
Paula, Yes, Ms. South America, I feel your pain. The good news is that you are living in Buenos Aires, a beautiful and vibrant city. A reason for my not hearing any complaints from you about our FFWD recipe choices. If you have any Yotam Ottolenghi favorites or when you cook a recipe from “Plenty” or “Jerusalem”, I’d love you to share your experience with me. My cooking and baking from Dorie’s cookbooks are so much enhanced by doing it with others. I am enjoying each and everyone of your “sweet” Posts.
Tell Paula I”ll send her my left over brussels sprouts… my family is dead set against this vegetable. I’m glad Mary that you had supportive friends with you to help you let go of your house. Sounds like a wonderful time outdoors and it was very cute about him resealing the foil.
Congrats on the successful closing! I needed some friends to share this one with…and some some pre-cut squash as well. And your tart looks amazing!
PS…volunteer forest ranger? My dad would have loved that job. He spent our summer vacations hiking all around the Aspen area…though he never attempted the Bells.
Liz, Then your Dad was a smart man. No one attempts the Bells, only idiots. Volunteer Rangers (and, real ones) do not give advice nor directions on how, where or when to attempt climbing the Bells. It’s a Just Say No Mountain. One of the most photographed sites in America is crumbly and dangerous to climb. Many of my Mountain Rescue friends or acquaintences have had to carry wounded hikers or victims off the Bells. Again, bravo to your Dad.
Mary, I love the picture of your cubed vegetables and fresh sage leaves all sprinkled with the brown sugar! And it sounds as if you and your friends really liked the squash, Brussels sprouts and apple “en papilotte”. It is a wonderful recipe and a breeze to put together and I am sure that the vegetables paired very well with that gorgeous looking “Very full Tart” from Yotam Ottolenghi! I know that you really enjoy cooking from his books, two days ago I prepared his Caramelized Fennel & Goat Cheese (again) from Plenty – it is absolutely fantastic. And I have started cooking and baking my way through some very delightful British cookbooks – it is a lot of fun trying out new recipes.
Hope you will spend a wonderful weekend!
Andrea, I hope you will share your British cookbook “finds” on your Post. Maybe you have but I haven’t checked in a week and have not even read your two Posts about your tours. This week-end for sure. I especially would like to know when you cook successfully from Ottolenghi.
You are such a generous & caring soul, Mary! Your tart looks wonderful, too. I’ve heard so many good things about “Plenty,” but haven’t ordered it yet.
I really want to start an on-line cooking club for “The Tuscan Sun Cookbook,” though!
Congratulations on the successful closing of your home, Mary! Will you be moving to Colorado soon? I think it’s so cool that you’re a volunteer forest ranger…very impressive!
Very nice that you had friends visiting with you to enjoy your FF dish! I found this dish quite good and would definitely make it again. And your tart looks incredible…another cookbook to add to my Amazon cart! OH NO!! Happy Friday!
It all looks delicious. I’m fascinated by that tart, will definitely look for that cookbook
although I need another cookbook like a whole in my head. Congrats on a successful
closing.
Congratulations on closing. I am sure it was a bittersweet moment.
Now, on to the vegetables. I think Dorie was just being a good Northeast gal – what grows together, goes together 🙂 And nothing says late summer in NY like squash, apples and Brussels sprouts.
Glad this was a hit for you and you had wonderful friends to share it with!
How nice to be able to serve this to friends! I told my husband to savor the moment of opening the packet, but by the time I got to open mine, he was already happily eating at his. Even though I liked these veggies roasted better, I liked this method and presentation – so easy and quick! And definitely delicious-looking. Well done!
Well, first of all, Congratulations on the closing of your house, Mary! Secondly, I LOVE the photo with your friend Ruth! Your vegetables look perfect and that tart looks wonderful. I really do need to get that cookbook.
Your post made me smile, as usual, Mary. Congratulations on your closing. I’m sure it’s bittersweet. How fortunate you are with your friends being there to support you, and to share a delicious meal. I already like both these vegetables individually, so especially liked Dorie’s combo, though I do prefer roasted to oven-steamed. Delicious though. That tart looks AMAZING. I’m headed to the library later to see if they have a copy of Plenty. Believe it or not, I made fresh goat cheese this week, and that tart looks like a perfect showcase for it. Wishing you a wonderful weekend. When do you head back to Colorado?
Congratulations on the closing! It looks like you had a delicious celebratory dinner.
If you’re looking for some inspiration for recipes from Jerusalem, Beth at OMG Yummy and others have just started cooking their way through it. I have yet to purchase Plenty or Jerusalem, but they’re both on my cookbook wishlist.
Thank you, Teresa, very much.
Yes I would say this one was pretty universally liked – a nice change from the past few weeks! That tart looks delicious and since I know you love your veggies, you should for sure try that Brussels sprouts salad I linked in my post. Methinks you’ll like it!
Loved the whole post and the great pictures ! I want the tart, I want to go hiking with everyone, I am delighted the house closing went well (egad, how many folks are praying to sell right now ??) and you had me laughing out loud with your notes about scaring your photo op into resealing the veggies !! Sounds like a lovely week and so nice you had great friends and a liver/cellophane noodle free dish to share ……
I tried to capture that moment too but when I put them down and ran back to get my camera everyone had opened already. Boo! In the end, however, I never complain about eager eaters!
Glad you loved this dish. Your tart looks amazing! The outdoors scenes look very inviting. I live in the National Pinelands Reserve in southern New Jersey and it’s over a million acres preserved. Lots of hiking in this area, too, but it’s all flat and sandy.
Forget the veggies- that tart looks amazing! I will have to look that one up! Wow! (and glad the veggies went over well too!)
Your veggies turned out great, but I’ll take that very full tart any day!