Everywhere A Squash Squash

These days, you can't turn a corner without running into a squash. Their maudlin little autumnal displays seem to be everywhere. Truth be told, they've just never turned me on. They seem to need a lot of foreplay before they give up some love with their impenetrable skins and hour plus roasting times.

I was presented with a reason to try, yet again, to embrace the squash because my friends from Harvest Moon Farms gave me a lovely care package with pasture raised meats, Italian greens, farm-fresh eggs and yes, a box of squash - Acorn and Delicata.

I had to come up with something new because the standard squash-apple soup recipe just leaves me cold. So I searched and tested a few new things to do with roasted squash.

First, Roast The Squash

You need a sharp knife and a good, sturdy cutting board to cut these suckers. Cut the squash in half, use a large spoon to scoop out the seeds and strings. Put in a roasting pan skin side down, throw some butter, chunky sea salt and fresh ground pepper in the little wells where the seeds used to be and cook at 375 for an hour or more until the flesh is soft and caramelized. Let cool and either scoop out large chunks with a spoon or peel away the skin and cut into square chunks. They don't need to look pretty to taste good.

So, these are my riffs on squash. Feel free to add, subtract and improvise to your taste.

Salad Ideas

Arugula, roasted squash, bacon, blue cheese, toasted walnuts, cider vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper

Arugula, prosciutto, roasted squash, pecorino shavings, good balsamic, olive oil, salt and pepper

Rainbow or red chard (I love it as a salad green, cut out the stems and saute them with garlic until soft, let cool and add to the salad), roasted squash, fresh mozzarella, sherry vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper

Grain Salads

Farro, squash, red onion, walnuts, goat cheese, walnut oil, salt and pepper

Couscous, squash, red onion, harissa, cinammon, sultanas (golden raisins plumped in hot water), toasted slivered almonds, walnut oil, salt and pepper

Panini

Griddle this - thinly slice the squash and toss with a touch of sherry vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper; add to sturdy sandwich bread with a thick lick of goat cheese, arugula and bacon.

Squash, I hardly knew thee...

Cheese: It's Music to My Ears

I grew up eating bad cheese. It wasn't cheese, actually, it was "processed cheese food." And then there were those bland, rubbery, generic blocks of unnaturally colored mild cheddar. When you think about it, they're kind of like the England Dan and John Ford Coley of cheese. Or better yet, the Air Supply of cheese.

Then there's the Maroon 5 of cheese - the ones who try to pass themselves off as the real thing by using made up French names and fancy packaging or disguising their poor quality and questionable provenance in the shape of a cow or maybe a heart with dried cranberries on top? Do yourself a favor and run the other way.

It wasn't until I moved to Italy in my twenties that I finally understood how excruciatingly beautiful good cheese can be. How sad is that? That's like twenty years of cheese-eating I'll never get back. It would be so easy to be bitter about that but instead, I'm choosing to flip it in gratitude because I live in a city that's drooling distance to a whole lot of artisanal cheese production. Between Illinois, Wisconsin and Indiana, there's close to one hundred small, hand-crafted cheeses being produced on gorgeous lands where cows and goats and sheep roam free.

Hmm, maybe somebody should write a musical about it! Like a Midwest farm version of Brigadoon but all about cheese and the hard-working craftspeople who make it. And there's a love story about two teenagers from feuding cheese-making families who struggle to be together and some of the farm animals could talk and of course, sing and they could sell cheese flights in the lobby during intermission and also big foam fingers with iconic images of cheese on them that audience members could wave in unison during the really moving, climactic songs. Right? See you at the Tony's!

But I digress.

Here's just a few of my favorite cheeses. I urge you to go out and find them or others like them that first and foremost - taste amazing - and are also made with great care, quality and integrity. I truly believe they will make your life better. There are plenty of cheeses from other parts of the country and the world that I adore as well, but I try to spread the love around as much as I can. So just go out there and get stupid, as the kids say - with cheese.

Capriole Mont St. Francis Goat Cheese, Greenville, Indiana

This is The Black Keys of cheese. The makers of this cheese describe it as intense, beefy and earthy. As far as I'm concerned, they are spot on. This is a raw milk, semi-hard goat cheese that's going to rock your world...

Available at Pastoral, Green City Market and Whole Foods Market.

Crave Brothers Petite Frère, Waterloo, Wisconsin

This, to me, is the Radiohead of cheese, it's not for everybody, but those who get it, are obsessed with it. It's similar to a Camembert in style - runny and stinky and multi-layered in flavor. Made with farm fresh cow's milk. A connoisseur's cheese if there ever was one.

Available at my favorite local wine and cheese shop, Provenance. Owners Tracy and Joe specialize in lots of local cheeses and offer great service.

Mt. Sterling Raw Goat Cheddar, Mt. Sterling, Wisconsin

The Herbie Hancock of Cheese. Mr. Versatility. Genius at simply snacking, glorious when melted, makes any sandwich better and plays well with others - loves a good collaboration.

Available at Whole Foods Market.

I sure would LOVE to hear from you about your favorite cheeses and any musical metaphors that describe them.

So enough of these one-note, one-hit wonders. I'm bringing quality back. (one cheese at a time.)


On Buying Cheese:

Know that it's always OK to ask for a taste before you purchase anything. Most cheese mongers are happy to oblige.

If you want a great experience tasting small batch cheeses from all over the country, there's a gentleman named Giles Schnierle who runs a company called The Great American Cheese Collection on the south side of Chicago. He has tastings in his warehouse every Saturday.

Lastly, your trusty neighborhood farmers' market sells cheeses I'll bet, just like mine do. Green City Market supports many local cheese makers such as Brunkow, Capriole, Nordic Creamery, Prairie Fruits Farm, Saxon Homestead Creamery and Prairie Pure Cheese. We are talking many award-winning cheese-makers all in one place. A local cheese lover's paradise.