Butternut, beef, and bringing in fall!

It’s fall again! Well it has been for the past two days at least. Honestly this weather is crazy. We went from 90 degrees on Saturday to 70 degrees on Sunday. Now I’m not complaining, fall is my favorite time of year, but a 20 degree swing? That is not the San Diego I’ve come to know and love. I’ll give her grace this week, but I hope she starts behaving like her temperate beautiful self again.

The good thing about the cool down, other than the fact that it’s cooled down, is making fall-ish type dishes. Those dishes just make so much more sense when the days are crisp. I know I crave warm, heartier meals when I’m bundled up in a sweater and scarf as the San Diego temperatures dip to the chilly low 60’s (yes – that constitutes sweaters and scarves for me, and probably most all other SD natives) 😊!

The fall star for this recipe is butternut squash. Everything about squash screams fall, from the warm outside exterior to the orange creamsicle interior. Squash is such a versatile vegetable; it can be used in both savory and sweet dishes because it picks up the flavor palate of whatever you choose. My only complaint about this veggie chameleon is prepping it. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve peeled squash and ended up peeling my hand (ouch – not pleasant at all!) or when I’ve attempted to slice it in half praying that I retain all my fingers. I think that’s why so many people buy butternut squash pre-peeled and chopped in a ready-to-go bag. I’ve also purchased squash ready to roll, but it just doesn’t taste the same, plus it seems to go bad in a matter of minutes! Well maybe that’s an exaggeration, but you know what I mean.

But guess what? I found a much easier way to deal with this dangerous liaison. One of my favorite bloggers, Katie Dunlop of Love Sweat Fitness, recently posted a yummy fall-feels pizza in which she sliced the squash, peel and all, into 1/2″ to 3/4″ rounds and placed them on a tray that went straight into the oven! It was genius, at least I thought it was, which is probably due to the trauma I’ve endured at the hand of this oddly shaped squash. So there’s your safety tip for the week, don’t peel squash if you like all your fingers and want your hands to remain in tact. Now that we have our safety measures in place let’s start cooking!

Ingredients:

1 butternut squash (not peeled 😊, sliced into 1/2″ to 3/4″ rounds)

1 lb of Butcher Box ground beef

2 shallots sliced into half rings

2 garlic cloves minced

Olive oil

Parmesan cheese

1 teaspoon of Cinamon (optional, but it gives the dish a unqiue fall flavor)

Salt and Pepper to taste

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees. Slice squash and place on a sheet pan drizzled with olive oil. Place in oven and cook for 10-15 minutes depending on the thickness of your squash rounds. While squash is cooking heat a pan over medium high heat, add 1 tablespoon of olive oil and sauté the shallots and garlic until translucent. Add beef, season with salt/pepper, and sauté until no longer pink, about 5-7 minutes. Once cooked through add cinnamon if you decide to go for that extra kick. Take squash out of the oven, peel off skin that’s softened, plate squash and top with ground beef and add parmesan cheese. I served this dish with roasted broccolini and fresh sourdough bread that I pick up weekly from Sprouts.

Wine to pair?

I’d definitely go with a red for this dish to stand up to the beef, onions, and squash. We actually had an interesting blend from one of our wine clubs with Wine Cellar and Brasserie, that was compromised of Cabernet Sauvignon, Petite Verdot, Cab Franc, Merlot, Petite Sirah, and Sangiovese (that’s a lot of varietals!). The wine was out of Napa Valley from Peju Cellars and was a 2017 Piccolo. Peju Cellars holds a special place in my heart since it was one of the wineries we went to on our very first trip to Napa. That being said the wine is wonderful and we enjoyed it enough that I bought a few more bottles to stock the cellar. If you’re unable to find this particular wine, I do think a Meritage with heartier grape varietals will work well with this dish. So cheers to fall, finally getting fall weather, and most of all, to fall feel meals!