Squash or Pumpkin Tian from Laurie Colwin's More Home Cooking

Using either pumpkin, butternut or delicata squash, peel and seed the squash and cut it into one-inch chunks. Shake the chunks into a bag with some white flour. Shake off excess flour and scatter squash into an oiled or buttered shallow baking dish. Atop this scatter 1/3 cup of good parmesan (parmigiano reggiano is the one and only in my house), 1 large garlic clove, minced, and pepper to taste. Drizzle the tian with 1/4 to 1/3 good olive oil and put it into a PREHEATED 400º F oven. The over must be really hot, or the squash will not be the crispy-topped, molten dish which impresses all but a soggy mess. Bake the tian for 30-40 minutes.

Especially nice opposite some well-steamed broccoli rabe.

I wowed the folks at the New Year's Day party with this recipe from one of Jeanne Lemlin's Quick Vegetarian Pleasures cookbooks.

Sweet Potatoes Anna

Thinly slice 3 or so large sweet potatoes or yams (yams, the orange ones, are prettier but both are tasty). You want little rounds. Using a vegetable peeler is not a bad idea. Submerge these in cold water if they start to go black on you too quickly. Melt butter, about half a cup. Brush a little of this on the bottom of a pie pan--springform is best if you've got it. then create a nice spiraling layer of potato on the bottom. Atop this, brush more butter, a little nutmeg, and some freshly grated parmesan. I only use parmagiano reggiano, which is exquisite in this. Salt and pepper, if you like. Then do another layer of potato, and repeat until all ingredients are utilized.

Bake, covered in foil, for 45 minutes in a 425º degree oven, then uncover and bake about a half-hour, or till crusty and delicious looking.

It's a Mushroom-Barley casserole sort of day....

Actually, I've hardly been in the mood to cook or eat, even, and I don't know why. I did make a fairly experimental beef stew, my first ever, but I don't have anything useful to say about it except, I wish I'd done it in a crockpot. I've been eating gingersnaps, peanut butter, snowy owls, hot bacon-cheese dip, and a great deal of water with my warm wine.

The Julie/Julia Project

Local girl cooks her way through Julia Child's formidable repetoire.

I've been meaning to tell you how I've rediscovered stuffing. Actually, I've only made proper Thanksgiving stuffing twice in my life.

Then I did an impulsiuve thing. In a fit of craving one evening, I bought a box of local supermarket brand turkey-flavored stuffing. I made some, but messed even that up. I added water at the wrong point and it was strange. The next time (this always happens rather late at night. The other day I mentioned to Denise, the Most Excellent Neighbor, that I'd been baking squash at 2 AM the previous night [probably early in the GNE period], and her reaction was raucous laughter...) it was much better. Next (yes, I bought another box) I plan to try baking it after the initial cooking, to see if I can get the crustier texture I like best.

I have a dream of stuffing made of cornbread and green chiles. That's coming into focus, gradually....

Drinkin & Drivin, Guzzlin & Groovin...

I would like a sidecar, please. And give me a scooter along with it if you could....

Tommmmato Pie

An oldie but a goodie...Tomato Pie.