On the last day of the master cleanse, I sort of lost it and inhaled nearly all things edible in sight at a dinner party to celebrate Ben’s birthday. Eager to cook again after a 2-week break and inspired by all the amazing dishes that everyone brought, I invited the plaid pals over for a dinner on Ben’s actual birthday.
As an aspiring lifestyle minimalist, one of my bigger concerns whenever we have people over is the options for serving. Because we are still in the process of settling in as always, we often don’t have enough serving bowls or pans when we try to make enough dishes for more than a couple of people. I also don’t like doing the dishes.
After some thought, the easy solution it seemed, would be to bake everything. Pyrex baking dishes are not Cooper-Hewitt award materials, but they’re not hideous, and they can double as both baking and serving dishes.
Choosing what to bake was easy. I always love roasting autumn root vegetables and squashes. I adapted a Roasted Corn Pudding in Acorn Squash recipe from 101cookbooks, one of my favorite resources. As always, I withheld the dairy and eggs and tried to create a texture of corn grits by adding some polenta and soymilk. I also used different kinds of squashes, and to maximize the use of the pan, roasted some vegetables along with it in the same pan.
I loved Lucy’s version of Martha Stewart’s Vegetable Tian (what the hell is a “tian” ?) that she had made for Benny’s dinner party, so I decided to make my own version of it, but it ended up being nothing at all like the “tian”.
I do feel that my friends are generally polite, and easy to please when it comes to food, but I was particularly proud of this dinner, because it wasn’t as nearly as disorganized as how it usually is. Ben is now closer to being 40 than to being 20, and he’s jokingly mentioned that he wants to be more “adult”. Me too. Kind of. Adults have organized dinners, and follow proper place settings. I wanted to bust out the table cloth, but in the frenzy of ordering dudes to slice vegetables instead of chopping, I forgot about it. But I think this was a decent start. And the birthday dude seemed pleased. Now I am really looking forward to thanksgiving!
Ben’s Birthday Menu
Roasted Corn Pudding in Autumn Squash and Fall Vegetables
For Corn Pudding and Squash
4 (or more) small autumn squash, cut in half lengthwise and seeded
1 tablespoon or more olive oil
1 cup soymilk
1/2 cup (or less) instant polenta or corn meal
kernels from 2 (or more, or less) regular sized corn
1/2 cup chopped leeks
a tiny pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
as much toasted pumpkin seeds, ground pepper and sea salt as desired
For Vegetable Roast
4 (or more) parsnip (or other root vegetable)
1 tbsp or more olive oil
1 bunch of asparagus
1 medium sized red onion
1 medium sized shallot
1 fresh fennel bulb, trimmed of tough outer leaves
as much garlic, salt, pepper, and dill as desired
Preheat the oven to 375F degrees with a rack in the middle.
Rub the flesh of the squash with the oil. Place cut side up on a baking sheet. Make sure that it sits flat and balanced. If it’s tilting, just level out the bottom with a knife.
Evenly chop vegetables for the roast. Set aside chopped parsnip and toss in a drizzle of olive oil.
Cover the squash and parsnip with foil and bake for 40 minutes or until they starts to get tender.
In a bowl combine the remaining ingredients for the corn pudding. In a separate bowl, toss the remaining ingredients for the vegetable roast. Fill each of the squash bowls 3/4 full (keep the leftovers for a polenta dish), and add the vegetables evenly alongside the squash. Carefully transfer the squash back to the oven without spilling. Continue baking uncovered for another 30 - 50 minutes, or until the squash is fully cooked through, and the pudding has set. The amount of time it takes can vary depending on the squash and oven. At the last minute sprinkle with toasted pumpkin seeds. Serve.
Serves 6-7.
Mushroom and Leek Tart and NOT “The Tian”
(For this menu, I started making the pastry dough before the squash, and put everything in the above menu in the oven while the dough is chilling in the fridge. As for the recipe, let’s say it’s in need of some work, just to warn you. I loved the flavors, but the texture needs a bit of work.)
pastry dough
1/2 of a leek, thinly sliced
1/2 lbs or so of shiitake mushrooms
1 large heiroom tomato, sliced
1 cup soymilk
1/2 cup (or less or more? use your discretion) all-purpose flour
a tiny pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
as much ground pepper and sea salt as desired
Preheat the oven to 375F degrees with a rack in the middle, and roll out or punch
Put tart pan on a baking sheet and press dough evenly onto bottom and up side of tart pan with your fingertips. In a bowl, mix chopped leeks and a tablespoon of soymilk and flour. Fill the leek mixture evenly in the tart pan.
In the same bowl, now emptied, mix the mushrooms and the rest of the soymilk and flour, along with salt and pepper. Add the mixture on the top of the leek layer. Top it off with sliced tomatoes and bake for 1 hour. Serve warm.
Serves 4-6.
Dessert-Pear Croustade
stay tuned!
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On the last day of the master cleanse, I sort of lost it and inhaled nearly all things edible in sight at a dinner party to celebrate Ben’s birthday. Eager to cook again after a 2-week break and inspired by all the amazing dishes that everyone brought, I invited the plaid pals over for a dinner on Ben’s actual birthday.
As an aspiring lifestyle minimalist, one of my bigger concerns whenever we have people over is the options for serving. Because we are still in the process of settling in as always, we often don’t have enough serving bowls or pans when we try to make enough dishes for more than a couple of people. I also don’t like doing the dishes.
After some thought, the easy solution it seemed, would be to bake everything. Pyrex baking dishes are not Cooper-Hewitt award materials, but they’re not hideous, and they can double as both baking and serving dishes.
Choosing what to bake was easy. I always love roasting autumn root vegetables and squashes. I adapted a Roasted Corn Pudding in Acorn Squash recipe from 101cookbooks, one of my favorite resources. As always, I withheld the dairy and eggs and tried to create a texture of corn grits by adding some polenta and soymilk. I also used different kinds of squashes, and to maximize the use of the pan, roasted some vegetables along with it in the same pan.
I loved Lucy’s version of Martha Stewart’s Vegetable Tian (what the hell is a “tian” ?) that she had made for Benny’s dinner party, so I decided to make my own version of it, but it ended up being nothing at all like the “tian”.
I do feel that my friends are generally polite, and easy to please when it comes to food, but I was particularly proud of this dinner, because it wasn’t as nearly as disorganized as how it usually is. Ben is now closer to being 40 than to being 20, and he’s jokingly mentioned that he wants to be more “adult”. Me too. Kind of. Adults have organized dinners, and follow proper place settings. I wanted to bust out the table cloth, but in the frenzy of ordering dudes to slice vegetables instead of chopping, I forgot about it. But I think this was a decent start. And the birthday dude seemed pleased. Now I am really looking forward to thanksgiving!
Ben’s Birthday Menu
Roasted Corn Pudding in Autumn Squash and Fall Vegetables
For Corn Pudding and Squash
4 (or more) small autumn squash, cut in half lengthwise and seeded
1 tablespoon or more olive oil
1 cup soymilk
1/2 cup (or less) instant polenta or corn meal
kernels from 2 (or more, or less) regular sized corn
1/2 cup chopped leeks
a tiny pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
as much toasted pumpkin seeds, ground pepper and sea salt as desired
For Vegetable Roast
4 (or more) parsnip (or other root vegetable)
1 tbsp or more olive oil
1 bunch of asparagus
1 medium sized red onion
1 medium sized shallot
1 fresh fennel bulb, trimmed of tough outer leaves
as much garlic, salt, pepper, and dill as desired
Preheat the oven to 375F degrees with a rack in the middle.
Rub the flesh of the squash with the oil. Place cut side up on a baking sheet. Make sure that it sits flat and balanced. If it’s tilting, just level out the bottom with a knife.
Evenly chop vegetables for the roast. Set aside chopped parsnip and toss in a drizzle of olive oil.
Cover the squash and parsnip with foil and bake for 40 minutes or until they starts to get tender.
In a bowl combine the remaining ingredients for the corn pudding. In a separate bowl, toss the remaining ingredients for the vegetable roast. Fill each of the squash bowls 3/4 full (keep the leftovers for a polenta dish), and add the vegetables evenly alongside the squash. Carefully transfer the squash back to the oven without spilling. Continue baking uncovered for another 30 - 50 minutes, or until the squash is fully cooked through, and the pudding has set. The amount of time it takes can vary depending on the squash and oven. At the last minute sprinkle with toasted pumpkin seeds. Serve.
Serves 6-7.
Mushroom and Leek Tart and NOT “The Tian”
(For this menu, I started making the pastry dough before the squash, and put everything in the above menu in the oven while the dough is chilling in the fridge. As for the recipe, let’s say it’s in need of some work, just to warn you. I loved the flavors, but the texture needs a bit of work.)
pastry dough
1/2 of a leek, thinly sliced
1/2 lbs or so of shiitake mushrooms
1 large heiroom tomato, sliced
1 cup soymilk
1/2 cup (or less or more? use your discretion) all-purpose flour
a tiny pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
as much ground pepper and sea salt as desired
Preheat the oven to 375F degrees with a rack in the middle, and roll out or punch
Put tart pan on a baking sheet and press dough evenly onto bottom and up side of tart pan with your fingertips. In a bowl, mix chopped leeks and a tablespoon of soymilk and flour. Fill the leek mixture evenly in the tart pan.
In the same bowl, now emptied, mix the mushrooms and the rest of the soymilk and flour, along with salt and pepper. Add the mixture on the top of the leek layer. Top it off with sliced tomatoes and bake for 1 hour. Serve warm.
Serves 4-6.
Dessert-Pear Croustade
stay tuned!
