Ensalada de Noche Buena

This salad, from Cooking Light, was a bit labor intensive but quite good. The dressing was fantastic and the citrus was light and refreshing. The radishes didn't bring much to the flavor, and the jicama wasn't very good (I think we just got a bad one, but it didn't add much to the recipe we feel). When we make this again, we'll probably omit the radishes and jicama in any case. We also used sour cream instead of the yogurt, simply because we didn't have the yogurt. We think this recipe would be fantastic with grilled shrimp during the summer.

From Cooking Light Magazine

Nicole got a subscription to Cooking Light Magazine for Christmas this year, and this is the first recipie we've tried from it. It was quite good, but needed a bit of spicing up. We added about a teaspoon of hot pepper sauce. This wasn't enough to make it hot, but just amped up the flavor a bit.

This recipe came from AllRecipes.com. It had great flavor (I like lamb more than Nicole does), and was quite filling. The lamb was very tender. We had it with flatbread.

A friend from work requested our Butternut Squash Soup recipe, but it turns out we usually make a combination of two of them... here they are:

Butternut Squash Soup

• 1 medium butternut squash (about 2 1/4 pounds)
• Nonstick vegetable oil spray
• 1 medium onion, chopped (about 1 cup)
• 1 Tbsp. freshly grated ginger - optional
• 3 Tbsp. unsalted butter
• 3 cups chicken broth
• 1-2 cups water, as needed
• Sour cream for garnish

Preheat oven to 350°. Cut squash in half lengthwise and scoop out the seeds. Arrange the halves cut side down in roasting pan that has been sprayed with nonstick vegetable oil spray. Bake squash in the oven for 40-45 minutes or until very tender. Set aside to cool. When the squash is completely cool, scoop the flesh from the skin. While the squash is baking, cook the onion and the ginger in the butter in a saucepan, over moderately low heat, for 5 minutes – until the onion is softened. Add the broth and simmer the mixture for 10 minutes, covered. Add the squash pulp to the saucepan.

Transfer the mixture to a blender or food processor, in batches, and puree until smooth. Add enough water to achieve the desired consistency, and salt and pepper to taste. Return the soup to the saucepan and cook over moderate heat until it's hot. Garnish each portion with a heaping teaspoon of low-fat sour cream.

Roasted and Curried Butternut Squash Soup

Prep Time: approx. 30 Minutes.
Cook Time: approx. 1 Hour 10 Minutes.
Makes 8 servings.

• 1 butternut squash, halved and seeded
• 2 large onions, peeled and quartered
• 1 medium head garlic
• 6 cups vegetable broth
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 teaspoon brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon mild curry powder
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 cup plain yogurt
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or aluminum foil.

Place squash halves and onion onto the prepared baking sheet. Wrap garlic in foil and set with other vegetables.

Roast in the center of the oven for 45 to 60 minutes, until the squash is tender. Remove from oven and set aside until cool enough to handle.

Squeeze garlic cloves out of their skin like paste into a food processor. Scrape the flesh from the squash and place into the food processor along with the roasted onion. Puree until smooth. Add vegetable broth if necessary. transfer the pureed mixture to a stockpot and stir in vegetable broth. Season with the bay leaf, brown sugar, curry powder, oregano, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a boil and simmer gently for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in yogurt.

Remove bay leaf and serve hot. Garnish with fresh parsley if desired.

Last night we participated in a class at Sur La Table Taught by Sheilah Kaufman