jénoise's entrée page

Serves 4

The flavors in this dish scream FALL! Squash the super staple flavored with sage and nutty browned butter. Turn on the oven and warm up your home and tummies with this wonderful meatless entrée. To complement the meal, serve with a simple green salad.

• 4 butternut squash (about 2 1/2 - 3 pounds)
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh sage
• 1/3 cup low fat sour cream
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
• 1/4 cup toasted bread crumbs

Preheat oven to 450 degree F.

Halve the quash in half from pole to pole. Remove seeds and fibers; place in a shallow baking dish and cover with foil. Bake until tender (about 30 to 40 minutes). Remove squash from baking dish and place on rack to cool.

Reduce heat to 400 degree F.

Heat the butter and sage in a small pan until butter begins to brown lightly and smell nutty; set a side.

When the squash is cool enough to handle, scrape out the flesh of the squash. Leave a 1/2 inch border on 4 halves and discard the rest. Mix together butter and sage mixture, sour cream and salt and pepper and fill squash shells.

Combine cheese and bread crumbs. Sprinkle top of squash with cheese and bread crumb mixture. Bake until golden brown and warmed to the center (about 25 minutes).

spanokopita

• 2 10-ounces packages of (defrosted) chopped spinach
• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive
• 1 bunch of green onions, green and white parts finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon of dried dill or 2 tablespoons fresh dill
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 3 eggs, lightly beaten
• 8 ounces feta cheese, crumbled
• 1 package frozen 1 package frozen phyllo pastry, defrosted pastry, defrosted

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Put the defrosted spinach into cheese cloth or a clean tea towel to remove as much liquid as possible.

In a large skillet, heat 1/4 cup of the oil and sauté the green onions until soft, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and add spinach, dill and salt and pepper, eggs, and feta cheese; stir until well combined.

With a pastry brush, coat a 9x13-inch pan with some of the remaining oil. Lay a sheet of phyllo dough in the pan, brushing it with oil. Layer 4 more sheets of pastry, each time brushing with oil. Spread half the spinach mixture over the phyllo. Cover this with 3 more sheets of phyllo, brushing oil on each sheet. Spread the rest of the spinach mixture over this and layer 5 more sheets; each sheet brushed with oil.

With a sharp knife, score the spanokopita into serving squares before baking. Bake for about 40 minutes or until golden and crisp. Serve warm or room temperature.

köttbullar (swedish meatballs)

• 4 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 3 tablespoons minced onion
• 1/2 cup bread crumbs
• 1 1/4 cups milk
• 1/2 pound ground beef
• 1/2 pound ground lean pork
• 1 egg
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 tablespoon unbleached flour
• 3/4 to 1 cup milk or water

melt 1 tablespoon of butter in skillet and sauté onion until golden brown. soak bread crumbs in milk. add meat, egg, onion, cornstarch, salt and pepper; mix thoroughly. roll into balls about the size of walnuts. the best method for doing this is by using one hand and a spoon dipped in a bowl of cold water.

brown butter 1 tablespoon of butter in a frying pan. add meatballs to pan and fry in batches; 10-15 minutes or until evenly browned. shake pan continuously to retain their round shape. put each batch into a serving dish and keep warm. reserve pan juices and then clean pan. repeat until all meatballs have been cooked.

to a sauté pan add reserved pan juices, flour and milk; whisk until well to combine. simmer mixture for 5 minutes and adjust seasoning to taste with salt and pepper. add more milk if too thick. serve gravy alongside or on top of meatballs.