Molten Lava Cakes
Adapted from Nigela Lawson’s Choco-Hoto-Pots
http://www.oprah.com/foodhome/food/recipes/food_20030718_chocolate.jhtml
Serves 4
1 cup chocolate chips
1 stick of butter
2 eggs
3 tablespoons flour
¾ cup powdered sugar
(cut ingredients in half to serve 2)
Heat oven to 400 degrees
Butter the inside of 4 2/3-cup ramekins (or 3 larger individual-sized ramekins)
Melt stick of butter with chocolate using double-boiler method or simply put in the pre-heated oven in oven-safe bowl for a few minutes.
Mix flour, sugar and egg
Fold melted chocolate and butter mixture in with egg/flour mixture. Stir well and pour into ramekins.
Bake for 14-18 minutes until tops are cracked and shiny but inside is still gooey. The longer they are cooked, the less gooey the inside becomes.
Serve on plate with scoop of vanilla or coffee flavored ice cream. Add white chocolate chips to batter if desired.
Butternut Squash and Sage Pasta
1 butternut squash (use other squash if desired)
1 or 2 cloves of garlic (or more if desired)
1/4 of sweet yellow onion
1/2 stick of butter
1 bunch of sage (prepackaged store bought amount is fine)
1 lb of pasta. Use rigatoni or penne and cut the squash into small or medium chunks depending on the size of your pasta.
1 or
olive oil, salt and pepper, cinnamon and ginger powder to taste (cinnamon and ginger optional)
This is good with small slices of prosciutto or prosciutto crisps as garnish.
Heat oven to 400 degrees.
Cut butternut squash in half, clean out seeds and pulp. Drizzle olive oil on squash and roast on cookie sheet for 20-30 minutes.
Finely chop onions and sage and mince garlic.
Cube squash (smaller pieces for penne or small tubes of pasta).
In a sauté pan, sweat onions and garlic in olive oil. Add ½ stick of butter and melt, then add sage. Let sage soften and infuse butter. Add squash to pan and stir together on low heat. Season squash mixture with a pinch of ginger and cinnamon and salt and pepper to taste. Heat until squash is thoroughly heated. (You can bypass the squash roasting by cooking the squash on the stovetop until thoroughly cooked but not mushy.)
Boil salted water and add pasta. Cook according to package directions.
Strain pasta and put in large shallow serving
Pour squash mixture over pasta.
Grate parmesan cheese and serve. If pasta is dry, add drizzle of olive oil.
Serves 4-6.
MAKE IT A MEAL
Serve pasta with prosciutto wrapped asapargus that are cooked on the grill or in the broiler and sourdough bread.
