What I Made for Dinner: November 14, 2010

Butternut squash baked risotto.

I really love getting Everyday Food magazine.  Sometimes it's just for ideas or reminders of things I already know how to make but have forgotten.  Sometimes, though, it prints a recipe that I've never heard of before and I think:  Oh where have you been all my life.

This recipe?  Is one of those.  It's in the November issue, which is well worth the newsstand price.  I love risotto but making it means standing at the stove stirring, so you can't do anything else such as making sure that an accident-prone three-year-old doesn't knock his own teeth out. 

Sigh.  Never mind.

Anyway, why have I never thought of baked risotto?  No stirring.  The most time-consuming part of this meal was breaking down a butternut squash into one-inch dice.

Then, I sauteed diced onion, added thyme, rice and garlic, added a little wine.  The standard risotto beginning.

I stirred in some chicken broth, some spinach, and the squash, covered the pot and popped it into the oven.

It baked for about half an hour, during which time no one lost any teeth at all

and when it was finished, I stirred in grated parmesan cheese and topped it with some crispy fried sage leaves. 

Everyone loved it.  It's going into the rotation.  Thanks, Everyday Food!