Butternut, Delicata, and Acorn Squash Gratin with Crispy Sage

winter squash gratin

Today I’m giving you a little inspiration for your Thanksgiving Day table, the holidays are right around the corner, so it’s time to start planning, can you believe it?

This deliciously creamy gratin combines three of my favorite winter squash, butternut, delicata and acorn.

winter squash gratin

They sit nice and pretty in a parmesan and garlic cream sauce and are adorned with crispy sage leaves, you couldn’t ask for a better combination of flavors!

winter squash

Besides tasting over the top amazing,  I love the presentation that happens by using the different squash shapes together.

winter squash

I pre-roasted my squash a little, then layered them into a buttered casserole dish.

winter squash gratin

The cream sauce is made ahead of time then carefully spooned all around the squash slices being careful to leave some squash peeking through, that’s what makes the presentation so pretty.

It’s a show stopper for the holiday season when we’re all allowed to indulge a little!

winter squash gratin

Wouldn’t this be dreamy sitting next to your Turkey this year?

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5.0 from 4 reviews
Butternut, Delicata, and Acorn Squash Gratin with Crispy Sage
 
A winter squash gratin, the perfect side dish for the holiday season or just to impress your guests.
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Ingredients
  • 1 butternut squash, neck part only, skin removed, then cut into rounds
  • 1 delicata squash, skin on, then sliced into rings, remove pulp and seeds
  • 1 acorn squash, skin on, remove pulp and seeds, quarter it then make slices,
  • cut all squash about ¼ inch slices, not too thick and not too thin
  • 2 cups, heavy cream
  • 2 handfuls of grated Parmigiano Reggiano
  • 2 finely grated garlic cloves, done on a microplane
  • ¾ stick of unsalted butter
  • 1 bunch of fresh sage leaves
Instructions
  1. I pre- roasted all the squash just to make sure it wouldn't be hard, on a baking sheet at 400 degrees, drizzled with olive oil, sprinkled with salt and pepper, just until al dente, where it still had a little bite.
  2. After they cool place squash into a buttered 13x9 casserole dish. (these first two steps can be done the day before and refrigerated overnight, before adding cream sauce.) If you do it the day before, take it out and get it to room temp, before adding sauce.
  3. TO MAKE THE CREAM SAUCE:
  4. In a small sauce pan on low flame, add butter and garlic, just until garlic is fragrant, not brown, then add cream, salt and pepper too taste.
  5. Simmer cream sauce just until the edges start to bubble, then turn off the heat and let it set up for a minute.
  6. Add the Parmigiano, stir well, then spoon the cream sauce all around the squash in casserole dish, leaving some of the squash exposed but spreading it all around and in between.
  7. Place casserole dish into a 450 degree oven until bubbly and nicely golden, keep checking.
  8. Garnish with crispy sage leaves, by melting a tablespoon or two of butter in a small pan, when butter is hot throw the leaves in and they will start to sizzle and get crispy, remove immediately.

 

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Zucchini Tomato Gratin

zucchini gratin Our garden is producing wonderful things and I’m inspired daily to use everything we pick. Winter comes all too soon here and it’s going to be really sad to say goodbye to all this freshness! So for now I give you my version of a gratin.

I like to make this in a wide pan, I use this paella pan that I have, I’m sure you’ve seen it in many of my posts, but I love it I can’t help it! I’m sure a cast iron pan would work as well.
First layer; Sweet Vadalia onion ring slices on a nice drizzle of olive oil ( the pan I use gets them all caramelized on the bottom)
Sliced zucchini
Handfull of romano cheese spread all over
Toasted homemade Italian bread crumbs spread about
Small cherry tomatoes placed all around
I had some cut leeks I needed to use so I threw them in, glad I did!
Drizzle with olive oil
More cheese
More breadcrumbs
Repeat!
Garnish with fresh snipped basil
Place in a hot oven at 425 till tender and crispy and the tomatoes pop and get caramelized, you could even place it under the broiler at the end to crisp up the top more, I have a convection roast feature on my stove so that always does the trick.
The imported romano cheese, the tomatoes ( you must use cherry tomatoes, please) the homemade breadcrumbs and those caramelized onions paired with the zucchini, I’m telling you I could almost become a vegetarian!

But instead I made more of that beautiful cod along side it. I saw this preparation on the cable TV show, Every Day Food, it’s so simple but BURSTING with flavor! Chop up some fresh herbs, I used basil, chives and parsley, now grate some fresh lemon zest into the mix. Salt and pepper your fish and swipe the top with Dijon mustard, now press it down into the herb mixture and of course drizzle with olive oil. Bake at 425 till translucent. This…Was…Fabulous! The fresh herbs complemented the fish so well, so light, so summer!

Now for a little palette cleanser, how about some Key Lime Pie. Sorta. You see my husband and I are crazy about key lime pie, but living here in Chicagoland key limes are not readily available so I never even thought about making this, until I saw Pioneer Woman’s post on it.
She calls it Key Lime Pie, Sorta because she uses regular limes not key limes, no problem here because I just bought 20 limes for $1.00! So I was inspired. I won’t even tell you how many times I’ve made it this summer, we crave it! I know it’s not the so called “real thing” but it’s darn close!
So before summer is over all you key lime pie lovers, you MUST make this! So here’s the recipe.
Note: From my guilt of making this so often I used reduced fat condensed milk and I even bought a reduced fat graham cracker crust and the result was just as good. I would encourage you to try her version first, but if you go past 3 pies like I did, you might want to think about switching things up! It’s so refreshing on a hot summer day.
Enjoy your weekend and Buon Appetito!
Oh, next week August 15Th is my 3 year Blogiversary I hope you can stop by for a visit, I have a nice giveaway too!
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