Butternut Squash Mac and Cheese

Growing up, homemade mac and cheese was a special treat and my mom always topped it with Ritz crackers. I loved the baked pasta effect, almost too cooked, with creamy sauce and crunchy, salty topping. When I went to grad school, a classmate shared Chef John’s Mac and Cheese recipe which is the basis of every mac and cheese I’ve made since. I love his combo of spices and flavourings to the bechamel, pre-cheese. I don’t always have all of his spices on hand, so I’ve simplified it down to the main flavourings that I think make a difference to a great base sauce. 

I love how butternut squash adds a gentle sweetness to the sauce which gets balanced by the nuttiness of the cheese, the savoury of the dijon, and the spice from the hot sauce. It’s creamy, saucy, warm, comforting - everything you need for a pandemic baked pasta. I don’t have kids but I have been cooking for my father for the last three months, who has a very similar aversion to vegetables that TV shows make it seem like 4-year-olds have, and let me tell you - he didn’t even know there was butternut squash in there! It’s sneakily the same colour as cheddar cheese so it just makes it seem extra cheesy while adding in all those extra nutrients for the children (and adults) in your life.

During the pandemic, I have really been seeking comfort food, which this past year has been the form of pasta. I pretty much make a pasta dish at minimum once a week, and this baked butternut squash mac and cheese has been a go-to. You can halve the recipe if cooking for a smaller household, or freeze half (before baking) in an 8x8 tin foil pan for an easy weekday meal for future you.

Tips for this recipe:

Cook out the flour

The sauce starts by cooking out the flour with your butter. It’s ok if it seizes up a bit when you add in the spices, I’ve never had an issue with my roux breaking down smoothly into the milk later on, no matter how crumbly it gets. I like to let my flour/butter mixture deepen in colour so I know the flour is really cooked out - there’s nothing worse than a raw flour flavour!

Add your spices and flavourings to your roux before the milk

Once my butter/flour looks toasty, I add the dried spices, mustard and Worcestershire sauce to the roux. Allowing spices to toast in fat brings out more flavour - adding them now vs once there’s milk will deepen their flavour!

Whisk well when you add in the milk

When you add in your milk, whisk really, really well to ensure the roux breaks down smoothly into the liquid. If your milk is cold it will take some time for it to heat through. Once it does, continue to whisk until thickened.

Don’t overcook your macaroni!

Since you are going to mix your noodles with the sauce and bake in the oven, the noodles will continue to cook. It’s really critical to cook your macaroni a little under so you don’t end up with noodle mush after it bakes. I usually shave off 1 minute from the package's recommended time. Use a timer!

Butternut squash vs other squashes

You can sub in any squash into this recipe - I’ve made it before with acorn squash and it was delicious. Every squash has a slightly different flavour profile and water content, but this recipe flexes to work with them all.

Roast your squash early in the day

Roasting your squash is pretty hands-off, so popping it in the oven early in the day makes the rest of the prep feel less overwhelming. You can store the squash in the fridge until ready to use!

---

Butternut Squash Mac and Cheese

1 hour for roasting squash, 50 mins for the rest of the recipe!

Ingredients

500 g macaroni noodles, cooked according to package instructions less 1 minute

3 tbsp butter

3 tbsp flour

1 tbsp dijon mustard

½ tsp onion powder

½ tsp garlic powder

½ tsp dried thyme

½ - 1 tsp Tabasco hot sauce (or other vinegar-based hot sauce)

1 tsp Worcestershire sauce

3 cups of milk (1% or above)

1 cup roasted squash, mashed until smooth (instructions below)

1 ½ cup grated old cheddar cheese

1 cup of Ritz crackers, crumbled (20-ish crackers)

Freshly cracked black pepper

A drizzle of olive oil

Method:

Prep your squash: This step can be done up to 2 days before, with mashed squash stored in an airtight container in the fridge.

Cut the squash in half lengthwise, removing the seeds with a spoon. Place face down on a parchment/silicone mat lined cookie sheet and roast at 400F for 40-60 mins (depends on the size of the squash) until fork tender. Other ways to tell if it’s done: skin is lifting from the flesh and some caramel appears on the cookie sheet. Set aside to cool before mashing. 

1. When you’re ready to start prepping your meal, start by getting your noodles ready and continue the other steps at the same time: Bring a large pot of water to a boil and season well with salt. Cook pasta according to the package, minus 1 minute, as your pasta will continue to cook in the oven. Drain (do not rinse!). 

2. In a medium pot add your flour and butter and heat over medium heat. Once the butter melts whisk together to form a thin paste and allow it to cook for 3-5 minutes until it deepens in colour and the butter is visibly sizzling.

3. Add in your seasonings: dijon mustard, onion powder, garlic powder, dried thyme, tabasco, Worcestershire sauce and whisk/stir into your flour/butter mixture. Continue cooking for 2 mins.

4. Pour in your milk and whisk well until roux breaks down fully into the milk and it appears smooth. Continue to heat over medium heat, whisking periodically. Once the milk reaches full temperature the sauce will begin to thicken. Continue to whisk until you feel a pull in the sauce while you whisk, or until it coats the back of a spoon.

5. Taste the sauce - does it taste good? Does it need some salt to bring out the flavours? You are about to add in some unseasoned squash so you want the sauce before cheese and squash to taste really good! Season with salt and pepper to taste.

6. Remove sauce from heat and stir in grated cheese + mashed squash. Continue to stir until smooth - it may look a little streaky from the squash (there’s water content in the squash so it can make your sauce appear slightly split but it will be ok!).

7. Combine your cheese sauce with your prepared noodles in an oven-safe baking dish (casserole dish - my 2.8L casserole dish works perfectly). Top with your crushed ritz crackers, a good amount of freshly cracked black pepper, and a drizzle of olive oil.

8. Bake at 350F for 25 minutes until the top is browned and the sauce is bubbling! Allow to sit for 10-15 minutes before serving to allow the sauce to set. Enjoy!

Baked Salmon with Mango Salsa

This is a meal that is in my weekly rotation, and I’ve been meaning to share it on here for a long time. I went back through my phone to upload the photos for this post, as I remember shooting this dish and drafting the recipe last year. Weirdly enough, these photos are from March 1, 2020. It’s funny to think about what life was like then - I had just moved into my own apartment and I remember being really busy with work because we had a big campaign launching later that week. I ran out of time to finish typing up the recipe on the weekend, and then the next two weeks were a bit of a blur. Between work and the changing world around us, I remember feeling overwhelmed by everything. I definitely had a lot of time in those first few weeks of lockdown to finish this recipe, but I did not have the motivation to work on anything long-form. So here we are, almost a year later, with the recipe ready to share and a bizarre feeling thinking about how different life was before the pandemic.

This dish was a go-to meal growing up, we probably ate it once a week in the summer. The mango salsa is so fresh, it pairs perfectly with the fatty salmon. Sometimes in the summer, we would do the fish on the BBQ in tin foil packets, with salt and pepper, lemon slices on top. Although it’s a summer dish, I enjoy this year-round to bring some brightness to my week.

Salmon is a great fish for carrying a lot of flavour, and it doesn’t taste too “fishy”. The salsa is so colourful, and since it’s packed with flavour you don’t need to do much to the salmon (just salt and pep!). I sometimes double the salsa recipe so that I have leftovers, which are great to top tacos or use as a dip with tortilla chips. The salsa will hold up well in the fridge for multiple days (3-5). You could add in some diced avocado as well to add in some creaminess if having it as a dip.

Here are a few tips and alternatives for the recipe:

Salmon:

If you can, try to source local and Oceanwise labelled fish. The recipe also works great with other pink-fleshed fish like trout if you live far from the ocean. 

Mango: 

If you aren’t able to source a ripe mango, you could also swap in pineapple. I would say half a fresh pineapple would yield roughly the same amount as a mango.

• To slice a mango, I follow this method here: slice straight on each side of the pit, then run the knife into a grid in the flesh (without piercing the skin) and scoop out from the skin.

Red pepper:

Adds a gentle spice to the salsa, a bit of bite to cut through the sweetness of the mango. You could swap in another coloured pepper, like orange or yellow. I would avoid green since it will add a really different flavour.

Red onion:

If you don’t have a red onion on hand, a shallot would work great. I have also made this salsa using green onion, just ensure you use the whole thing (including the white part) to get that sharp onion flavour.

Cilantro:

If you are cilantro-adverse, you could fully omit or you could switch in another soft herb like parsley or mint. 

How to serve:

I love this with steamed rice, and a roasted green veggie, like broccoli or asparagus. I like to fluff my rice with a little bit of coconut oil and salt and pepper for a gentle coconut flavour with the fish. 

---

Baked Salmon with Mango Salsa

Serves 4, 30 mins

Ingredients:

4 fresh Atlantic salmon portions (or other pink fish of your choice - trout works great too!)

1 mango, diced

½ a red pepper, diced

¼ a red onion, finely diced

¼ cup of fresh cilantro (optional), finely chopped

Juice of 1 lime (roughly 2 tbsp lime juice)

¼ tsp kosher salt

Salt and pepper to taste

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 375F. 

2. Place fish fillets on a parchment-lined cookie sheet or another oven safe dish. Lightly season with salt and pepper right before putting in the oven (do not do this too early or your fish will break down)

3. Meanwhile, mix together all of the salsa ingredients in a medium bowl. Taste and adjust your seasoning - if it tastes too sweet add a little more salt until the savouriness of the pepper and onion comes through.

4. Cook the salmon until opaque and flaky, about 15-20 minutes depending on how thick the salmon is. I like to test my salmon with a cake tester to see how easily it flakes. It should flake without much pressure.

5. Remove salmon from the oven and serve with rice, topped with mango salsa. I prefer the salsa room temperature or cool from the fridge.

Sweet and Spicy Cauliflower Bites

I am currently home in Halifax for a few months to wait out the winter, so I’ve been enjoying cooking for my parents again. I live alone in Toronto and knew that the winter would be tough in the pandemic without … human contact. While I am home my mom and I are trying to eat more plant-based meals coming off the holidays, which involved a lot of meat and pastries, and pastry wrapped meat. These cauliflower bites are the perfect veggie appetizer, snack or main (paired with a big salad).

Cauliflower has become really trendy in the last few years but I’m kind of ok with it. I find it super filling, and these bites are no exception. It’s also a blank canvas that can take on pretty much any flavour. I also love how cauliflower can become so creamy when cooked through, and these bites pair that creamy texture with a crispy, slightly chewy exterior. 

I am borderline obsessed with these cauliflower bites. I love that they are made in one bowl, and the texture they get without oil or frying makes me very happy. I hate when you have to set up an intense dredging station to get something breaded (one bowl for egg, one bowl for flour, one bowl for crust). It’s worth the effort but sometimes you just don’t want to put in the effort, ya know?

The key to these cauliflower bites is the biscuit-like batter, that when cooked for a super long time gets crispy and holds up against the sauce. The batter completely coats the cauliflower, seeping into all the little crevices, making an almost fritter meets cauliflower bite… bite. 

There are a lot of different directions you could take these bites - Franks Red Hot Sauce paired with ranch to go traditional buffalo style; I am also going to try them out with some spices added to the batter (like chili powder and cumin) to use for cauliflower tacos. But today’s recipe is inspired by flavours of the Vietnamese sauce nuoc cham. Typically nuoc cham includes water so this is a bit more concentrated. I also added in melted butter to allow the sauce to emulsify, helping it coat the cauliflower more evenly and added a bit of richness. The sauce is tangy, sweet and spicy. Topping with fresh herbs or sliced green onion adds some freshness to finish them off.

A few tips:

• Spread out the cauliflower on the cookie sheet to ensure it gets nice and crispy. If you overcrowd the pan, the bites will steam - you need enough space to let the air circulate

• 45 minutes feels like a long time in the high heat but don’t take them out sooner! You want them to deeply cook. They may have some brown bits and that’s ok! That’s just extra flavour.

To serve:

• Best served fresh out of the oven and tossed in the sauce.

• They will keep ok in the fridge, but they may lose some of their crunch the next day but will still be very flavourful. If you can reheat in a toaster oven or the oven vs. the microwave, that will preserve some of the texture.

---

Sweet and Spicy Cauliflower Bites

Serves 4-6 appetizer style

15-minute prep, 45-minute cook time

Ingredients

1 head of cauliflower, leaves and stem removed, cut into bite-sized pieces

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup panko

1 egg

1/2 tsp kosher salt

½ cup water or milk

2 tbsp butter

1 tbsp honey

1/2 tsp fish sauce (my favourite brand is Red Boat)

1 tsp sriracha (or other hot sauce/chilli sauce like sambal oelek)

1/4 tsp kosher salt

Juice of 1 lime (roughly 2 tbsp)

Optional toppings: fresh herbs (basil, mint) or green onions

Method 

1. Preheat the oven to 425F. Prepare a cookie sheet with a silicone mat or line with parchment paper.

2. In a large bowl, stir together the batter ingredients until smooth - should look like a drippy/loose biscuit batter.

3. Add in your chopped cauliflower and toss to coat. Ensure you toss well - you want every little crevice of the cauliflower to be coated.

4. Place the coated cauliflower onto the prepared cookie sheet one at a time, in one layer, with plenty of space between each piece.

5. Bake for 45 minutes, until they get really dark and crispy. You can flip them over partway through to ensure both sides crisp up.

6. Meanwhile, prep the sauce. In a microwave-safe bowl add the honey and butter. Melt in the microwave. Add in the fish sauce, hot sauce and lime juice, whisking until well emulsified. Taste and adjust with salt and pepper!

7. When the cauliflower is done take it out of the oven and put them in a large heat-safe bowl. Pour over the sauce and toss the cauliflower until they are evenly coated.

8. Serve on a platter topped with any soft fresh herbs you have on hand (ex. Basil, mint) and sliced green onion.

Spanakopita (Leek and Spinach Cheese Pies)

I absolutely love Greek food. My mom and I used to always go to Greek restaurants as our mother-daughter dates growing up, and when I moved to Toronto in 2015 I happened to move to Greektown. Through the years I mastered when to cross the street so that I wouldn’t be on the same side as the tavernas with spinach and cheese pie in the window. It was too hard not to stop in and pick up a $3 slice to take home. I love making this recipe when I have a weekend afternoon free - they take a bit of prep and assembly, but they freeze super well (uncooked) which makes them a handy little snack for future-you or easy entertaining! These are perfect as an appetizer or pair with a big salad for a veggie main. As you have probably picked up from other recipes, I love leeks dearly and prefer them in the filling here, but you could always swap for white onion. 

A few tips:

Frozen vs Fresh spinach

I would definitely use frozen spinach over fresh for this recipe. I don’t think fresh is worth the effort here, plus it will save you money! You need the spinach cooked, so may as well use the already cooked stuff! The only thing to watch out for is the water content of the frozen spinach once you defrost it. You really want to get as much water out of it as possible otherwise you’ll have soggy spanakopitas. Here is how I prep the frozen spinach:

• Ideally, I take it out of the freezer when I take out the phyllo pastry (2-3 hours prior to assembly)

• If after 2 hours on the counter it hasn’t fully defrosted, I put it in a bowl to let it fully defrost in the microwave. 

• I then pour into a fine-mesh sieve and allow the water to drain into a bowl below.

• I use the back of a spoon to push on the spinach and squeeze out as much water as possible!

• You could also use cheesecloth to do this, but this saves your hands from getting spinach juice all over them!

Fresh herbs vs dried herbs

If you don’t have fresh herbs, you can also omit these! Or you could sub in dried herbs. I would do 3 tbsp of dried herbs instead of ½ cup of fresh since dried herbs are generally more concentrated in flavour.

How to Freeze

If you plan on baking them within a few days, you could store them uncooked in the fridge. I prefer to freeze the ones I am not baking immediately. To freeze, I place them in a single layer on a parchment paper-lined cookie sheet and freeze for 1-2 hours. Once they are fully frozen, I then put them into a freezer-grade plastic bag or sealed container. Freezing them first in a single layer will ensure they don’t stick together in the freezer.

Serving

These are best served fresh from the oven, but after they are baked they will keep well at room temperature for 1 hour, so they do make for perfect party food. 

---

Spanakopita (Leek and Spinach Cheese Pies)

Yields 24-36 small (three-bite) individual pie triangles

Note: this recipe will use roughly half a package of phyllo pastry. If you’d like to use the full package, double the recipe! Or use the leftovers to make half a baklava recipe in an 8x8 pan - this is my go-to recipe!

Ingredients:

1 package of frozen, cooked spinach, thawed

1 package of frozen phyllo pastry, thawed

1 leek, sliced thinly (white part only)

1 tbsp butter

1 tsp olive oil

½ cup fresh herbs - I prefer dill, but parsley can also be used

2 cups of feta cheese, crumbled

1 egg

Salt and pepper to taste

For assembly:

Approx ½ cup - ¾ cup melted butter (to brush on phyllo)

Method:

Pre-prep:

• Minimum 2 hours prior to starting, remove your phyllo pastry from the freezer to allow it to defrost.  This is also a good time to take your spinach out to defrost.

Making the filling:

• Heat a pan to medium heat and add in the butter and olive oil. Add in your sliced leeks, saute until buttery and soft - approximately 8 mins. Season leeks with salt and pepper. Set aside and allow to cool to room temperature (if you mix it in too hot it will cook your egg!)

• Drain spinach really well by pressing it with the back of a spoon in a strainer. Once well-drained, put the spinach onto a cutting board and run your knife through the packed spinach a few times to chop it roughly. Add the chopped spinach to a large bowl.

• To your large bowl with the spinach, you can add your feta, fresh herbs and cooled leeks. Mix together until everything is well distributed. Take a little taste - does it taste good? Does it need more salt? Maybe some pepper? Taste and adjust the seasoning until it tastes yummy.

• Once you are happy with the seasoning, crack in one egg and mix it into your filling mixture.

The Assembly:

• Set up your assembly station: you’ll need melted butter, a pastry or bbq brush, a pizza cutter or sharp knife, and a cutting board

• While you are assembling I recommend putting a damp clean kitchen towel on top of the phyllo pastry so it doesn’t dry out.

• Take a sheet of phyllo. Brush half of the sheet with melted butter and fold the other half over. Using a pizza cutter or a sharp knife to cut the now half-sized sheet into 3 long strips (or 2 if you want them to be bigger).

• Place a heaping tablespoon of filling at the end of the strip, and brush butter over the rest of the strip. Fold over the filling from the bottom corner to the top of the strip, forming a triangle. Then continue to fold the triangle repeatedly down the strip until all the phyllo is used (This is hard to explain so I have saved a video to my Instagram story highlights!).

• Repeat for all of your strips until all of the filling is used. 

• Once all of your pies are assembled, you can either freeze for later or bake right away.

• To bake, preheat the oven to 350F. Place spanakopitas on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet 1 inch apart and bake until golden brown on top, approximately 15 mins. 

  • From frozen they take 20-25 mins.

Mushroom Tourtiere

Meat pies have always been a Christmas tradition in our house. I remember my grandmother used to make rabbit pies on Christmas Eve - she always told me my piece of pie was from the “chicken” pie, bless her. As I got older and more interested in cooking, as well as our Acadian background, I started making tourtieres to enjoy on December 23rd. A new tradition was born, and each year the “tourtiere” night grew as well. One of my dear friends who attends every year is vegetarian, so I’ve been playing around with a veggie tourtiere recipe for the past few Christmases. I wanted it to have the same warming flavour as tourtiere, and for the filling to have a similar texture. The different mushrooms add savouriness, and the variety of nuts add texture (and nuttiness!). Since mushrooms and nuts can be a bit one-note in flavour, I have added a balsamic maple reduction to drizzle over the filling right before it’s baked so that every bite tastes a little different. Some bites you’ll get the reduction, others will just be mushrooms. A new adventure every time! 

Tips for the pie

Cut everything into equal sizes

To replicate the texture of a pie with ground meat, I try to cut my mushroom, celery, leeks and nuts into relatively equally small pieces. This gives it a bit of a crumbly texture, and then the grated potato with the broth helps hold the filling together.

Do not disturb the mushrooms

Mushrooms have the ability to get a deep brown colour to them if they aren’t fussed with too much. Once you add in your mushrooms to the pan, walk away! It’s always tempting to stir and move around food in a pan, but letting the mushrooms sit undisturbed will allow them to get a nice, deep colour (which means more flavour!).

Serve it with a nice, bright salad

The pie is pretty heavy, so a bright, acidic salad will pair well with this. My Go-To Winter Salad is a perfect partner. Even some simple arugula dressed with lemon juice, olive oil and salt and pepper would be great! 

---

Mushroom Tourtiere

Makes 1 x 8 inch pie, or 2 x 4 inch mini pies

2 hours total, assuming your pie crust dough is ready/chilled

Ingredients:

Filling:

1-2 tbsp butter

1 tbsp olive oil

3-4 cups of diced mixed mushrooms - (I did 1 portobello mushroom, 1 large oyster mushroom and 1 pint of shiitake)

2 celery stalks, finely diced

1 leek, sliced

¼ cup chopped pecans

¼ cup chopped walnuts

½ tsp dried thyme

¼ tsp ground cinnamon

⅛ tsp ground clove

⅛ tsp ground nutmeg

1 potato, grated

⅓ cup vegetable broth

2 pie crusts (here are my two go-to recipes: all butter or butter/shortening)

Optional: balsamic maple reduction

¼ cup balsamic vinegar

1 tbsp maple syrup

Optional: egg wash

1 egg

2 tsp water

Method:

Make the filling:

1. In a cast-iron pan or frying pan, heat 1 tbsp of butter and 1 tbsp of olive oil over medium heat.

2. Add in your leek and celery, cooking for 3-5 mins until softened. Season with a pinch of salt.

3. Add in your mixed mushrooms. DO NOT DISTURB. Allow to brown on one side for 4-5 mins before stirring. Then DO NOT DISTURB. If you move mushrooms too much they release liquid and steam vs. brown. Once your mushrooms are perfectly browned, move to the next step.

4. Add in your chopped nuts and spices, giving a gentle stir to allow everything to mix together. This is where you could add in the extra 1 tbsp of butter if needed.

5. After everything is nice and toasty (3-5 mins), add in your grated potato and vegetable broth. Stir to distribute the potato throughout the filling and cover with a lid for 8-10 mins, until most of the liquid is absorbed and the potato is cooked.

6. Taste and adjust seasoning - does it need more salt? More pepper perhaps? Continue to taste and season until it tastes yummy. Set aside.

Make the balsamic maple reduction:

• Bring balsamic vinegar and maple syrup to a boil in a small pot over medium-high heat. Keep an eye on it. It will eventually start to thicken, around the 5-minute mark. Remove from heat.

To assemble the pie:

• Fit the pie crust into the 8-inch pie pan.

• Add in your mushroom/nut/potato filling. Drizzle the balsamic maple reduction on top of the filling.

• Top with the second pie crust, sealing your edges and crimping in the style you prefer. 

• Cut three air holes into the top of the pie.

• Place the pie in the fridge for minimum 30 mins to allow the pie crust to firm up again. If you put a warm pie crust in the oven you will have a shrunken pie!

To bake the pie:

• Preheat oven to 375F.

• In a bowl whisk together 1 egg with 2 tsp of water. Brush the top of the pie with the egg wash.

• Bake pie for 45 mins - 60 mins until the crust is evenly golden on top and bottom!

• Serve warm with maple syrup.