Creamy Squash Soup with Shallots and Tarragon

This makes for a silky smooth, rich, creamy soup with sophisticated flavor. If you roast the squash ahead of time, this goes together quite quickly. To really do it up, substitute heavy cream for some or all of the milk.

3 lbs winter squash
2 Tbsp butter
2 medium shallots, finely chopped
2-3 cups chicken or vegetable stock
1 bay leaf
1/2 tsp dried tarragon
1 Tbsp white wine vinegar
1 cup whole milk
Salt and pepper to taste

To roast the squash, cut it in half the long way and scoop out the seeds. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Place the cut squash face down in a baking pan with edges and pour in about 1/4 inch of water. Roast for 45-60 minutes, until very tender. Allow to cool, then scoop out the flesh.

While the squash cools (or, if you roasted it ahead of time, when you are ready to prepare the soup), melt the butter in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the shallots and saute for about five minutes. Add the squash and stock and combine well.

Puree the soup using an immersion blender (or in batches in the blender or food processor) until nice and smooth. Add the bay leaf and tarragon and simmer for 15-20 minutes. Remove the bay leaf and stir in the vinegar, then turn off the heat and stir in the milk. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Serves about 4.

Provencal-Style Braised Short Ribs

Back again after another long trip, and enjoying the three day weekend with a little leisurely cooking. There's not a huge amount of labor involved in this dish, but you need to let it simmer for at least an hour and a half, so plan to make it on a day when you can start cooking in the afternoon.

Try serving this with polenta (stir in some grated Parmesan and butter when the polenta is done cooking) and Green Beans with Shallot Mustard Sauce. A green salad and some good bread would also work well.

3 lbs beef short ribs (shanks would also work)
Salt and pepper
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, in chunks
2 heads garlic, peeled and minced
2 cups canned tomatoes and their liquid
1 cup dry red wine
2 sprigs rosemary

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Season the short ribs all over with salt and pepper, then place them in a roasting pan and roast for 25-30 minutes, until nicely browned. Remove from oven.

While the short ribs brown, heat the olive oil in a heavy Dutch oven. Add the garlic and saute over medium-high heat for about a minute. Add the onions and saute over medium heat for another 2-3 minutes. Add the tomatoes and their liquid (if using whole tomatoes, mash them in the pot), the wine, and the rosemary. Simmer until the meat is browned.

When the short ribs are done in the oven, place them in the Dutch oven. The should be about 3/4 covered by the liquid. If additional liquid is needed, you can add more tomatoes, more wine, or some beef stock. Cover the pot and simmer over very low heat for at least 1 1/2 hours, until the meat is very tender.

Serves about 4.

Variations: try this with other tough cuts of beef like shanks or oxtail. Lamb shanks would also be a good choice.

Find Your Favorite Farms on Facebook

Western Mass farms are increasingly getting on Facebook, which provides a great way for them to communicate directly with us, their customers. If you're on Facebook, look for your favorites. See, for example, the FB pages of:

Clarkdale Fruit Farms

The Kitchen Garden

Four Star Farms

Enterprise Farm

Red Fire Farm

Many if not all of these farms also have their own websites (as do many farms not using social media), but the Facebook presence lets you hear from them without having to remember to go looking. Enjoy!

Pizza with Caramelized Onions and Goat Cheese

It takes some time to caramelize the onions, but otherwise this is an easy and simple recipe. Caramelized onions are so good you might want to make up a larger batch at once and save some for additional dishes in the coming days; they keep well in the fridge.

Olive oil
2 large onions, thinly sliced
Salt and pepper to taste
1 14-inch pizza crust
1/2 cup tomato sauce
3 oz. chevre

Heat about 2 Tbsp olive oil in a large skillet. Add the onions and stir to coat. Cook them gently over low or low-medium heat, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking, until they are very soft and nicely brown. This should take 30 minute or so, though you can cook them longer if you have time and want to really maximize the dark brown caramel-y goodness.

While the onions caramelize, preheat the oven to 450 degrees, shape your crust and lightly paint it with olive oil. Spread the tomato sauce over the crust in a thin layer.

When the onions are ready spread them over the pizza, then top with chunks of goat cheese. Bake for 15-18 minutes, until the crust is done and the cheese begins to brown.

Serves 3-4.

Northampton Winter Fare - Jan. 15

With the Springfield Winter Fare behind us - and by all accounts a great success - the Northampton Winter Fare is coming right up. Save the date for next Saturday, January 15 and head on down to Smith Vocational and Technical School from 10-2 for loads of great local food!

Then, the granddaddy, Greenfield Winter Fare, will be coming up on Saturday, February 5, from 10-2.

It's getting so easy to get a variety of local food straight through the winter around here that it's hard to believe only a few years ago I doubted it could be done without subsisting solely on turnips and squash from one's own root cellar. Times are changing, and fast.

Preparing the Christmas Ham

Our ham from Hager's Farm Market turned out to be a real success. As with the ham from Bostrom Farm two years ago, it was one of the best I've ever eaten.

This year my mom cooked the ham, preparing it with a sensational sour cherry-thyme glaze. The recipes for the ham, the glaze, and the also excellent clementine-peppercorn glaze I used two years ago all came from the New York Times. Here are the links:

Sour Cherry-Thyme Glaze

Clementine-Peppercorn Glaze

Glazed Holiday Ham

Green Beans with Shallot Mustard Sauce

Happy New Year! As might be obvious, I've been away for the holidays. But now I'm back, and with a few recipes to share. This one was a major hit at Christmas dinner. I used green beans from our garden that I froze last summer.

1/4 butter
1 large shallot, minced
2 tsp spicy brown mustard
Salt and pepper to taste
2-3 lbs green beans, cut in 2-inch lengths (thawed if frozen)

Melt the butter in a small saucepan, then add the shallots and saute gentle for several minutes. Stir in the mustard, then add salt and pepper to taste. Keep sauce warm while you cook the beans.

While making the sauce, steam the green beans until tender. Remove beans to a bowl and toss thoroughly with the sauce. Serve hot.

Serves 6-8.