Susan Mallery's Fool's Gold Cookbook: A Love Story Told Through 150 Recipes (Fool's Gold #12.1)

1. Warm 1 tablespoon of the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add onions, cook 4 minutes, until softened, stirring often. Add spinach; cook until any liquid evaporates. Using a slotted spoon, transfer cooked spinach and onions to a bowl. Drain off any liquid remaining in the pot.

2. Melt the remaining 4 tablespoons butter in the same pan over medium-low heat. Sprinkle in flour, stirring until a paste forms. Slowly add milk, a little at a time, until incorporated. Cook 6 minutes, until thickened and bubbly. Remove from heat; stir in thyme, nutmeg, salt and pepper.

3. Preheat oven to 375°F. Butter a 9-by-13-inch glass baking pan. Spread half of the sweet potato slices in the pan. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, ½ cup of the cheese and half of the spinach mixture. Drizzle half of the white sauce over these layers. Continue with the remaining sweet potatoes, more salt, pepper, ½ cup cheese and then the remaining spinach. Pour the remaining sauce over the gratin. Sprinkle with the remaining 1 cup cheese.

4. Bake for 55 minutes, until golden and bubbly, and the sweet potatoes have cooked through. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

TIP: Be sure to squeeze as much of the liquid as possible from the spinach before adding it to the pot.

FALL

Baked Ziti with Butternut Squash and Ricotta

Where is it written that baked pasta dishes have to be loaded with tomato sauce and cheese? This one stars creamy ricotta and sweet squash.

Serves 6

Vegetable oil, to grease the pan

1 pound ziti, penne or small shells pasta

1 bag (16 ounces) frozen puréed butternut squash, thawed

1 container (15 ounces) ricotta cheese

2 large eggs

Salt and black pepper

¾ cup Parmesan, grated, and divided

½ cup prepared basil pesto

1. Preheat oven to 375°F. Lightly oil a 9-by-13-inch glass baking dish.

2. Cook pasta 2 minutes less than package directions. Drain. Meanwhile, place squash in a metal colander; set colander over boiling pasta to warm through.

3. In a large bowl, whisk ricotta, warm squash, eggs, salt and pepper. Fold in the cooked pasta until coated. Stir in ¼ cup of the Parmesan.

4. Spoon mixture evenly into the prepared baking dish; dot with pesto and sprinkle with the remaining ½ cup Parmesan. Bake, uncovered, for 30 minutes, until lightly golden and warmed through. Let stand for 5 minutes before serving.

TIP: Whole-milk ricotta is best for cooking. Low-fat varieties don’t stand up to high heat as well.

FALL

FALL

Mushroom and Three-Cheese Lasagna

This dish takes traditional lasagna to new heights. You won’t miss the meat.

Serves 10

Sauce

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 medium onion, chopped

1 pound cremini or button mushrooms, sliced

4 cloves garlic, minced

⅔ cup white wine

Pasta

9 lasagna noodles

Filling

2 large eggs

1 egg yolk

1 container (15 ounces) ricotta cheese

½ cup Parmesan cheese, grated

¼ cup prepared pesto sauce

Salt and black pepper

Topping

Oil, to grease the pan

1 pound shredded mozzarella cheese

½ cup Parmesan cheese, grated

For sauce:

1. Warm oil and butter in a large heavy skillet or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add onions; cook 5 minutes, until softened, stirring. Add mushrooms and garlic; cover pan for 2 minutes. Uncover pan; cook 8 minutes, stirring, until mushrooms soften and release their liquid. Add wine; increase heat to medium-high and simmer 5 minutes, until liquid has reduced. Reduce heat to low and cook 8 minutes, until sauce is thick, adding water if needed to reach a saucy consistency.

For pasta and filling:

1. Meanwhile, cook pasta 2 minutes less than package directions. Drain and rinse with cold water, using fingers to separate the noodles. In a large bowl, whisk eggs and yolk until blended. Fold in ricotta, ½ cup Parmesan and pesto until combined. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

For topping and assembling the dish:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly oil a 9-by-13-inch baking pan. Lay 3 noodles in the prepared pan. Cover with half the mushroom sauce, then half the ricotta filling. Top with 3 more noodles, then the remaining half of mushroom sauce and half of filling. Top with the remaining 3 noodles, mozzarella and ½ cup Parmesan. Cover lasagna with foil and bake 35 minutes. Uncover and bake 25 minutes longer, until sauce bubbles and cheese melts. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

FALL

Baked Wild Mushroom Risotto

This method of baking risotto means you don’t have to stand and stir the rice.

Serves 6

½ ounce dried porcini mushrooms, chopped

2 cups boiling water

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 large onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 carton (10 ounces) button mushrooms, sliced

1 small Portobello mushroom, chopped

2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme leaves

Salt and black pepper

1¼ cups Arborio or California short-grain white rice

½ cup dry white wine

2 cups reduced-sodium chicken or vegetable broth

Swiss or Parmesan cheese, shredded, for garnish