Friday, November 9, 2007

All Local First Birthday Party (well, almost)

My younger son turned one today! Hooray! To celebrate we had a delicious local dinner. We started with a fun little appetizer of Humboldt Fog cheese from Cypress Gove (http://www.cypressgrovechevre.com/) on Acme baguette topped with blueberry jalapeno jam that I picked up at the farmer's market last spring. It was a fun twist on a family favorite: wheat things, cream cheese and pepper jelly. For dinner I kept it simple, which is often the tastiest way to go anyway. I roasted a Rocky Jr. chicken (http://www.petalumapoultry.com/), not the very best choice in local chickens, but still local. I made it a la the Thomas Keller recipe in a new cookbook I have called "Last Suppers." It turned out quite well! Along side the chicken I served a salad made from ingredients in my CSA box. By far the most popular part of the dinner was the always delicious roasted brussels sprouts and butternut squash. This is a recipe I got from my mom, and is listed below. Full of butter and sugar so not exactly healthy but tasty nevertheless. For dessert we had an ice cream cake from Baskin Robbins. This was the not-so-local part of the meal, but definitely a hit with the baby and his older brother.

Butternut Squash and Brussels Sprouts

Serves 12
1 Medium butternut squash , peeled and cut into 1” cubes
2 Lbs Brussels sprouts, cut into halves
1 1/2 C brown sugar
2 sticks unsalted butter cut into 1/2’ cubes
1/2 bunch of sage leaves
1/2 C olive oil
2 T salt
2 t black pepper

Heat oven to 400 degrees

Mix al ingredients in a bowl, then spread on a large baking dis. Roast uncovered, turning occasionally, until the squash is tender and the brussels sprouts begin to brown..about 25 minutes.

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