winter lunch

This Saturday I made lunch for my good friend Jessi Judd and her fiance.  I first met Jessi when we were missionaries for our church in Russia.  We lived together and while relations between us weren't alway smooth, she has become one of my closest friends.  She is getting married in a few weeks, and I wanted to make her something delicious for lunch while her and her fiance filled prepared their wedding announcements to be mailed.
I decided to make them a seasonal meal.  Winter in most of the United States, Canada and Temperate Europe means squash, root vegetables, cheeses, fish, grains, pastas, salted/preserved meats and hardy apples.  Especially with carbon footprints to think about, and our own health, I made lunch from as many local ingredients and seasonally available items as possible.  These are hearty dishes that stick to your insides and provide warmth and comfort on chilly winter days.

Baked Shells and Cheese
1 pound/450g whole wheat shells(I used organic Delallo Shells no. 91)
300g Smoked Gouda shredded
300g Emmentaler shredded, divided
500ml milk
bacon, chopped (three slices short of 1 lb/450g)
3-4 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons flour
3 large leeks, whites only chopped
half a medium yellow onion chopped
1 hardy winter apple chopped small(braeburn, etc)
homemade croutons, or crostini for the topping
preheat oven 350F/175C
set the shells to boil in salted water, once cooked al dente remove from heat, drain, run cold water to prevent further cooking and set aside
fry the bacon in a wide saucepan, once crispy remove to paper towels
in the bacon grease, fry the onion until soft, add the leeks until all are starting to caramelize, remove.
in the same saucepan on low heat melt the butter and add the flour, cook until it starts to froth and bubble.
add the milk, cook slowly until the sauce starts to thicken
add the bacon, onion and leeks to the white sauce
cook a little longer to thicken and marinate the flavors
add the 300g gouda and 250g emmentaler
melt the cheese into the sauce
salt, pepper to taste (fresh ground nutmeg if desired)
toss the sauce, shells and apples together and put in a 9x13 baking dish
top with croutons or crostini crumbled, and the remaining 50g emmentaler cheese
bake for 15-20 minutes till apples are tender and the cheese is melted throughout and on top

Roasted Butternut Squash with Beets
one medium butternut squash
3-5 small/medium beets
1/2 yellow onion
3 large sprigs fresh rosemary(an evergreen herb, you can have this fresh all year round and it is great for seasoning everything from veggies to poultry and fish)
kosher salt
butter or olive oil
pre-heat oven to 400F/200C
peel and chop the beets(at this point you can also par-boil the beets if you prefer a really tender beet, I didn't do this because I love the contrast between the super soft squash and firmer beet)
peel and chop the butternut squash
remove rosemary leaves from the stems and chop finely
chop in rather large chunks the yellow onion
melt enough butter to lightly coat the chopped veggies and toss with salt to taste and the rosemary
roast on a baking tray in the oven for 35-40min until the beets are sufficiently tender, stirring occasionally
turn on the broiler the last 5-7min to get nice coloring and caramelization.
serve with a grapefruit ginger glaze if desired.

Grapefruit Ginger Glaze
juice of one grapefruit(okay, so this is imported....I cheated)
few rosemary leaves
3 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons brown sugar
3-4 quarter sized pieces of fresh peeled ginger
simmer the ingredients on low heat until thickened slightly
pour over the roasted veggies and toss well