Gnocchi with Brown Butter, Butternut Squash, and Sausage [Turbo Recipe]

Okay, so, I post a lot of food photos on my personal Instagram. Like, probably two of every three photos are food. Because I cook and eat a lot. Surprise, surprise. Some of these even get posted to the Facebook page. You should follow that [/shameless plug].

Anyway, every now and then, I get a message from a friend or fan that asks about a food thing I posted. A lot of the stuff I post tends to be R&D for the site, or things I don't go through the whole rigmarole to get on here. So when someone asks about a recipe, I know it's probably one I should share.

An old friend of mine sent me a message the other night:

So, here we are. I try to be a man of my word, so I'm going to type this bad boy up in a new format: The Turbo Recipe. I'm going to forego the normal schtick, the normal gifs, photos, and whatever, and just crank out a quick instruction on a quick recipe. There's not even a quote at the top. Whoa. If we (you) like it, we (I) can do more of these. Here goes.

So, we're going to make the thing pictured here. It was delicious. And easy. Stupid easy. You're going to need the following:

• 1 package pre-made gnocchi
• 1 bag pre-cubed butternut squash
• 2 or 3 andouille sausage
• 1 stick of butter
• Shallots or onions
• Pepper, sage
• Parmesan cheese

You'll notice that most of these are all pre-made or pre-cut. That's because this looks fancier than it is an can be cooked on a weekday night. Win-win.

Get some water boiling for the gnocchi. These puppies will only have to cook for a few minutes, so don't get these in until later.

Brown the butter. Get a non-black pan, and cook the butter on medium heat, swirling the pan, until it's a nut-brown color, and it smells AMAZING. You'll know what I mean. Pour this and all the solids off, and reserve.

Slice the shallots/onion and sausage. Get your pan hot again, and get those on there with some olive oil, pepper, and sage. As they cook, the sausage will release fat. Good. Get the butternut squash in there, and start sauteeing it in all that flavor. Add the reserved butter.

Lower the heat, and keep sauteeing. Once the butternut squash is getting softer, drop the gnocchi into the water. They'll sink. When they float, they're done. Magic. Drain the gnocchi and save about a quarter cup or so of pasta liquid. Add that to the pan, and deglaze, making the sauce. Toss in the gnocchi, and top with cheese.

Try not to eat it all. But you will.

TL;DR:

• Boil water.
• Brown the butter, reserve.
• Sautee sausage, onion/shallot, and butternut squash with sage/pepper.
• Add butter and keep sauteeing until squash is softer.
• Cook gnocchi, drain. But save some water.
• Add water to pan mixture; stir.
• Add gnocchi. Mix and coat. Cheese.
• Love.

Enjoy!

-AC

Creamy Chipotle Chicken

"Chipotles to me are a one-of-a-kind pepper because they're smoked jalapenos, so they're fiery and they're smoky. It's good to use chipotles in salsas or soups or condiments - that works really well. To me, they always really pick up anything you put them in."

-Bobby Flay

I have never been a huge fan of spicy foods. I'm no glutton for self-prescribed pain. Most of the time, flavor is what suffers; you get a big bowl of fiery chili, and yes, it'll burn your mouth and throat so bad you'll need a fire hose, but you lose all flavor! It becomes nothing but a bowl of burn. And when you're already trying to watch your calories, you'd at least like to taste what little food you're carefully shoveling in, right?

That's where this recipe comes in. It's got a richness in a thick sauce, flavored by garlic, cumin, and most of all, smoky chipotles. We're not even going to use a can of condensed soup to get the creamy texture; it'll come from Mexican crema. Though it looks like something you might want to clean up off the carpet, it's pretty delicious. Let's make some creamy chipotle chicken.

Next Up: Creamy Chipotle Chicken

Need something a little spicy, a little rich, and is super easy to hack together? It might not look perfect, but it tastes so darned good. Coming soon: Creamy Chipotle Chicken!

Gravlax, A Fast-cured Salmon

"I'll love you, dear, I'll love you till China and Africa meet and the river jumps over the mountain and the salmon sing in the street."

-W.H. Auden

There are just times when Scandinavian culture is the oddest thing to me. I'm not talking about things like IKEA (though it can be weird in its own right), the Swedish Chef, or the incredibly long words (that oddly all look like IKEA couch names). It's some of the food that's so odd to me. A land full of delicious fish, unique berries and other things, and yet you get lutefisk. I don't get it. Any time I see a list of Scandinavian foods, my Google skills have to fire on all cylinders, trying to make sure I'm getting a tasty treat, and not some fish that's been soaking in lye in the bottom of a burnt out ditch for the last 5 years so I can eat its rotten, half-dessicated corpse.

But every now and then, you find some food with a funny name, and it's the perfect balance of sweet, salty, savory, and fishy. Sup, gravlax?

Next Up: Gravlax

Looking for an easy way to impress visitors, with as little effort as possible? I've got a Scandinavian appetizer that'll wow your guests. It'll be easy. Trust me, the hardest part of this is finding a brick and wrapping it in foil. I'm serious. Coming soon: Gravlax!

Story Time: Why I'm Not Currently On Fox TV

"The reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated."

-Mark Twain

MasterChef's sixth season began this past week, and already there's been a couple good episodes. The top 20 have been chosen, and it's probably going to be a great season. But I wanted to be there.

MasterChef is a pretty neat concept, to me. You have tens of home cooks that all compete for a big ol' prize (cash, cookbook deals, getting to see the well-worn geography of a notoriously angry Scot's face), during lots of team battles, fights, box challenges, etc. But the thing that stands out to me about this show is that it's all home cooks, like you and I. To be a contestant, you cannot have worked in a kitchen professionally. There are some other weird scenarios that make you ineligible, but that is the main one that seems to keep it pretty fair. So imagine my interest and surprise when I realized that I could not only try out, but that auditions were happening in two nearby cities.

This is the story of my audition, and the bitter realization that you don't see my face on Fox for a few months.

Mango Shrimp Ceviche

"I shall be but a shrimp of an author"

-Thomas Gray

Summer used to be something I really enjoyed. Upper 70s, gentle breeze, not a cloud in the sky; things were great growing up in Portland. But once I ventured out of my homeland, I realized that Summer isn't always the sweet, sweet experience I had always known. Virginia had nothing but humidity; muggy days and humid nights with loud cicadas. And then California? Woof.

The first summer I spent in California, it was considered a "mild' summer. That is to say, most days stayed under 100 degrees. That being said, my office's air conditioner didn't really hit my desk, and most days I'd come home in a moist mess. A pleasant thought, I know. But then came more summers, where there were so many days above 100; I remember the few days where it was 114 at my house. The AC couldn't keep up, so you'd be "cool" inside your 85-degree house. Fun times.

What I'm getting at is that there are some times when you are going to be wondering why ovens exist. Or stoves, grills, or any sort of cooking apparatus. They will seem so unnecessary, so arrogant to be adding heat into the space, that you'll decide that starving is a smarter option. Or switching to an all-beer diet. But worry not, comrade! I have something just for you.

Next Up: Mango Shrimp Ceviche

Summer is coming. There will be days when you don't want to turn on an oven, get near a grill, or stand at a stove. And for those terrible days (which is Southern California, are fast approaching), I present to you an easy mango shrimp ceviche.

Family Sandwich*

"I'll love you, dear, I'll love you till China and Africa meet and the river jumps over the mountain and the salmon sing in the street."

-W.H. Auden

There has been a lot of clamoring for some really easy recipes that can be assembled and on the table within an hour. There has also been some clamoring for me to actually update the site. Both of these seem like pretty reasonable expectations or requests. So let me help.

This is one of my favorite comfort foods. It has been in the family for years, and gets trotted out any chance where we need something delicious that's almost too easy to make. Some would call it a tuna salmon melt, some would call it an abomination. But I call it "love". I've tweaked the recipe a little for my tastes, but it's a simple go-to that I really enjoy.

Let me elaborate on the Legend of Family Sandwich.

*Update: it has come to my attention that because I modified and tweaked the original recipe (seen below) to my tastes, this isn't quite the family recipe. So please keep that in mind as you read.

Next Up: Family Sandwich

It is the most requested recipe between my family members. Every 6 months, someone has to send out an email asking for the recipe from the whole family, trying to figure out who had it last. So I think it's my duty to finally get this in a place where the whole world can enjoy it. Coming soon: present to you the glory of (a tweaked) Family Sandwich.

Pizza Soup

"Pizza makes me think that anything is possible."

-Henry Rollins

Pizza probably didn't need to be in soup form. Pizza, already a portable meal that covers every food group (and is a vegetable, remember?), didn't really need a change. But when it's winter, and you don't feel like dealing with dough, this might be an alternative.

Let's make a weird soup, eh?

Next Up: Pizza Soup

I don't know what got into me one day. I was sitting at my desk, and it struck me that pizza could also be served like a french onion soup. It's a dumb idea, but delicious. Coming soon: Pizza Soup.

Stuffed Peppers

"If I were a customer, and I was given a dish with peppers, I would hate it."

-Ferran Adria

Pulling another great recipe from the Great Box of Mom Recipes, this is a quick meal you can have ready with little effort and some prep. Yes, it takes a bit in the oven, but that's time you can spend doing other things. Like reading doofy food blogs, and wondering who will win the Bachelor.

Let's stuff some peppers?

Next Up: Stuffed Peppers

If you need a delicious, easy to make cheap meal for a weekday night, I've got you covered. I'll even let you make these ahead, so all you need to do is bake 'em! Coming soon: stuffed peppers.

Primer: Searing Scallops

"I have trouble with seafood because it tastes like a dock."

-Douglas Coupland

Some people have some sort of weird attitude towards cooking seafood. As you saw with such posts as the lobsterventure and the salmon we've covered, many of our favorite seafoods are pretty darned easy to cook. But the scallop? "Oh Lord, AC, I could never!" You squeal, terrified of the prospect of being proud of some seriously good grub. "I just don't understand simple processes!"

Let me help. Here's an easy primer on prepping some simple scallops.

Next Up: Searing Scallops

For some reason, some folks seem to be afraid of cooking seafood. But if you've got 10 minutes, a hot pan, and a bunch of scallops, you're pretty lucky. Up next: a primer on searing scallops.

Pot Roast Breakfast Hash

"What in the world is a hangover cure?"

- Brian Wilson

We all overindulge sometimes. We have a few too many cocktails, we party a little too hard, and we get in trouble. There comes a time in every man's life when there are only two options to fix a hangover: 1) an amazing breakfast, or 2) a swift death. Since I can't provide the latter, let's talk about a killer breakfast hash.

Next Up: Pot Roast Breakfast Hash

So, you made the pot roast. But now it's Sunday morning, you're hungover, and you need a cure. Dig into your leftovers, because we've got one hell of a breakfast for you. Up next: a killer hash.

Simple Beef Pot Roast

"Talk of joy: there may be things better than beef stew and baked potatoes and home-made bread - there may be."

- Ray Stannard Baker

Though the price of beef continues to inflate, I want to point out that for some of the cheaper cuts, you can get multiple days out of the recipe. You use more veggies, some taters, and you've got a long-lasting supply of food for a few days.

I know there's also a lot of desire from my readers to see something more along the lines of "set it and forget it. So let's do a recipe that you can throw in the oven or slow cooker, wait a few hours, and fill your house with the delicious smell of everything you're going to hork down.

Next Up: Simple Beef Pot Roast

One of the big goals of this site is to get people cooking with some tasty, easy-to-follow recipes. This is one with minimal effort, and food for days. Let's get pot-roastin'.

5 Ingredient Beer Bread

"Life is not worth living if I cannot have pasta or bread again."

- Monica Seles

If someone tells you they don't like freshly baked bread, they're either a) lying to you because they haven't had freshly baked bread, or b) are lying to you because they just want to be difficult. Either way, they're lying to you, and you should probably publicly shame and dismiss them in all open forums. 

"But Average Cook," you ask, "I love freshly baked bread, but have no idea how to throw some together in a pinch!" Well, you're in luck. I've got a quick bread recipe that only takes 5 ingredients and less than 60 minutes of your time. Whoa.

Next Up: 5 Ingredient Beer Bread

A lot of people are afraid of making bread in their own kitchen. But this is a great recipe that you can make within an hour and uses things you should already have in your kitchen! Easy recipes, ahoy!