Butternut Squash Recipes and Thanksgiving menu

Posted at Foodie Friday

I adore the combination of Chicken and Bacon, when I lived in England I would have a Chicken and Bacon salad sandwich every lunchtime from the sandwich shop next door to where I worked.


I'm also working through my Squash addiction, you know what? Butternut Squash goes amazingly well with bacon, it also goes well with chicken. Score!

This recipe is modified from a Jamie Oliver Recipe. Serves 2.

Ingredients:
Olive Oil
2 Chicken breasts (skin on preferably)
Oregano
1/2 butternut squash, peeled, deseeded and cut into very thin slices
Bacon (about 6 rashers, 3 for each chicken breast)
Heavy Cream
Red Pepper Flakes
nutmeg
Salt
Pepper



Preheat the Oven to 400F. I had mine at 410F because it seems to run a little cold sometimes.
Season the chicken with the oregano, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper. Place the chicken in a casserole dish and fit the squash slices around the chicken as snugly as you can, have them standing up instead of laying flat. Carefully pour a little heavy cream around the squash (not on the chicken). Place bacon rashers on top of the chicken, 3 to each breast.

Season with a tiny smidge of grated nutmeg, some salt and some pepper. Drizzle with some olive oil and cook in the middle of the oven for 25 to 35 minutes.

I served mine with some sticky olive oil, garlic and oregano roasted potatoes. It got the thumbs up from everyone, including Mikey who appears to be just as addicted to squash as I am.

I've also been slowly working on my Thanksgiving Menu. I'm still not wholly confident with Thanksgiving tradition considering this is only the 3rd year I've celebrated it, but I'm trying my hardest. We're having a number of friends and work colleagues over to celebrate, I get excited about cooking for a lot of people. In my own personal dream world I wear a lovely apron at all times and host posh dinner parties every night of the week, and we're rich... you know so I can afford all of the expensive ingredients. And a big kitchen.

Here is the menu, "Brit Girl Cooks American Thanksgiving" with recipe links where relevant.

Starter -

Butternut Squash Chowder - I did a trial run of this last Tuesday, it went down very well with the family, including my husband who is quite picky about his soup. I neglected to take photographs so I'm afraid you'll have to take my word for it. It's possible to make this ahead of time, so I'm going to be making it the day before Thanksgiving in order to free up my time to wrestle with the turkey et al.

Fresh bread - I am so not baking my own, it would be a disaster. I'll get getting some from a local bakery that morning.

Main Course -

Turkey (wondering if I can get a hold of a free range turkey out here but seems doubtful, only butterball ones at the commissary and I've yet to see a single turkey on the economy) Probably a Jamie Oliver Recipe or just a slather-it-with-butter-and-throw-some-herbs-up-its-bum made up recipe.

Homemade cranberry sauce - Only if I'm actually able to locate some cranberries, I looked last time we were grocery shopping and saw none, absolutely none whatsoever, fresh or frozen. May have to make do with a jar. That makes my tastebuds sad. Making this a few days ahead of time.

Mashed Sour Cream and Scallion Potatoes - You can't even imagine how good this is. If ever there were decadent potatoes, it's these.

Cider Roasted Vegetables - Oh my goodness yum. Simply the best way to cook veggies, no question. We had them with potatoes and bratwurst on Thursday night. I stained my hands pink with the beets and just now realised I forgot the mushrooms. Ooops. This can be made 2 hours ahead of time and reheated.

Spiced Sweet Potato Wedges - Again with the Yum. I made Sweet Potato Casserole last year and it was, well, a horrible sickly sweet gloopy mess. I made some grilled sweet potato wedges in the summer, they were great so I'm hoping these will be just as good. We're trying them out this weekend.

I know... there's no green bean casserole. I'm sorry but you Americans eat some weird food sometimes. The husband has requested it, but I'm not making it... the mere thought of it makes me want to vomit. Honestly. I'm sorry.

Is there any other important staple that I've somehow managed to miss?

Dessert -

Undecided, but it's a throw up between Bourbon Sweet Potato Cupcakes, Pumpkin Bread Pudding or Pumpkin Spice Muffins. I'm leaning towards the muffins at the moment. May have to force myself to make all of them in order to decide... what a hardship.

A final question, what does one usually have to drink during thanksgiving?