Butternut Squash Galette

So um, happy new year (again) everyone! We hit the road last Friday and haven't had a moment to check in since then. We had a great drive back from Arkansas, a lovely anniversary weekend in Charlottesville and I am now back at work this week. Apparently when you don't check in on your blog for five days, some pretty crazy things can happen. Like this and this. I.e.: getting featured on a Buzzfeed post and on Imgur (from the Buzzfeed post). As in having one of your recipes on websites that more than just you, your family and your friends look at. As in websites that thousands, if not millions, of people check in on every day/week. How can I say this lightly? WHOLLY GUACAMOLE BATMAN. Is this considered the first step to making it? I doubt it, but to see a multi-hundred a day page traffic spike on the blog when we usually have just over one hundred views a day? Kind of astounding. So welcome new friends who are here trolling for bacon recipes and are disappointed that Maple Bacon Buttermilk Doughnuts are one of my only bacon recipes on the blog. Make sure to find us on Facebook and Pinterest to learn more about this little blog!


As I sit here having visions of sustaining a life on piano lessons, teaching yoga and blogging (read: an alternate reality), I review this recipe fondly. The first night Will and I had it, I remember him pulling it out of the oven and thinking "yes, this is what food dreams are made of." And the second time he made it (since the dough recipe makes two batches), we had our lovely neighbors Paul & Alexis over for dinner. They love trying Will's latest and greatest recipes, so this one was the perfect thing to make! Needless to say, Alexis' request to see this on the blog is actually what shot it up to first priority today, after getting buried in a queue of about 20 recipes that need to be posted (how come the list always grows and never shrinks?? I don't understand). Anywho, old and new friends alike, enjoy the newest, tastiest recipe from Cooking With Willis!

Cooking Notes: The original recipes calls for a fried sage and brown butter top (yum) but our sage was a little weak after living inside for a month. Since we didn't have a lot to work with, Will just put the sage into the mixture and declined to make the topping. We just sprinkled a lot of extra parmesan on to make up for it!

Butternut Squash Galette (adapted from How Sweet Eats; serves 4 per galette)
Crust (makes 2 - freeze one for later use)
4 cups sifted all-purpose flour
1/2 cup finely grated parmesan cheese
1 tbsp sugar
3 tsp salt
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 tsp white vinegar
1/2 cup ice cold water
1 1/2 cups cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
Wash
1 egg
A few drops of water
Filling
1 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp unsalted butter
2 shallots, sliced
3 cups cubed butternut squash
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tbsp freshly chopped sage
1 tbsp brown sugar


Begin by making the crust and it's brushing. For the crust, add flour, parmesan, sugar and salt to a food processor and pulse until just combined. In a small bowl, whisk the egg, vinegar and water together. Return to the food processor and add cold butter pieces, pulsing until small coarse crumbs are made. Sprinkle the liquid mixture over the flour, pulsing again, until a dough forms. Remove the dough with your hands, separate into two pieces and wrap it in plastic wrap. Freeze one piece for later use and refrigerate the one you plan to use, for at least 30 minutes. During that time, prepare your squash, garlic, shallots and sage.



After 30 minutes have passed, begin to preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Heat a medium or large skillet over medium heat and add olive oil and butter. Add in the shallots, squash, garlic, sage and brown sugar, stirring to coat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the squash is just barely tender, then remove from the skillet and place in a bowl. Place the squash mixture in the refrigerator until you're ready to use it.

Make your egg wash by lightly beating one egg with a few drops of water - set aside. Take the crust out of the fridge and roll into a round-ish/long-ish shape (slightly oval-shaped but not perfect), until it is 1/4" thick. Place on a silicone-lined or parchment-lined baking sheet. Take the squash mixture out of the fridge and place in the center of the dough, leaving about 2" of a border to make the crust. Once you have added the filling, fold the crust over top of the squash. Brush with your egg wash and sprinkle the top with parmesan. Place in the oven and bake for 45-50 minutes or until the crust is golden. Remove and let cool slightly before serving and enjoy!

Recipe: How Sweet Eats: Parmesan Sage Crusted Butternut Squash