Delicata squash skin is edible and it roasts fairly quickly. The squash is simple to prepare—and the taste is sweet and tender. Our best-loved way to eat delicata squash is as fries: roasted half-moon slices that both the kids and adults in our lives rave over.
Sauces
Made in CT: Merlo’s Cocktail Sauce
Lidia Bastianich’s Rigatoni with Italian American Meat Sauce
This recipe is a traditional Italian American favorite for Sunday lunch. It makes enough sauce for 4 pounds of pasta. If you have a big crowd, you can use the whole batch, but if you only want to cook 1 pound of pasta, don’t worry—the rest of the sauce will freeze well for several months. On a Sunday, this brings everyone in my family to the table.
Nigella Lawson’s Spicy Mint Lamb Chops with a Preserved Lemon and Mint Sauce
You do need to marinate the lamb for 30 minutes or so, but you can pour yourself a glass of wine, sit back and enjoy it, then whizz up the mint sauce in the meantime.
A Pizza Without Crust
I don’t know a kid of any age that doesn’t like Pizza Senza Crosta, a bit of a cross between fondue, mozzarella sticks, and pizza. First, you heat rich tomato sauce in a large pot and add big wedges of mozzarella. When the mozzarella starts to melt, it’s time to serve.
Nature’s Grocer: Boozy Rum Caramel Doughnut with Walnuts “The Faith Doughnut”
Kelly and David Boudreaux call for a Nature’s Grocer Gluten Free, Dairy Free, Egg Free, Soy Free Plain Doughnut to serve as the base, but you can use your favorite gluten-free doughnut mix (or any doughnut mix) if you’re inclined to bake these at home. A cake-style doughnut will best absorb the rum (you could poke a few holes in the doughnut with a toothpick, like you would for a pound cake glaze). Add coconut flakes over the caramel sauce, if you like (it is dessert, right? ). Feel free to “doctor-up” your “Faith Doughnut” any way you like.