Lauren Deen’s Squash Fries – it’s what’s for dinner
At the request of my new(ish) friend Amy Oztan, I will now share with you the best recipe from my old friend, Lauren Deen’s new cookbook – Cook Yourself Thin Faster. Of course, this is IMO – you may have your own fave – so don’t let me bully your belly.
The always adorable, Lauren Deen
If by some chance you don’t know the beautiful, talented and oh so witty Lauren Deen you should. And if her books (Kitchen Playdates, Cook Yourself Thin and her latest, Cook Yourself Thin Faster) are not on your shelves they should be. Actually they should be much loved, mussed and dog-eared at this point.
I love Lauren for many reasons not the least of which is that she loves food – real food. And she lives what she loves with total authenticity and for me, this is always the true standard. Not only is Lauren a Blue Ribbon graduate of the Institute of Culinary Education, she has enjoyed an exciting and award winning (hello, Emmy and James Beard awards!!!) career as food producer (think Ina Garten, Bobby Flay and Martha Stewart), cookbook author and passionate volunteer (Lauren developed a program to teach healthy eating and cooking classes in NYC public schools). Basically Lauren is someone you have got to admire and adore – I do! She hangs with some good peeps too – fellow mega-vores (and people I would and have traveled a long distance to eat with) Nicole Feliciano and Jennifer Perillo count her among their own.
So without anymore oozing or goozing (and without mentioning that she totally owes me a make-up for our last lunch date) or further ado:
Cheese “fries”
Serves 4
103 calories per serving
1 large butternut squash, peeled and seeded
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
Pre-heat the oven to 450 and line a sheet pan with aluminum foil
- Cut squash into ¼ inch “French fries”
- Toss the squash with the olive oil and spread on the pan. Season with the salt an pepper
- Bake for 30 minutes, shaking the pan until the squash fries are roasted and golden, tossing and turning the fries midway through baking
- Sprinkle with the Parmesan and return to the oven until the cheese is melted.
March 2nd, 2010 at 11:28 am
You are the BEST. I’ll be making these today.
March 2nd, 2010 at 11:50 am
Lauren’s books are wonderful, and filled with tips real moms can use to feed their kids and themselves healthful meals—even on a busy schedule.
Amy is one of my faves too, and you will fall for her as quickly as I did. As for Nicole, we’ve only met once or twice but we’re Brooklyn neighbors, right? And, I get the feeling we should know a lot more of each other.
Stay tuned for Working Mother’s May issue for a sneak peek at some more recipes from Lauren’s new book, but really go buy the book as soon as possible—if only for her “blintz pancakes” recipe. Full disclosure: I know Lauren, we’ve served in the PTA trenches together and dished more than just food.
Julia, you know I adore you. Now can you please get that NYC apartment again?