I remember the first time I made this dish quite clearly. It was not long after I started my post-baccalaureate in Biology and the reality of my situation [read: I’M BROKE!] was really sinking in. I was still basking in the victory of my last complicated attempt at cooking–a chicken coq au vin–and was hungry for something else that was complicated. I had never cooked with butternut squash nor created a béchamel sauce before… but was convinced I was more than up to the challenge.

My poor husband and mother. They were so supportive of my cooking at the time and ate it without complaint, but it was not very good. I spent most of the time almost cutting myself with the dull knife I was using on the squash, and the rest of the time trying to pull my knife out of said squash. Needless to say, the squash was in huge chunks and didn’t cook thoroughly. I looked up “is squash okay for dogs” and it is so I fed some to our dog. I burned myself while trying to boil the lasagna. I didn’t chop up the sage leaves and left them in the lasagna whole, making each bite a sage-y surprise. And the béchamel sauce–it looked like clotted cream. It was a hot mess, but the me of three years ago was fiercely proud of it. (Seriously, I still have the picture of it! Oh, the embarrassment.) Lucky for me (and my husband especially), I’ve gotten much better at cooking since then.

I don’t usually cook with butternut squash–James isn’t a fan–but I ended up with a leftover squash after a dinner party and decided to have another go at the lasagna. And it turned out absolutely sublime. The caramelized, roasted cubes of butternut squash almost melt into the creamy béchamel–but still offer a sensory ‘bite’, much like meat. The fresh sage is subdued but not underrepresented, and plays off the sweetness of the squash nicely. The mozzarella cheese is a nice, salty touch. And the sweet Italian sausage packs a savory punch, making this lasagna the full package and the real seasonal deal.

I won’t lie–this is not a quick or easy dish to make. Just prepping the squash alone takes 15-20 minutes–cutting off the skin, dicing, scooping out the seeds, and so on. But I think that this is one of my favorite ways to use butternut squash in a way that is more savory than sweet. I tagged this recipe as being vegetarian, even though I clearly have Italian sausage on the ingredients list–to be honest, you can leave the sausage out completely and this dish will be a vegetarian crowd-pleaser! I would add a little more salt and pepper to the béchamel if you are leaving out the meat to make sure that the sweetness of the squash doesn’t overwhelm the rest of the dish.

This lasagna would be right at home with the rest of your Thanksgiving spread–or just a nice, hearty meal for you & your family on a cold winter night. And if your lasagna looks as busted as my old one did–don’t worry, you’ll get there eventually! I’m certainly no Julia Child, but I can look back at my progress from four years ago and laugh.

This entry is linked to my Copycat Zuppa Toscana recipe. Don’t get me wrong–these breadsticks are delicious with just about anything. But man, are they good with this particular soup!

Bread is one of my absolute favorite things to bake, in no small part because of the transcendent aroma the wafts in the air while in the oven. I’ve joked many a time that I could easily subsist on bread & butter alone, if I weren’t so worried about carb intake all the dang time! So believe me when I say that these breadsticks are divine, and very forgiving. They are definitely more work than the frozen-ready stuff at your grocery, but when you smell them baking and bite into a piping-hot fresh stick–you will totally know it was worth the effort!

In the midst of following the recipe I found, I realized that these breadsticks are more or less mini-French bread loafs. I applied the techniques I usually utilize for French bread and found these breadsticks to be just like the Olive Garden breadsticks in consistency and rise–but with better flavor! (I promise, I’m not bluffing!) I try to keep the steps to recipes a little simple, but please follow the way I work with the dough closely to achieve the same result. It’s just a little nitpicky, but I believe the payoff is worth the trouble.

Also, I want to emphasize that you should take care to NOT OVERKNEAD THE BREAD. The breadsticks will end up kind of ugly and won’t rise as well, making them dense. Not that this happened to me, or anything…

If you want to use these for something other than Italian or don’t prefer garlic, just leave the garlic out of the final basting and you’ll be set. Also–you can store these in a sealed plastic bag for a few days at room temperature, or freeze them for up to 6 months and bake them at the same temperature listed below (except for a few minutes longer of course). If you want to freeze them for later or bake them fresh at a later time, I would suggest taking them out during the initial baking period a few minutes early–before they brown. This is par-baking–and will allow you to brown the bread to a crispier, less well-done consistency when you finally to bake and serve them.

This recipe yields 20 breadsticks–enjoy!

Recipe adapted from Readable Eatables.

James and I are very, very spoiled in Los Angeles: we are surrounded by and constantly patronize amazing restaurant. At first it was overwhelming–then it quickly became euphoric. We have our favorites… we have our regular haunts… but the first question on our minds when we decide to go out and grab food isn’t “What good food can we dig up around here?” but “Do we want to eat something we know is delicious, or discover something delicious today?” And chain restaurants? Yeah, they don’t usually fit in either category–especially with the amount of selection out here.

(I know I sound absolutely insufferable, but stay with me! I’m almost there.)

However, there are times in which we miss the things we grew up with–that we were so comfortable with when we didn’t have the options we have now. And during those times, I try to bypass eating at said chain restaurants by making them myself. James loved eating at Chili’s because he loved their steak fajitas–so I make them with fresh homemade tortillas and a jalapeno-lime marinade. We both can’t get enough of movie-theater popcorn, laden with untold amounts of trans-fat, fat and… more fat! So we pop and flavor the popcorn ourselves. And sometimes, we crave Olive Garden… so I make their trademark zuppa toscana soup and breadsticks.

Obviously the true recipe is secret and well-guarded so this is my copycat version of it, tweaked and adapted from a comment on a copycat recipe page. I haven’t had Olive Garden in a long time so I can’t speak to its 100% authenticity–but I do know that it is very tasty, and on our rotation for fall/winter fare. Even a friend of mine that popped by for dinner last night who normally turns up his nose at chains in general (and Olive Garden especially!) was won over by the rich, meaty and creamy flavor of this soup.

I’m not going to speak to the Italian authenticity of the soup, either–I mean, in my mind, Olive Garden is to Italian food as Panda Express is the Chinese food. But I guarantee that this soup will hit the spot if you’re looking for something filling on a cold night. The best part is that it gets better as it sits for longer–so you can make it a day ahead of time and heat it up for an even richer broth.

Lastly, I’ve made a separate page for the breadsticks recipe that you can find here. Can’t beat the combo of soup & breadsticks, right? Enjoy!

Recipe adapted from the top comment here at food.com.

A friend of mine has been extolling the wonders and deliciousness of a particular empanada stand at the Century City Farmer’s Market (for locals, it’s on Thursday mornings/early afternoon). And while I’ve been meaning to go for a while, I kept putting it off for some reason or another. Anyhow, we finally made our way out to said farmer’s market last week for these famous empanadas… and guess what? The fryer is broken! What a bummer.

Oh well–we were already at a farmer’s market and needed produce anyway, so we might as well take a gander at the local farm stands. Although people were starting to close up shop, we happened upon a particular stand with big, beautiful heirloom tomatoes with vivid colors. The perceptive grocer saw me stalling at the tomatoes and made me a fantastic deal… and the rest is history.

Before we left with our bounty, however, he warned me that he could only guarantee the quality and flavor of the tomatoes “for use either today or tomorrow” because of their ripeness. And the first thing that came to mind as I walked away was a delicious bruschetta (pronounced broo-SKET-ta)–minimal preparation on the tomatoes to really highlight their flavor.

Now, I know that heirloom tomatoes are far more expensive than their (genetically modified) counterparts. And technically, you can use plum tomatoes (or any old tomato, really) for bruschetta if you wish. But if you haven’t had an heirloom tomato yet, I highly suggest you try one. I’m not the biggest fan of tomatoes myself, and I love heirloom tomatoes. They are sweet, soft, and have a wild tang to them that you just can’t replicate using the other tomatoes available at most grocery stores. They are also notoriously hard to grow and don’t keep well, which drives up their price. But I can assure you–this is what tomatoes are supposed to taste like.

I looked up a few recipes online, then took what I liked from each one and made this recipe. The rubbing of the cut garlic on the bread slice in particular is my favorite aspect of it apart from using heirloom tomatoes; it imparts a strong garlic flavor without the unpleasantness of biting into a clove by accident. Overall, this bruschetta is sweet and tangy, with the raw garlic imparting a sharp flavor as you bite into the crusty bread. A harmonious mixture of soft tomatoes and crunchy, chewy baguette. I hope you like it!