5 Wickedly Delicious Rachael Ray Halloween Dishes
Five meals specially themed for Halloween that can be prepared in one day.
Oct. 23, 2013 -- intro: Celebrity chef Rachael Ray has provided hundreds of quick and delicious weeknight dinners over the years, but her new book, "Week in a Day," takes the concepts of fast and family-friendly even further, allowing busy cooks to prepare a week's worth of meals in a single day. Click through for five such meals, specially themed for Halloween.
quicklist:1title: Pumpkin, Penne and Cabbagetext: Ingredients:
1 small sugar pumpkin or 1 medium butternut squash, peeled and cut into bite-size pieces
Olive oil cooking spray
Salt and pepper
Freshly grated nutmeg
A fat pinch of saffron threads
2 cups chicken stock
1 pound cabbage, cored and thickly sliced
6 tablespoons (¾ stick) butter
18 to 20 fresh sage leaves
1 pound buckwheat, farro, or whole wheat penne
1 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, plus more for topping
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 400°F.
Arrange the pumpkin on a baking sheet and lightly coat with olive oil spray. Season with salt, pepper and a little nutmeg. Roast to tender and brown at the edges, about 20 minutes.
(If making this recipe to serve on Cook Day, leave the oven on, but reduce the temperature to 375°F. If making this to serve later in the week, you'll preheat the oven the night of.)
Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, combine the saffron, stock, and cabbage. Bring to a low boil, reduce the heat to a simmer, cover and cook until very tender, about 20 minutes.
Bring a large pot of water to a boil.
In a medium skillet, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the sage and fry to crisp. Transfer the leaves to paper towels to drain, then crumble. Return the pan to the heat and cook the butter to lightly brown.
Salt the boiling water and cook the pasta al dente. Drain the pasta and add it to the cabbage. Add the squash, browned butter, and fried sage and toss to combine. Transfer to a 10-by-14-inch casserole. Top with the Parm.
(Make-ahead: Let cool, cover, and refrigerate.)
(Night of: Return the casserole to room temp while you preheat the oven to 375°F.)
Bake, loosely covered with foil, until heated through. Uncover, top with a little Parm and broil to crisp at the edges.media: 15961234
quicklist:2title: Bloody Mary Soup with Pumpernickel Grilled Cheese Croutonstext: Ingredients:
2 tablespoons EVOO
2 onions, chopped
6 cloves garlic, chopped
3 ribs celery, chopped
1 tablespoon grated lemon zest
2 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves
Celery salt
Coarsely ground pepper
½ cup vodka
2 cups beef stock
2 cups Spicy Hot V8 vegetable juice
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
¼ cup prepared horseradish
1 (28- or 32-ounce) can fire roasted whole or diced tomatoes
Frank's RedHot hot sauce
Butter, softened
8 slices pumpernickel bread
8 deli slices yellow cheddar cheese
Juice of ½ lemon
¼ cup finely chopped fresh flat leaf parsley
Directions:
In a soup pot or large Dutch oven, heat the EVOO (2 turns of the pan) over medium-high heat. Add the onions, garlic, celery, lemon zest and thyme. Season with celery salt and pepper. Cook until the vegetables are tender, 8 to 10 minutes. Deglaze the pan with the vodka. Add the stock, V8, Worcestershire, horseradish and tomatoes (break up the whole tomatoes with a potato masher).
Add hot sauce to taste, starting with 1 tablespoon and going up from there if you want. (My family likes things really spicy and we use ¼ cup!) Bring the soup to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook for 30 minutes to thicken and combine flavors.
(Make-ahead: Let cool and refrigerate.)
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