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First Dinner of the Rest of My Life:

November 3, 2005
6:07 p.m.


Over the past 11 years of living west of New York City, The worst thing I could say about any of my kitchens was that a couple had electric stoves. There were other things that made a few of them less than desirable – who I shared them with, the color of the appliances (avocado… yuk!), their lack of a view. Then there were a few that were exceptional – dream kitchens… lots of cupboards, windows, counter space, gas stoves, good company, and good memories. Now that I find myself back in Brooklyn, I’m reminded of why so many people in New York City opt for delivery!

I moved into my apartment about two weeks ago. It’s a great space – small but with good light, lots of character, and a view of the Empire State Building from my kitchen. Ah, my kitchen… fortunately, it’s open to the living room (a Brooklyn version of a “great room” concept) and not one of the claustrophobic galley-style kitchens that are designed for kitchen fairies, not diva chefs such as myself!

At first glance, my kitchen seems normal enough… it has all the basic necessities with the added bonus of two tall windows. On second glance, you may notice something is a little off. It’s as if someone shrunk everything – like a wool sweater that went through the wash. The cupboards are a size too small, the sink is petite, and the (gas) stove and refrigerator are precious miniature versions of normal appliances. My brand new, sexy, mid-life-crisis-worthy pots and pans dwarf the burners of my tiny stove and don’t come close to fitting into the Cornish game hen sized oven! To top it off, the ever-present bottles of Sauvignon Republic look like magnums in the vertically challenged refrigerator (making me look like a bigger lush than I really am!).

Since I moved in, I’ve been working almost every evening, eliminating the necessity to attempt cooking anything more adventurous than oatmeal in my new space. This week I’ve been off work to do some “nesting”… settling in for my first winter in six years (that’ll be another story). Being home from work has given me extra time to catch up with the autumn issues of the food magazines that have been piling up. Autumn is definitely my most inspired time for cooking… the colors, textures, and aromas of the seasonal foods, and the cool crisp weather that graciously permits the prolonged use of the stove and oven after the long, hot, unforgiving summer.

The urge to cook a hearty meal overcame me today along with a craving for the rich earthy flavors of the autumn harvest. A two-block walk to my neighborhood bodega landed me pumpkin-like kabocha squash, sweet-tart New York State apples, crisp braising greens, ruby red pomegranates, and hearty pearl barley. The mere presence of this much food on the counters posed the first challenge. Windowsills and the top of the petite refrigerator now serve double duty. Years of cooking in crowded restaurant kitchens, fortunately, prepared me for what ensued. The first step: mis en place (a French / restaurant term for getting everything in place). Working quickly and neatly is crucial to working in a small space (or any space for that matter). My grandmothers and every good chef I’ve worked with will also tell you “clean as you go!” With only one counter for a cutting board, vegetables went right from the sink onto the board and into small bowls; the squash went right into the oven. The barley got started on the back burner while the front burner got most of the action. This is where the sexy new cookware proved its worth. Since my favorite 12” All-Clad sauté pan dwarfs my stove, I enlisted my newest addition… a Viking 2-quart reduction saucepan. The seductively curved bottom of this hybrid saucepan not only provides an evenly heated surface for reducing the most delicate glace, it also provided just the right slope for sautéing my onions and apples within the confines of the Lilliputian stovetop. With a bit of shuffling of cutting board, knives, colander, hot baking pan, and salad spinner, the meal came together nicely. I even had time to enjoy the multi-colored lights of the Empire State Building glimmering over the rooftops of Brooklyn brownstones and the colorful treetops as my sweet onions and apples caramelized perfectly over the blue flame.

As I sat down to the first home-cooked dinner of the rest of my new life, (paired with a crisp, well-balanced Sauvignon Republic Russian River Sauvignon Blanc) I was satiated and very grateful for a fresh start.

The following recipe yields much more than one person can eat in a sitting. I froze several single serving portions to save me from more-frequent-than-necessary contortionist acts required in preparing multi-process meals in my little kitchen with a big view.


Roasted Winter Squash with Autumn Fruit Barley and Braised Greens

This hearty dish is a great vegetarian entrée or can be served as a side dish for carnivores (I recommend pork products). This yields 4-8 servings, depending on how you use it. I mixed the ingredients together, risotto-style, and froze portions for future meals (to use within 2 months).


1 medium winter squash (kabocha, butternut, acorn, etc.), halved or quartered, seeds removed
1-tablespoon olive oil
Salt and fresh-ground black pepper

¾-cup pearl barley
1 ½-cup water
1-teaspoon salt
½-cup raisins
1/3 cup Moosewood Hollow “Sweet Autumn” maple syrup (“infused with sweet spices and vanilla”) *

1 medium red onion, sliced thin
1 medium apple, sliced thin (peeled or not)
1-teaspoon olive oil
1-tablespoon butter
Salt and fresh-ground black pepper

1 bunch greens (chard, kale, mustard greens, spinach, etc.), cleaned, torn to pieces & dried
¼ cup white wine (in addition to the one you should be drinking at this time)
More salt and fresh-ground black pepper

1 pomegranate worth of seeds for garnish and snacking while you cook



Prepare the squash:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Lightly oil a 13x9x2 baking pan.
Cut and clean the squash, rub with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper, place skin down in the baking pan. Add approximately ¼ inch of warm water to the pan.
Bake for 40-50 minutes or until squash is tender.

Prepare the barley:
Pour the barley grains onto a baking sheet to check for “foreign matter” (small pebbles and dirt lumps), then rinse the barley well.
Place in a 2 -quart saucepan with the water, salt and raisins.
Bring to a boil over high heat, reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer for approximately 40 minutes.
When cooked through, stir in the maple syrup then season with salt and pepper to taste.

Prepare the Greens:
Heat olive oil and butter in a sauté pan (or sexy reduction saucepan!) until butter bubbles and melts. Add the apples, don’t move the pan until they begin to caramelize. Add the onions, sauté until tender and golden. Season with salt and pepper.

Reduce the heat to low, place the greens on top of the sautéed onions and apples, sprinkle with a bit of salt and pepper, add the wine and cover the pan until the greens begin to wilt. Stir gently and season to taste.

To serve:
As an entrée, place a piece of roasted squash on a plate. Top with greens and a scoop of the barley. Garnish with pomegranate seeds and a drizzle of the infused maple syrup around the plate.

For a more casual effect, scrape the squash from its shell into the barley mixture, fold in, and re-season. Serve the greens on the side or fold them in also.




* Moosewood Hollow of Plainfield, Vermont makes a number of flavorful, yummy, high quality infused maple syrups. For more information visit www.infusedmaple.com or call (802) 479-7999