August 2017 – You Betcha Can Make This!

Have you ever heard of Ronde de Nice Squash? I hadn’t, that is until I went to our local farmers market last Saturday.

I love our local farmers market especially this time of year. What an array of fresh fruits and vegetables that are available. It seems like every time I go I learn something new. This last time I was introduced to a wonderful member of the squash family called Ronde de Nice Squash.

Ronde de Nice Squash looks a lot like acorn squash but slightly smaller in size. I asked the farmer to tell me what it tastes like and how to cook it. She told me that it’s very similar to zucchini. She said I could grill it or I could scoop some of it out and add ingredients such as ground beef, rice and chopped vegetables and bake it. Another shopper heard my question and suggested that I marinate it and grill it. Ultimately that’s what I decided to do.

I always get excited when I learn a new cooking technique or try a new food. I was pleasantly surprised with this member of the squash family. So let’s talk Ronde de Nice Squash.

Lesson Learned 1 – This squash is much easier to cut than an acorn squash: I was not prepared for how easy this squash was to cut. I thought it would be hard like an acorn squash but the skin is much thinner on this squash. When you cut into it, the flesh looks very similar so zucchini as you can see from the picture below.

There is no need to seed it – the seeds are very small and quite soft just like a newly ripened small zucchini. I removed the stem on top and cut each half into half and then cut slices that were approximately 1/2 inch thick. I found that using this thickness made the squash stand up beautifully to the grilling process.

Lesson Learned 2 – Marinate the slices for at least 2 hours: You can use any type of marinade you like with this squash. I chose a simple Italian dressing marinade. Marinate the squash for at least two hours in the refrigerator, turning the squash over at regular intervals to make sure all pieces are evenly marinated. I kept my squash marinating for 4 hours and the flavor really came through when it was grilled.

Lesson Learned 3 – Your grilling time may vary: Your grilling time will depend on how you like your squash, crisp tender or soft. I wanted mine crisp tender and so I grilled my squash for 15 minutes. As with ovens, no two grills are alike. Know your grill and determine your best cooking time from there. I use a gas grill but if you use a charcoal grill I would recommend putting these slices outside of the hottest areas on the grill. Otherwise you may burn them before you cook them.

I love it when I try new foods and it turns out great. Go ahead, be adventurous. It doesn’t take much. And try this recipe. I know you’ll love it!

Grilled Ronde de Nice Squash

Servings: 4
Time: 2 1/2 hours including Marinating
Difficulty: Easy
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INGREDIENTS:

1 Ronde de Nice Squash, cut in quarters

1 cup marinade, (I used Italian dressing)

Salt and Pepper, to taste

DIRECTIONS:

Cut squash in half. Remove the stem and cut the halves into half. Cut 1/2 inch slices from the quarter pieces.

Place pieces in a plastic bag. Pour the marinade over the squash. Seal the bag and turn it several times to ensure the marinade is reaching all of the pieces. Place on a flat surface in the refrigerator. Marinate the squash for a minimum of 2 hours regularly turning the bag over so all pieces are evenly marinated.

Heat your grill to medium heat (on a gas grill the heat was between 350-400). Place slices on the grill. Turn slices over halfway through the cooking time (for crisp tender the cooking time is 15 minutes). Do not move the slices until they are ready to be turned.

Remove the slices from the grill. Serve immediately.

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Lately I have been getting more traffic on my blog and I am very happy about that. And it’s always interesting to see what recipes people all over the world are looking at. Over the years there have been a few that consistently get the most number of hits. It’s amazing how many people gravitate to these recipes. So instead of posting a new recipe today, I’ve decided to do a compilation post of my top 3 “highest clicked on” recipes.

Looking at my stats over the years, I’d have to say there is a virtual tie for first place. It actually depends on the time of year. One of them gets significantly high clicks around the Christmas holidays or any other holidays during the year where people tend to plan parties. I’ll focus on that one first.

The funny thing about this particular recipe is I almost didn’t post it. I thought it was too simple and rudimentary and not something a lot of people would be interested in. Boy was I wrong. From day one this recipe got a ton of hits and when it comes to party times throughout the year the hits can go through the roof. I have to admit it is a pretty tasty appetizer. You’ve got to try my Cream Cheese, Spinach, Bacon and Scallion Pinwheels.

Cream Cheese, Spinach, Bacon and Scallion Pinwheels.

The other recipe that ties for first place on my “hit” list is a recipe that takes a relatively inexpensive fish and creates a dish that is simple but elegant and oh so flavorful. Once again I never anticipated this recipe to be so popular but it consistently gets multiple hits every day of the week. It’s my recipe for Pan Fried Cod With Lemon Butter Sauce.

I think more people are looking for ways to add fish their diets and this recipe takes an inexpensive fish like cod and makes it taste like a million bucks. I’ve gotten a lot of feedback that this recipe not only creates divinely tasting cod but it’s also an easy, elegant serve. You can’t beat that. Try it and tell me what you think!

Pan Fried Cod With Lemon Butter Sauce

And last but certainly not least is my Double Chocolate Zucchini Bread. This recipe, I kid you not, is to die for. It is one of the best ways to take oversized zucchinis that we all get from time to time and are not really good to serve as a vegetable and use them to make the most fabulous zucchini bread you will ever taste.

What I especially love about this recipe is the bread is not overly sweet. You use a combination of honey and brown sugar to sweeten the batter. The zucchini provides an unbelievable moistness and the combination of cocoa powder, chocolate chips and a little espresso powder creates a chocoholics fantasy.

This recipe gets a ton of hits this time of year when home gardeners have more zucchini than they can handle. This is the best zucchini bread recipe I’ve ever made bar none and if you try it I know you will say the same thing. Enjoy my recipe for Double Chocolate Zucchini Bread!

Double Chocolate Zucchini Bread

And there you have it – the stars of my blog. Don’t get me wrong, there are plenty of other recipes that get lots of hits – it’s just that these three seem to have been stars from the day they were first published.

Coming soon I’m going to publish a recipe for mustard herbed salmon with roasted butternut squash, but today let’s just enjoy the stars of You Betcha Can Make This!