Butternut Squash Tarte Tatin

Holy mother of God, this is freakin’ incredible. I might even dare to say it’s quite possibly the best dessert I have made all year (and I’m allowed to say that being that there are only 2 weeks (!!!) left). Um, yeah. Thank you Matt Bites for making my life a thousand times better by inventing this heavenly creation of butternut squash goodness. My life is now complete.

And you could say I’m biased, as butternut squash is probably, by far, one of my top 5 favorite foods. But others can attest. It was a hit at a Christmas dinner party potluck last evening. Some went back for seconds. We had to restrain ourselves to make sure everyone had their equal share. After my first bite, I honestly wanted to run away with the rest of it and my plate and have it all for myself. No. I would never do that…

The smell of this baking in the oven almost killed me. And almost didn’t make it to the party in one peace. Roasted butternut squash with a caramel cinnamon nutmeg butter sauce on top of a buttery, flaky pastry crust. This was my first time working with puff pastry! I was scared for so long (just like the phyllo dough) but it wasn’t bad at all. In fact, this may quite possibly be the easiest dessert I have ever made. You just have to roast the squash before hand, melt some butter and sugar in a pan, add the spices, put it all in a square pan, and place the puff pastry square on top of it. And then you invert it like an upside-down pineapple cake once it’s done. SO SIMPLE. I had never made a “tarte tatin” before and this surely won’t be the last. It kind of reminded me of a caramelized, crisp cinnamon roll but better. Wayyyyyy wayyyyy better.

I’m in love.

Butternut Squash Tarte Tatin

Serves 8, apparently

Recipe from Matt Bites (thank you!)

4 cups butternut squash cut into 1-inch cubes

1–2 tablespoons canola oil

a pinch of salt

¼ cup butter

¾ cup sugar

¼ tsp. cinnamon

a dash of nutmeg

1 (about 8-oz) sheet of frozen puff pastry, thawedFor the squash: heat oven to 400˚F. Toss the squash cubes in 1–2 tablespoons of canola oil, sprinkle with a pinch of salt and roast until tender, about 30-35 minutes, turning once during baking to insure even cooking and browning. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool while you make the caramel.

With the oven still at 400˚F, move the oven rack to the top position.

Melt butter over medium heat in a nonstick skillet, stir in sugar and cook until golden brown, about 6 to 8 minutes, swirling skillet often. Stir in cinnamon and nutmeg; pour caramel into an 8-inch by 8-inch baking pan. Place roasted squash over caramel. Unfold the puff pastry over the squash and fold any excess pastry down the sides of the pan and under. Prick the pastry with a fork all over and place in already hot oven for 30 minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes, then invert onto a serving plate, being careful not to burn yourself. It’s hot! Cut and serve. I imagine it would be fantastic served alongside some vanilla bean ice cream and/or some whipped cream. But hey, I don’t want you to piss your pants. That’s your decision.

Roasted Butternut & Green Bean Salad

My favorite salad to make this time of year.

And any time of the year.

Thanks to my lovely friend introducing this recipe to me one night as it was accompanied next to some pumpkin ravioli, I have made traditionally made this awesome salad around the holidays for the past 2 years now. This year for Thanksgiving was no exception. It’s simple, healthy, and tasty with the tang of a homemade garlic mustard dressing. The recipe calls for pine nuts but since those things have been more expensive than gold lately, candied pecans, walnuts, or pumpkin seeds do the trick just fine. Dried cranberries or fresh pomegranate seeds would also be nice in this. Some crumbled goat cheese, perhaps. But butternut squash and spinach = two of my top favorite things in life. I couldn’t live without them. And you shouldn’t either.

Roasted Butternut & Green Bean Salad

recipe from here

 

1 medium butternut squash, peeled, deseeded, and cut into 3cm wedges

1/4 cup olive oil

sea salt & freshly ground black pepper

24 ounces green beans, topped, halved diagonally

1/4 cup more olive oil

1 garlic clove, crushed

1 tbsp white balsamic vinegar

2 tsp balsamic vinegar

2 tsp dijon mustard

5 ounces baby spinach leaves (or more?)

1/2 cup nuts (pine, walnut, pecan, pumpkin)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line 2 large baking trays with non-stick baking paper. Place the pumpkin, in a single layer, on the prepared trays. Drizzle with the light olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast in oven for 45-50 minutes or until golden brown and tender. Set aside to cool.

Meanwhile, cook the beans in a large saucepan of salted boiling water for 2-3 minutes or until bright green and tender crisp. Drain. Refresh in a bowl of iced water. Drain well.

Whisk together the extra virgin olive oil, garlic, combined vinegars and mustard in a small bowl. Taste and season with salt and pepper.

Place the squash, beans and spinach in a large serving bowl. Drizzle with the balsamic dressing and gently toss to combine. Sprinkle with pine nuts and serve immediately.

Date-Nut Butternut Squash Muffins

Alright, we’ll I’m not going to waste any time with this one. These are, hands down, the best muffins I have ever made. Better than any pumpkin or bran or blueberry or vegan whatever muffin there might have been, these are #1 ruler of the Muffin Kingdom. And, yet again, I went off of a recipe but tweaked it a bit. I bought this particular book, Pumpkin: A Super Food for All 12 Months of the Year (might perhaps be the #1 ruler of any pumpkin or baking book to exist… I know, big statement, but it’s pretty much the shizzle) in Seattle three years ago and remember being astounded that someone was genius enough to come up with a cookbook with a ton of fabulous pumpkin-including recipes. I pretty much squealed with delight in the middle of the Elliott Bay bookstore. There are recipes for every style and part of a pumpkin you could ever imagine. Sometimes I have to shame myself for not utilizing it more often. I want to make everything in it: roasted ginger pumpkin-pear soup, wild mushroom pumpkin risotto (and sage-pumpkin risotto), blue cheese and pumpkin galette, pumpkin chutney, pumpkin pizza with gorgonzola, pork stew with pumpkin and prunes, crepes with spinach and creamy pumpkin sauce, mexican pumpkin lasagna, ten different versions of pumpkin bread, coffee cakes, scones, white chocolate pepita apricot pumpkin bars, pumpkin baked alaska, lemon pumpkin strudel, pumpkin-rice pudding… okay I’ll shut up now before you kill me for making you so hungry and enticed. I suppose typing out all of the recipes that I’ve been meaning to get to stirs up the motivation process and reminds me.

So yeah, back to how amazing this muffins are. My grandparents even called and left me a voicemail this morning exclaiming how they were (are?) the best muffins they have ever had. I can’t delete it, it’s so precious. I have already listened to it 3 times. In her twangy Texas accent, “Hi Kylie, this is Nana, I just wanted to say those muffins were the best I’ve ever tasted, including the Silver Spur or the Buttery” (um, if you had any idea how amazing the pumpkin muffins or any other baked good those places make, that’s saying a lot). Then she goes, “and your Pops agrees…” (hands over the phone). Pops: “Me too.” (In the background) Nana: “Well, you could’ve said more… but, you know…” (phone clicks).

They crack me up.

So the recipe originally calls to use pumpkin, but I have had this can of butternut squash puree lying around for a bit too long, saving it for something “special” or a rainy day, perhaps, and this was my chance to be daring. So I went for it and have no regrets. Also used 1/4 cup of walnut oil and 1/4 cup of Smart Balance EFA butter in replacement of 1 stick of unsalted butter. I tend to go for oils > butters in muffins as they tend to turn out more moist. On top of that, there is a buttload of pureed dates, in addition to the moist squash puree, so over all this is definitely not a dry muffin. Me no likey dry muffins. And dates are amazing. And so is butternut squash. And figs. Basically what I’m saying is you’d be crazy to not make these.

And I couldn’t resist topping a few with fresh fig slices.

These muffins practically scream Autumn.

Date-Nut Butternut Squash Muffins

Adapted from Pumpkin: A Super Food for All 12 Months of the Year by DeeDee Stovel

Makes 12 muffins

2 eggs

1 cup canned, unsweetened pureed butternut squash

1/4 cup walnut oil

1/4 unsalted butter

1 cup dates, pitted and chopped

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 cup walnuts, chopped

1/4 cup pecans, chopped

1 cup spelt or whole wheat flour

3/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour

3/4 cup sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground allspice

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon salt

pinch of clove, cardamom, & ginger

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a muffin tin with 12 cup liners (bonus points if you use ones with Halloween/autumn themed cheer).

2. Whisk together eggs, butternut, oil, butter, and vanilla in a large bowl. Stir in the dates, walnuts, and pecans.

3. Sift the flours, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, clove, cardamom, ginger, and salt into the pumpkin mixture. Using a rubber spatula, mix in the flour mixture until it is just moistened.

4. Evenly distribute the batter into the muffin cups. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes. Remove from pan when cool and either cool completely on wire rack or eat immediately. I would recommend the last bit.

PB&J Vegan Cookies, Dinners, January!

Happy New Year!

I’m really happy it is January. Actually, it hasn’t really hit me yet. I can’t believe that my birthday is 31 days away. So many great things are happening this month, I can’t wait. Namely, the MMI Ayurveda program starts in exactly four weeks! That’s why I’ve been trying to hit the books and study up before I head in. Dr. Vasant Lad, the Ayurvedic Physician of Ayurvedic Physicians, is going to be there for the first intro weekend. He is like the Ayurvedic God. Being his student will be best birthday gift I could ever imagine. Waking up in a cabin in the hills overlooking the Monterey Bay, practicing yoga, learning more about this fascinating medicine, cooking and eating tons delicious Ayurvedic vegetarian food, drinking Yogi tea 24/7, going on little hikes in the forest, relaxing in the hot tub, shopping for herbs in the Ayurvedic store. I can’t actually believe it’s going to happen. That I actually willed, motivated, and inspired myself and am going to make it happen. It is going to be such an honor.
Other than that and the other things I’ve been looking forward to, I’ve been doing a lot of cooking and baking with friends lately. The other night my friend and I dined on an orange and rosemary roasted organic free-range chicken, red kabocha and homegrown butternut squash roasted with brown sugar and sage, wild rice with toasted walnuts and cranberries, and, my favorite, sauteed chanterelles (thank you, work!) in thyme and truffle oil. And I popped open a few bottles of my favorite owl beer. I brought back the Ginger Beer from Portland, and tried it for the first time the other night. It was excellent!




As far as baking goes, we cracked open my new copy of Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar and modified the recipe for the Linzertorte Thumbprint Cookies just a bit. Since we didn’t have any hazelnuts or hazelnut butter, we easily converted them into PB&J cookies with some peanut butter instead. And the jellies (strawberry, plum, and cherry) were homemade from last summers fruit, thanks to Bridgette. They turned out delicious! Rich peanut buttery goodness can never do you wrong. Strawberry won my vote out of all three. Some taste testers exclaimed that they were better than “normal” peanut butter cookies. That right there, my friends, is why I love vegan baking.



PB&J Thumbprint CookiesAdapted from Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar “Linzertorte Thumbprint Cookies”Makes 20 cookies
1/3 cup canola oil 1/2 cup packed brown sugar 1/2 cup peanut butter 1/3 cup nondairy milk (we used coconut) 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 2 tablespoons cornstarch 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon baking powder 1/2 cup peanuts, finely chopped at least 1/3 cup of any kind of jam you please
1. In a large mixing bowl, use a fork to vigorously mix the oil, sugar, and peanut butter. Mix in the nondairy milk and vanilla. Sift in the flour, cornstarch, salt, and baking powder and mix well until a stiff dough forms.
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Have a small bowl of water handy. Spread the chopped nuts onto a dinner plate.
3. Roll the dough into a walnut-size ball. Dip very briefly in the water and firmly roll in the peanuts until coated. Place on a baking sheet and use your thumb to make a deep indent in the cookie. Use your free hand to hold the cookie in place and make sure it keeps its shape. You should be able to fit all twenty cookies onto one baking sheet; they don’t spread.
4. Spoon about a teaspoon of jam into each cookie. A baby spoon works great for this. Bake for about 18-20 minutes. Remove the cookies from the oven and let them cool on the baking sheets for at least 5 minutes. Transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in a tightly sealed container. Enjoy with some tea or milk!

Also, lately I can’t stop listening to these two songs. So much great music! Eighteen days worth, to be exact. It’s crazy. I love this time of year, reevaluating my music collection, sifting through and rediscovering some great stuff and making playlists. Lately it’s been a lot of Smog, Wilco, Neko, Cave Singers, Bonnie Prince, Mazzy Star, My Morning Jacket, Lucinda Williams, Department of Eagles… I could go on and on. Anyway, hope you’re doing the same and enjoying yourselves.

A Happy Pumpkin (and Owl) Filled Feast!

So I know it’s been a good week now, but I sadly haven’t had time to update. My Halloween is usually never typical, and this one was no exception. When I woke up, I was immediately inspired and motivated to cook and bake. I wanted to create a nice dinner meal for my family. And that is what I did. All day long. Eight hours. In the kitchen. And I loved every second of it.

It was a such a beautiful fall day so I went on an adventure and walked to the grocery stores, and trekked my groceries home. I walked around the lovely neighborhoods and checked out the awesome house decorations, carved pumpkins, fake spiderwebs and tombstones and such. It was quite lovely.

To start off, I made an ale, pork loin, and pumpkin stew in the slow cooker. That took about 5-6 hours all in all, so I made other things while that was going. I also made some sweet, salty, anise and orange spiced pistachios that turned out amaaazingly delicious. So easy too! Then I roasted some butternut squash and brussel sprouts, and tossed them in candied ginger with some chopped cilantro (both recipes from Rachael Ray). And then I made the most amazing thing of all: a (vegan) pumpkin ice cream torte. Yes. The recipe called for regular ice cream, but I had some coupons for free dairy-free pints so I took advantage of that, making my own pumpkin ice cream smash. It turned out amazing! And I added a little twist to it at the end, of course… pictures and recipes below!

I made my own pumpkin and leaf toasts out of black bread and a cookie cutter.Put a little butter and cinnamon sugar on them, stuck ’em in the broiler for about 2 minutes…

Ale, Pumpkin, & Pork Stew-2-3 lbs. pork loin
-4 c. chicken broth
-1 bottle of a good scotch ale (or any beer you think would pair)
-1 c. water
-15 oz. pumpkin puree
-4 T butter
-1 c. sliced carrots
-1/2 sliced red onion-1/2 t. cinnamon
-1/4 t. cloves
-1/4 t. nutmeg
-3/4 c. heavy cream
-salt & pepper to taste
Turn the slow cooker to ‘high’. Add the beer, broth and water – then the pork loin. Cook for 3-4 hours until the meat begins to fall apart. Take chunks of the pork out and break into bite size pieces and then return to the pot. Add the pumpkin and spices. In a pan on the stove, melt the butter and toss in the carrots and onions – lightly salt and pepper. Cook until they just become soft then add this to the stew pot. Stir the stew and cover – cook another hour. Add the heavy cream and cook another hour. Turn the soup to warm and serve when ready.

These turned out AMAZING! I plan on making lots of these guys and giving them out as gifts this season…

Pistachios with Anise & Orange-1 tablespoon superfine sugar -1 teaspoon ground aniseed -1 teaspoon salt -2 tablespoons vegetable oil -Grated peel of 1 orange -1 1/2 cups shelled raw pistachio nuts Preheat the oven to 350°. In a bowl, combine 1 teaspoon each superfine sugar, ground aniseed and salt. In a skillet, heat 2 tablespoons vegetable oil over medium heat. Add the grated peel of 1 orange and 1 1/2 cups shelled raw pistachio nuts and cook, stirring, for 5 minutes. Transfer the nuts to a baking sheet and toast in the oven for 8 minutes. Toss the toasted nuts in the sugar mixture.
Butternut Squash & Brussels with Ginger & Cilantro4 pounds butternut squash, peeled and cut into 3/4-inch cubes (about 10 cups) 3-4 cups sliced and quartered brussel sprouts (optional)1/4 cup vegetable oil 2 teaspoons ground coriander Salt and pepper 1/2 cup finely chopped crystallized ginger 1/2 cup cilantro leaves
Preheat the oven to 450°. In a large bowl, toss the squash and brussels with the oil, coriander, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. On each of 2 large baking sheets, arrange the squash in a single layer and bake, turning occasionally, until tender and golden-brown, about 30 minutes.
Transfer the squash to a serving bowl and toss with the crystallized ginger and cilantro.

Vegan Pumpkin Ice Cream Torte with Graham Cracker Crust and Caramel3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons finely chopped pecans
2 tablespoons butter, melted
Cooking spray
1 cup canned unsweetened pumpkin
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
9 cups vanilla dairy-free ice cream (about 1 1/2 cartons), divided
1/4 cup finely chopped pecans, toasted and divided
1/4 cup jarred caramel topping (I made my own, which, by the way, was my first time making caramel and IT WAS HARD… all the recipes online said it was so easy.. liars! But it eventually kind of came out…)
1. Preheat oven to 350°.
2. Combine first 4 ingredients (mixture will be crumbly). Firmly press crumb mixture into bottom of a 9-inch springform pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350° for 10 minutes; cool on a wire rack.
3. Combine pumpkin and the next 4 ingredients (through cloves) in a bowl. Soften 6 cups ice cream; add to pumpkin mixture, stirring to blend. Spoon half of mixture into prepared pan. Cover with plastic wrap; freeze 1 hour or until firm. Cover and freeze remaining pumpkin ice cream.
4. Soften remaining 3 cups vanilla ice cream; stir in 3 tablespoons pecans. Spread over pumpkin ice cream layer; freeze 1 hour or until firm. Soften remaining 3 cups pumpkin ice cream; spread over vanilla ice cream mixture. Cover; freeze 8 hours or until firm. Cut torte into 12 wedges. Place 1 wedge on each of 12 plates. Place topping in microwave-safe bowl; microwave at HIGH 45 seconds. Top each serving with 1 tablespoon topping; sprinkle with 1/4 teaspoon pecans.

Cheers! Hope you enjoyed the pictures and recipes from the feast and that you’ll try out a few things as well!

Beets, Tofu Omelets, Tempeh Cakes, & Curries!

For those of you that don’t already know, Isa Chandra Moskowitz rocks the vegan planet. HARD CORE. No, really. I don’t know how she does it. She really is a vegan goddess. I’m never ceased to be amazed. I’ve been trying my best to get through the Vegan Brunch book as quick as humanly possible, but of course a lack of time amongst other things get in the way. Last week I finally whipped up the Tofu Omelets and stuffed them with leftover golden beet and green bean salad. There was a little trial-and-error. The first two omelets I tried out were quite unsuccessful. They fell apart and were too dry and ended up looking like a tofu scramble. I then looked at the little side tip and saw the suggestion of adding up to 1/4 cup of water. And wah-lah, they now looked just like the picture! I was so stoked. They spread out a lot easier and held together when flipped. So yeah, good stuff. I kept the batter in the fridge for a few days so I could make it whenever. You could probably get about 4-5 omelets out of the whole batch. It looks just like an egg omelet, just not so much of an egg-y taste. I think this cookbook should be appropriately renamed as “The Meat Eaters Vegan Brunch Book for Non-Believers”. Between omelets, scrambles, sausages, frittatas, crepes, waffles, muffins, quiche, and coffee cake, you wouldn’t ever believe it’s vegan. And that is why I love it so much. BUY IT. NOW!

Tofu Omelet from Vegan Brunch

Golden-Beet Green Bean Salad

In addition to the overflow of tofu I’ve acquired lately, I also scored a few packages of slightly expired tempeh from work the other day. Hmmm, what to do with some lovely tempeh? Make the Chesapeake Tempeh Cakes, of course!

Chesapeake Tempeh Cakes

People have been raving about these ever since I can remember hearing about the cookbook. They’re imitating crab cakes, and I have to say I’d probably prefer them over real ones (especially after reading the note about Chesapeake Bay)! The only problem I had was a few fell apart when I was trying to shape them and flip them over while frying. Next time I might reduce the amount of panko inside the batter. But other than that, fantastic. The remoulade was quite amazing, as well. Really simple and the perfect accompaniment to the mini patties. I added some freshly chopped dill to the mix because I’ve been all about adding dill to everything these days and it actually made it even better. Served alongside some sweet potato fries, stir-fried chard, mushrooms, green beans, and home-brewed lemon-lime “mojito” kombucha, it was the perfect dinner.
A few weeks ago I received an older issue of Gourmet (from last October, to be exact), and a recipe for this Southeast Asian Squash Curry caught my eye. Relatively easy and delicious sounding. A lot of my favorite foods in one dish: spinach, butternut squash, and cashews. Well, it turned out okay. The consistency was a bit weird and the red curry paste made it too spicy for my liking. I love butternut squash, and honestly don’t think it needed that much. It was my first time using fish sauce, as well. Damn, that stuff really is fishy and stinky. But it added the extra bit of saltiness I suppose it needed. Anyway, I don’t regret making it, but I probably won’t make it again. I had to doctor it up with a lot of cashews and some cilantro chutney, thanks to the Sukhi’s booth at the farmers market!

Southeast Asian Squash Curry

Lastly, something else delicious I got around to making last week was this amazing walnut teet dip/puree. So colorful and delicious! I had a few leftover red beets from roasting, but needed a few more and thankfully I had a can of pickled beets in the cupboard. I typically cannot STAND pickled beets (so wrong but they work in a pinch…) and I think that’s probably the reason some people hate beets. They’ve had the wrong kind. I, too, used to be a beet-hater. I would never touch the things. Until one fine day I had a roasted one and my life was forever changed. Canned, pickled beets are not beets. They’re a complete 180 from slow-roasted, fresh, organic, sweet-as-candy earthy beets that stain your fingers in a lovely rosy hue. You don’t get that same effect from the canned ones. Anyway, this dip is really quite good. It’s almost just like hummus. You could dip anything in to it. So far I’ve only had it with some french bread, but I intend to make it as the base sauce for a pizza and probably put it on some sandwiches with some arugula, tofu, or cheese. I also thought about making raviolis with it–stuffing won-ton wrappers with it. It’s so lovely and would be perfect sitting out for a party.

Walnut Beet Dip
1/2 cup walnuts1/2 lb beets, trimmed, roasted, peeled, and cut into large chunks1/4 cup olive oil1/8 cup water1 tablespoon tahini1 tablespoon lemon juicesalt to taste

Yoga Retreat and Butternut Squash Ravioli

A few weekends ago I embarked on a two day yoga retreat with a coworker of mine. It was really quite nice. The center that it took place at is called Mount Madonna. They served a few meals while we were there (just breakfast and dinner), and it was all vegan and vegetarian. I felt super healthy and like a total hippie (even more so than usual!) and drank tons and tons of Yogi tea and chai. Anyhow, I scored some really great meal ideas and thought I’d share. I took pictures, of course…

A really nice entree of tempeh with nutritional yeast, potato salad (with some really nice herbs!), salad with tahini dressing, some kind of really yummy wheat bread topped with Earth Balance, and a soy chai.

They offered a huge selection of condiments and spices ranging from Braggs, to ground flax and sesame seeds, nutritional yeast, etc. Really great idea.
One morning they served Kitcheree (which I didn’t try) and had many other options available.More chai, of course.

In addition, I also put together a quick, easy, and delicious dinner the other night that consisted of a few great ingredients. Butternut squash ravioli is my favorite kind of ravioli there is. I usually tend to buy Rising Moon Organics raviolis, and these particular ones are vegan, without the cheese. Instead I gave it more flavor by adding goat cheese, in particular, lavender herbed goat cheese, Purple Haze. DEVINE. I sauteed some cut up Field Roast sausages (these are vegan and the particular flavor I used–Smoked Apple Sage–is made out of apples, yukon gold potatoes, sage, and ginger) in olive oil, added some chopped asparagus, button mushrooms, a portabello mushroom, some handfuls of spinach, and some freshly chopped rosemary and sage. After that was cooked through, I added the cooked raviolis and goat cheese and put a lid on it to let things melt a little. Then I topped it with some fresh basil at the end. Super good, super easy, kind of fancy. It just turns out looking like one big mess (may have to work on that) but it’s delicious!