This make-ahead beauty (photo #1) is a stunning first course or, turns into a dinner with a light salad. You can make it vegetarian or add meat: chicken, ham, turkey or sausage.

This squash soup is packed with shiitake mushrooms, sausage and red chard, and topped with a fresh sage chiffonade. There are no right or wrong ingredients: Use whatever sounds good to you.

The soup bowl in photo #1 is from Olmsted restaurant in Brooklyn, New York. The photo, along with the availability of so much squash in the markets—had us spending a week trying different recipes that used small squash as individual edible bowls.

The result: delicious baked squash filled with other delicious things, from breakfast eggs to baked fruit sides.
 
 
WHAT SQUASH SHOULD YOU USE?

While stuffed squash has served as edible bowls for millennia, our concept was to expand the squash bowl for soup (broccoli soup, butternut squash soup, mushroom soup, etc.) to other uses.

Small acorn squash squash (photo #1) are the most available; but you may be able to find eight-ball zucchini (photo #2), carnival squash (photo #6) or golden nugget pumpkins (photo #5). A farmers market is your best bet.
 
 
WHAT SHOULD YOU PUT IN YOUR BOWL?

Use whatever filling you want.

Soup is most popular: not just butternut squash soup, but mushroom and any but that’s because most people haven’t thought further. Here are 20 options, including two for breakfast.

You can serve the squash bowl as a side, or add as a main with a protein (chicken or turkey, sausage, tofu).

 
Garnishes

 
PREPARATION

1. MAKE the soup or other filling ahead of time, and warm it when the squash bowls are ready.

2. BAKE the squash: Preheat the oven to 400°F. Halve the squash widthwise and scoop out the seeds and any loose fibers. Discard the fibers and reserve the seeds for garnish, if desired.

3. SLICE a small piece from the bottom halves of the squash, so the “bowls” will sit evenly. You can bake the top halves and serve them as well; or cut the flesh into chunks to use as a filling ingredient or for other purposes.

4. BRUSH the cut surface of the squash with olive oil and season lightly with salt, pepper and thyme. Place face down on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Roast until golden brown and tender, 20-30 minutes, until you can pierce the rind with a fork or tip of a knife.

5. REMOVE any additional center of the squash, until the bowl opening is large enough for your purposes (save the cooked squash for another purpose). Add your filling(s) and serve.

You can also bake the squash in advance and microwave it when ready to serve.

[2] An eight ball zucchini makes an ideal single-portion bowl, at Bittersweet Blog.

[3] Curried lentils with onion and carrot at Fried Dandelions.

[4] Sausage- and apple-stuffed acorn squash at Cherished Bliss.

[5] A golden nugget pumpkin stuffed with couscous, bacon and sausage, from Good Food | Australia.

[6] Check farmers markets for squash that work as individual bowls. This is a carnival squash: butternut’s flashier brother (photo courtesy Kitchen Tangents).

[2] Optional presentation in a glass bowl (photo courtesy Mackenzie Ltd).

[3] Mold the sauce in a turkey pan from Nordicware.

We love cranberry-orange relishes, compotes, molds and sauces. A few years ago we asked: Why do we only make them twice a year, for Thanksgiving and Christmas?

This side is too tasty to save for one or two holiday dinners. So we started to make them as soon as the fresh cranberries arrive in stores (frozen cranberries also work).

Enjoy homemade cranberry sauce as often as you like, at any meal of the day: We serve it:

 
Here’s a recipe from Taste Of Home, submitted by Carol Mead of Los Alamos, New Mexico.

RECIPE: CRANBERRY-ORANGE MOLD

Ingredients For 12 Servings

 
Preparation

1. SPRINKLE the unflavored gelatin over 1 tablespoon of cold water; let stand 1 minute. Add boiling water and raspberry gelatin; stir until gelatin is dissolved, about 2 minutes. Stir in the remaining cold water. Refrigerate until thickened, about 45 minutes.

2. PULSE 2-1/3 cups cranberries, the apples and orange in a food processor until chopped. Transfer to a small bowl; stir in the sugar. Stir the fruit mixture into the thickened gelatin. Fold in the walnuts, celery and the remaining whole cranberries.

4. UNMOLD onto a platter and fill the center with celery curls. Serve the sour cream in a side dish or ramekins.
NOTE: Some people call this type of recipe a salad, or a gelatin salad, because it’s filled with raw fruits and vegetables. If you fill the center with raw vegetables—shredded lettuce, carrot curls, celery curls—it makes the recipe a legitimate salad.
 
  

For a Halloween party idea—or to augment the gathering you’ve already planned—look for holiday-themed bottles of wine. There are dozens of choices available nationwide—typically the winery’s existing wines with special labels.

The Church Of Halloween presents 51 different wines with Halloween-theme labels. Some examples:

 
The labels have great graphics. Even if you don’t buy the wines, take a look.

Elsewhere, we found Evil Demon Bloody Shiraz, Haunting Ghost, Old Witch Cursed Merlot and Slayer Blood Red.

No doubt there are others, available in a store near you.
 
 
BONUS TIP

Save the bottles and refill them next Halloween, without the trouble of tracking them down.

—Emily Hannah

Spooky bottle of red, spooky bottle of white (photo courtesy Elk Creek Vineyards).

[2] Kouign amann may look like Danish’s country cousin, but the flavor is as royal as it can be (Here’s the recipe from The Kitchn).

[3] Perhaps the most oft-consumed Viennoiserie choice: the croissant (photo courtesy The French Farm).

[4] Pain au chocolat, often called a chocolate croissant in the U.S. It’s croissant dough with chocolate rolled into the dough, which is shaped in a rectangle instead of a crescent. Here’s the recipe from The Bojon Gourmet.

[5] Today’s recipe: a pumpkin cheese Danish, the breakfast version of pumpkin cheesecake (photo courtesy King Arthur Flour).

Long before we could say “Viennoiserie” (vee-en-WAH-zuh-ree, meaning “things of Vienna”), we could say “cheese Danish.” We cannot remember a time that cheese Danish was not part of our life.

Our nana was a big baker of Viennoiserie; and if she didn’t have time, there were bakeries owned by Austrian and German bakers who had immigrated to New York after World War II.
 
 
WHAT IS VIENNOISERIE?

Viennoiserie is the category of what is called breakfast pastry in the U.S. It is made with laminated yeast dough or puff pastry. It includes, among other varieties, croissants, pain au chocolat, pain au raisins and Danish pastry.

It bridges the gap between bread and pastry.

White flour is combined with ingredients—eggs, butter, sugar, milk, cream—which create a richer, sweeter flavor than brioche, challah or other sweet breads. Active yeast cultures cause the quick rise of the dough, creating the signature flakiness when it is baked.

While the laminated dough is known as a pâte viennoise (pot vee-yen-NWAZ, meaning Viennese paste) and originated in Vienna, it grew up in Paris,

Viennoiserie arrived in Paris between 1838 and 1839 with August Zang, a former Austrian military officer who opened a bakery, Boulangerie Viennoise. He introduced the Viennese techniques which would one day lead to the baguette and the croissant.

The Viennese style of pastry became a passion in Paris, baked almost everywhere.

You can explore more pastries in our Pie & Pastry Glossary, and the many varieties of bread in our Bread Glossary.
 
 
RECIPE: PUMPKIN CHEESE DANISH (PHOTO #5)

This recipe is from the masterful bakers at King Arthur Flour. It may seem like a lot of steps, but this Danish is something you just can’t find elsewhere.

Prep time is 60 minutes, bake time is 18-20 minutes.

The dough needs to be made the night before (through step 3, below), so you can pull it together on a lazy Saturday and have warm Danish for Sunday brunch.

Ingredients For 12 Danish

For The Sponge

 
For The Dough

 
For Day 2

 
For The Filling

 
For The Topping

 
 
Preparation

1. PREPARE the sponge: Weigh the flour, or measure it by gently spooning it into a measuring cup and sweeping off the excess. Beat together the egg and water then add the sugar, flour, and yeast. Mix until well blended. Cover and set aside for 30 minutes.

2. MAKE the dough: Weigh the flour, or measure it by gently spooning it into a measuring cup and sweeping off the excess. When the sponge is ready, combine the sugar, 1-1/4 cups of the flour, dry milk, salt and pumpkin pie spice. Set aside.

3. STIR the sweet dough flavor and 1 tablespoon melted butter into the sponge mixture, then add the dry ingredients. Mix and knead until a soft, smooth dough forms, adding the additional 1/4 cup of flour if necessary. Pat the dough into a square on a greased baking sheet, wrap it well, and refrigerate overnight.

4. PREPARE the butter the next day. Place the butter in the center of a lightly floured piece of plastic wrap. If you’re using two sticks of butter, place them side by side. Pound the butter with a rolling pin until you have a rough 6″ square. Use the plastic wrap to make the edges straight and even. Wrap the butter and refrigerate it for 30 minutes.

5. LAMINATE the dough: Place the chilled dough on a lightly floured work surface. Roll it into a 9″ square; it doesn’t have to be exact. Unwrap the chilled square of butter and place it in the center of the dough at a 45° angle, so it looks like a diamond in the square. Fold the sides of the dough over the edges of the butter until they meet in the middle. Pinch and seal the edges of the dough together; moisten your fingers with a little water, if necessary.

6. DUST the top of the dough parcel with a little flour, then turn the dough over and tap it gently with the rolling pin into a rectangular shape. Pick up the dough to make sure it isn’t sticking underneath, dusting with more flour if necessary, then roll from the center out until you have a rectangle 14″ long by 7″ wide. Brush off any excess flour with a dry pastry brush then fold the bottom third of the dough up to the center, and the top third over that (like a business letter). Line the edges up on top of each other, and even up the corners so they’re directly on top of each other. Use a dab of water, if necessary, to get the corners to stick together. This is the first “turn.”

7. ROTATE the dough parcel 90° to the right: It will look like a book ready to be opened. If the dough is still cool and relaxed, roll and turn it as instructed in the previous step, then wrap it loosely and refrigerate for 30 minutes. If the dough is springing back when you try to roll it, wrap it loosely and refrigerate it for 30 minutes. Ultimately the dough should be folded and turned four times, so allow it to rest in the refrigerator as many times as necessary to achieve that. Once the four turns have been completed, wrap the dough loosely and refrigerate it for 60 to 90 minutes.

8. MAKE the filling: In a small bowl combine the sugar, pumpkin pie spice, ClearJel or flour, and salt. Set aside. In another bowl…

9. BEAT the cream cheese until smooth. Add the pumpkin and flavor, and beat again until smooth. Mix in the dry ingredients. Set aside.

10. SHAPE the Danish: Roll the dough into a 14″ x 16″ rectangle; if the dough starts to shrink back, let it rest and relax, loosely covered, in the refrigerator for 15 minutes. Trim the edges of the dough on every side using a ruler and pizza wheel. This cuts off the folded edges that would inhibit the pastry from rising fully.

11. SPREAD the filling over the surface of the dough, leaving a 1/2″ bare strip along one of the long edges. Brush the bare strip with a little water. Beginning with the covered long edge, roll the dough into a log. Cut the log into 12 slices and place them on two lightly greased or parchment-lined baking sheets.
Cover the Danish and let them rest/rise for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 425°.

12. BRUSH the Danish with 1 large egg beaten with 1 tablespoon of water. Bake the Danish—one pan at a time, or in two ovens—for 18 to 20 minutes, until they’re a deep golden brown. Remove the Danish from the oven and cool on a rack.

13. PREPARE the topping: Melt the caramel over low heat in a small saucepan or in the microwave, heating and stirring until smooth. Drizzle some of the warm caramel over each Danish.

You can store Danish in a plastic bag or an airtight container at room temperature for a day; or wrap well and freeze for longer storage.
 
 
Making Viennoiserie is a labor of love; but the results are so delicious, you almost forget the labor.

And, the more you make it, the faster you get.

[1] Danish pastry gives bakers an opportunity to create different variations on a [round] theme (photo courtesy Fika NYC).

[2] This well shape is popular for Danish with jam and cream cheese (photo Yuri Arcurs | Dreamstime).

[3] Another classic shape for cream cheese danish. Here’s the recipe from Alexandra Cooks.

[2] Have your betty a la mode (photo courtesy Cook Diary).

[3] A pan full of betty.

[4] Photos #2 and #4: Apple brown betty from Curious Cuisiniere (here’s the recipe).

[5] For a special occasion, top the betty with hard sauce—perhaps with some real rum? The recipe, below, is from Taste of Home.

Betty belongs to that group of fruit desserts that are not a pie, or made in a pie pan:

 
Here are the differences among them.
 
 
APPLE BETTY VS. BROWN BETTY

You may have heard the term as a brown betty. A brown betty is made with brown sugar instead of white.

For centuries, American homemakers have been baking bettys with fall fruits.

The recipe alternates layers of fruit with layers of sweetened buttered bread crumbs. In Colonial times, apples, which stored well, were the fruit most likely to be available into the cold months; and the bread crumbs made use of yesterday’s stale loaf. (Tip: Use challah or brioche for a more luxurious taste, whole wheat bread for an earthier flavor.)

QVC’s Chef David Venable has added walnuts to the crumb layers of his recipe.

He’s also added a second fall fruit: pears. You can add any second fruit to your betty, including persimmons, quince; other fresh fruits; even dried fruits.

We tossed in some extra raspberries we had at hand. Otherwise, we always have a stock of raisins, dried cherries or cranberries (Craisins).

Want something fancier? Serve the betty with fruit sauce, ice cream or whipped cream; or borrow some hard sauce from British desserts.
 
 
RECIPE: APPLE-PEAR BROWN BETTY

Ingredients For 9 Squares

For The Breadcrumb Base

 
For The Filling

 
For The Drizzle

 
Preparation

1. PREHEAT the oven to 350°F. Grease an 8″ x 8″ baking pan with nonstick food spray. Set aside.

2. PREPARE the breadcrumb base: Pulse the cubed bread in a food processor until crumbly (the pieces do not need to be uniform in size). In a mixing bowl, stir together the breadcrumbs, melted butter, cinnamon, sugar, walnuts and applesauce. Set aside.

3. PREPARE the filling: Toss together the apple and pear slices with the sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, lemon juice, and brown sugar in another mixing bowl.

5. PREPARE the drizzle: Combine the lemon juice, molasses, brown sugar and apple cider in a mixing bowl. Drizzle the mixturet back and forth across the filled baking pan. Place the baking pan in the oven for approximately 30–40 minutes, until the top has browned and the fruit is softened. Let cool on a wire rack until set. Portion and serve.

 
APPLE BETTY HISTORY

Once apples took root in America—literally, rootstock was brought over from England—they became a major supply of fresh fruit: for snacking, for baking, for sweetening savory dishes.

The betty originated in colonial times, when apples were often used to sweeten dishes.
The first known reference to a “brown Betty.” appears in the 1864 Yale Literary Magazine. Brown was written in lowercase and Betty was capitalized. The term was in quotes, implying, per one source, that it was not yet a fully established term. It was mentioned in an article of foods to give up during athletic training [source].

Was there a real Betty? It’s a safe guess that this variation on the cobblers, crips, grunts and slumps of the world was someone named Betty, who thought to use bread crumbs instead of the dough, oats, streusel, and other toppings used in related desserts.

In 1890, Brown Betty was part of the winning essay for the $500 American Public health Association Lomb prize on practical, Sanitary, and Economic Cooking Adapted to persons of Moderate and Small Means. This was part of a series of menus to feed a family on thirteen cents a day; it became a book of the same title by Mrs. Mary Hinman Abel.

Mrs. Abel may have carried the recipe into use the New England Kitchen, an experimental Boston restaurant aimed at “improving” the food choices of the poor.

Food trivia: Poor no more, Apple Brown Betty was one of the favorite desserts of Ronald and Nancy Reagan in their White House years.
 
 
RECIPE: HARD SAUCE

Ingredients For 1-1/3 Cups

 
Preparation

1. COMBINE the sugar, flour, nutmeg, allspice and water in a small saucepan; stir until smooth. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened.

2. REMOVE from the heat; stir in the butter and extracts. Refrigerate any leftovers.