I love Fall!

of course having friends come into town was the only excuse I needed to make some of my fall foodie favs...

I couldn't blog about it yesterday cause I was in a state of depression that they were gone. It was too quick of a visit with Sare and Em. AJ really missed his side kick Michael. It was perfect Fall weather here in PA and we packed a lot into having them out East.... play with the kids, dinner and lots o' chat and laughs on Friday, a walk in the new 'hood, coffee. We went to our friend Mare's wedding on Saturday and it was the best! So many old friends to catch up with. She looked so happy (and of course gorgeous). We had the best time... many laughs were had by all. I wish I had pictures but that silly camera is still in hiding. Out of all the couples there with kids- everyone had boys except one! It was like 10 boys to 2 girls. crazy.

Girls, we need to plan our next weekend STAT! so i can start looking forward to it...

Baked Havarti (this is embarassingly easy- so if you promise not to tell anyone then I'll give it to you)
-1 tube cresent dough (i use low fat)
-1 block havarti
- ~1/4 cup honey
- sprinkle nutmeg
- pears
Roll cresent dough into two rectangular pieces. PAM a baking sheet (make sure it has sides cause it tends to ooze). Place one rectangle down. Load it with havarti, pour honey, sprinkle nutmeg. Put second rectangle on top and seal closed making a little pouch. Bake ata 350 for about 15 minutes. Serve with sliced pears.

Butternut Squash Ravioli (thank you, rachel for introducing us to these lovelies!)
2 lb butternut squash
8 gingersnap cookies (crushed about 1/2 cup)
2 Tblsp milk
1 cup parmesan
2 Tblsp softened butter
1/2 tsp salt
12oz package wonton wrappers

1/2 c. butter
1/3 c. sage leaves

Raviolis: Stir gingersnaps in milk. Cut squash (and take the goober seeds out) lengthwise and place cute side down on greased and foiled pan. Back uncovered at 400 degrees for 30-40 minutes. Take 1 3/4 cup of the pulp, 1/2 cheese, butter and cookies - mix. Fill wontons with mixture. To make the wontons, get a small cup of water. Put about 1tsp in the middle of wonton. With your wet finger moisten the edge of the wonton and fold over. The water makes it stick together. I made a tray ahead of time and put them in the fridge separated by layers of wax paper and covered with Saran Wrap.

Sauce: melt butter and sage in a frying pan. Brown it slowly over med heat. Be careful not to burn. (I do about 1/2 the butter and 1/2 the sage.)

To cook the wontons, boil water and cook about 6-8 at a a time for about 1-2 minutes. Drizzle brown butter sauce over them.

Roasted Tomatoes (barefoot contessa)
12 plum tomatoes, halved lengthwise, seeds (not cores) removed
1/4 cup good olive oil, plus more for drizzling
1 1/2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 large garlic cloves, minced
2 teaspoons sugar
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
12 fresh basil leaves, julienned

Preheat the oven to 275 degrees F.
Arrange the tomatoes on a sheet pan, cut sides up, in a single layer. Drizzle with 1/4 cup of olive oil and the balsamic vinegar. Sprinkle with the garlic, sugar, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Roast for 2 hours until the tomatoes are concentrated and begin to caramelize. Allow the tomatoes to cool to room temperature and serve over arugula with parmesan.