BUTTERNUT SQUASH GIANTS

(Not exactly a stellar picture. It disappeared real fast.)

There are some serious butternut squash's taking over our local market. I went there today and seriously some of them were 24 inches or more. The one below is from last week and it looks like a runt compared to the others. I love them. They only have a few seeds and they are just loaded with sweet squash meat. This particular squash here gave us three meals. At 3 for 2 dollars how can you go wrong?

So with all the risotto's around from the Barefoot Blogger group I have been so dying to make the risotto. I had some saffron on hand but no pancetta and I really did not want to run to the store and purchase expensive meat at this time. I looked around and lo and behold on Kevin's blog, Closet Cooking, I found this recipe. Of course I didn't have all the ingredients for his either. So I went the middle road and threw in a few touches of my own. It was delicious. THe apples sprinkled over the dish at the end were a last minute idea and I am so glad I did it. It was a nice contrast in the risotto.

Butternut Squash Risotto with Apple
Lori's Lipsmacking Goodness Original

1 cup of risotto
1/2 cup of dry white wine
5-6 cups of chicken stock
1 1/2 cups cubed, cooked chicken
s and p to taste
pinch of saffron threads
2 cups roasted and cubed butternut squash
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium sized onion, chopped
1 medium sized apple, chopped

Saute onion in olive oil, when it is transluscent add minced garlic. Cook that until the garlic is lightly golden. Add risotto, s and p, and saffron threads. Cook one minute. Add wine and cook over medium high heat until the liquid has evaporated. Add 1/4 cup of broth and heat until it has evaporated. Keep going adding around 1/4 cup to a half of a cup at a time. At first the risotto will just take in the liquid and become larger. After a while though you will notice that it is getting more creamy, that's when you know it is done. It should be a little toothsome instead of like porridge. Add squash and chicken and cook untilt hey are heated through.

Spoon risotto into dish and sprinkle with chopped apples.