Blow Away Dandelion: A Wonderful Side Dish for your Thanksgiving

Bring your Dandelions to blow away………. Recorded in 1966 and released in 1967, Dandelion was a Rolling Stones Classic. Who’s to say what this was all about?  But, considering the date, we of certain age, can surmise the conditions under which it was conceived.   I really don’t know why I can’t hear the word to this day, 47 or so years later, and not have this song pop into my head…………

Here is a great and delicious side dish for your Thanksgiving menu.  It comes by way of my niece, Kate, and Cliff’s Wedding which was in Kennebunk, Maine in October.  What a fantastic weekend and in a very beautiful spot.

Thank you to the Dandelion Catering Company for providing this recipe to us.  While I really hesitate to say it, and you may consider this blasphemous, this dish could just possibly usurp mashed potatoes from the #1 spot in your side dish offerings!  Try it, I think you will love it!

Butternut Squash Wild Rice Gratin – courtesy Dandelion Catering Co.

ingredients

• 1 cup wild rice
• 4 Tbsp olive oil
• Coarse kosher or sea salt
• Freshly ground pepper
• 4 Tbsp butter (1/2 stick)
• 3 1/2 pounds butternut squash (2 medium) peeled, seeded, cut into 3/4-1 inch cubes
• 4 medium leeks, sliced (white & pale green parts only)
• 2 Tbsp fresh sage, chopped
• 10 oz goat cheese
• 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
• 1 cup hazelnuts, toasted, husked, coarsely chopped

directions

• Toast hazelnuts in 350° oven until they start to smell toasted -10 minutes or so. When they are cool enough to handle, enclose them in a clean dish towel and rub firmly to remove the husks. Chop roughly and set aside.
• Cook wild rice by simmering in a large pot with enough water to cover by 1 inch. Add more water as needed to fully cook rice. It takes a while to cook, 45 minutes or so. When rice is tender, remove from heat and drain any excess water. Set aside.
• Heat oven to 400°. Toss butternut squash with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Spread on sheet pan. Roast until tender, stirring occasionally, about 35 minutes.
• Melt 3 Tbsp in a skillet over medium-low heat.
• Add sliced leeks, sage, salt & pepper. Sauté until tender but not browned, about 15 minutes.
• Coat 11×7 baking dish with remaining 1 Tbsp butter.
• Spread 1/2 of the wild rice over the bottom. Layer 1/2 the leeks next, followed by squash. Crumble 1/2 the cheese over squash. Repeat with rice, leeks, squash, and cheese.
• Pour cream evenly over gratin.
• Top with chopped hazelnuts.
• Bake at 375° until gratin is heated through, about 30 minutes.

This is a wonderful recipe – my favorite of the weekend.  It was served with a baked halibut.  While the fresh oysters (sorry Mike) from the cocktail hour and  yummy donuts from the next day’s brunch still are swirling around in my head as I hum this song, I think this recipe will become a staple in my recipe box.

Have a great day!

and now the end is near, and I face the final curtain………:( goodbye to Lillian Austin – until next year………. (sorry, the barometric pressure must be very high today, and I awoke at 5:15!)

Sunrise this Morning: