People keep saying that it is the first day of fall on Facebook and yet my calendar says it is tomorrow. Either way, autumn is upon us. As much as I loathe winter, I adore fall and wanted to celebrate the change in seasons with this clever appetizer by Martha. Pretty darn easy and packs total visual appeal!
You cut the top part off a butternut squash and peel it. Then cut it into 1/8″ slices and use those autumn cookie cutters gathering dust somewhere in your cupboards to cut out the garnish. Why did I use a moon? I was inspired by the Harvest Moon!
I ended up with a ton of squash cutouts!
Melt some butter and olive oil in a large skillet. Now the recipe says “over medium heat” and to cook until brown, turning once, 2 minutes per side. I got no colour following those instructions!
I turned up the heat and let them sit for a few minutes and then they started to darken nicely. Make sure to dry off on some paper towel and sprinkle with salt. I used fleur de sel.
Slice pumpernickel bread into square-like shapes (I so need square cookie cutters, I am hopeless!), add a dollop of goat cheese and top with a cutout. So easy!
I had made so many of these that I was going to use them to garnish my Roasted Butternut Squash Soup but did not have enough squash left over to make a nice big batch. Instead I used it to make Chuck’s Butternut Squash Gnocchi which was a pain in the butt but delicious! I will post that soon. (Sorry, the FNC site seems to be down so no link ATM.)
I thought the flavour might end up being a little boring but it wasn’t. I love pumpernickel and had no idea that goat cheese and squash with it would work so well. For those who need more flavour though you could always add some herbs or cayenne to the goat cheese for hidden punch.
Not only is fall my favourite time of year, Halloween is my favourite holiday. I have been working on some spooky treats which will be coming soon! So much foodie fun to come.
Happy Autumn Everyone!
Those little canapes look delightful. My We’Moon calendar says tomorrow is the Fall Equinox too and it tracks such things minutely, so all those FB people are incorrect.
Thank you Debra! I was thrilled with how cute they turned out to be.
My calendar says the same thing, tomorrow. Oh well! Now people can celebrate autumn tomorrow by making these adorable appetizers and garnishes. 🙂
According to the Old Farmer’s Almanac Fall Equinox officially arrives on September 23, 5:05am EDT, so I’m going with that. Love this time of year!
These canapes are so adorable and so Martha. I bet they were pretty darn tasty. Happy Fall to you Suzie, I think it’s also time to start baking with pumpkin and spice and everything nice…Mmmm
I love the color!! Stealing this idea. 🙂