Cooking With Maddie Newsletter #63
Creamy & Spicy Spaghetti Squash
Hi friends!
May is coming to a close, and I must say - this may have been the busiest May yet. Sorry, that was awful. But seriously, this May has been action-packed which is why you haven’t gotten a new newsletter from me all month.
Since we last chatted (about lemon honey whipped ricotta), we headed to Colorado Springs to see Hailey and Matt get married at the gorgeous Broadmoor. I can’t think of a more special venue to celebrate the newlyweds! Alison Roman visited Denver for the live event of her podcast Solicited Advice. The show was amazing, but what was even more amazing was bumping into her at La Diabla beforehand, and needless to say, I was truly starstruck. Maximo and I also went to STL to celebrate Mother’s Day with the best momma out there. We made — well, attempted to make — this Spanish Tortilla. We will master this one day - mark my words! I got to experience my first ever “beach day” at A-Basin, and finally, we rounded out May with our soon-to-be bride, Erin, visiting us in Denver to have one last hurrah before she says ‘I do,’ this coming June.
This busy month has left us with very little energy at the end of the day, and because of that, we’ve been choosing easy, weeknight dinner recipes over anything time-consuming or fussy. And this week, I’m here to share with you one of our favorites Creamy & Spicy Spaghetti Squash.
The hardest part of this recipe is cutting the spaghetti squash in half. That’s how simple and easy it is. It’s perfect for those busy weeks, in which you don’t seem to ever have enough time. Hope you enjoy!
Here’s what you’ll need —
1 spaghetti squash, cut in half lengthwise and seeds removed
Olive oil
Salt
Pepper
1 yellow onion, diced
1-2 jalapeño peppers, diced
3 gloves garlic, minced
1 lb hot Italian sausage, removed from casings
1 5.2 oz Boursin Cheese — we used the dairy free garlic and herbs one but any Boursin will do
¾ cup heavy whipping cream
½ cup parmesan
½ cup water
Parsley
Start by heating your oven to 375 degrees F.
Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil. Cut your spaghetti squash in half lengthwise. You’ll have to put your back into this — it’s never easy, but I believe in you. Use a spoon to scrape out and discard all the seeds. Season the inside of the squash generously with salt and pepper. Rub down with olive oil, so everything is coated. Flip the squash cut-side down onto the lined baking sheet.
When your oven reaches 375, bake the squash for 45-50 minutes, or until tender with a fork.
As your squash roasts, heat a large skillet or dutch oven over medium heat, with a glug of olive oil. Add your hot Italian sausage to the skillet, breaking it into small pieces. Cook for 7-9 minutes, or until fully cooked through. Use a wooden spoon to crumble the sausage as it cooks, so everything is evenly brown, and you have bite-size sausage pieces.
Use a slotted spoon to transfer the cooked sausage to a paper-towel lined plate. This will leave you with a good helping of spicy sausage oil in the skillet.
Add your onion, jalapeño and garlic to the skillet. Season with salt and pepper, and sauté until soft, about 5-7 minutes.
When your veg is soft and starting to brown, add back the sausage, stirring to combine. Reduce heat to medium-low, and add the Boursin Cheese and heavy cream, stirring until everything is coated with cheese. Continuously stir until there are no lumps of cheese remaining.
Add the parmesan cheese and water, alternating bit by bit, stirring to combine, until all your cheese is added to the skillet. You may not need the entire ½ cup of water. Use as much as you’d like, until you reach your desired consistency. Adding more cheese will make it thicker, whereas adding more water will thin it out. Reduce heat to low, stirring every so often, until your spaghetti squash is done.
When your squash is fork-tender, meaning you can easily poke through the flesh of the squash with a fork, remove from the oven and flip so cut-side is up. Let cool for 5 minutes.
Using a fork, scrape the inside of the spaghetti squash, creating ‘noodles’ of squash. If the squash isn’t coming apart into its natural noodle shape, it may need more time in the oven.
Once the squash-insides are completely scraped from the skin, add it to the skillet with your creamy, sausage sauce. Stir until everything is combined.
Top with chopped parsley and more parm.
For what’s been giving me life recently, it’s been lots of walks around the neighborhood and park with Charlie boy. It’s visiting the Highlands Farmers Market every Sunday. Man, how I have missed my weekly Thai Iced Teas from the Savory Saigan booth. Last weekend, I got some gorgeous spring garlic bulbs, which I made into infused oil and butter. Yum! It was discovering the molcajetes at Ni Tuyo. It was the Graza refill cans (so smart!) and the spicy tuna from fishwife.
It’s the roses that are starting to bloom in our backyard as well as my second garden bed made by the sweetest boyfriend. It’s going to pilates every week, and starting my pottery class at Out of Step Clay. Hopefully in six weeks, I’ll have something beautiful to share with you all. It was seeing Maggie Rogers at Red Rocks and Marcus King at the Fillmore. And lastly, it’s been listening to several audiobooks while trying to finish my paint-by-numbers. I’m nowhere near complete, but at least I’ve powered through a few books. Yellowface by R.F Kuang, My Oxford Year by Julia Whelan and Bad Men by Julie Mae Cohen.
Wish I was with you,
Maddie