I didn’t really plan on moving the first week of cookbook club but we did and we’re finally getting settled into the temporary rental house. I have a small kitchen and my essential pots and pans. I feel like as we progress on we can get into more of a natural rhythm but we will be announcing the second book of the club soon.
My goal is to be doing a new book each month and were running just a little behind but I am soaking up the last month of our first book:
Supper Simple by Half Baked Harvest.
For this recipe you don’t need any special equipment with the exception of a slow cooker. If you don’t have a slow cooker you can use an instapot or a covered dutch oven pot in the oven. The key to this recipe is low and slow to get that squash fork tender enough to shred.
I remember the first time that I made spaghetti squash. I didn’t know that you had to cook it first before shredding it. I shredded it uncooked and tossed it because I didn’t think it was worth it. That’s what I love about cooking. It’s all a learning process and trial and error.
Let’s review our second recipe together! The Spaghetti Squash Alfredo found on page 141 of Supper Simple. Next week we will be reviewing the Brown Butter Sage Chicken Pot Pie.
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- What was your overall impression of the recipe? I love a good recipe where I can set it and forget it. I made this using my crockpot rather than an instapot (still haven’t been brave enough to open it up) and it turned out amazing. I always question how the sauce could thicken up but somehow it always does. I wish I would have bought a baguette to soak up all the extra juices. Overall impression was it was again, super simple and full of flavor.
- What did you change/edit/add to the recipe? For the sake of the experiment I followed the recipe exactly. I’m not sure if I would have changed anything.
- What was the most exciting thing about this recipe? Like almost all Half Baked Harvest recipes I think one of the most exciting thing about this recipe is the minimal effort and maximum results. The amount of flavor that’s able to be achieved in a short amount of time is astounding. The other thing I love about this recipe is that it didn’t try to mask the squash but rather highlighted it’s flavor.
- What is your overall impression of the book this far? Are you interested in more or was this recipe/book not your flavor. This book is still reigning supreme and I think that I would say we’re currently sitting at 2/2. I love the simplicity of the recipes that produced the complex flavors.
Overall impression, it was good. I’m a fan of spaghetti squash and anything alfredo.
I opted to try the Instapot version, and it did not go well. There is not enough liquid in the recipe (as written) for the Instapot version, so I kept getting the burn notice. After stirring and restarting, adding more liquid, twice, and restarting, I said screw it, halved the squash and threw the squash in the microwave to finish it. The sauce, I just used the saute function and finished it in the Instapot, then tossed everything together.
Outside of having to add liquid in an attempt to cook it in the Instapot, I made no other changes to the recipe. While it had good flavor, the hassle put me off. I’m not sure I’d do this one again, simply because of that. If I did make it again, I’d just roast the squash in the oven and make the sauce on the stove top. And I’d saute up some buttered bread crumbs and parsley to put on top.
Looking forward to the next cookbook.
I also opted for the instant pot option and had to redo it, but I found just pressure cooking the squash and then starting the sauce was the key to success. It was great! I added some chicken for protein and fell in love!