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By Root 539 0

flesh into a bowl. Mash it with a fork, adding butter or olive oil, salt and pepper to taste, and, if you are ambitious, some chopped herb—again, sage and parsley would be good (and even better if you cook them briefly in the butter or oil first). You could scatter toasted breadcrumbs over the squash or stir in some grated cheese, such as Fontina, fresh mozzarella, or grated Parmesan. This could be a side dish, or even your entire meal.

Warm Marsala Custard

4 small custards, 2 for dinner, and 2 for breakfast

The timing might be a little tricky, but you can hold the warmth in these custards for about an hour by keeping them in their hot water bath once they come out of the oven. But even if they don’t get to the table warm, there’s something about custard that hasn’t been refrigerated that’s incomparably exquisite, rather than merely good. There’s Marsala in this custard, enough to leave your guest, spoon poised, head tilted, and eyes asking, what is it?

1 CUP HALF-AND-HALF

3 TABLESPOONS SUGAR

3 EGG YOLKS

1⁄3 CUP MARSALA

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Bring a kettle of water to a boil for the water bath.

2. Heat the half-and-half with the sugar in a small pan, stirring to dissolve it. While it’s heating, whisk the yolks in a bowl.

3. Gradually pour the hot liquid into the yolks while stirring, but not too vigorously. You want to avoid raising a raft of bubbles. Finally, stir in the Marsala.

4. Pour the custard through a strainer into a measuring cup. Scrape off any excess bubbles with a spoon, then pour into four small (1⁄2-cup) ramekins. Set in a baking dish and pour in heated water to come halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Lay a sheet of foil over the custards and bake in the center of the oven until mostly set but still slightly quivery in the center, about 25 minutes. Remove and let stand in the water bath where they will finish cooking.

Shortbread

This is a simple shortbread that you can make a day or two before your dinner. It won’t go bad, though it might get eaten. Make it by hand or with a mixer.

1⁄2 CUP SOFT BUTTER

1⁄4 CUP SUGAR

TINY PINCH OF SALT

1 CUP FLOUR

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.

2. Beat the soft butter with the sugar and salt until smooth and well blended. Gradually work in the flour—I end up using my hands—until perfectly blended, then press it into a 9-inch pie tin. Resist going up the sides of the pan more than a quarter of an inch or so, or the shortbread will be too thin.

3. Take a fork, dip it in flour, and press the tines against the rim of the pastry to make a decorative design, dipping it again into flour if needed so that it won’t stick. Bake until pale gold, about 25 minutes.

4. While the shortbread is still warm, use a knife to cut it into wedges, then let it cool.

Wine Jelly (after peggy knickerbocker’s marsala jelée)

I use Asti Spumate and other sparkling wines to make a quivery wine jelly.

This will give you just enough for dinner plus a little to have the next day.

It couldn’t be simpler to make, but you do need to allow time for the jelly to set, so start it early in the day or make it the day before.

1⁄4 CUP COLD WATER

1 PACKAGE PLAIN GELATIN

1⁄2 CUP BOILING WATER

1⁄3 CUP SUGAR

1 CUP ASTI SPUMATE OR OTHER SPARKLING WINE

2 TABLESPOONS FRESH LEMON JUICE

1. Use a bowl large enough to hold at least 3 cups. Put the cold water in the bowl and sprinkle the gelatin over it; let stand for 5 minutes.

2. Pour the boiling water over the gelatin, add the sugar, and stir to dissolve so that there are no strands or bits of gelatin visible. Add the wine and lemon juice.

3. Pour the mixture into a pretty glass dish or just leave it in the bowl. Refrigerate until set.

4. Slice through the jelly with a knife to break it up. Serve it in wine glasses or clear juice glasses. This is a dish where you want to see the light bouncing off all the glistening cubes and chunks of golden jelly. Since you’ll no doubt have extra wine, pour a little over the top or into a glass. Serve with something