In October, Scott and I had the good fortune of seeing Anna Deveare Smith’s Notes from the Field.  It was stunning. If you have a chance, you should go. It is a powerful portrayal of the stories of people who have been impacted by the school to prison pipeline and policing that targets minorities. Afterwards, we went out to dinner in the theater district where I had a lovely salad — roasted squash salad with brown butter vinaigrette. I tried to reconstruct it.

Roasted Squash

Select a couple types of autumn squash. I used butternut and kabocha. Peel and seed squash.  I sliced them some what thin.  I googled how to prepare kabocha and found that you don’t need to peel them. Japanese cooking websites suggest peeling them a bit to lessen the  amount of tough skin, but keeping some skin on for color.

Toss the squash with olive oil and place on a baking sheet. Season the squash with salt and pepper.  Then season the squash with a dusting of cinnamon and paprika or a bit of Ras el-Hanout, a Moroccan spice blend.

Roast in a 425 degree until the squash is soft.

Brown Butter Vinaigrette

• 1 stick unsalted butter
• 4 ounces sherry vinegar
• 4 ounces extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 chopped shallot
• 1 teaspoon dijon mustard
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium-high heat until browned, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and reserve.

Combine the vinegar, olive oil, shallot and mustard.  Whisk in melted butter and blend until thickened. Season to taste and set aside at room temperature until ready to serve.

Compose the Salad

Put some arugula on a plate. Arrange the squash on top of the arugula. Shave some Pecorino Romano on top of the salad. Drizzle with brown butter vinaigrette.