Garden gloves off to Katie Tremont for the fresh butternut squash.

Prep Time: 30 min
Cook Time:1 hr 25 min

Serves: 8 to 10 servings

Cook’s Note: The no-boil lasagna noodles can be substituted with fresh spinach lasagna sheets. Look for fresh lasagna sheets in the refrigerated section of specialty markets.

Ingredients
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 (1 1/2 to 2-pound) butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cut into 1-inch cubes
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup water
3 amaretti cookies, crumbled
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
3 1/2 cups whole milk
Pinch nutmeg
3/4 cup (lightly packed) fresh basil leaves
12 no-boil lasagna noodles
2 1/2 cups shredded whole-milk mozzarella cheese
1/3 cup grated Parmesan

Directions

Heat the oil in a heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the squash and toss to coat. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Pour the water into the skillet and then cover and simmer over medium heat until the squash is tender, stirring occasionally, about 20 minutes. Cool slightly and then transfer the squash to a food processor. Add the amaretti cookies and blend until smooth. Season the squash puree, to taste, with more salt and pepper.

Melt the butter in a heavy medium-size saucepan over medium heat. Add the flour and whisk for 1 minute. Gradually whisk in the milk. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer until the sauce thickens slightly, whisking often, about 5 minutes. Whisk in the nutmeg. Cool slightly. Transfer half of the sauce to a blender*. Add the basil and blend until smooth. Return the basil sauce to the sauce in the pan and stir to blend. Season the sauce with salt and pepper, to taste.

Position the rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 375 degrees F.

Lightly butter a 13 by 9 by 2-inch glass baking dish. Spread 3/4 cup of the sauce over the prepared baking dish. Arrange 3 lasagna noodles on the bottom of the pan. Spread 1/3 of the squash puree over the noodles. Sprinkle with 1/2 cup of mozzarella cheese. Drizzle 1/2 cup of sauce over the noodles. Repeat layering 3 more times.

Tightly cover the baking dish with foil and bake the lasagna for 40 minutes. Sprinkle the remaining mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses over the lasagna. Continue baking uncovered until the sauce bubbles and the top is golden, 15 minutes longer. Let the lasagna stand for 15 minutes before serving.

*When blending hot liquids: Remove liquid from the heat and allow to cool for at least 5 minutes. Transfer liquid to a blender or food processor and fill it no more than halfway. If using a blender, release one corner of the lid. This prevents the vacuum effect that creates heat explosions. Place a towel over the top of the machine, pulse a few times then process on high speed until smooth.

Recipe courtesy Giada De Laurentiis

An Aspen Grove–Maroon Bells Wilderness area, Aspen, CO–October 6, 2014

Aspen in the Fall is the best kept secret. You arrive to hike, fish and experience the valley in all its autumn splendor. Within a day of arrival, it snows four inches, the gonodola opens (due to the government shutdown) and it feels like ski season.

The next morning the sky is a tiffany blue, the aspens shimmer in gold and the valley is blanketed in red, orange and green.

In Aspen, on any given day you can head to the local farmer’s market in town, enjoy local fanfare and art, embark on a leg burning hike or fly fish and listen to the water tumble over the rocks.

The best part of our adventure this year is that we enjoyed it with family.

Aspen, CO–October 2013–Enjoying the mountains with the Stoll Family

Brook Trout, Maroon Creek, Aspen, CO–October 2013

The Roaring Fork Valley is home to some of the best fly fishing on the globe with two gold medal rivers–The Roaring Fork and Frying Pan.

Each river has catch and release restrictions and is fed by the run off from the ski areas and 14,000 peaks on the western side of the Continental Divide.

If you fish in the creeks that feed these rivers, you get to eat what you catch.

Saturday, September 21, 2013–Carlin Park, Jupiter, FL

It is Week 4 of football and the leaders are starting to shake out. The contenders are separating themselves from the pack and the pretenders are exposed.

The Oxbridge Academy Football Team (3-1) earned their third consecutive shutout last night against Northwest Christian (54-0).

There is no pretending here. When this wolf pack strikes, you hear thunder roll.

September 20, 2013- Oxbridge Academy vs. NW Christian. My eye is on Player 37–Chandler Holroyd

Nest Excavation, Saturday morning, September 7, 2013

This is a 5-star recipe for a reason. It is easy and delicious.

Chicken Parmesean

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus 3 tablespoons
1 medium onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 bay leaves
1/2 cup kalamata olives, pitted
1/2 bunch fresh basil leaves
2 (28-ounce) cans whole peeled tomatoes, drained and hand-crushed
Pinch sugar
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 skinless, boneless, chicken breasts (about 11/2 pounds)
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 tablespoon water
1 cup dried bread crumbs
1 (8-ounce) ball fresh buffalo mozzarella, water drained
Freshly grated Parmesan

Directions

Coat a saute pan with olive oil and place over medium heat. When the oil gets hazy, add the onions, garlic, and bay leaves; cook and stir for 5 minutes until fragrant and soft. Add the olives and some hand-torn basil. Carefully add the tomatoes (nothing splashes like tomatoes), cook and stir until the liquid is cooked down and the sauce is thick, about 15 minutes; season with sugar, salt and pepper. Lower the heat, cover, and keep warm.

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.

Get the ingredients together for the chicken so you have a little assembly line. Put the chicken breasts side by side on a cutting board and lay a piece of plastic wrap over them. Pound the chicken breasts with a flat meat mallet, until they are about 1/2-inch thick. Put the flour in a shallow platter and season with a fair amount of salt and pepper; mix with a fork to distribute evenly. In a wide bowl, combine the eggs and water, beat until frothy. Put the bread crumbs on a plate, season with salt and pepper.

Heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil over medium-high flame in a large oven-proof skillet. Lightly dredge both sides of the chicken cutlets in the seasoned flour, and then dip them in the egg wash to coat completely, letting the excess drip off, then dredge in the bread crumbs. When the oil is nice and hot, add the cutlets and fry for 4 minutes on each side until golden and crusty, turning once.

Ladle the tomato-olive sauce over the chicken and sprinkle with mozzarella, Parmesan, and basil. Bake the Chicken Parmesan for 15 minutes or until the cheese is bubbly.

Snook Season opened September 1.

RAR using live bait, Beach Casting, Jupiter, FL –September 2, 2013 – Not a Keeper.