Festive Fall: Kale Salad with Roasted Squash, Pistachios, Goat Cheese and Champagne-Maple Vinaigrette

Soooo, my oldest child is suddenly showing a great interest in cooking. I love that he wants to join me in the kitchen and we are both enjoying his forays into cooking for the family. I’m a neatnick, but cleaning up is part of the responsibility that comes with cooking so I’m teaching my son both. And he’s learning how to cook and clean like a pro. We’ve got fundamentals like how to make pancakes, take baking trays out of the oven, make pasta and scramble eggs down. He’s even taught me a thing or two. Things like: read the directions on the back of the pancake mix box and add more liquid (I never add the prescribed amount)!  His pancakes are lighter and fluffier and the only ones the girls will eat these days.  Even when I’m tired at the end of a long day and not in the mood to supervise a 9-year-old meal prep situation, I know I should harness this moment, this interest in learning to be self-sufficient.  Learning the important life skill that is how to feed oneself and others. 

I think someone could use a bigger waffle maker.

We had  friends over this weekend to watch an outdoor movie with us and eat BBQ. All the kids contributed. There was shopping to be done. There were ribs to smoke, salads to make, cornbread and brownies to bake.  It all made for a busy, fun, messy Saturday! It must be in our blood or something because, just like Paul and I, our kids love nothing more than a dinner party. Any one of them would choose a dinner with adults and kids over a playdate or kids’ birthday party. 

May we never take being able to gather for granted again.

Now that my kids are getting older, having them help with the food is a great way to spend the day and to forestall the inevitable complaining about when people will arrive.  Is it time? When will our friends be here? A spatula and a bowl with brownie batter remnants will distract at least one or two of them for a good twenty minutes. A pair of garden shears and instructions on how to clip kale is good for ten. Instructions to “Go outside and check the temperature gauge on the smoker” will buy at least a couple, and could buy an hour, if they get distracted and play outside for a while.

It can be tough to watch them grow up so fast, morphing into new, only somewhat recognizable humans from year-to-year.  But sometimes, like when they spend a day at home with me, cooking, I also see a glimpse of what it might be like in the future. What it might be like to have grown kids who come over for dinner, whose homes I go to for dinner. It’s crazy to think about, but I know it will happen, just like all of the things that happen to us which we thought only happened to other people. Wrinkles. Gray hair. Hearing yourself say all the same things that your mother once said to you. I see how days like this set the scene for those future days. How clipping kale and eating brownie batter leads to future dinner parties in future homes where I am not the main cook. And I want my kids to remember these times with joy.  I want them to associate cooking and feeding people with feeling loved and cared for.  Because they are, by me, their Mama, with unimaginable intensity. I know I’m critical, but do they know how proud I am of them also?  I want so much for them. But most of all happiness.  

Our dinner was wonderful. We made smoked ribs, corn bread, potato salad, kale salad with roasted squash, goat cheese and pistachios, and brownies. We attached a projection screen to our tree house and got cozy with lots of blankets and watched Sonic (?). I don’t even know. I was inside, camped out in front of the fire. Dare I say, it was a perfect evening to ring in the beginning of Fall with Our People.  

The prep was easy, especially with my four little helpers who are getting really good at actually helping. Even my youngest can crack an egg without getting eggshell in the batter bowl (ADVANCED!!! LOL.).  In the morning,  we prepped the ribs by removing their membranes and coating them liberally with dry rub. Then Emmett guilted me into making a basic potato salad with hardboiled eggs. I was going to buy it but he said “You know Mom, homemade always tastes so much better”. Haha. I guess you reap what you sow.  

Ribs prepped!

By noon we had the smoker up and running and started the ribs while we roasted squash for the salad and picked some fresh kale from the garden. We kept the oven on for the cornbread and brownies, both of which we made from our favorite respective mix. Sorry Emmett, it cannot all be homemade. We checked in on our ribs from time to time, spraying them with apple juice and wrapping them in foil when they’d had enough smoke.  When it was almost time for our guests to arrive, we assembled the salad. My favorite part was the pride on my little ones' faces at having contributed. Then the real fun began.

What is even going on here?

Kale Salad with Roasted Squash, Pistachios, Goat Cheese and Champagne-Maple Vinaigrette

1 large butternut or honeynut squash (about 3 pounds), peeled cut into 3/4" cubes

1/2 cup, plus 4 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided

Kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

1 whole head garlic

1 pound Tuscan kale, stemmed, leaves sliced thinly 

1/2 cup pepitas or pistachios, toasted and salted

2 tablespoons Champagne vinegar (apple cider vinegar would work too)

2 teaspoons pure maple syrup

2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

1 tablespoon finely chopped shallot

⅔ cup goat cheese, crumbled

Step 1 Heat oven to 425°F. On a rimmed baking sheet, toss squash with about 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Liberally salt and add pepper and or smoked paprika, nutmeg, allspice, cumin, cinnamon or other spices to your taste. 

Place the whole head of garlic on a sheet of aluminum foil, drizzle with 1 tsp. oil, wrap securely in foil and roast with the squash. Cook, turning the squash pieces over once, after about 20 minutes, until squash is golden and tender and garlic is tender, 35–40 minutes total. 

For dressing: cut off the top of the garlic head and squeeze 1/2 to all (use as much or little as you like, I used about 1/2) of the softened garlic into a medium bowl. Whisk in the vinegar, maple syrup, mustard, shallot, and oil. I used my immersion blender to blend the dressing, but it’s not necessary. Add salt and pepper to taste. 

Kale massaged!

Now, sprinkle a couple of pinches of salt onto chopped kale and have your kids massage it until it shines. Once it’s been thoroughly massaged, add dressing, nuts or pepitas, roasted squash and goat cheese and serve. 

This salad, like other kale salads, is great for a casual dinner party because it doesn’t get soggy if you don’t eat it immediately (i.e. you can bring it to work for lunch next week).

Thrilled by the success of our first Fall gathering, we’ve been brainstorming other simple dinners that we can throw together without too much fuss. Chili and toppings bar plus a football game? Grilled cheese and tomato soup with board games? So many possibilities! Cheers to shorter days, colder nights and dinner parties thrown by the kids.