Pat should a cooking teacher serve to 12 culinary friends for Sunday supper in the kitchen — a dinner to honor an old friend, Marlene Sorosky? The best is to start at the Ferry Plaza Farmer's Market on Saturday, buying whatever looks fresh and wonderful.

I came home with a bag of fresh almonds, a selection of winter squashes, beautiful little sweet peppers, creamy white cauliflower, small broccoli trimmings, a bag of arugula, and an armful of fabulous wood-fired artisanal bread. A stop at Real Foods for organic chickens and fingerling potatoes, and a stop at Artisan Cheese on California Street completed my shopping.

What I served to my culinary friends was almonds roasted with melted butter, a dash of Tabasco and a sprinkling of coarse salt and freshly ground pepper. And, an hors d'oeuvre of fingers of Delicata Squash, also with butter, salt and pepper.

We had a soup of winter squash with fresh chestnuts; platter of stuffed red peppers; caulifower with a sauce of warm olive oil with lemon zest, capers, and parsley; broccoli greens cooked with garlic and bacon; roast chicken with potatoes and olives. This was followed by three delicious California cheeses and a variety of breads, with crisp autumn apples.

Look for the Butternut Squash (or pumpkin) Soup with Ginger, the Sweet Red Peppers Stuffed with Fromage Blanc and Herbs, and the Roast Chicken with Potatoes and Olives in the recipe archive. Here is how to make the squash fingers:

Download these recipes as a PDF.

Ingredients
2 Delicata squash
3 to 4 Tbs. butter
coarse salt
freshly ground black pepper

Instructions
Cut off the ends of each squash, cut them in half lengthwise, and remove the seeds. Leaving the skins on, cut the squash into 1/2-inch wide lengths. Place these on a baking sheet, dot with butter, and sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. Roast the squash in a 375 degree oven until they are soft, and slightly browned.

Serves 4 as an appetizer, or two as a vegetable side dish.

© Mary S. Risley