Before I embarked on the LC path, one of my favorite places to eat was The Old Spaghetti Factory. One of their signature dishes was spaghetti "a la Homer", which was a browned butter and myzithra cheese dish that was absolutely delicious!

Cut to about two years ago. The local PBS station, KCTS, does a regular feature called "KCTS Cooks" where they solicit viewer recipes and publish them in a cookbook, and do a pledge show over the weekend where they are all demonstrated on the air. Occasionally instead of viewer recipes they take requests from viewers for popular dishes from local restaurants, and the chefs from those restaurants come by and prepare them. The third such edition featured the "Homer" recipe from TOSF, and I bought the cookbook just for that!

A couple weeks ago I started thinking just how much I missed that dish, and so I steamed up some spaghetti squash and made it that way, and lo and behold! It was a hit.


* Exported from MasterCook *

Spaghetti Sqaush "a la Homer"

Recipe By :Gary Linder, Executive Chef, The Old Spaghetti Factory
Serving Size : 4 Preparation Time :0:20
Categories :

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
-------- ------------ --------------------------------
1 medium spaghetti squash
2 sticks butter
1 cup myzithra -- grated

Slice spaghetti squash in half and scoop out seeds

Place slice-side down in microwave-safe dish

Cover with plastic wrap and microwave for 11-15 minutes, or until skin yields slightly when pressed

Let stand for 2 minutes

With a fork, scrape out the squash, which will automatically form "noodle" shapes

While squash is steaming, cut butter into 8-10 pieces and place in a 2 quart saucepan

Heat on medium, until butter reaches slow boil

Once butter begins to boil, stir constantly with a whisk to prevent residue from sticking to pan.

Continue stirring, to keep the foam from overflowing (about five minutes)

Once the butter stops foaming and rising, continue cooking for another 1-2 minutes. The butter will reach a nut-brown color and have a pleasant caramel aroma.

Remove from heat and let stand about two minutes.

Strain butter into a serving bowl

Description:
"A low-carb variation of a Spaghetti Factory favorite!"
Source:
"KCTS Cooks III"
Copyright:
"2001"
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Per Serving (excluding unknown items): 583 Calories; 59g Fat (89.8% calories from fat); 9g Protein; 6g Carbohydrate; 0g Dietary Fiber; 177mg Cholesterol; 1487mg Sodium. Exchanges: 1/2 Vegetable; 9 Fat.

Serving Ideas : Toss 1/4 of the spaghetti squash with 1/4 cup of grated myzithra cheese and browned butter to taste. Add a little red sauce if desired (sheep's milk cheese can be dry). This dish goes great with a pan-fried Italian or Cajun sausage.

NOTES : Watch out when the butter foams and rises. If it overflows the pan it could ignite on the burner.

And yes, Karen, I have fixed the delicious Lemon Grass Prawn Satay you provided in that very same episode!

Hi Scott:

This looks really good. As luck would have it, I have a spaghetti squash waiting for me to do something with.

What's the best substitution for the myzithra cheese in this recipe? I don't think I'll find it around here. The Cook's Thesaurus suggests romano, parmesan or ricotta as substitutes but I don't know which of the substitutes I'd even use. I'd rather have your opinion.

TIA,
Wanda

Myzithra is a salty sheep's milk cheese; I can find it in any grocery store that has a good "upscale" deli section here. Is there a Trader Joe's in Toronto? They'd have it, if so. (It's been a year or so since I had an assignment out there; I forget the grocery stores in the downtown area...)

It comes in two varieties, a soft cheese like Ricotta or Chevre, and a firm version like parmesan or romano. What I use is the firmer version. It has a milder flavor than most Italian "grating" cheeses; I'd try a blend of about two parts grated Asiago to one part Romano, the mildest variety you can find.

A good strong Italian sausage fry goes wonderfully with this dish, by the way. Last time I made this I had some chicken-basil sausage that was really tasty!

Ha! I wish! I loved that place when we lived in California.

I'll try getting it. Usually I buy organic, but since you mentioned it's sheep's cheese I should be OK getting it conventional. I'll try the Asiago/Romano blend if I can't find it.

...stay tuned,
Wanda

Hi Scott:

Well, I couldn't wait for the myzithra before making this. Last night DH wasn't home for dinner so impulsively I decided to make this with what I had, freshly grated parmesan.

This was fantastic! Who would think 3 little ingredients could taste so good? I loved the carmel-like taste to the sauce (coming from an ex-carmel addict ). As you can see, I'm not good at food critiquing.

I reserved half the spaghetti squash so I can try it with the myzithra.

Wanda

How much is a stick of butter? Is it the whole rectangle package that you buy it in from the store? Kindof a dumb question, but I'm a cooking newbie. If it is the whole package, 2 seems like a lot.

One stick = 1/4 pound = 8 tablespoons = 1/2 cup.

Hope this helps!

Thanks. Yes that helps me.

I think my wife and I will make this recipe tomorrow night.

Funny, that's what we're planning. We've got a spaghetti squash in the refrigerator that needs to get eaten, so we're having it tomorrow.

Enjoy it!