Kitchen experiments

It's a well known fact that I'm known to be a pretty picky eater.  I've actually come a LONG way in the past few years (Mike gives himself credit for this) but I still have lots of room for improvement.  I try to make at least one or two new things every week in an effort to broaden my horizons.  After seeing our favorite food blog make fried green tomatoes, Mike has been dying to try it out.  We went to a farmer's market yesterday and found the biggest green tomato I've ever seen (for only $1!).

We decided to combine the dish with another food new to us both: acorn squash.  I'd had a recipe I've wanted to try for awhile now and it was definitely worthwhile!  We served them both with a fresh halibut filet for a unique dinner combination.
We made the acorn squash by halving it and digging out the "pumpkin innards" and slicing it into 8 pieces.  I recommend an awesome knife and strong boy for this job as it didn't appear to be easy.

We placed them on a baking sheet, covered them in foil and baked them for 35 minutes at 400 degrees.  When the time was up I covered them in brown sugar and stuck them back in the oven (uncovered) for about 20 more minutes.  They were served with crumbled bacon on top (we used Morningstar Farms veggie bacon which tasted far better than it looks!).  They had a great mix of flavors and we were both fans. 

Mike was in charge of the tomatoes.  He sliced them up and coated them lightly with salt, pepper, and flour before dredging them in eggwhites and cornmeal.  They were fried for a few minutes on each side until crispy and golden on the outside.  He really liked them but I was not a fan of their slimy insides!  

Mike can't leave a recipe alone so these have red pepper flakes thrown in the mix.