A cleared calendar and a day on the farm gave Alicia Lund of Cheetah is the New Black an abundance of inspiration. We partnered with her for a recent day trip to Park Winters, just outside of Sacramento, California. Though it’s only a short drive beyond the city limits, the 200-year-old Park Winters estate transports visitors to a country life, complete with sprawling land and roaming animals.
During her visit, Alicia foraged for herbs and held a chicken for the first time, followed by a lesson in outdoor cooking with the property’s executive chef. Park Winters’ outdoor pizza oven proved ideal for learning how to use a dutch oven, and the fall harvest provided the perfect opportunity to revisit a favorite comfort food for the cold months: roasted local butternut squash drizzled with olive oil and honey, cooked in our cast iron dutch oven.
Once she split the squash, scooped the seeds, and coated everything in drizzle and seasoning, she added the final touch of freshly foraged sage. Within minutes of going in, the dutch oven came out of the fire with the beautifully charred squash, its earthy scent carrying on the breeze. There’s something about cooking outside that makes even the most familiar of dishes feel new again, don’t you think?
Get Alicia’s recipe for Roasted Winter Squash and see more photos of her visit to Park Winters on her blog.
