This weekend, New York City got its first big blizzard of the winter and I was snowed in. I decided to take the opportunity to test a recipe I was noodling over for butternut squash soup. Typically, when I want to cook something new, I check out different versions of it on the web—usually FoodTV.com—mostly for cooking times and temps, and then adapt it to my own tastes. This butternut squash soup is dairy-free and you won’t miss the leche one bit—squash is super creamy and filling on its own and chicken stock (or vegetable, if you want to keep this totally vegetarian) is a great flavor-boosting liquid. Check out the full recipe after the jump.

Itty bitty flakes of snow are showing up since the official start of winter is right around the corner! This only means one thing ... time to bust out a holiday pancake pan. Get ready for the season by bringing some holiday cheer to the table. The only thing that could make this better is endless flavors of syrup. Mmmm ... can’t you taste them already? [$35, Nordic Ware]

When it comes to T-Day, most of your effort goes towards figuring out (or stressing about) the meal. And hey, congrats! Cooking a turkey is no easy feat. But now you probably want to get all jolly and merry to celebrate your success. So what to drink? Whether you’re in charge of the booze yourself, or a guest at someone else’s Thanksgiving table (hey slacker, now you really have to bring it), here are a few suggestions for appropriate pairings, after the jump.

One of my new year’s resolutions for 2009 was to cook at least two new recipes each month, and now that we’re heading into October, I have, oh, about 15 recipes I need to quickly make up for. No problem — with this specialty trio pan I can cook three dishes at once, so if I figure I can use it once or twice a week and be back on track by November. Or ... I can save it for the last two weeks of December and cram in 20 new dishes, which is probably what I’m going to do! Anyone have a good recipe (or 8) for lasagna? [$29.99, Amazon]

Thanks to motion picture hit “Julie & Julia,” Julia Child’s image has been experiencing a feminist revival, as reflections on the movie have meditated largely on what the “French Chef” did not only for American cuisine, but also for the women who cooked it. True, there’s no denying Child was a woman who made a huge impact on domestic society. Yet, I’ve had to take issue with the quick compulsion by reviewers and blogs to laud her as a “feminist icon,” where the term refers to her as someone active in the women’s movement. To be sure, Child can now be classified as such for the overarching effects of her career, but promoting women wasn’t her original goal. It was to cook, write her book, pay homage to her beloved France, and find success. (If you read her autobiography, My Life in France, you know that after the publication of her cookbook she was actually quite conniving by choosing not to disclose much of her subsequent work to her female colleague, Simone Beck.)*

This week “Julie & Julia” came out in France, and The New York Times highlights an illuminating (and perhaps not greatly considered in this feminist dialogue) point—the French are excited about this film, but the draw has nothing to do with their own country and its cuisine. It’s all about Meryl Streep. Julia Child could not be farther from a feminist icon there.

Second only to my love of food on a stick is food that is bite-sized. I love going to a party and noshing on little morsels of yumminess, especially if the yumminess is piled on some sort of flat vessel or stuffed inside something. So seriously, these little pie lollipops are making me absolutely ravenous right now. Find out how to make them for dessert at your Labor Day barbecue here. [via NotCot]

For those who live in cities, cramped quarters necessitate some creative maneuvering in the kitchen. Especially if you don’t have one. Over at gadget blog Gizmodo, one writer has taken it upon himself to test out, um, alternative means for cooking. The first experiment involved making a chicken dinner in a coffeepot (just the thought is hard to stomach), by poaching a chicken breast. To accompany, couscous, also prepared in heated water. The results are a bit surprising: “The coffee maker did a perfectly fine job of it. The chicken was moist and the texture was about right, and it is an incredibly easy way to make a meal. I could see this recipe being useful if you’re stuck in a hotel room somewhere—and just happen to have a raw chicken breast on you.” Yeah, and then having bird-flavored java in the morning. Mmmm.

For his next trick, the MacGyver Chef attempted to dishwasher-cook a fish fillet by steaming a piece of salmon wrapped in tinfoil (on the regular wash, not the pots and pans cycle). In two trials, one version came out overcooked with the other was far undercooked.

Interesting ideas…but we gather you’ll probably be sticking to your ramen noodles. [Gizmodo.com]

Want to make a cheap, easy, and delicious dessert? Crêpes, the traditional French pancakes, are perfect to impress your dinner guests. But before we begin, a little lesson in pronunciation. The e in the word is said like eh: krehps. If you can get a bit of a throaty roll on the r. It’s not craypes. Nor is it craps. Let’s hope your dish doesn’t end up tasting like the latter.

After the jump, a recipe, plus ideas for fun fillings both savory and sweet!

As you’ve probably heard, seven people were poisoned in Japan eating blowfish this week. What part of the blowfish, you might ask? The testicles.

In some cultures, like China and Serbia, it’s believed that eating testicles increases sexual vigor due to the high levels of testosterone they hold. King Louis XV and his lover Madame de Pompidour ate ram’s jewels in the Palace of Versailles before le sex. In modern times, it’s believed that castrating beef cattle helps fatten and tenderize their beef. Why waste some good gonads if you’ve already chopped them off?

This week, The Frisky will be revealing their oh-so-ambitious resolutions for 2009. We encourage you to submit yours in the comments—maybe you’ll inspire others to adapt the same resolutions and at the very least you’ll get some support. Especially for your resolution to eat more donuts this year. That’s something we can all get behind. Catherine is up next…

1. Learn how to cook at least one new dish every month: I eat the same stuff all the freaking time, mostly because I am a picky eater, but also because I know how to make about three dishes. I really need to enhance my repertoire—at least until I can afford to have a personal chef.
2. Learn how to edit video: I don’t want to become the next Sofia Coppola or anything, just be able to clip together little videos of my dog in iMovie. (Confession: This was a resolution for 2008 I never accomplished.)
3. Do some sort of good in the world: I want to start volunteering. If you have suggestions, let me know.
4. Write letters to my grandmother at least once a month: Phone calls are nice, but they just don’t compare to handwritten letters. My grandma has been sick lately, and I want to send her special somethings in the mail so she knows I’m thinking of her.

When we think of casseroles, the first thing that comes to mind is a green been monstrosity that an aunt used to force upon us at Thanksgiving. Just imagining it makes us ill. But Emily Farris is set on changing our minds about casseroles, or “hotdishes” as Minnesotans like her call them. Her book, Casserole Crazy: Hot Stuff for Your Oven, came out last month and includes yummy recipes from her own repertoire, as well as from big-name chefs like Bobby Flay, Paula Deen, and Donatella Arpaia. Emily was nice enough to take a break from cooking to chat with us about her passion for vintage Pyrex and how she seduces men…

You already know that the first Tuesday of November is Election Day, but the first Thursday of November may just trump that in the hearts and minds of all you coupled-up women out there: it’s National Men Make Dinner Day! The people behind the movement explain that the ideal participant of NMMDD is a man who: “helps with household chores, has a sense of humour and is a great all-around guy [who] loves his wife/girlfriend, kids and pets…BUT NEVER LEARNED HOW TO COOK, and is somewhat afraid of the idea.” In case your man needs some persuading, the NMMDD has a list of the top ten reasons guys should participate, including “Several recipes include beer as a legitimate ingredient,” and “Whoever is cooking always gets the most attention from the dog.” But what about you? While most of you probably love the idea of your husband or boyfriend donning an apron and rolling up his sleeves in the kitchen, you may have a few concerns — like what to do if his meal sucks — so after the jump, the people behind NMMDD answer a few Frequently Asked Questions to put your mind at ease…

I recently registered at Williams-Sonoma for the typical stuff any person needs—cookie sheets, bagel cutter, grapefruit spoons (hey, I’m a fan of citrus). But whenever the catalog arrives in the mail, I always look longingly at the pages, wishing my registry was a bit more on the adventurous side. The one appliance I’m borderline obsessed with is this “pancake” pan—but they’re not really pancakes. They’re actually ebelskiver, a traditional Danish puffed pancake filled with jelly, fruit or cheese. They look so ridiculously easy to make, and the finished product looks like a work of edible art. But instead of the other (dare I say boring?) fillings, I plan on stuffing them with Nutella and peanut butter. Yum.  [$40, Williams-Sonoma]

“I’m a 1950s housewife. I love baking. I love sewing. Being home with Tony. My mother was like that. Always took care of her husband. I always admired and wanted to do that.” —Eva Longoria [AHN]

Daily Mail columnist Sam Holden is a bold man, declaring, “The only people who can actually cook on this planet are men, even the ones who only cook once a year when their wife or girlfriend is ill.” Surprisingly, he is married. And while we would dump his ass if we were his wife, she totally gets him back with her response: “So, boys, next time you are boring on about how you created the latest gastronomic masterpiece, and taking your wife to task about her shortcomings in the kitchen, don’t be surprised if she gently points out that the kitchen is not the only room in which performance counts.” Oh, snap. [Daily Mail]