pumpkin quinoa casserole with gruyere & fresh herbs + { a GIVEAWAY!}

The nerves are setting in.

Is that perspiration on my brow?

I’m not surprised that I’m a bit on edge because in less than two weeks, yours truly will be cooking her first official turkey feast. The good news, I’m not feeding 17 people. This Thanksgiving, my job is feeding my parental units and Mr. B. Seems simple enough.

Yet, there is a catch. Since my mother isn’t cooking, will the food taste nostalgically the same? GASP. I know. Will the green bean casserole have the right amount of whiskey tango? Will the rolls be buttered just so? Or will the turkey beast resemble a certain scene from Christmas Vacation? Only time will tell.

Well, as Thanksgiving menu planning enters the red zone, I need to tell everyone about a skillet that calmed my nerves. Skillets can do that, you ask? But of course! A couple of weeks ago, I received a Non-Stick Sauteuse skillet from Swiss Diamond to try out over the holidays. At first, I was a little skeptical because I’ve only cooked with All-Clad cookware.

I opened the box, gave the Sauteuse skillet a quick wash with soap and water, and got right to cooking. I really wanted to give this bad boy a test drive, so I created today’s pumpkin quinoa casserole to see if the “Rolls-Royce of Nonstick Fry Pans” legend was true. First up, I made quinoa. The Sauteuse was perfect because it has a 4.8-quart base which makes it easy to whip up paella, frittas, risottos, and quinoa! Just boil, stir, slap a lid on it and boom! Quinoa is done.

After I made the quinoa, I poured out the quinoa into a bowl and wiped the Sauteuse with a clean cloth. Next, I prepared to saute the chicken sausage. Can I just say at this point, it was fabulous to not have 16 other pots and pans going on the stove. The fact that I could boil and sauté different ingredients in one skillet was a huge time saver.

The chicken sausage took no time to sauté. One of the best things about Swiss Diamond cookware is that the nonstick coating is reinforced with real diamond crystals, allowing oil-free cooking; and, with the superior heat conduction, the chicken sausage was able to brown more evenly, giving it great texture. After the chicken was cooked, I poured it into a pan, wiped the Sauteuse pan with a cloth and I was ready to move onto the sauce.

This is the point where I started to “oooooohhhhhh and awwwwwww.” Here I was ready to make my third element of this casserole and I had only used one pan. My heart skipped a beat. The pumpkin sauce took minutes to make because the natural non-stick qualities of Swiss Diamond cookware kept the sauce smooth and never stuck to the bottom. Booyah!

Now, for the final piece to this whole test drive, I combined the quinoa, chicken sausage, and pumpkin sauce, topped it with some mozzarella and Gruyere, then placed the Sauteuse in the oven. All Swiss Diamond cookware is oven-safe to 500 degrees. It’s okay let your jazz hands jazz freely.

After the casserole came out of the oven, I was smitten. I have never been so excited about a piece of cookware in my life. Scouts honor. I instantly felt I had some kind of armor to ward off anything that would fling my way during Thanksgiving. Nerves and sweats be gone. Okay. Wait. Not the sweatpants kind. Shoot. You know what I mean.

But that’s not all; the kind folks over at Swiss Diamond are giving away a pair of sweatpants. Just kidding. They are giving away a Sauteuse skillet to one lucky reader! GET EXCITED! All you have to do is leave me a comment below telling me, what’s your favorite Thanksgiving dish?

****THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED. CONGRATS TO #55, STACY!*********

Giveaway details: One US resident winner will receive a Swiss Diamond Sauteuse 4.8 Qt 12.5″ skillet with Lid. The winner will be chosen randomly and will have 48 hours to respond. This giveaway will run from Monday November 17th to Friday November 21st at 9pm MST. Good luck!

***This post was sponsored by Swiss Diamond. As always, all opinions expressed are 100% my own.***

Print Recipe

Pumpkin Quinoa Casserole with Gruyere & Fresh Herbs

Yield: Serves 4

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 40 minutes

Ingredients:

for the quinoa:
1 cup water
2 cups quinoa
1/2 cup Gruyere cheese, grated

for the chicken sausage:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 pound ground chicken sausage

for the pumpkin sauce:
1 large shallot, minced
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup chicken stock (+ more if needed)
1 cup pumpkin puree
3 or 4 sage leaves, chopped ( + more for garnish)
1 tablespoon rosemary, chopped (+ more for garnish)
1 tablespoon thyme, chopped (+ more for garnish)
1 egg
1/2 cup Gruyere cheese, shredded (+ more for garnish)
1/2 cup cream
1 cup mozzarella, shredded, garnish

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

for the quinoa:
In the skillet, add the water and quinoa. Bring to a boil, stir, reduce back to a simmer, cover and cook for about 15 minutes. Once the quinoa is cooked, remove lid, turn off heat, fluff quinoa with a fork and stir in Gruyere cheese. Pour quinoa into a bowl and set aside. Take a cloth and wipe the skillet clean.

for the chicken sausage:
In the same skillet preheated to medium heat, add the olive oil and chicken sausage. Saute chicken sausage for about 7 minutes until fully cooked through. Scoop the chicken sausage into a bowl and set aside. Using a cloth, wipe the skillet clean.

for the pumpkin sauce:
In a medium bowl, combine pumpkin puree, cream, sage leaves, rosemary, thyme, egg, Gruyere cheese, and a pinch of s&p. Stir to combine. In the same skillet preheated to medium-high heat, add olive oil. Then add shallots and garlic with a little s&p. Cook and stir for a few minutes until the shallots have softened. Add the pumpkin mixture. Stir and then gradually whisk in the chicken stock. Add more if the sauce is to thick. Once the sauce has cooked for a couple of minutes and is at the desired consistency.

To serve, add the chicken sausage back to skillet along with quinoa. Gently toss to combine with the pumpkin sauce. Top with mozzarella and Gruyere. Place skillet without the lid into the oven and bake for about 15 minutes. For the last 5 minutes, turn on the broiler to get the cheese nice and golden brown. Remove from oven and sprinkle with fresh herbs.

All images and text ©Lauren Grier for The Curious Plate