Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Pasta with Pumpkin Sauce




I have been sitting here for 20 minutes trying to come up with a cute, sarcastic, and funny post.


FAIL ON ME.


Instead I will share with you some random things about the pets we have and have had.


1. I used to have 3 cats – Izo, Bella, and Gnocchi. When we moved to our new home Gnocchi got out one night and he never returned. I loved that cat. I have been left with one cat who hates all humans and one who has licked half the fur off her body. Ha.


2. I have had 3 parakeets in the last 11 years. Green Bird, Blue Bird, and White Bird. (Very inventive naming, I know!) All have seen the end of life except for the female Green bird who will be 12 years old next year. Green bird likes to spend her days outside chirping to the *free* birds.


This recipe was delightfully stolen from : Rachel Ray, HOLLA!







INGREDIENTS


Salt
1 pound whole wheat penne rigate
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO)
3 shallots, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, grated
2 cups chicken broth
One 15-ounce can pure pumpkin puree
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon hot pepper sauce
2 pinches ground cinnamon
1 pinch nutmeg
Pepper
7 leaves fresh sage, thinly sliced
Grated parmesan cheese, to pass around the table
Flour for thickening, if needed







DIRECTIONS


Bring a large pot of water to a boil, salt it, add the pasta and cook until al dente. Drain.


While the pasta is working, in a medium skillet, heat the EVOO, 2 turns of the pan, over medium heat. Add the shallots and garlic and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in the chicken broth, pumpkin and cream. Add the hot sauce, cinnamon and nutmeg; season with salt and pepper. Lower the heat and simmer until thickened, about 5 minutes (add flour if thickness is not what you desire). Stir in the sage.


Top with Parmesan & Enjoy.


“Don’t mind if I do”
If you Love Rachel Ray go here : Taste and Tell Saturdays

43 comments:

Elizabeth said...

Jen - first of all YUM second of all YUMMMMMM! I love pumpkin and fall and pasta and cheese... so I am thinkin I will love this pasta! PS Why does your cat lick all the fur off her body? Sounds obsessive compulsive to me ;) Good luck with that :D

Delicious Dishings said...

This looks delicious! I have a go-to pumpkin pasta recipe but it's a little more involved because you have to roast a pumpkin. I love this shortcut version.

Fun and Fearless in Beantown said...

This dish screams fall for me. I love the combination of pumpkin, sage and pasta!

tinyskillet said...

I really enjoyed your post! I often want to say something clever and witty too. It's hard to make sure that you come acrossed that way. :D

I like the photo of all the ingredients you used, and of course the last one! A dish well worth stealing. Yummy!

Angie's Recipes said...

Love pasta with pumpkin sauce....looks earthy, healthy and delish!

Julie said...

That's just too funny about the birds...my inlaws used to have parakeets named blue and green. And here I thought they were the only ones :P
The pasta looks wonderful, great use of pumpkin.

Unknown said...

Pasta with pumpkin sauce sounds and looks yum!! Nice pictures..

Alessandra said...

Sad to hear about your cat gnocchi (but what a great name!). Your pasta looks great, I love pasta with pumpkin sauce!

ciao
Alessandra

Unknown said...

Yummy looking pasta!!! Perfect fall dish.
Sometimes you just run outta witty things to say, that's all there is to it. :)

Georgia | The Comfort of Cooking said...

I love the idea of a pasta-pumpkin dish. Bookmarking this to try soon! Thanks for sharing, Jen!

Tracy said...

Love that pumpkin sauce! Yum!

Velva said...

Beautiful pasta dish. Love the pet info too. :-)

Jayanthy Kumaran said...

I think its fabulous...nice presentation dear..
Tasty Appetite

Bo said...

Cute post...Perfect fall pasta dish.

Karen said...

I tried, and failed miserably, to make pumpkin raviolis...this sounds much better. The sauce looks wonderful!

Unknown said...

MMM. I'm thinking of trying pumpkin sauce again this year. I tried a while ago and the natives pushed their plates away with turned up noses. These people don't know what's what! The natives are also asking for a bird. Do you recommend seeing as you have experience. FYI the fish of 2 years just died and that was sometimes work.

Larissa said...

I've made this recipe before...back before I met my pumpkin-hatin' husband. I loved it! Also, love the idea of naming a pet Gnocchi. So cute. What a sad story though!

Cookie baker Lynn said...

I've so had those days when I sit down at the computer to post and my mind goes....duh...... I like the fun pet factoids. And the pasta. That looks tremendous!

Shandy said...

(I am laughing again!) You are too funny. Maybe I can call you when we get our next kitty and need a new name. The parrot names are hilarious and I have a kitty who licks half her fur off too. Nice to know I am not alone in wanting to hide my cat when someone comes over (not that you would hide your kitty).

Love the idea of a pumpkin sauce. I crave all things pasta and will have to try this recipe. Rachel Ray does have some fun food and I do have one of her first cookbooks.

Fall is bouncing in at an alarming pace . . . . Maples leaves are already covering the lawn.

Kate Morgan Jackson said...

Love this post!! and the shot with the forks is fabulous. :)

scrambledhenfruit said...

I have a cat named yellow cat and another named black cat. Black cat licks off his fur too. Being a cat shouldn't be so stressful. This pumpkin pasta is intriguing me- I think I need to try it soon!

Sue said...

Bookmarked! Maybe you should just put together a cookbook:) Love the Jim Davis quote.

Monet said...

When I first read your #2 post, I thought you said "I've had 3 pancakes in my life" and I thought to myself, How very sad! But anyway...this pumpkin and pasta dish sounds delicious. I tried a savory pumpkin pizza last year that was out of this world!

À LA GRAHAM said...

HOLLA! You are such a dork! ;)
Lovely recipe! I will def be trying it!
I had a Blue Bird too!

Treat and Trick said...

Great combo and looks so yummy...

http://treatntrick.blogspot.com

Cristina {Teenie Cakes} said...

I luv that quote by Jim Davis and have used it on my FB profile up until a couple of week ago! :) I've been looking for a good pumpkin pasta sauce...this sounds and looks delicious!

Beth said...

That recipe looks delicious -- and easy! I'll have to give it a try! (P.S. I love carrot cake too.)

Susi's Kochen und Backen said...

That.looks.incredible! I'm adding this to my must-make list!

Heather S-G said...

mmmmm!!! Sounds awesome...and I had to LOL when read the part about your cat...my 14 year old cat currently looks like one of those dogs that get shaved except for the head and paws...it cracks me up, I don't know why she's licked/rubbed all the hair off that way...but this totally made me think of my grouchy old lady cat ;)

Unknown said...

I've been thinking about trying a pasta with pumpkin sauce....now I know I must try it! Thanks for sharing the recipe and the little insights :)

Eliana said...

I would have never thought of using pumpkin this way but it's a great idea. This looks super delish!

Shannon said...

I've spent the last 2 weeks trying to come up with a clever blog post. Um, fail. This whole baby-having thing takes so much time! haha

Anyway, this recipe intrigues me, was it fantastic or what? Should I really make? It kinda weirds me out but I'm willing to go on a ledge here.

Unknown said...

Hey Sarah - Parakeets are pretty easy to take care of, now they do get noisy and make a bit of mess but they are not to bad as a small kid pet in my opinion!

Everyone - I am LOL because half of you have cats as crazy as mine!

Shannon - MAKE IT! It so yummy & different....I do believe you will like it!

Anonymous said...

Oh... my. Do you know how much I love pasta? Do you have any idea how much I pumpkin?

aipi said...

These are some super-tempting pictures..Beautiful dish!!


US Masala

SnoWhite said...

Sounds delightful! I love the flavor combination in this one :)

Josie said...

Yum, I love pumpkin in savory dishes!

Unknown said...

My kind of post! Too funny. I will make this!

Debbi Does Dinner Healthy said...

Wow, this looks fantastic! I so love pumpkin! Thanks!

Nirmala said...

I love pumpkin in a pasta. What a great recipe.

Ingrid_3Bs said...

A little randomness for us? lol Interesting pasta...does it taste pumpkin-y?
~ingrid

Unknown said...

Ingrid - not pumpkiny exactly - with the shallot and hot sauce it really transforms the pumpkin - try it for sure, it is so different in a really great way.

shaz said...

Pasta and pumpkin are such a perfect combination. Loved your witty piece about cats and birds :)