Spaghetti Pumpkin Sauce

1.27.11





Where did my motivation go?

Hmm...not sure how to answer that.



Recently, I've been a slacker with cooking and other things. I've been too lazy to cook. Is that really bad? I'm not bored of cooking but I'm just not in the mood. I also have a few things (unrelated to cooking) that I have to figure out and think about but the laziness pushes me away from doing that too. Have you ever felt like doing nothing? Where did my motivation to do things go?



It took me more effort just to make the marinade for the fish last night. Why didn't I do it the next day or the day after that, you ask? Well, I was "planing" to cook miso salmon on Monday so I bought fish from the market on Monday. However, I procrastinated on the task until Tuesday.  If I didn't do it last night the fish would go bad. So, I did. At least it's a good start right?



Sigh.



Thanks for all the comments from the last post - The best pizza dough! As you know Denise's secret is bread obsession. She left me a comment with interesting information and I'd like to share. Denise said cold rise dough has a special flavor compared to normal rise dough.. If Denise who is an expert on making bread said so, the dough recipe is worth bookmarking! This information is new to me and I'm glad to know. Thanks Denise!



I apologize if this pumpkin sauce is too late past Fall.  I'm not going to lie, this dish was made a few months back and hasn't gotten a chance to shine on this blog. I also made penne with the same pumpkin sauce for the New Year's Eve party I hosted. I used fresh homemade pumpkin puree. If you don't have it or are lazy, don't worry at all. Canned pure pumpkin puree works just fine.



Fingers are crossed that my motivation will come back soon (muah!)







Yield: 4-6 people



1 lb fresh or dried spaghetti pasta

1 cup Pumpkin puree

6  springs of fresh sage, cut into chiffonade, divided.

1 fresh Bay leaf or 2 dried bay leaf

1 packaged Turkey Italian sausage, removed cast



1 cup cream

1 cup dry white wine

1 cup chicken stock or broth

4 cloves garlic, minced

4 shallots, thinly sliced

1 tbs butter

1 tbs olive oil

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp fresh ground nutmeg

1/4 cup minced parsley

Grated Parmesan cheese

Salt and pepper for seasoning










Pumpkin sauce and sausage
Boil water for pasta. Season with salt. Cook to al dente or follow packaged instruction. If you use fresh pasta, it will only take about 4-6 mins.
Heat up a skillet on medium-high heat. Add olive oil and butter. Add shallots. Cook until shallots are getting brown, then add garlic and half portion of sage.
Add sausage and cook until it's cooked through. Remove on a plate and set aside.
With leftover oil, add the remaining sage and bay leaf. Cook for a few mins.
Add wine. Cook until wine is reduced to half, then add chicken stock and pumpkin. Cook until it's mixed and heated. Put cooked sausage back in a skillet. Season with cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, and pepper.
Stir in cream. Cook for another 10-15 mins. Correct seasoning.
Pour the sauce over spaghetti and mix well.
Sprinkle minced parsley.
When serving, top it with grated Parmesan cheese.
 

 








Do you like this bowl? I do!
 



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