Pumpkin and Sausage Pasta

I recently made this pasta for our Bible study and it's always a big hit. It's also easy to do for large crowds. Requires a little prep work but worth it. Also, I wouldn't say it's the prettiest suce I've ever seen but the taste makes up for it in a big way. Enjoy!!

-olive oil
-red onion (chopped)
-1 garlic clove
-pancetta (chopped, one ounce round or equivalent). or I prefer to use sausage. just the cheap kind is good.
-grated pumpkin (2 or more cups)
-cream or milk (~100 ml)
-pasta (spaghetti works best) I use penne for big crowds.

*Saute first four ingredients for 10 mins
*Add grated pumpkin and stir, cook 'til boils down, make take a bit of time. starts to look like orange/brown mush.
*While doing this, boil pasta water and cook pasta
*slowly add cream to pumpkin mixture. then combine with warm pasta
- serves about 6

Pumpkin Puree

So most of us live in Italy and that means we don't have all the great conveniences of canned items like in America. So here is how I make pumpkin puree for bread, pies, etc. It also freezes well so I make a bunch at one time.

Cut the rind off your pumpkin and cube it. I use a pressure cooker because it is significantly faster. I pressure cook the pumpkin with about 1/4 c water or a tad less for around 10 ish mins. once it reaches full pressure. Then transfer the pumpkin to a food process and process til smooth. Place the puree in a sieve and let drain for about an hour to get out the water. Now it's ready to cook with or freeze.It's a bit of a process so I suggest doing a bunch at one time.

Creamy Tomato Basil Soup

I'm not much on tomato soup but over hte last couple year I've started to become a fan. However, I prefer the creamier versions which can be a little less healthy but I mean it's soup so it's ok I think. Ha!! Below is a recent recipe I've been enjoying. Very simple nad makes a great quick dinner. In italy it's especially good with some schiacchiata or focaccia.

• 4 tomatoes - peeled, seeded and diced (I used canned diced tomatoes as a time saver)
• 4 cups tomato juice
• 14 leaves fresh basil
• 1 cup heavy whipping cream
• 1/2 cup butter
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Place tomatoes and juice in a stock pot over medium heat. Simmer for 30 minutes. Puree the tomato mixture along with the basil leaves, and return the puree to the stock pot.Or use an immersion blender.
2. Place the pot over medium heat, and stir in the heavy cream and butter. Season with salt and pepper. Heat, stirring until the butter is melted. Do not boil.Serve hot and with some crusty bread. 

The fall and all its glory...

I must say the fall and early winter are some of my favorite times especially here in Italy. The culinary world comes alive during this season full of chestnuts, pumpkin, soups, and much more. As the weather is turning cooler here in Florence and the first smells of autumn are peeking out I find myself getting more excited to be in the kitchen. This week I've gotten back into the swing of things with soup, chili, pumpkin/sausage pasta and pumpkin bread. Below I want to share one of my team's favorite recipes for Pumpkin Bread. It actually comes from allrecipes.com. It is a tried and true recipe that is sure to please everyone. You can make loafs, mini loafs for gifts or one giant bundt.

Downeast Maine Pumpkin Bread: recipe from Laurie Bennett allrecipes.com

Ingredients:

1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree 4 eggs 1 cup vegetable oil 2/3 cup water 3 cups white sugar 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking soda 1 1/2 teaspoons salt 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

Directions:

1.	Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour three 7x3 inch loaf pans.
2.	In a large bowl, mix together pumpkin puree, eggs, oil, water and sugar until well blended. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and ginger. Stir the dry ingredients into the pumpkin mixture until just blended. Pour into the prepared pans.
3.	Bake for about 50 minutes in the preheated oven. Loaves are done when toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

* I like to add just a bit more spices than the recipe calls for. Also the bread is much better the second day. Freezes well also. Enjoy!!