Improv Pasta -- 300th Post!

Wow. 300 posts to my blog! Many thanks to the small handful of readers that help to stir up my motivation.

I thought it would be fitting if I posted about a dinner improvisation -- something to document how comfortable I've become in my kitchen over the past few years.

I had learned to make a sage and brown butter sauce in a pasta-making class a while back. It is both simple and wonderful. Incorporating roasted cherry tomatoes into this buttery sauce makes it even better.

The other night, I didn't feel like waiting for the oven to preheat, and I also wanted to spare my husband (who is our official dishwasher...um, apart from the actual dishwashing machine) from a pile of too many dishes. Instead, I halved a pint of cherry tomatoes and cooked them in some olive oil, sage (from my herb garden!), and garlic in a fry pan (with salt and pepper, of course). After the tomatoes started to lose their shape, I tossed in some chopped kale. Once the kale was bright green and wilty, I removed the pan from the heat and tossed the tomato-kale sauce with some penne.

I was so pleased with the result -- and am always excited to sneak kale into my meal.

Pumpkin Risotto with Sage and Truffle Oil

What do you get when you combine recipes for pumpkin penne and barley risotto? Why, pumpkin risotto, of course! I followed my risotto recipe, but replaced the thyme with sage. Near the end of its cooking time, I added about 1/2 can of pumpkin puree, and just a tiny swirl of white truffle oil. Oh, the truffle oil! It really turned this meal into something extra special.

Pumpkin Penne with Sausage

Hmmm... What to do with some leftover pumpkin puree?

Determined to get it right this time (versus this time, and this time), I took a look at my previous attempts at making a pumpkin-related pasta dish. This time I got it right.

My plan of attack was to almost mimic my Penne ala Vodka, using pumpkin puree instead of tomato sauce, and adding meat. My meat of choice this time was maple-apple chicken sausage, which was a perfect match for the pumpkin. I cut the sausage into bite-sized pieces and browned them (even though it was pre-cooked) in some olive oil. Once browned, I added a couple handfuls of shallots to the mix, cooking until slightly soft. A bit of chicken stock deglazed the pan of its dark brown sausage-y bits, and after reducing for a few minutes, I added my leftover pumpkin puree (which was maybe 3/4 cup). I let the ingredients mingle as our (whole wheat) pasta cooked, then added some heavy cream, a little butter (never underestimate the power of butter!), and some salt and pepper.

It was perfect. It was almost perfect. It was so very orange, though, and John and I both decided that the addition of some sage in the next rendition would be the perfect cure.

Kathy's Famous Lasagna, Remixed

Our Christmas and 4th of July gatherings would simply not be the same without my Aunt Kathy's famous lasagna. This is not a family recipe, per se, nor is it an authentic lasagna recipe by any means. It's entirely constructed of pre-made ingredients, most of which are really salty and fatty and bad for you. My god, though...this lasagna really tastes very good.

To make this much-loved dish, Kathy browns some ground beef, sometimes along with some sausage, and ads this meat to a big jar of Ragu (with meat) along with a packet of Lipton Onion Soup Mix...and pepperoni. Salty Salterson! Uncooked lasagna noodles are layered with this sauce, cottage cheese, mozzarella, and parmesan cheese. I've never met a person who didn't like it.

Unfortunately, that recipe relies heavily on processed, packaged foods. It's a wonderful treat twice a year, but I wanted a weekday meal that we could consume without guilt for several days. I set out to make a healthier version, using ingredients as close as possible to their natural form.

I replaced all of the meat with hot turkey sausage. I browned the meat and added 2 cans of Muir Glen crushed tomatoes to the mix along with a little kosher salt. (As an important aside, I buy Muir Glen tomatoes in their various canned forms whenever possible. Their flavor and freshness really do make a difference in the outcome of any meal.)

I let this tomato sauce simmer for a while (30 minutes?) while I made some caramelized onions to replace the concentrated flavor of the Lipton Onion Soup Mix. I cut about 5 medium onions into rough strips and slowly cooked them in some olive oil and butter over medium-low heat for about 30 minutes, occasionally covering and sometimes stirring until brown, sweet, and just starting to fall apart.

To add some nutrition to the meal, I thawed two packages of frozen spinach, ringing them out very well to get rid of the extra water. I was also sure to use whole wheat lasagna noodles (I've never once pre-cooked lasagna noodles, nor have I ever bought the no-boil noodles — they all work!) and low-fat cottage cheese (I refuse to buy non-fat products—they scare me), as well as part-skim mozzarella cheese.

Once everything was ready (and the oven was preheated to 375 degrees), I began the layering: sauce, noodles, sauce, cottage cheese, spinach, onions, mozzarella, shredded parmesan, noodles, sauce, cottage cheese, spinach, onions, mozzarella, shredded parmesan, noodles, sauce, mozzarella, parmesan. Phew, that was fun!


Then, into the oven it goes — covered with foil for the first 45 minutes, then foil-less for the final 15 until the cheese is brown and the lasagna is bubbly.


This lasagna was unbelievably awesome and, really, it was my first official original recipe! John really loved it, which worked out especially well. The lasagna was primed for consumption (after a rest overnight in the fridge) on his birthday. Since he's not eating bread or anything remotely cake-like, I came up with a solution... (The lit candle, a barrier between the lasagna and his fork, didn't last long enough for a photo.)