Penne-Wise Pumpkin Pasta
Total Time: 30 min
Prep: 20 min
Cook: 10 min
Yield: 6 servings
Ingredients
* Salt
* 1 pound whole-wheat penne
* 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
* 3 shallots, finely chopped
* 3 to 4 cloves garlic, grated
* 2 cups chicken stock
* 1 (15-ounce) can pumpkin puree
* 1/2 cup cream
* 1 teaspoon hot sauce, to taste
* Freshly grated nutmeg, to taste
* 2 pinches ground cinnamon
* Salt and black pepper
* 7 to 8 leaves fresh sage, thinly sliced plus more, for garnish
* Grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
Directions:
Heat water for pasta, salt it and cook penne to al dente.
Heat the oil, 2 turns of the pan, over medium heat. Add shallots and garlic to the pan, saute 3 minutes. Stir in chicken stock and combine with pumpkin, stir in cream then season sauce with hot sauce, nutmeg, cinnamon, salt and pepper. Reduce heat to medium low and simmer 5 to 6 minutes more to thicken. Stir in sage, toss with pasta with grated cheese, to taste.
Oh Mrs. Rachel Ray. I have a many bones to pick with you. First off, I like you, I think you're swell. This recipe though is completely awful. Yeah, I am talking no flavor and just unappealing. I couldn't even make it to a 5th bite before I threw in the food towel on this one. I wish it would've of been more of an enjoyable experience because the picture left me having hope. I was sadly crushed on the actual product. I've decided that pumpkin can never be made into a savory dish if it wants to find it's way into my tummy.
OH and I have one more thing to pick away at. You say in the magazine I got this from that its "wallet friendly", pardon thy french but what in the hell is she thinking? Here at Tuesday's with Dinah and Ma we split the price of the ingredients down the middle (to make things fair) and this recipe cost us $30 to make. No joke, I don't know many people who would spend that much on one dish and then for it to turn out crappy makes it a double whammy of suckiness. $30 for one dinner is supposedly "wallet friendly"? I think not.
Tid Bits:
Oy, is there really any? Not much can be done to save this dish.
Ma's Spot: I have to admit when Dinah said we were making pumpkin pasta I was a little leery. I gotta say I ended up liking it. Although I wouldn't make it again. I thought the sauce was way creamy. I do think it lacked some kind of spice. What exactly? I don't really know. I've never really worked with a pumpkin sauce. It stumped me on what spice to put in the sauce to enhance it. My family didn't like the whole wheat pasta but I love it. In my experience regular pasta wouldn't hold up with this kind of sauce. So if you don't care for wheat pasta then maybe you won't like this. So if you're looking for something different give it a try and if you can find a spice that fits into it to give it something special then go for it.
Ladies and Gents no snack corner tonight. Hey, no pouting it'll be back next week lol. I just wanted to spice things up a bit. Besides, who doesn't love a yummy dessert?
Chocolate Napoleons
* 12 Servings
* Prep: 30 min. Bake: 10 min.
Ingredients
* 1 sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed
* 2 cups cold milk
* 2 cups (16 ounces) sour cream
* 2 packages (3.9 ounces each) instant chocolate pudding mix
TOPPING:
* 1 cup confectioners' sugar
* 2 tablespoons milk
* 2 ounces semisweet chocolate, melted and cooled
Directions:
* On a lightly floured surface, roll pastry into a 12-in. square. Cut into twelve 4-in. x 3-in. rectangles. Place on ungreased baking sheets. Bake at 400° for 9-12 minutes or until puffed and golden brown. Remove to wire racks to cool.
* In a small bowl, whisk milk and sour cream until smooth. Add pudding mix; whisk for 2 minutes or until blended. Refrigerate for 5 minutes.
* To assemble, split each pastry in half. Spoon pudding mixture over bottom halves and replace tops. Combine confectioners' sugar and milk until smooth; drizzle over top. Drizzle with melted chocolate. Serve immediately. Yield: 12 servings.
Dinah: Now this was a redemption winning treat. Aunt Jane and Geoff were not feeling the pumpkin pasta and had the whole angry bears vibe with me but this they liked. Chocolate always saves the day :D. This was super creamy and the pastry made it. My only thing was I went back later this evening for the left over pudding mixture and I now know why they said to serve it immediately. It became this tangy, gross, congealed glob. Not good. Seriously though, give these a shot. They are quite yum!
Ma: People, people, people what can I say about this dessert? Well, nothing bad. I have to say I was a little leery about the sour cream but wow it made the dish fluffy and good! I'm not too keen on the square pieces of semi-sweet chocolate but when you put it on top of the glaze it makes it amazing. The combination of the pastry, pudding, and glaze worked wonderful together and made it delicious. It's a great dish to put together with your kids and enjoy.
Alrighty kiddies, that's it tonight. We'll be back here next Tuesday with a veggie dish that shouldn't disappoint. Wanna know more? Come back in 7 days to check it out. Have a great week guys!
Spoons & Spatula's
~Dinah & Ma
No comments:
Post a Comment