California Here He Comes

Did I tell you that our son is moving to California?  Did I tell you that he is our only child?  Did I tell you that California is 3,000 miles away?  And did I tell you that we will miss him?

For a farewell dinner, of sorts, I made one of his favorite fall meals--Pasta with Pumpkin and Sausage. This is a hearty and delicious meal--and a little goes a long way.

I followed the pasta with a riff on this salad by New York chef, Andrew Carmellini.  A lovely mixture of baby arugula, Granny Smith apples, raisins, fennel and celery; this citrusy salad proved to be a nice counterpoint to the richness of the pasta.

You  certainly don't need a farewell to serve this dinner.  Give it a try!


The pasta recipe is my rendition of one by Rachel Ray.  Oh please, don't judge me!


Pasta with Pumpkin and Sausage
Serves 6-8

2 tablespoons, extra-virgin olive oil, divided
1 pound Italian sausage, removed from casings and crumbled
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
1 bay leaf
4 to 6 sage leaves cut into chiffonade
1 cup dry white wine
1 cup low sodium chicken broth
1 cup canned pumpkin
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/8-1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon  ground nutmeg
Salt and pepper
1 pound penne rigate, cooked al dente
Parmigiano cheese for grating

Heat one tablespoon of olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium high heat.  Add sausage and saute until brown.  Remove and drain sausage on paper towels.  Drain fat from skillet and return pan to stove.  Add remaining oil then the onion and garlic, and saute 3 to 5 minutes until onions are tender.

Add bay leaf, sage and wine to pan.  Raise heat and reduce wine by half, about 2 minutes.  Add chicken broth and pumpkin and stir to combine. Stir sauce until it comes to a boil.  Return sausage to pan, reduce heat, and stir in cream.  Season sauce with cinnamon, nutmeg, salt and pepper.  Simmer mixture 5-10 minutes until sauce thickens.

Remove bay leaf from sauce and add drained pasta; toss over low heat until pasta is coated. Top pasta with grated Parmigiano cheese and garnish with sage leaves.

Pomodoro Crudo

"Everything you see, I owe to spaghetti." Sophia Loren

Spaghetti does not look the same on me as it does on Sophia Loren.  Nevertheless, I wait all year to make Spaghetti Pomodoro Crudo. August in New Jersey is the perfect time to make this quick and delicious  summer pasta. It is pure and simple. The quality of the tomatoes is paramount, and now is the time to use those farm stand or garden-grown perfectly ripe tomatoes.

For dinner tonight I cut three tomatoes horizontally, seeded them, and then cut them into smallish chunks. To them I added one clove of garlic, pressed, and a handful of basil cut up (or torn, if you like), some fresh mozzarella, and a couple of grinds of pepper. I then poured about 1/3 cup of extra virgin olive oil over everything. Covered, this sat on the counter until dinner time. The mixture needs salt, but I waited until about thirty minutes before using it to add the salt so that it didn't become too watery.  The sauce can sit out at room temperature for up to four hours. It's best to let it marinate for at least thirty minutes to an hour.

This sauce takes well to improvisation. So feel free to add whatever you might like--capers, hot pepper flakes, anchovies, olives--you get the idea.

Some use spaghetti in this recipe, but I prefer a pasta that can hold the sauce, such as orecchiette or shells.When the orecchiette ( I used 6 ounces for two servings) was cooked and drained, it was immediately added to the sauce. The heat from the just-cooked pasta began to soften the mozzarella and barely heated the tomatoes. Heaven. Be sure to have some crusty bread on hand to sop up the extra juices.

Green salads have seemed lackluster to me lately, so I made a cucumber and red onion salad. And it proved to be a cool counterpoint to the pasta.