Happy Haloween!!!

Image courtesy of Villafane Studios

Yanno how I love me my zombies...oh what I wouldn't do to have Ray Villafane carve something like the above at my house! As always, he's got some impressive pumpkins over on his site -- maybe a little inspiration for next year?

Image courtesy of Villafane StudiosHere's wishing everyone a very Happy Halloween!

May it not rain while you're out and about with your ghosts & goblins.
May you all bring home pillowcases FULL of goodness.
And may your kids fall for the "I think this piece of candy is poisoned" routine, when you spot one of your favorites in their pile!

Happy Halloween!

Holiday Siesta!

I'll be taking a little break until after the new year - unless something fablous inspires me to post - but wanted to wish everyone:

A very Merry Christmas and a wonderful New Year!!!

I have a feeling 2013 is going to be an amazing year!

Be safe, stay warm, and Happy Holidays, everyone!

Happy Halloween!!!

Hi everyone! I am feeling under the weather right now - super sore throat and double ear infections to boot - so I'm reposting my Halloween post from last year (and this year I'll be making homemade chicken noodle soup and not the nummy pasta below...boo.). Because I can't let this day pass, without a proper post!

Happy Halloween, everyone!

Yeah! My favorite holiday is upon us!

Wait, you don't think Halloween is a holiday? Oh, pa-lease.

It's only the best one out there. I mean, when else do you have the opportunity to dress up as a creepy zombie, slutty nurse, or scary witch? Unless of course, you're into that kind of thing and you don't need Halloween?

Anywho.

I love everything about this day - the crazy costumes, the decorations, the parties, the kids, handing out candy (although I do miss going trick-or-treating myself), and of course, the pumpkins. Oh, do I LOVE the pumkins!!!

Photo Courtesy of Ray Villafane StudiosSeriously, what some people can do with these wonderful gourds is downright crazy. And if you don't believe me, you've so got to check out this fab site: Ray Villafane. This man can carve a pumpkin like noneother!

Photo Courtesy of Ray Villafane StudiosHe was even invited to the White House last year to carve the pumkins for the Obama family - and this year is in Vegas, carving the lot for Heidi Klum's big Halloween par-tay.

Not too shabby, I'd say.

And with all this excitment, I actually don't mind being in the office today. Because I know I get to go home and get the house ready - and I'm excited for my super easy, but yum-o dinner, which even that, is pumkin inspired (courtesy of Everyday Food, November Winter 2007, with a little doctoring on my part): 

Penne with Creamy Pumpkin Sauce 

Canned pumpkin puree isn't only good for pie; here, it becomes a creamy sauce for penne, topped with deliciously crunchy fried sage leaves.

I've changed up this recipe by adding ground chicken and changing it from Rosemary to Sage leaves (as I think sage tastes so much better with pumpkin!).

• Prep Time 10 minutes
• Total Time 30 minutes
• Yield Serves 4

INGREDIENTS

• 12 ounces penne rigate (ridged), or other short pasta
• Coarse salt
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 lb. ground chicken
• 1 tablespoon fresh sage leaves
• 1 can (15 ounces) pure pumpkin puree
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1/2 cup half-and-half
• 1/3 cup grated Parmesan
• 1 tablespoon white-wine vinegar
• 1/4 teaspoon red-pepper flakes, plus more for garnish (optional)

1. Cook pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water until al dente. Reserve 2 cups pasta water; drain pasta and set aside.
2. In a separate saute pan, brown ground chicken with salt & pepper to taste (I like to add some of the red-pepper flakes here).
3. In pasta pot, heat oil over medium. Add sage leaves and fry, stirring, until starting to brown, 1 to 2 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer sage leaves to a paper towel, leaving oil in pot.
4. Carefully (oil is hot and will spatter) add pumpkin puree, garlic, half-and-half (you'll want to warm this first, to avoid curddling the cream), Parmesan, vinegar, red-pepper flakes, and 1 cup reserved pasta water to pot. Stir sauce until heated through, 2 to 3 minutes.
5. Add pasta to sauce, and toss to coat. If sauce is too thick, add some reserved pasta water. Season generously with salt. Serve pasta sprinkled with fried sage leaves and, if desired, more red-pepper flakes.

COOK'S NOTE

Frying sage leaves in olive oil not only turns the herb into a crispy garnish -- it also infuses the oil to create a tasty base for the pumpkin sauce.

____________

AND WHAT IS EVERYONE ELSE DOING TODAY? STUCK AT WORK? DRESSED UP? TAKING THE KIDS OUT? GOING TO A PARTY?

Whatever it is, I hope everyone has a wonderful Halloween, stays safe, and gets pillow-cases full of candy! Because after all, there's nothing scarier than the day after Halloween...that means Christmas is only 55 days away. Yikes.

Happy 4th of July!

While the rest of the country is fighting against unbearable heat, out here in Seattle it's a known fact: Summer doesn't start until the 5th of July.

But this year we were lucky, because the sun was shining bright yesterday, and we experienced the luxury of clear blue skies for the first time in I don't know how many years!

Which made it the perfect evening for fireworks - Starbucks put on a fabulous presentation as seen in the below video shot from Gasworks Park, on South Lake Union: 

If you ever have an opportunity to come out to Seattle, I'd highly suggest you time it around the 4th of July. Really, it's just specatular!

And a big shout out to my home town of Maple Valley, who put on a fabulous show of their own, down at the lake in my neighborhood - and all within walking distance of my house! But let me tell you, it's the gift that keeps on giving, as I live near some extreme pyromaniacs - the fireworks are still going off today, and they'll continue over the next several nights, I'm sure! And I love it!!!

What did everyone else do to celebrate? 

Whatever it was, I hope everyone had a wonderful 4th of July, wherever you were!

Happy Halloween!!!

Yeah! My favorite holiday is upon us!

Wait, you don't think Halloween is a holiday? Oh, pa-lease.

It's only the best one out there. I mean, when else do you have the opportunity to dress up as a creepy zombie, slutty nurse, or scary witch? Unless of course, you're into that kind of thing and you don't need Halloween?

Anywho.

I love everything about this day - the crazy costumes, the decorations, the parties, the kids, handing out candy (although I do miss going trick-or-treating myself), and of course, the pumpkins. Oh, do I LOVE the pumkins!!!

Photo courtesy of Ray Villafane via The Today ShowSeriously, what some people can do with these wonderful gourds is downright crazy. And if you don't believe me, you've so got to check out this fab site: Ray Villafane. This man can carve a pumpkin like none other!

Photo courtesy of Ray Villafane via The Today ShowHe was even invited to the White House last year to carve the pumkins for the Obama family - and this year is in Vegas, carving the lot for Heidi Klum's big Halloween par-tay.

Not too shabby, I'd say.

And with all this excitment, I actually don't mind being in the office today. Because I know I get to go home and get the house ready - and I'm excited for my super easy, but yum-o dinner, which even that, is pumkin inspired (courtesy of Everyday Food, November Winter 2007, with a little doctoring on my part):

Penne with Creamy Pumpkin Sauce 

Canned pumpkin puree isn't only good for pie; here, it becomes a creamy sauce for penne, topped with deliciously crunchy fried sage leaves.

I've changed up this recipe by adding ground chicken and changing it from Rosemary to Sage leaves (as I think sage tastes so much better with pumpkin!).

• Prep Time10 minutes
• Total Time30 minutes
• YieldServes 4

Ingredients

• 12 ounces penne rigate (ridged), or other short pasta
• Coarse salt
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 lb. ground chicken
• 1 tablespoon fresh sage leaves
• 1 can (15 ounces) pure pumpkin puree
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1/2 cup half-and-half
• 1/3 cup grated Parmesan
• 1 tablespoon white-wine vinegar
• 1/4 teaspoon red-pepper flakes, plus more for garnish (optional)

1. Cook pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water until al dente. Reserve 2 cups pasta water; drain pasta and set aside.
2. In a separate saute pan, brown ground chicken with salt & pepper to taste (I like to add some of the red-pepper flakes here).
3. In pasta pot, heat oil over medium. Add sage leaves and fry, stirring, until starting to brown, 1 to 2 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer sage leaves to a paper towel, leaving oil in pot.
4. Carefully (oil is hot and will spatter) add pumpkin puree, garlic, half-and-half (you'll want to warm this first, to avoid curddling the cream), Parmesan, vinegar, red-pepper flakes, and 1 cup reserved pasta water to pot. Stir sauce until heated through, 2 to 3 minutes.
5. Add pasta to sauce, and toss to coat. If sauce is too thick, add some reserved pasta water. Season generously with salt. Serve pasta sprinkled with fried sage leaves and, if desired, more red-pepper flakes.

Cook's Note

Frying sage leaves in olive oil not only turns the herb into a crispy garnish -- it also infuses the oil to create a tasty base for the pumpkin sauce.

____________

And what is everyone else doing today? Stuck at work? Dressed up? Taking the kids out? Going to a party?

Whatever it is, I hope everyone has a wonderful Halloween, stays safe, and gets pillow-cases full of candy! Because after all, there's nothing scarier than the day after Halloween...that means Christmas is only 55 days away. Yikes.

I love everything about this day - the crazy costumes, the decorations, the parties, the kids, handing out candy (although I do miss going trick-or-treating myself), and of course, the pumpkins. Oh, do I LOVE the pumkins!!!

Photo Courtesy of Ray Villafane StudiosSeriously, what some people can do with these wonderful gourds is downright crazy. And if you don't believe me, you've so got to check out this fab site: Ray Villafane. This man can carve a pumpkin like noneother!

Photo Courtesy of Ray Villafane StudiosHe was even invited to the White House last year to carve the pumkins for the Obama family - and this year is in Vegas, carving the lot for Heidi Klum's big Halloween par-tay.

Not too shabby, I'd say.

And with all this excitment, I actually don't mind being in the office today. Because I know I get to go home and get the house ready - and I'm excited for my super easy, but yum-o dinner, which even that, is pumkin inspired (courtesy of Everyday Food, November Winter 2007, with a little doctoring on my part): 

Penne with Creamy Pumpkin Sauce 

Canned pumpkin puree isn't only good for pie; here, it becomes a creamy sauce for penne, topped with deliciously crunchy fried sage leaves.

I've changed up this recipe by adding ground chicken and changing it from Rosemary to Sage leaves (as I think sage tastes so much better with pumpkin!).

• Prep Time 10 minutes
• Total Time 30 minutes
• Yield Serves 4

INGREDIENTS

• 12 ounces penne rigate (ridged), or other short pasta
• Coarse salt
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 lb. ground chicken
• 1 tablespoon fresh sage leaves
• 1 can (15 ounces) pure pumpkin puree
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1/2 cup half-and-half
• 1/3 cup grated Parmesan
• 1 tablespoon white-wine vinegar
• 1/4 teaspoon red-pepper flakes, plus more for garnish (optional)

1. Cook pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water until al dente. Reserve 2 cups pasta water; drain pasta and set aside.
2. In a separate saute pan, brown ground chicken with salt & pepper to taste (I like to add some of the red-pepper flakes here).
3. In pasta pot, heat oil over medium. Add sage leaves and fry, stirring, until starting to brown, 1 to 2 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer sage leaves to a paper towel, leaving oil in pot.
4. Carefully (oil is hot and will spatter) add pumpkin puree, garlic, half-and-half (you'll want to warm this first, to avoid curddling the cream), Parmesan, vinegar, red-pepper flakes, and 1 cup reserved pasta water to pot. Stir sauce until heated through, 2 to 3 minutes.
5. Add pasta to sauce, and toss to coat. If sauce is too thick, add some reserved pasta water. Season generously with salt. Serve pasta sprinkled with fried sage leaves and, if desired, more red-pepper flakes.

COOK'S NOTE

Frying sage leaves in olive oil not only turns the herb into a crispy garnish -- it also infuses the oil to create a tasty base for the pumpkin sauce.

____________

AND WHAT IS EVERYONE ELSE DOING TODAY? STUCK AT WORK? DRESSED UP? TAKING THE KIDS OUT? GOING TO A PARTY?

Whatever it is, I hope everyone has a wonderful Halloween, stays safe, and gets pillow-cases full of candy! Because after all, there's nothing scarier than the day after Halloween...that means Christmas is only 55 days away. Yikes.