Squash Cream Sauce

I love making different types of sauces for pasta and with it being fall I wanted to make something fall-like. I had a butternut squash in the refrigerator and decided I would use that, but wasn't sure what to do. I went to the trusty internet and googled squash sauce. I found a recipe that I have adapted here, but I will be revisiting this recipe and making the whole thing, not just the sauce. Check it out!

Ingredients & Directions:
(recipe adapted from here)

1 but­ter­nut squash
2 T but­ter
1 Onion, chopped
salt and pep­per to taste
1 C heavy cream
1/2 C grated parme­san cheese
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 C apple juice

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut the squash in half length­wise and remove seeds. Place on a greased cookie sheet cut side down and roast for about  45 minutes or until tender. Set the squash aside to cool. Melt butter in a saucepan. Add onion, salt, and pep­per and sauté until onions are translucent. Once squash has cooled, pureé in a blender with cream. Add the squash & cream mix­ture to shal­lots along with apple juice, cinnamon, and parmesan cheese. Bring to a boil then reduce heat to low, sim­mer­ing for 10 min­utes. Makes roughly 3 cups of sauce, depend­ing on the size of your squash.

I think this sauce would be great with some fresh made pasta, but I was not in the mood to make any, nor did I have any fresh pasta in the house.

Pasta Pie

I love a food challenge. When I saw the pasta pie on Noble Pig's food blog I knew I had to try it, immediately. The original recipe traces back to Martha Stewart and doesn't everything really? I followed the recipe almost exactly, with the exception of using meat. I am not a vegetarian, but I do not like meat sauce, so hence just a simple sauce.

I never have a lot of time to cook dinner so anything that will save me time is a plus. I use canned tomato sauce (one day I will make my own from scratch) and a can of crushed tomatoes as well as a small can of tomato paste for my sauce. I always make extra sauce and freeze what I don't use for later.

I almost always grate my own cheese, unless I am feeling a little lazy or in a rush. Tonight, for this recipe, I grated fresh Parmesan cheese.

My favorite part of the recipe was putting the pasta into the springform pan. I though it would take me forever to get it to stand up without it all falling over, but it went really fast and was so easy. The recipe calls to butter the pan, but I just used coking spray and that works just as well.



Directions & Ingredients:
Parts adapted and borrowed from Noble Pig

1 pound rigatoni
2 Tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 garlic clove, crushed
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 Can
1 can (28 oz.) crushed tomatoes
1 can (28 oz.) tomato sauce
1 can (6 oz.)
Cooking Spray
Salt
1 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese
8 ounces coarsely grated mozzarella
Seasonings (for the sauce)

In a large pot of salted boiling water, cook pasta until slightly underdone (I cooked mine for 12 minutes when the box indicated 14 minutes). One pound of pasta should be cooked in 6 quarts of water, make sure you are using a big enough pot so the pasta doesn't stick together. When done, rinse in cold water and drain again. Toss pasta with 1 Tablespoon olive oil to coat. Set aside.

In a separate pot add other tablespoon of olive oil and garlic. Saute garlic until golden and then add the cans of crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce and tomato paste (season as you like); simmer until thickened, about 20 minutes.

Toss pasta with Parmesan cheese. Spray a 9-inch springform pan with cooking spray. Tightly pack pasta into pan, standing each piece on end. Spread sauce on top of pasta.


Push the sauce into the pasta holes filling each one up.

Place in a 400 degree oven for 15 minutes. Sprinkle mozzarella cheese on top and bake another 10-15 minutes until cheese is golden. Remove from oven and let stand for 15 minutes. Run a knife around the edge to loosen and then unmold.

Cut into wedges and serve. I served this with a simple green salad and garlic bread.