Pumpkin Sage Lasagna with Mussel and Bacon Sauce

I figured I better take short leave with a recipe out there. My gosh what kind of cooking blog is this joint?

I love this cut in small portions as a starter, especially if doing a oyster stuffing with your turkey. If you have fresh mussels by all means use them. Enjoy… I must bid all reading an early Happy and Prospering Thanksgiving.

Pumpkin Sage Lasagna with Mussel and Bacon Sauce

16 ounces lasagna noodles
— FOR FILLING
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 tablespoons chopped shallot
1 tablespoon fennel seeds
2 tablespoon fresh sage — minced
3 cups pumpkin puree
2 tablespoon lemon juice
1/4 cup chopped parsley
salt and pepper — to taste
— FOR SAUCE
4 slices bacon — chopped
1 large red onion — chopped
2 clove garlic — minced
10 ounces mussels — canned, rinsed and pick through for shell
1 cup dry white wine
1/4 cup water
3 tablespoons fresh sage — minced
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
parsley — for garnish

Cook the pasta in salted boiling water about 5 minutes for store bought,
2 minutes if using fresh.

Drain and set aside.

Preheat oven to 350.

FOR Filling- On stovetop melt butter and saute shallot with fennel
seeds and sage until shallot is tender.

Add the pumpkin puree, lemon juice and parsley.
Salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.

FOR SAUCE- On stove top fry bacon until almost crisp,
(Drain off excess grease.) add the red onion and fry
until onion is tender, then add garlic.
Add the mussels, wine, water, sage.
Simmer about 10 minutes.

To ASSEMBLE- Layer pan starting with some(cover bottom of pan) sauce,
then pasta, then evenly with the pumpkin
puree mixture. Repeat ending with pasta. Pour remaining
sauce evenly over the pasta and bake covered for 40 minutes.
Uncover and sprinkle with the parmesan. Bake uncovered another
10 minutes.

Serve with parsley for garnish.

Poor Pit I Full Sage

My poor pit i full sage plant in my sunroom needs some doctoring.

Since I keep stripping leaves from the ailing thing I figured I needed to buy sage for Thanksgiving to give it a rest. I hope to incorporate a lot of sage into my Thankgiving dishes. I am suppose to have about 20 family members here.

That really isn’t much since I have had times there were well over 100 when I ran the B&B. I couldn’t house that many but there were a few weddings and such. So glad to be out of that mess.

I can remember one morning when I first opened and I had some trouble with a deep fryer at about 5 in the morning. The fire alarms went off and I was so panic. Then when guests finally came down around 7 I asked if it had disturbed them. They hadn’t even heard it, according to them!

I have a few wild stories like that.

Anyway if no one sees me around much the next few days, I am busy, but not involved in a deep fryer fire. I will return at convenience because I feel my blog is to be fun and not work.

I ask for anyone reading this to pray for my sage plant. Thanks.

Pasta Kick

Hubby is taking me out to eat tomorrow for an early birthday since Wend. is sitter day. I told him I wanted to go to Olive Garden and he sort of moaned.

I’m on a pasta kick. I guess he is sick of it. I have been pumping it out like a factory. (exaggerated again)

Anyway here is a really neat idea. You know those cheap plastic coat hangers you can get? Use them to hang and dry fresh pasta. They work great to hang and you can just pop them into the top rack of your dishwasher to clean.

Here are some lasagna noodles I made up today.

I might change my mind about Olive Garden by tomorrow. Hubby has a lot of influence.

My Cup Runneth Over

My cup runneth over with cappuccino.

I recently got my machine out. I usually pack it away for the summer.

While cappuccino is good any season, I prefer it through
fall and winter.

My machine is a Mr. Coffee.

I’m not familiar with other brands but
here are a few pointers about mine, which I am familiar with.

1- You can get burned like the dickens if you don’t follow the
manufactured instructions.

2- Never try and clean out the little steamer hole with a toothpick.
It can break off in the hole and stop up the steam and you’ll
never get it out. You will have to take it back and get
a refund, acting like you don’t know why it won’t steam properly. (exaggerated)
Use a needle instead.

3- A good cup is said to be 1/3 cream, 1/3 coffee, 1/3 foam. I have
achieved that a time or two.

4- Don’t try and pour your coffee from the carafe with the lid on.
The lid will fall off into your cup and you will loose all that great
tasting foam on your counter, like I did here. I have done this
a zillion times (exaggerated again), and still try to preform this
impossible feat.

5- If you do loose your foam just top it off with more coffee.
It still tastes pretty good despite the fact that it isn’t perfection
in a cup.

Onion-Herb Focaccia

Onion-Herb Focaccia

1/2 cup water
1 large egg
4 tablespoons olive or vegetable oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups bread flour
4 teaspoons sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons Fleischmann’s® Bread Machine Yeast
3/4 cup chopped onion
1/2 teaspoon rosemary — crushed

Measure water, egg, 1 tablespoon oil, salt, bread flour, sugar and yeast into bread machine pan into the order suggested by the manufacturer.
Process in dough/manual cycle. When cycle is complete, remove dough from machine to lightly floured surface.
If necessary, knead in enough flour to make dough easy to handle.

Divide dough in half; form each into smooth ball. Roll each ball into 10-inch round. Place each on greased baking sheet or 12- to 14-inch pizza pan.
Cover and set aside.

Cook onion and rosemary in 3 tablespoons oil until onion is tender. With fingertips, press slight indentations into each round. Evenly sprinkle onion
mixture on rounds. Cover; let rise in warm draft-free place until almost doubled in size, 20 to 30 minutes.

Bake at 375ºF for 12 to 15 minutes or until done, switching positions of sheets halfway through baking for even browning.
Remove from sheets and cool on wire racks. Makes two round breads.

Source:
“Fleischmann’s Yeast”
S(Internet address):
“http://www.breadworld.com/index.html”
Yield:
“2 Breads”

Pesto Fettuccine with Broiled Tomatoes-WHB

Time flies when your having fun.

It also flies when you have a hectic week.

My last week ran so fast, I couldn’t catch up until the middle of this week.

Weekend Herb Blogging waits on no one!

It is sort of like catching the bus, if you miss one ride you just wait on the next.
Kalyn is hosting this week so check out Kalyn’s Kitchen for the ride.
Get your ticket for some great recipes and information.

My own contribution this week reflects my hectic cook schedule and style in general. Simple and local.

Slap my hand if you catch me buying and shipping that black truffle!

Of course, I won’t turn it down if you wish to donate.

Hot cooked fettuccine
tossed with pesto along with broiled tomatoes

Pesto
2 cups firmly packed fresh basil leaves
3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
3/4 cup olive or vegetable oil
1/4 cup toasted walnuts
3 cloves garlic
squirt of lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste

Place all ingredients in blender or food processor. Cover and blend on medium speed about 3 minutes,
stopping occasionally to scrape sides, until smooth. Toss with hot cooked pasta.

Yield:
“1 1/3 Cups”

broiled tomatoes

spread 1 T olive oil in a cast iron skillet
slice tomatoes thick and place in skillet, sprinkle with kosher salt and drizzle with olive oil
place under the oven broiler about 15-20 minutes until they begin to brown
remove and top with mozzarella and fresh thyme sprig
place back under the broiler until cheese melts and begins to turn golden
serve on the side with the fettuccine