Pumpkin Macaroni and Cheese

My husband doesn't eat macaroni and cheese ... he hates the stuff. I know, I don't understand it either - I mean how could you NOT like macaroni and cheese?!?! He obviously didn't grow up in the same home as me; my mother makes the BEST macaroni and cheese in the whole world. Her recipe runs circles around Kraft Dinner.

Anyway, this evening Alan had plans to go out for dinner with a friend so I figured it was the perfect opportunity to make something he wouldn't enjoy eating. I went online to search for recipes and stumbled on  one for pumpkin macaroni and cheese. Since pumpkins are in season, and since I had a can of pumpkin puree hanging out in my pantry, I decided to go for it. I modified the recipe a little bit, and here you go:

Ingredients -

2 cups of macaroni
Smoked Gouda cheese (approx one cup, shredded)
1 can of pumpkin puree (approx one cup)
1 cup of heavy cream
1 cup of skim milk
1 teaspoon of sea salt (or regular salt)
2 tablespoons of butter
2 tablespoons of flour
Shredded Smoked Applewood Cheese (optional)
1/2 cup of bread crumbs

Directions: 

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Cook the 2 cups of macaroni in boiling water until al dente. Set aside.
In a large saucepan, mix the butter, sea salt, flour, pumpkin, heavy cream and skim milk on medium heat until nice and bubbly. Add in the cheese and stir frequently so the cheese doesn't stick to the bottom of the pan. You should end up with a thick, creamy texture like this:

Remove from heat. Add in the cooked macaroni.

Stir the sauce and the macaroni together until well blended. Pour into a casserole dish. Sprinkle the bread crumbs on top and, if you wish, additional cheese. I added shredded Smoked Applewood Cheddar to the top of mine. Bake in the oven at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes. Remove from oven and serve. Mmmmmmm.

I can't even tell you how much I enjoyed this. It was so creamy and rich, and the Gouda cheese really gave it an awesome smokey, woody flavor. Perfect for fall and I actually think it would be perfect as a side dish at a Thanksgiving feast. Delicious! Husband missed out, big time.

Spaghetti with Cabbage, Heirloom Tomatoes & Prosciutto

Cathy Erway's book, The Art of Eating In, is slowly but surely changing my life. If you, like me, are guilty of eating out on a regular basis you MUST get your hands on a copy of her book. Trust me on this. In the meantime, you can check out her blog, Not Eating Out In New York, which is full of simple, tasty recipes and lots of useful information. I was on dinner duty the other night and decided to give one of her pasta recipes a go. It caught my eye because it looked so "summery" and we've been having some crazy hot weather here in Vancouver this week. A summery dish seemed like a good fit.

I made this recipe using smoked ham prosciutto (I picked up a package at Safeway for $4) and heirloom tomatoes. We didn't have any garlic cloves in the house so I used some of Alan's minced garlic that comes in a little jar he gets from a nearby Asian grocery store. This was my first time cooking with prosciutto, and the smells emanating from the pan were scrumptious. It was also my first time cooking with cabbage, and I think I could have cooked it a little longer (it was still a wee bit hard and crunchy) but all in all a deliciously light summery dish.

I'm too lazy to post the recipe on this blog, but you can find it over on Cathy's blog here. I will, however, share these photos ...

Ingredients include prosciutto (or bacon), tomatoes and cabbage

The yummy final product 

... and the lovely outdoor terrace we've made on our apartment balcony. Unfortunately, we didn't get to eat out here tonight because there were three bees swarming about that just wouldn't go away no matter how hard we tried. Boo to the bees. 

I think my favorite thing about this recipe, aside from the yummy smells I got to enjoy while cooking it, is that it doesn't require any sauce. I love pasta but sometimes I find traditional, hearty tomato sauce a bit heavy. Here, the ingredients cook together and the flavors just blend nicely into one another. Delicious!