A Pumpkin Pasta Post (And Cranberry Cupcakes)

A couple posts ago (here) I wrote about a creamy pumpkin sauce that I had made and mentioned the changes I wanted to make to it. I'm now ready to post the completed recipe and a (sad, blurry) picture.

The second time around preparing this sauce, I made the changes I wanted to make, but mostly I played it by ear. The resulting product was creamy and a perfect mix of sweet and savory. I piled it on my pasta (in a most unhealthy fashion) and was really satisfied with the taste. The pumpkin gives the sauce a slight nutty taste and a richness you don't find in your average tomato sauce.

The main thing you need to know about this recipe is that I am seriously approximating all measurements. While cooking this, I didn't measure a thing. So if you choose to make it (which I strongly recommend) taste it often while cooking and be prepared to adjust. At one point while throwing it together, I accidentally added a bit too much salt. I balanced that out by adding more pumpkin and soy milk.



Creamy Pumpkin Sauce: Revised Recipe
yields: about 1 or 2 cups of sauce. This is a small recipe.

Ingredients

• 1/2 Cup canned pumpkin puree


• 1/3 Cup vanilla soy milk (I am really approximating on this. I periodically added soy milk whenever it seemed too thick and to help mix in powdered ingredients, like seasonings.)


• 1 tablespoon butter


• 1/2 medium onion


• 1 teaspoon jarred chopped garlic, or about one clove chopped


• 1 tablespoon sugar


• 1 + 1/2 teaspoon hot sauce


• 1 ounce shredded cheddar cheese


• The following seasonings should be added to taste: ground red pepper (I used a good amount, because I like the kick), garlic powder (not a lot, because there's already garlic in it), salt, pepper.


• 1 package fettuccine, penne, or other pasta that works well with creamy sauces, prepared according to package directions.

Instructions

1. Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat


2. Saute the onions and garlic until translucent


3. Add in the pumpkin puree and mix until the butter and onions are incorporated


4. Add in the remaining ingredients and mix (remember to taste as you go and adjust accordingly.)


5. Keep it on the heat, mixing often, until the sauce is thoroughly heated and seasoned to your liking.


6. Toss with the pasta, or serve alongside the pasta so you can dollop on as much as you like.

You may also remember this post where I talked about the delicious cranberry cake I made. I also mentioned that I was going to try them as cupcakes. Well this past shabbos, I went ahead and did just that. I adjusted the baking time to about 30 minutes, instead of an hour, and got 23 cupcakes out of this recipe. (Obviously, that required more than one muffin pan, so I also rotated the pans halfway through baking to ensure they cooked evenly.) The recipe is the same, but I took much better pictures this time.

First, a picture of the eggs and sugar when they're just about ready (the consistency reminded me of marshmallow fluff):


And an aerial view of the cupcakes when they're done:


And last but not least:


I strongly recommend you try making these yourself. These cupcakes go fast, so maybe a double batch would be in order. ;o)