Chowder has always been a favorite of mine. Like many of my favorite things, it’s not exactly the best for us health wise, but give me a hearty cup of chowder and I’m a happy girl. As a big chowder fan, my mission to find the best cup in New England happened naturally. Although an ongoing journey, here’s what I’ve gathered so far.
Continue reading “New England Clam Chowdown”
It may be legal in Massachusetts, but The Smoke Shop in Kendall Square is not a place where you can marijuana. The only thing getting high at The Smoke Shop is the pile of bbq on customers’ plates.
Last year for #friendsgiving I made chicken cutlets and macaroni and cheese. This year for Friendsgiving I followed a more traditional menu, and was rather impressed with the results.
Taking a sip of coffee from my Kate Spade mug, I glance at the phrase glazed across the outside. “Eat cake for breakfast” it reads. For the entire time I’ve owned this mug, I’ve always thought it was just a colorful little phrase. That is, until, I discovered In A Pickle Restaurant in Waltham, Massachusetts.
My cooking style can be defined as all of the following: experimental, untrained, and in the moment. I don’t follow recipes often, and when I do, I take liberty with measurements and instructions. When it’s time to cook, I don’t make lists or plans ahead of time, and instead walk the aisles of the grocery store searching for inspiration. Lately I’ve been on a mission to cook at home more and eat out less, and last week I threw together a little bit of this and a little bit of that to make what I’m calling pumpkin alfredo pasta.
October is informally known as pumpkin spice season which, in conjunction with an Instagram post by @rachlmansfield, and the pumpkin filled aisles of Trader Joe’s, sparked the inspiration for a weeknight cooking spree.
Like I mentioned earlier, I take a lot of liberty when it comes to recipes aka I glance at them once and then do whatever I so please. This often gets me into trouble, but I like the challenge so I continue to wing it. After I posted videos of my creation on Instagram Stories, I received a number of messages asking for the recipe, but since I didn’t really follow one, this is the closest I can get:
Ingredients
Step 1: Remove sausage casing to create crumbles. Brown sausage and mushrooms in a pan
Step 2: Boil water and cook pasta until slightly underdone. Save about 2 cups of pasta water for your pumpkin sauce.
Step 3: Add underdone pasta, sausage and mushrooms to the same pot. Add pumpkin puree, pasta water, and about a cup of coconut cream (yes I know, exact measurements would be nice, but like I said, I was winging it)
Step 4: Turn on the burner to medium heat and bring your sauce to a simmer. This will help it thicken and finish the cook on your pasta. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Pro tip: If you find that your sauce is coming out a bit too thin, stir in a bit of flour to help thicken it.
Step 5: Serve on a bed of arugula and enjoy!
If you take a stab at this Fall dish, let me know! I’d love to hear what variations you tried as well, and as always, don’t forget to follow along on Instagram!
