When you read Portland what do you think of? Is it the big city in Oregon? Probably. But when I think of Portland, I think of the delicious restaurants that line the cobble stone streets in the waterfront city of Portland, Maine.
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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!
At some point, what was once a word to describe a meal that combined breakfast and lunch, became a verb used across twenty-something’s everywhere to describe an afternoon of indulging in comfort food and day drinking. Although I’d hate to admit the term brunching is part of my vernacular, I am quite fond of the action myself.
Continue reading “When Did "Brunching" Become A Verb?”
There really is no such thing as normal. But dining at Yono’s is certainly an experience far grander than just a “normal” night out. It is without a doubt fine dining, where your water glass is never empty and your utensils are changed out with every course. But what makes a dinner at Yono’s truly unique is the irresistible blend of Indonesian culture with classic fine dining cuisine.
Continue reading “Feeling Fancy at Yono's”
When I went to New Orleans in 2016 it was one of the best experiences of my college career. Although this answer might change depending on whose asking, the highlight of the trip was definitely discovering the cajun cuisine, and of course hurricanes on Bourbon Street. Continue reading “Not NOLA, But Close Enough”
There are hundreds of restaurants within decent driving distance from wherever I am at any given time. I mean of course that the options are plentiful, whether I am at work, home, or out and about. Despite my lengthy list of restaurants to visit, and my relatively laid back palate, even I succumb to the age old question of what should we have for dinner.
Continue reading “172 Minutes Spent Figuring Out What To Eat”
In the last year I’ve done quite a bit. I went to Maine, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Canada. I explored Albany, Schenectady, Troy, Saratoga, the Adirondacks, and Western New York. With every adventure I tried something new and as the year comes to an end I decided to take a look at the tastiest, and most liked meals of 2017.
Continue reading “A Food Filled Year In Review”
We’re more than halfway to Christmas and blogmas is in full swing. Have you been keeping up? Here’s a quick recap of all the posts so far.
Day 1: Current Coffee Roasters bringing real coffee for real causes to the Capital Region.
Day 2: New Albany restaurant The Cuckoo’s Nest serves up the best southern comfort downtown.
Day 3: There’s a never ending supply of good eats in Troy, New York.
Day 4: Upstate is great, but there’s a lot to see (and eat) out east in Boston.
Day 5: Winter restaurant week was in full swing, and I went fishin’ for the best deals.
Day 6: Chocolate frosting is a gift to this earth, and sweet treats with sprinkles on top are pretty good too.
Day 7: Pizza.
Day 8: The calories are worth it when the doughnut tastes this good.
Day 9: Ice cold, but heart warming, ice cream is always a good idea.
Day 10: Name a better time to indulge on a whole bunch of chili than a snowy Saturday in Schenectady.
Day 11: Noodles come in all shapes and sizes. Every one of them delicious.
Day 12: Mex-i-can I have more?
Day 13: If you ever find yourself a little hungry, Albany has got it all.
Happy Blogmas everyone! Make sure you’re following along on Instagram.
You know what they say, you never really know what you’ve got until it’s gone. I never really knew what I had until I left our beloved capital city. But now I am back and can say with confidence that despite the fact that Albany may be small, it’s a great place to live.
Continue reading “Capital Region Spotlight: Albany”
For the first half of my life tomatoes freaked me out. They still do a little bit, but thankfully over time I’ve been able to overcome my aversion, and fully enjoy the wonder of the world that is Mexican food. Pass the chips and salsa and lets take a look at some of the best Mexican restaurants in the Capital Region.
Continue reading “Here For The Chips and Salsa”
