A Pre-Thanksgiving (or any Fall evening) Feast: Savory Pumpkin Cannelloni with Sage Cream Sauce

By popular demand, the recipe for Savory Pumpkin Cannelloni with Sage Cream Sauce...

A little background on the recipe: when I had my personal chef service, I prepared Thanksgiving sides for several families in New Canaan and Darien. One year, a client’s family was all arriving the day before Thanksgiving and they wanted a dinner they could simply pop in the oven, so they could enjoy their company…something that would feed a crowd…that kids would eat…but that was still a little gourmet/special, since it was an annual family gathering. That is when I started making Pumpkin Cannelloni with Sage Cream Sauce, which has become an annual pre-Thanksgiving meal at our home too.

This dish is a perfect dinner party dish, or pre-Thanksgiving meal. It freezes perfectly, so you can make it well in advance of whenever you’re entertaining. Yesterday, my son delivered trays of it to teachers at his school, and the feedback is the same as it is each year: “Wow, will you please share that recipe?” And so, without further reminiscing about my last my pre-child career, I now share this fabulous recipe with you. The original was from Caprial Pence, and I have modified it somewhat.

Savory Pumpkin Cannelloni with Sage Cream Sauce(Serves 8, so double or triple according to your entertaining needs—and remember it freezes beautifully so make lots whenever you set aside time to make it!)

Sage Cream SauceI first make this in a large stock pot, and then let it cool while I am making the pumpkin filling.
5 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
2 large shallots, chopped
1 cup of dry white wine
2 cups (or ½ a box) of chicken or vegetable stock
1 cup of heavy cream
1 tub of mascarpone cheese (or you can substitute a block of cream cheese)
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 hearty bunch of fresh sage, chopped
Salt and pepper, to taste

Pumpkin FillingOlive oil
6-8 cloves of garlic, roughly chopped
2 onions, thinly sliced
1 cup dry sherry
4 cups pumpkin puree (2 cans)
1 tub of mascarpone (or you can substitute a block of cream cheese)
¾ cup whole wheat bread crumbs
1 cup shredded parmesan cheese + extra to sprinkle on top before baking
1 cup mozzarella cheese + extra to sprinkle on top before baking
Salt and pepper to taste
Fresh pasta sheets (in Fairfield County they have them at Villarina’s)
To prepare the sauce: In a saucepan over high heat, combine the shallots, garlic and wine. Let the wine reduce down to about ¼ of a cup remaining. Add the chicken or vegetable stock and let that reduce down to about 1 cup of liquid remaining. Add the cream, lowering the heat to medium and let it warm for about 5 minutes (but not boil). Then add the mascarpone (or cream cheese), Dijon mustard and sage and let the sauce simmer until thick and the flavors are well blended. Season to taste and set aside, letting it cool down a bit while you make the pumpkin filling. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

To prepare the filling: Heat olive oil in a sauté pan or fry pan until very warm, and then add the garlic and onion and sauté until they are golden. Add the sherry and reduce it down until there’s about ¼ cup of liquid left (which intensifies the flavor). Take off the heat and let cool a bit. In a separate large bowl, combine the pumpkin, mascarpone (or cream cheese), breadcrumbs, Parmesan and mozzarella. Mix well, then stir in the slightly cooled onions and mix well again. (I like to use a hand mixer since I have usually quadrupled the recipe and my arm would fall off trying to stir it. Plus, my kids love revving up the hand mixer…) Season to taste with salt and pepper.

To assemble the cannelloni: Preheat the oven to 350. Cut each sheet of pasta into quarters. One piece of pasta at a time, scoop a hearty line of filling in the center and roll it up, placing it seam side down in a casserole or other deep baking dish. Once you have rolled all of the cannelloni, pour the sage cream sauce over the top, sprinkle with cheese, then bake until golden brown (about 30 minutes). Let it sit for about 5 minutes before serving.

Pair with a nice green salad, a bottle of wine, and you’ve got a pre-Thanksgiving (or any fall evening special supper) that will make your friends and family swoon.

Hope your friends and family enjoy this special dinner as much as we do. Happy Thanksgiving!

Getting Ready for Thanksgiving - Balsamic & Butter Glazed Carrots

I made a pilgrimage (no pun intended) to Fresh Market in Westport this weekend. The store is lovely. It reminds me of Gelson’s Market, from when I grew up in Southern California. I’d popped in looking for chorizo (which they didn’t have) since I had to go all the way to Villarina’s in Westport to pick up fresh pasta sheets for our annual Pumpkin Cannelloni assembly (which has become a delicious pre-Thanksgiving tradition).

Anyway, Fresh Market did not have chorizo, but my little one and I did meander around and pick up some other neat food items. For example, in the freezer section, they have these bags of White Toque Parisian-style carrots. Hmm, kind of fun to serve an orb instead of a spear! Well, ok, maybe not fun per se. But, it’s something different. I usually go fresh when it comes to veggies, but I think these ones will be great in the carrot side I’m planning for Thanksgiving dinner this year: Carrots Glazed with Balsamic Vinegar and Butter. I’ll try to remember to post a photo once I make the side this year, but I know from years past that this is an easy side that both parents and children enjoy.

Carrots Glazed with Balsamic & Butter
(This recipe is for 10 servings, since I assume you have a crowd coming at Thanksgiving.)

1 stick of butter
3 ½ pounds of carrots (peeled, cut into 2” pieces or you can go pick up your own bag of Parisian-style carrots)
6 Tablespoons of sugar
1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
Fresh chives, chopped

Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the carrots and sauté 5 minutes, then cover the pan and cook the carrots until they are crisp-tender, stirring occasionally (about another 5-7 minutes). Stir in the sugar and vinegar. Cook uncovered until the carrots are tender and glazed (stirring frequently), which should be another 8-10 minutes if you were using fresh carrots (and you’ll have to adjust for the small Parisian-style ones, probably half the cook time in each section). Season to taste with salt and pepper. Add chives and toss to blend.

Getting Ready for Thanksgiving - Cranberry-Apricot Sauce

It’s safe to say that I have never been less prepared for an upcoming Thanksgiving meal. I’m not really sure why I am dragging my feet? I love the meal, I love that we gather as a family, and I really enjoy the cooking. But for some reason, I’m just kind of lollygagging around, running non-Thanksgiving related errands, enjoying the nice weather (and maybe secretly hoping that some amazing meal will appear on Thursday). The likelihood that the Thanksgiving fairies are making a stop here is slim to nil, so I did sit down and plan out a menu tonight. And, since I’d been tossing cranberries, sweet potatoes, itty bitty onions, these cool Parisian carrots, etc—the makings of all the traditional Thanksgiving sides—into my shopping cart the last couple trips to the market, I’m in pretty good shape.

Perhaps it’s that my parents fly in tonight, and I want to play with them tomorrow that I was inspired to make one of the two cranberry relishes after I put the kids down. It’s super easy (as in takes minutes), is made with minimal ingredients (which you probably have on hand) and can be made ahead (bonus). I hope you like it as much as we do.

Cranberry-Apricot Sauce
(The recipe below makes about 4 cups, enough to share with a neighbor. Feel free to halve it.)

1 cup of orange juice
1 cup of port wine
24 oz fresh cranberries (2 bags, as they’re usually 12 ounces)
1 cup sugar (I used Sugar in the Raw, but it’s not as sweet as regular sugar)
1 cup dried apricots, cut into slivers or ½” pieces

In a saucepan, heat the orange juice and port until boiling. Toss in the cranberries, apricots and sugar. Stir over medium-low heat for 10 minutes. You’ll see the cranberries pop, and the consistency thicken up as you’re stirring.

Let the sauce cool, and then store it in an air tight container in the fridge until Thanksgiving.

Planning Ahead - Holiday Gifts for Little Ones

Well, while I am in a Christmas state of mind I thought I should also post this list of my kid’s favorite gifts over the years. This posting isn’t at all food related, but it will be a good one for all of us with Full Plates (since it goes without saying that most of us don’t have time to do a lot of shopping). I am pretty sure all of these ideas came from fellow mom friends, so now I share our tried and true favorites with you. Tuck this list away for a month, or you might like to start looking into some of these gift ideas in case there might be any specials on them these next couple of weeks…

Wooden blocks in a rolling tub – there are tons of different sets out there. This intro set with rolling storage chest was a big investment, but absolutely worth it. I wanted high quality blocks (solid maple), a big set (so the kids could get really creative) and a rolling cart (because they are really heavy, and this way we can store them under a coffee table or in a closet). Blocks are totally open-ended and they’ve given my kids years of play.

Popular Mechanics for Kids videos – until my second child was born the TV was never on. How I managed I am not entirely sure? It’s on now, but at least they’ve gravitated towards things like these Popular Mechanics videos, which they both love. The videos are nararrated by a tween boy and girl who take viewers on adventures from lightening to space, sewage to water systems. The three we have are Lightening, Radical Rockets and Slither & Slime and I think my kids would be hard pressed to pick a favorite.

Legos – our little one has an easier time working with the Duplo-size Legos, but now that is big brother has this enormous tub of real Legos, the Duplos are largely untouched. It bums me out that the current sets are all oriented around specific things (Star Wars, etc), but if you’re trying to amass your own collection of bricks for open-ended play I’d recommend visiting local tags sales to pick up bricks. Or, if you go to the Lego site, click on products, then Bricks and More, it will bring you to a section where you can get simple sets of plain bricks.

Art Station – My kids (and their friends when they come over to play) love that I set aside a couple of kitchen shelves for art supplies they can access whenever they want. I use stacking tubs I picked up at Target (the ones with the locking lids and a handle so they can carry them), and I know The Container Store has plenty of other storage ideas for things like: construction paper, glue sticks, pom poms, pipe cleaners, tubes of paint, stickers, small scissors, zig-zag scissors, pens, crayons, colored pencils, beads, yarn, rubber stamps and ink pads, colored tissue paper, tape, a stapler, and miscellaneous recycled things like wine corks, Styrofoam peanuts, paper towel tubes, TP rolls, etc. Often times my kitchen table is taken over by the latest projects, but seeing their creativity in action makes it worthwhile to have to eat at the kid’s table. If you’re short on space, Oompa has a neat carry-all. (P.S. That’s not my kitchen above…that’s a Container Store display. You thought I was really organized didn’t you?)

Musical Instruments - along the same lines as the art supplies, we have a big LL Bean deal bag full of musical instruments that go from quiet tinkering to very loud marching bands through our house. Some of the favorites: recorders, xylophone/glockenspiel, cymbals, drums, shakers, a zither, jingle bells. Most local toy stores sell a selection of inexpensive musical instruments, or you can visit a site like Mary Ann Hall’s Orchestore and select some favorites.

Tool Set – my in-laws created their own one several Christmases ago using a small (real) tool box from Home Depot that they filled it with child-size plastic tools. I like it because ours closes with a latch and can be toted all over the house, but this one on Oompa is eco-friendly, and looks neat too. Some of the recent additions to the toolbox that have been popular: a flashlight, a hadlamp, a real measuring tape and a level…in addition to the hammer, saw, screwdriver, wrench, etc. We have a coffee table in the family room that I do not mind if the kids “work” on. But if your furniture is all precious, then I’d recommend picking up an old end table or something like that that can be theirs to hammer away on.

A Community Playthings red trike – We picked up trikes at tag sales, but before my children could pedal on their own this pedal-free trike was a fun way to scoot around the patio. It’s exceptionally high quality and can be passed from child to child, neighbor to neighbor.

Dress-up costumes – we’ve waned a bit on dressing up, but for several years, this was my son’s favorite thing to do. I stocked a big cupboard with all sort of costumes for them to run around in. With two boys, knights, pirates and dragons were favorites, but the bumblebee, frog, princess, firefighter, wizard, cowboy, lion, and spider saw a lot of action too. Now is the time to stock up, as Halloween costumes are all on sale!

Games – a few of our favorites that both kids can play: Tief Auf Tier stacking game, the Cagola balancing game, and a candy-themed memory game.

Hope this helps give some good ideas. I’d love to hear your family’s favorites too as I start to think of something special for each of the boys this year!

Planning ahead for Christmas – Gingerbread Cookies

The weather is getting a little chilly, the skies are getting a little gray, the Christmas decorations are popping up in local merchants windows… it’s hard not to start thinking about Christmas even if it is only mid-November! I know, I know, there’s still the wonderful Thanksgiving holiday in between but I am the kind of person who likes to get a jump start on the holiday prep so I can actually enjoy the festivities when they arrive. So, a couple weeks back, when I was baking Halloween treats for the 1st graders, I made some extra dough and rolled, cut and baked a batch of gingerbread cookies that I could freeze until Christmas time. No matter what else I decide to bake, I always make these Gingerbread Cookies. I hope you like this recipe as much as I do!

Gingerbread Cookies
Slightly adapted from a recipe by Rick Rodgers, Christmas 101
Makes 6 dozen cookies
(I often double this recipe so I have tons to share with friends!)

6 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons cinnamon
2 teaspoons ginger
1 teaspoon allspice
1 teaspoon cloves
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon of freshly ground pepper
2 sticks of butter, room temp
½ cup of shortening, room temp
1 cup of dark brown sugar
1 1/3 cup unsulfured molasses
2 eggs

The dough must be made at least 3 hours ahead of time, and can be made up to 2 days ahead of time. So, keep this in mind when planning your baking project.

Combine dry ingredients in a bowl (flour through pepper). Set aside.

In a large bowl, cream the butter and shortening, then add the brown sugar, molasses and eggs. Once combined, mix in the flour mixture until everything is combined in a stiff dough. Divide the dough into 4 disks, wrap each in wax paper and refrigerate until chilled (at least 3 hours and up to 2 days).

When you’re ready to do the cutting and baking, preheat your oven to 350 degrees. To roll out the cookies, use one disk at a time leaving the others in the fridge. Roll the dough out on a floured surface, cut with a cookie cutter of your choice and I bake them on a parchment lined baking sheet (lessens clean up, and they’ll never stick). Bake 10-12 minutes, let the cookies cool on the sheet 2 minutes, and then transfer them to wire cooling racks.

These cookies will keep up to 1 week in an air-tight container on the counter, and up to 3 months in an air-tight container in the freezer.

The day turned a little festive after all

My little one was beyond disappointed that I didn’t buy myself a cake that was big and flowery. “Mama! I wanted to have a FARM cake for your birfday!” he sadly announced as I pulled a ginger cake out of the box, prepared to have a lunch of cake and milk. So much for that decadent idea. He could care less that I was offering up cake for lunch. Whatever he was looking at was b-o-r-i-n-g. “It needs a tractor, Mama. And a farmer. And aminals.” So, while I was catching up with my sister-in-law my little one dutifully went into the playroom and dragged the buckets of people, animals, airplanes, and vehicles into the kitchen.

He then chose 50 or so items he wanted to put on the cake. Thankfully, a stray piece of drizzle distracted him from putting all of the toys on… I must agree that his farm is cake is more fun on this drizzly, weird day. Things are looking up.

Purplicious & Golden Cauliflower

This idea comes up a lot when parents are talking about their picky-eater children. In our house my kids aren’t picky, they’re just not big eaters (you know the whole thing about the cobbler’s kids….) I am thankful that they’ll eat pretty much anything, but the daily grind of getting them to sit down and eat is, well, a grind. So, I remembered a friend saying-- or maybe I read about it in a magazine, or a book, I can’t remember-- anyway, the idea is to have your child accompany you to the market and pick out a fruit and veggie each. If they have some “ownership” over what’s being served, they might be more likely to eat it. Well, at least one of my children is usually with me at the market so I thought I’d give this a whirl. About halfway down the veggie aisle at Walter Stewart’s the other day, my little one laughed at the brightly colored cauliflower on display. So, we popped a purple and orange head into the cart and went on our merry way. And then I totally forgot it was in our produce drawer, until tonight when my little one who claimed he was too sick to go to school, is hitting an all-time record for inquiring, “Mama? Mama? Mama?” all day long. It’s time to pull out the mealtime excitement! Colored cauliflower! Exciting! (Ladies, I am being facetious here…) But since the color held true after roasting, it was kind of different on the plate…and did get chomped up alongside the regular green broccoli “trees”. One of my kids even asked for more. Bonanza!

Roasted Purplicious & Golden Cauliflower

Preheat oven to 400. Wash cauliflower and chop into 1-2” chunks. Drizzle with a little olive oil and sea salt and toss in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet (pictured above, before going into the oven). Roast for 20 minutes or so, until it gets crispy edge and is tender…but not soft. No one wants mushy veggies!

That's what it looked like, after roasting. And here's what went down the hatch tonight...a colorful dinner to be eaten with little fingers:

A sample of Roasted Purplicious & Golden Cauliflower + our standard Roasted Broccoli "trees", a scoop of hummus and organic blue corn tortilla chips for dipping, cherry tomatoes, steamed green bean "swords", and some Bell & Evans Rotisserie chicken.

What I made when it was my turn...

Today it’s my turn to provide the dinners for our Wednesday Supper Swap, the weekly meal sharing I do with friends. (There are four moms who paticipate, so you cook one week (for you and your husband and the other 3 couples, a total of 8 servings) and then you receive a homemade meal the next three weeks. Really, it's a brilliant concept. Read here for more mentions and specifics from past posts.)

I did my cooking last night since I had only a small window of free time today. Plus, these meatballs are even better the next day when the flavors really meld.

Here’s what I cooked for my friends:

Beef & Bulgur Meatballs with a Zesty Tomato Sauce
Trader Joe’s Israeli Couscous/Quinoa/Chickpea/Orzo Pilaf
Maple Roasted Butternut Squash
And I picked up a small Arugula Salad with Manchengo, Cranberries and Candied Almonds from Aux Delices for everyone since salads aren’t my thing.

I hope everyone likes their dinner tonight!

Getting back to feeling mom-a-licious

I haven’t posted in a couple of days because, well, do you ever have those days (or weeks) when you feel like you’re doing a lot…but not doing anything very well? That’s the rut I have found myself in lately. Readership of this blog keeps shooting up, but I am making no income off it, so it’s basically a community service effort. Totally fine in terms of generosity, but not ok if I’m snapping at my kids because they’re interrupting me as I type a recipe. My cooking lesson clients are having these a-ha moments (which are wonderfully satisfying to be a part of), but as H1N1 rips through our schools, I cannot sleep the nights before my classes wondering if my children will be well the next morning when I am scheduled to teach? What will happen to all of those groceries I asked them to buy, and how annoyed will they be with me having to cancel last minute? Then there’s the blog, which I’ll stay home from working out to write entries for since I’m too tired to do so at night. And when I don’t workout I get more tired…and it’s this vicious cycle. The only thing I am doing consistently well is getting healthy meals on the table, ones that both my children will eat and that my husband and I enjoy. This Fall is my first time having both kids in school, which is blissful, but I am still not in my groove trying to figure out how much to “work” and how much to “play”. And so, 10 pounds later—yes, 10 pounds—I have decided to take a step back and try to regroup. I think I jumped the gun, trying to be all things to all people during my 9 hours of preschool time a week! The first thing I let go was me. It is time for me to get back to feeling a little more mom-a-licious. Posts may be a little less frequent, and cooking lessons may be harder to come by until I feel like I am back in balance. But for now, when my children ask me to come sit by the fire and read with them, or do a puzzle, or rake leaves into their mini wheelbarrow, I want to be wholly there and not thinking about all of the things on my Full Plate. Or, thinking a little less about it, for now.