Pasta with Roasted Squash, Sausage and Pecans

Today in the Safeway parking lot armed with this month's Food & Wine in hand, we picked this recipe because we had already had oodles of butternut squash and sage at home.  Thank goodness we did!  It was delicious, easy, and made lots of leftovers for the week.

I do need to disclose that we forgot to pick up pecans so we used cashews instead (yum) and we also picked up some delicious parmesan from Eataly in NYC (highly recommended) last weekend so we used that instead of asiago.

OH!  And we had asparagus on the side and paired it with Casillero Del Diablo Carmenere 2010.  Perfecto!

INGREDIENTS
2 1/2 pounds butternut squash—peeled, seeded and cut into 1-inch dice
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Freshly grated nutmeg
1 tablespoon chopped sage, plus 20 whole leaves
1/2 cup pecans, coarsely chopped
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 pound sweet Italian sausage, casings removed
1 pound fusilli or other curly pasta
1/4 cup freshly grated aged Asiago cheese, plus more for serving

Preheat the oven to 400°. On a large rimmed baking sheet, drizzle the squash with 2 tablespoons of oil and toss. Arrange in an even layer and season with salt, pepper and nutmeg. Bake for about 30 minutes, until just tender. Add the chopped sage and toss.

Meanwhile, put the pecans in a pie plate and bake for about 4 minutes, until toasted.

In a large skillet, melt the butter. Add the whole sage leaves and cook over moderate heat, turning once, until crisp, 2 minutes. Transfer the leaves to a plate and pour the butter into a bowl. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil and the sausage to the skillet and cook over moderately high heat, breaking up the sausage, until no pink remains, 7 minutes.

In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook the pasta until al dente. Drain, reserving 1 cup of the cooking water. Return the pasta to the pot. Add the sausage and melted butter and gradually stir in the cooking water over moderate heat. Gently fold in the squash, pecans and the 1/4 cup of cheese. Season with salt and pepper and transfer to a bowl. Scatter the sage on top and serve with more cheese.

M+M and K+L Take New York

We're wrapping up a fantastic (but chilly) weekend in NYC with our good friends Kevin and Laurie from Chicago.

The Maurizio Cattelan exhibit at the Guggenheim was really impressive, the Staten Island ferry was fun (and free!), and the vegan and/or organic restaurants were so delicious!

We miss our friends already but here are some of our favorite photos.

Uncle Mike (1942-2012)

This was the sky on the beltway last Friday as Michael and I drove to BWI to catch our flight to Indianapolis.  Unfortunately, this last-minute trip was to say goodbye to Uncle Mike.

Here's daddy listening to Uncle Mike at my cousin Kristen's wedding in 2009.  He always put a smile on your face with his stories (or by accessorizing with a decorative bow around his neck).

Uncle Mike was the oldest of the Farrell boys... you can tell that they had a lot of fun together.

Above is a picture of all the Farrell siblings at our wedding and below is one of my favorite moments of our wedding.  Uncle Mike pulled Michael aside and gave him a little talk about how he needed to take care of me and what a lucky man he was.

The service for Uncle Mike was probably more elaborate than he would have liked, but I thought it was simple, loving and beautifully adorned with lots flowers sent by friends and family that miss him terribly.  

The world has lost an amazing spirit but I know he's happy up in heaven with my Aunt Judy and cousin Michelle and making pineapple upside down cakes in an old cast iron skillet (like he used to make for me when I would come to visit).  We miss you, Uncle Mike.

Crispy Chicken Thighs with Golden Raisin Compote

Michael has made this dish several times in the last year, but I've either forgotten to get a photo or it just turned out ugly.  So I'm just using the beautiful photo from Food & Wine because my poor photography skills should not keep you from trying this recipe.

We made it when we were in NC for Christmas and everyone loved it!  Farro is cooked similarly to rice and I've added a simple farro recipe at the bottom of this post.  This recipe had definitely made farro one of our new favorite grains.

INGREDIENTS
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
5 ounces butternut squash, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch dice (1 cup)
1 large shallot, minced
1/2 Granny Smith apple—peeled, cored and cut into 1/2-inch dice
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 1/4 cups golden raisins (1/2 pound)
1/2 cup dry white wine
2 tablespoons honey
2 teaspoons chopped thyme
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
8 6 ounce bone-in chicken thighs

Preheat the oven to 350°. In a skillet, melt the butter. Add the squash, cover and cook over moderate heat until almost tender, 3 minutes. Add the shallot and cook for 1 minute. Add the apple, cinnamon and cayenne and cook for 1 minute. Add the raisins, wine, honey and thyme and cook until the wine is almost evaporated. Season with salt and pepper.

In an ovenproof nonstick skillet, heat the oil. Season the chicken with salt and pepper and add to the skillet, skin side down. Cook over high heat until the skin is crisp, 5 minutes. Turn the chicken, transfer the skillet to the oven and roast for 6 minutes, until cooked through; serve with the compote.

Serve with buttered farro with chives.

COOKING FARRO
2 cups (12 ounces) whole-grain farro
4 quarts of boiling salted water

Rinse farro in a strainer under cold running water. Have the salted water boiling in a 6-quart pot. Drop in the farro, stir and get water to a steady, lively simmer. Partially cover the pot and cook 30 to 45 minutes, or until tender. Drain the farro in a sieve. Eat hot or at room temperature, seasoning to taste.

Yield: Makes 4 to 5 cups