Penne with Roasted Butternut Squash

My initial intention was to make a soup with this squash, but I (or I watched a friend) make soup last week and so wanting to change things up, I found this recipe online. The ingredients call for pancetta and I never knew what I was missing out on! It was wonderful. I made this recipe for dinner and it turned out remarkably well. I actually followed the recipe this time, with only an addition of garlic to give it a little more flavor. By the time I realized I hadn't taken any pictures, there wasn't much left.

Penne with Roasted Butternut Squash

Ingredients

• 1 medium (about 2 1/4 pounds) butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cut into 1/2-inch pieces (about 3 cups)-- (I used more and it worked out just fine)
  
• 1 tbs olive oil
• 2 tbs dried sage
  
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tsp ground pepper

• 3/4 pound penne pasta

• 2 tbs olive oil
  
• 3 ounces pancetta, sliced 1/4 inch thick and finely chopped (I could only find the pre-sliced variety so I just used a pair of scissors and cut it into 1/4 inch pieces.)
  
• 2 shallots, thinly sliced crosswise
• 1 clove minced garlic
  
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (I forgot about these and it tasted fine without it.)
  
• 2 tbs dried sage leaves
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup finely grated pecorino Romano cheese, plus more for serving (we could only find Parmesan so that's what I used.)
  

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place butternut squash on a rimmed baking sheet and toss with 1 tablespoon of olive oil, sage, salt, and pepper. Transfer to oven and roast until squash is browned and tender, about 15 minutes or until tender. (I did this ahead of time.)
   
2. Start to bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat. As water is heating up,heat remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large skillet over medium-low heat. Add pancetta and cook until just crisp, 4 to 5 minutes.
3. Generously salt the pasta water and return to a boil. Add pasta and cook until al dente, according to package directions.
   
4. Add shallots, crushed red pepper, sage, and pepper to large skillet. Cook until shallots are soft, 4 to 5 minutes. Add squash and toss gently.
5. Drain pasta, reserving 1/2 cup cooking liquid. Set pasta and reserved cooking liquid aside. Add cheese and noodles and cook, tossing gently until cheese is melted. (You can add reserved pasta cooking liquid as necessary to moisten.) Serve immediately with more grated cheese, if desired.

I roasted the butternut squash ahead of time and reheated it in the oven while the noodles cooked. Timing was just about perfect. No need to add any salt as there was enough with the pancetta and cheese. I will definitely be making this dish again! Feel free to change up the veggie to create a different taste.

Happy New Year!

Not sure where 2011 went but I have a feeling 2012 will be a great year. Since I haven't posted lately, here are the last 2 months in pictures.

In Tennessee...

Prime rib was amazing!
It was accompanied by ridiculously easy popovers that were also tasty.

We had to stop by and say hi to Julie and share some pretzel M&Ms with her.

Mom never had Nutella before so I brought her a jar. We used it as a filling in these ebel skievers, small stuffed Danish pancakes.

Christmas Day would not be complete without this Goss tradition.

Greg, the in-house baker, made these rolls.

A nice group shot! Sweet potatoes eventually made it to the table!

What to do with leftover turkey? Make turkey pot pies of course.

We each got our own mini pot pies!

Sourdough baguettes. I failed to get a picture of the final product.

Back in California...
This is Kitty. We did not eat her. She found us on the 4th of July when we were barbecuing in the backyard and had visited us everyday until the weekend of Halloween. She made an appearance the day before and on my birthday. It was sweet of her to remember. She has since to return but I can't blame her, it's cold outside!

Greg got me an electric griddle for my birthday! Such a sweet brother. We (well, actually he) made pancakes, potatoes and eggs.

That's a mighty fine looking stack if I do say so myself.

And what birthday would be complete without some pizza...

and a homemade chocolate cake with homemade frosting, also by Greg.

Last weekend I went with friends to walk the Golden Gate Bridge and to checkout the lighthouse at the Marin Headlands. This was the wonderful lunch we had.

We were originally going to serve chocolate sorbet with the birthday cake but opted to save it for another day since we ate so much already. It was very rich and chocolaty good. Thanks Mom & Dad for the ice cream maker and the beautiful new camera so I can take all these pictures!