carrots

What’s up, butternut?  Y’all, we are just a few weeks away from Halloween, so it seems like the time is right to have this little talk.

Full Disclosure:  I’m totally terrified of spiders.  It’s real.  And I’m sure I’m not alone.  But they are EVERYWHERE with their creepy little giant sticky webs.  Totally grody.  I absolutely despise the nasty sticky webs.

Chris built me some raised garden beds for my birthday on the sunny side of our house. Unfortunately, a spider moved in and started building webs that connect the neighbor’s tree to my tomato plants.  Not cool, creepy spider.  Not cool at all.

Seriously, that dang spider built that web every single day.  And every single day I walked through it. Every. Single. Day.  No fail.  You would think I’d learn?  Remember? Nope.  And let me tell you that when I walk through a spider web it ain’t pretty.  There’s lots of screaming and cursing going on and it starts with OMG SPIDER! SPIDER!  And I get more exercise in 12.73 seconds than I do in a week.

After that I’m less amused.  It goes more along the lines of Mother %$*# and lots of crying about the spider webs in my hair.  It also includes jumping around and begging Chris to make sure that there are no spiders in my hair or climbing up my back.  It’s a hot mess.  At least I’m a hot mess.

So the other day I was minding my own business, listening to the 80’s station on satellite radio, and driving to work.  There it was.  That nasty spider appeared out of nowhere IN MY CAR!  It’s creepy little self was dangling on its web from the ceiling/roof in front of my horrified eyes.  It was getting lower and lower – closer and closer.  Obviously I was a danger to myself and others, so I had to pull over.  It wasn’t pretty.

If you happened to be driving in Charlotte last week and saw a lunatic in a black suit and heels jump out of her car and run like the devil himself was chasing her….

I don’t know anything about that.

What I do know is that my spider fear has absolutely nothing to do with Roasted Butternut Squash and Carrot Pasta.  That should come as no surprise to you if you have been visiting this site for more than 5 minutes.

Happy Monday, y’all!

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Roasted Butternut Squash and Carrot Pasta

Ingredients

For the Butternut

• 2 small butternut squash
• 1-2 tablespoons olive oil
• 4 tablespoons butter

For the Pasta and Sauce

• 1 onion diced
• 4-6 garlic cloves minced
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 cup white wine
• 1 tablespoon sage
• 1/2 teaspoon thyme
• 1/4 teaspoon allspice
• 2 1/2 cups chicken stock - or vegetable stock
• 2 cups butternut
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
• salt and white pepper to taste
• 4 carrots peeled and biased sliced into 1/4 inch pieces
• Parsley and parmesan to garnish
• 5 carrots peeled and sliced on the bias in 1 inch pieces
• 1 pound Rotini or favorite pasta
• parmesan and parsley to garnish optional

Instructions

For the Butternut

1. Preheat oven to 425
2. Cut butternut crosswise where skinny part meets fat part
3. Slice off ends
4. Halve lengthwise, remove seeds
5. Coat with olive oil and place cut side down on parchment paper lined baking sheet
6. Bake 45 minutes to 1 hour, depending on size
7. Let cool to be able to touch, remove peel
8. Heat butter in a non-stick skillet over medium high heat, cook until brown bits appear and it smells nutty and fragrant, about 3 minutes
9. Transfer to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment
10. Beat until combined, pour in browned butter and mix until smooth and combined

For the Pasta and Sauce

1. Melt butter and olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat
2. Add onions and cook 1-2 minutes, then add garlic and cook until fragrant and translucent
3. Add wine, sage, thyme, allspice and cook until wine is reduced by half, about 2-3 minutes
4. Add butternut mixture and chicken or vegetable stock, stir until well combined
5. Add heavy cream, nutmeg, cinnamon, salt and white pepper and let cook and reduce until it's a thick sauce, 10-12 minutes
6. Meanwhile, bring a pasta pot of water to boil
7. Toss in a hand full of salt
8. Add Pasta, stir
9. Using the extra steaming basket, add carrots and cook until almost the texture you like, I did about 8 minutes
10. Drain the carrots into a colandar, pull pasta basket out of the pot and drain, pour pasta water over the carrots
11. Combine pasta, carrots, and sauce, garnish with parsley and parmesan
12. Serve immediately