Sweet White Sauce

We improvised a basic white sauce recipe to use with our squash pasta. Delish!

Ingredients:
4 TBS Butter (not margarine)
4 TBS Flour
2 C Milk
2 TBS Brown Sugar
1 TSP Nutmeg
Sprinkle of Marjoram

Directions:

Melt butter in medium sized saucepan. Add flour. Whisk together until smooth. Add brown sugar, nutmeg, and marjoram, whisking as you go. Pour all milk in at once. Stir over medium heat until sauce begins to thicken. Add salt/pepper to taste.

Fresh Butternut Squash Pasta

My first foray into the fresh pasta universe with my own made-up recipe is brought to you by some leftover squash...

Ingredients:
2 Cups Flour
2 Eggs
1/3 Cup cooked/pureed Butternut Squash
2 Teaspoons Olive Oil
1/2 Teaspoon Marjoram
1/4 Teaspoon Nutmeg


Directions:

Put your flour in a large mixing bowl. Make a bowl of flour so that the wet part of your dough will pour nicely in the center. In a separate bowl, crack eggs, add olive oil, squash and spices. Whisk this together with a fork until foamy. Pour egg mixture into flour bowl, and if you haven't already, remove your jewelry. Your hands are about to get messy.

Mix flour and egg mixture together with your fingers until dough begins to form. This will be a crumbly sticky mess for a few minutes, so continue to knead until the dough becomes smooth and elastic. This may require adding a touch more olive oil, or flour depending on the consistency of the dough.

Once your dough is smooth and elastic, set it down and wash your hands. (This helps it stay smooth.) Sprinkle flour on your counter top or a cutting board, and continue to knead the dough, coating it with flour  as you go. Roll into a ball, and cut into fourths (See Photo below.) Pour a touch of olive oil in a bowl and with your fingers, lightly coat each dough quarter. (This helps retain moisture) Place dough quarters in a bowl covered with a damp paper towel. Let sit for 20 minutes or so.

Floured Board

Resting Dough

If you think you'll do this as often as I do, it might be worth investing in a pasta machine. Just sayin'.

If you don't have a machine, coat your rolling pin with flour, take one of the dough quarters out and pat with flour and start rolling. Roll the dough as flat as you'll want it for noodles. (Some people like them thicker than others.) Once your dough is rolled out, coat with flour again, and roll up (like a jelly roll) this makes it easy to slice long noodles to your desired width. A real sharp knife helps.

Finished Noodles

Butternut Squash Soup

Sorry, no picture with this one. I lacked the foresight and camera. Next time, I promise.

Ingredients:
6 tablespoons chopped onion
4 tablespoons butter
6 cups peeled and cubed butternut squash (I microwaved the squash first to soften it, but might skip that next time--seemed like a waste…)
3 cups water
4 cubes chicken bouillon
1/2 teaspoon dried marjoram
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper 
1/8 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese


Note: I made this a day ahead, so I just put it in a freezer bag and refrigerated it ‘til dinner time.

Directions:
In a large saucepan, sauté onions in butter until translucent. Add  the squash, water, bouillon, marjoram, nutmeg, black pepper and cayenne pepper. Bring to boil; cook 20 minutes, or until squash is tender.
Pull Squash out with a spoon or spatula and add to blender or food processor with cream cheese. You may need to do this in batches. Once your mixture is complete, add it back to the saucepan, *and heat through.You won't need it to boil.

*At this point, rather than continue to heat the soup, I poured it into a container and refrigerated for the next day's dinner.