The NYC Marathon is about a month away and the calories expended during our longer training runs (14 miles to 20 miles) has me hunting for more creative and tasty ways to make pasta for dinner. One of my running pals posted on Facebook that she'd died and gone to heaven with a bowl of butternut squash and sage pasta. I asked her what restaurant was serving such a divine Fall recipe to which she replied that it was homemade. Pssshaw!  Butternut squash pasta? REALLY?  At home?  I didn't believe her, so I dared her to share the recipe.  She did.  And my mouth watered.  So now I'm sharing it with you.

It's from the January 2009 issue of  Cook's Illustrated. I love that magazine. I used to have a subscription to it until I had to practically join a 12-step program to overcome my pack rat habit of keeping every magazine I ever read and cluttering my kitchen counter to the point that there was no space to cook. Looks like they now have an online subscription complete with how-to videos. I might have to try that.

Anyway, here are the Fall flavored stars of this recipe ... fresh sage and butternut squash.

The scent of the sage might remind you of your hippy college roommate's nag champa incense.  For that reason, definitely use fresh sage.  Do not be tempted to use dried sage for this recipe. Trust me, follow the instructions and it will taste divine ... kind of smokey and peppery.  Combined with the secret ingredient (to be revealed below) it will give you the same warm and fuzzy feeling that you get from a cup of chicken noodle soup or a fleece blanket on a cold night.  During the Middle Ages, sage was the key ingredient used in making Four Thieves Vinegar which was thought to ward off the plague.  So during the winter months, bring on the sage baby!

If you've never tried cooking fresh butternut squash, I have to warn you, chopping it is a bitch.  It's a tough little cookie, so watch your fingers.  In fact, if you've had a tough day at the office, a frustrating day at home, or if the whole world is just on your last nerve, this is a great recipe to end the day with.  Pour yourself a glass of wine and hack away at Mr. Butternut Squash.  Remember ... just be careful your fingers don't get in the way.

One little tip ... most grocers will sell them already split in half.  This helps with two things.  One ... You will probably only need half of a medium sized squash.  Two ... Having it already sliced in two pieces gives it a flat surface to place on your cutting board that makes chopping a bit easier.  Only slightly.  But at least you won't be chasing a rolling squash around your kitchen with a sharp knife.

Now, let me introduce you to the secret ingredient that really makes the sage flavor pop ... BACON!  Everything tastes better with bacon, right?

Your going to saute the fresh bacon with about 8 sage leaves until the leaves are crisp, but not brown.  Then, strain the bacon and sage and save the grease to add back to the pan to reuse for cooking the squash.  I tried this recipe once with turkey bacon to try and make a "healthier" version.  The turkey bacon just doesn't add the same amount of flavor.  Splurge on the real thing.

Next add your bacon grease back to the pan and cook the squash.  The recipe said to cook until they were "spotty brown."   I  blackened mine.  Oops.  It still tasted terrific though, so don't be afraid if you make the same mistake.

Add butter and allow to melt.  Mmm.  Butter AND butternut squash.  You're taste buds are doing a little anticipatory dance right now, aren't they?  After the squash is browned, add scallions, nutmeg, minced sage, pepper and sugar (I used brown sugar here instead of the recommended refined sugar ... seemed more Fall-like to me). Stir until the scallions are softened and then add broth and bring to a simmer.

At this point you might be thinking, "great, now I've got butternut squash in a chick broth.  I've made soup.  Blah!"  Just trust the recipe ... it get's thick and saucy.  Add the butternut squash and broth mixture to the large pan with the past and stir together with remaining bacon-sage mixture, 2 tablespoons (I used more) of Parmesan,  and lemon juice.  Use the reserved pasta liquid to adjust consistency.

Drool.

Enjoy!

Butternut Squash & Sage Pasta

Ingredients

4 slices bacon cut into 1/4 inch pieces

8 large fresh sage leaves, plus 1 tbsp freshly minced

1 medium butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cut into 1/2 inch dice

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

6 scallions sliced thin (about 1 cup)

1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

1 teaspoon sugar

2 cups low-sodium chicken broth

1 lb penne pasta

2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

4 teaspoons lemon juice (one lemon should do)

1/3 cup sliced almonds, toasted

Directions

1) Cook bacon in 12 inch skillet over medium heat until crisp (about 8 minutes).  Add whole sage leaves and cook until fragrant (about 1 minute).  Strain mixture through fine mesh strainer into a small bowl, reserving the bacon fat and bacon-sage mixture separately.

2) Return skillet to high heat, add 2 tablespoons reserved bacon fat (adding olive oil if necessary) and heat until shimmering.  Add squash in even layer and cook, without stirring, until beginning to caramelize (4 to 5 minutes).  Continue cooking, stirring occasionally until spotty brown (3 to 4 minutes longer).  Add butter and allow to melt.  Add scallions, nutmeg, sugar, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 3/4 teaspoon pepper, and minced sage.  Cook, stirring occasionally.

3) Meanwhile, bring 4 quarts of water to a boil in a large pan over high heat.  Add 1 tablespoon salt and pasta.  Cook until just al dente, then drain pasta reserving 1/2 cup cooking water and transfer back to large pan.

4) Add squash mixture to pasta and stir in 2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese, lemon juice, and reserved bacon sage mixture.  Adjust consistency with the reserved pasta liquid.  Serve extra Parmesan and sliced almonds on the side to add to taste.

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At the end of Thanksgiving weekend, I hold onto the last little bits of fall before the holidays kick in.  It always seems that Christmas comes too early.  Even though Winter doesn't "officially" begin until December 21st ... snowflakes already grace store windows as garland.

So, in my last little ode to fall, I went on a little day trip with fellow Innkeepers Jim & Ana with the Mount Dora Historic Inn to a local corn maze.  A maize maze.  I thought getting lost in 6 acres of corn would be a great way to get outdoors, enjoy the weather and walk off all the tasty holiday indulgences.

It sounded quite easy, like kids play that we adults were just entertaining ourselves with.  Perhaps the gps in my car has made me too confident in my wayfinding skills, but that all changed when the stalks were 2 feet over our heads and every corner and twisted turn looked the same.  We really did get lost.  Good conversation with friends was the only thing that kept me from screaming out in a claustrophobic fit.  We got to talking about jobs we had before innkeeping and becoming serial entrepreneurs.  One of my first jobs was working in marketing for an agricultural association, so being ear-deep in corn (hehe) shouldn't have been so out of place for me.  One of the stories I shared with them was the time I was introduced to red-eye gravy.  It's a country thing, I guess.  Bacon grease and black coffee.  To be honest, I never actually tasted it.  I love bacon ... on my plate.  I love coffee ... in my cup.  But bacon and coffee mixed together.  Ew. I wrinkle my nose at the thought.  Perhaps I should be more open minded.  It is breakfast, after all.

Jim took this as a "challenge."  Picture an Einstein-mad-scientist-type, crazy hair, tongue sticking out with a wild look in his eye, groovy 70's music blaring, things bubbling, steam rising.   Now, picture that scientist in a chef's coat  and replace the lab with a kitchen ... except with clean cut hair ... but his tongue still sticking out.  Yeah.  That's Jim.  He loves experimenting a creating new things.  Especially when it comes to baking.  And I had just given him an idea.  A bacon and coffee infused dish.  Since were were lost in the middle of a corn field, I threw in the added ingredient of corn.  Poof.  Bam.  The idea was born.  A savory corn cupcake with bacon and coffee.  I didn't know whether to be intrigued or grossed out.

My first experience with a savory cupcake was in Oklahoma.  Yup.  Not some culinary capitol like Chicago or NYC.  The heartland.  Oklahoma.  So the fact that this idea was born in the middle of a farm shouldn't have surprised me at all.

The cupcake place we found in Oklahoma City was an adorable little cottage with the most perfect little cupcakes I'd ever seen.  They had red velvet, chocolate and classic vanilla.  They also had green tea cupcakes and a savory egg-y breakfast cupcake.  They were delish, so I unwrinkled my nose and accepted the bacon-coffee-corn-cupcake challenge.  It was a bake-off between me and Jim.  And I have to tell you in advance, his cupcake won!

The stars of this show ...

Do you hear the StarWars-like music?  Duuuuuun ... Dooooooon ... Da-DOOOOOON.  Bom Bom Bom Bom Bom Bom.

Corn ... check.

Bacon ... check.

Coffee ... hmm ...

Recently Marx Foods offered to send some free salt samples to food bloggers.  I sent in my info and got a little box of all kind of chef-y sounding flavors of salt.  Things I would never in a million years find at my local grocer.  My homesick NYC neighbors squealed in delight  that they could order gourmet-to-go direct to their doorstep as flavorful reminders of home.  I was just excited and inspired to try something new.

One of those flavors happened to be ... espresso salt.

Using espresso salt in a breakfast recipe may be uncreative or cliche ... but I'm a breakfast girl so that's the first place my mind will go.  I think my neighbors used it to season their steaks.  Yum.

On with the bake-off.

First, REAL bacon bits ...

Then, fresh white sweet corn from our local farm.  Did you know that corn has one "silk" hair per kernel?

Yup.  I learned that in the corn maze.

Also learned that it kinda looks like blonde barbie doll hair.

Or nose hair.  See ... this is why I'm no chef-y.  I get distracted and play with my food.

My mom says when I was a kid I used to call this "corn on the NOB" instead of "corn on the cob" because of the little corn nobs stuck into the ends.  Again ... playing with my food.

Hmm. Perhaps I should have pulled out a bigger cutting board?  Ya think?  Naaaah ... would of spoiled the fun.

This little bow saw knife made me feel like I was playing a violin ... again ... playing with my food.

CORN!

Fresh.  Uncooked.  Do not try to adjust the color on your screen.  This is not yellow corn ... but sweet white corn.

Mix together the dry ingredients (full list and recipe at the bottom of the post)

Now... I have a question for you.

I looked it up.

My photographer friend Jim looked it up.

We Googled it.

Still ... no answer ... on the history ... of what in the heck is a "Clabber" girl ... as opposed to just the name of some baking powder.  Looks like there'd be some historical story to it, but we couldn't find it.  If you know ... PLEASE TELL US!

Add your wet ingredients to a separate bowl ...

Oops.  I lied.  One "dry" ingredient goes into this "wet" bowl.  Sugar.

Some eggs.  Some Buttah'.  Some sour cream.  Jim added a lot of creamy things to this recipe.  Gives it a moist cake texture.  No classic cornbread here.

A spoonful of bacon grease.

A cap full of vanilla.

Blend.

Pour into dry ingredient bowl and "mix" ... not too much ... or they'll be tough.

Add the corn last.

Dollop into your cupcake/muffin pan.  This is where I went wrong.  I always use paper cups for easy servings and even easier clean up.  But these suckers stick to the paper like glue, so I would grease your cupcake/muffin tin and skip the paper.

Sprinkle with bacon bits and espresso salt to taste.  A sort of "red eye gravy" topping.  They're both SALTY SALTY SALTY ... but it contrasts nicely with the sweet and creamy cupcake.

Then bake!

This is also where Jim's cupcakes beat mine.  He made 6 big poofy ones.  Like a cupcake should look.  I made 12 ... so they came out kinda teeny.

And voila.  A savory corn red eye gravy cupcake.  It was EXCELLENT hot with eggs over easy.  However, I didn't like it cold.  This is not a cupcake to keep in a pastry display for everyone to grab on the go at room temperature.  This is an eat it hot and fresh for breakfast in the morning kind of meal.  A little weird, I do admit.  But it was fun to make!

Savory Corn Cupcakes

Ingredients

1 1/2 cup cake flour

1/4 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

pinch of salt

8 strips bacon, cooked, crisp & crumbled

1 1/2 cup corn

1 cup buttermilk

8 oz sour cream

4 oz cream cheese

1/2 cup sugar

3/4 stick of butter, melted

2 large eggs

1/4 lemon, juiced

1 tbsp bacon grease

1 capful vanilla extract

Directions

1) Preheat oven to 360 degrees.  Yes, that is 360, not 350.  Grease muffin pan.

2) Mix together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt

3) Cream together eggs & sugar, then add bacon grease, butter, buttermilk, softened cream cheese, sour cream, vanilla and lemon juice.

4) Add to flour mixture along with corn and fold together until well blended.  Do not whisk.  Do not overmix.

5) Spoon batter into prepared muffin tins and sprinkle with espresso salt and crumbled bacon.

6) Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean.

7) Serve with eggs and enjoy!

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If you need something to wake you out of a sugar induced coma from Halloween ... this will do just the trick.  Although, I can't say that it will help your waistline any more than Halloween candy!

It's the Hisega Lodge Breakfast Pizza.  Located in Rapid City, South Dakota, innkeepers Carol and Ken serve this to guests before they embark on outdoor adventures in the Black Hills.  But this is, not your typical pizza by any stretch.

While I must confess that ... yes ... I have ... at some point ... had cold pizza for breakfast.  In college.

And it was ... Yuk.

So the thought of having pizza for breakfast instantly brought back that memory and made my upper lip curl up like Elvis.

BUT

This is a hot and delightfully tasty good-morning version!  It's everything that is great about breakfast on a round of dough with a little added Mediterranean flavor.

And it is ... YUM!

Let's get to it, shall we?

Now, there are quite a few ingredients to this puppy ... so if you're the type of cook that usually pulls things out of the refrigerator or cabinets as you need them, I would recommend getting everything out on the counter first before beginning.  (I have the full list of ingredients and recipe at the end of the post.) You'll also want to take a quick look at how to roast red peppers.  It's really easy, but I recommend doing it the night before you make the pizza for breakfast in order to save some time.

Pre-heat your oven to 425 degrees and place your cream cheese in a bowl next to the oven so that the heat coming from it will start to soften it up.  Ideally you want it to be around room temperature so it spreads nicely.

The Hisega Lodge makes their own dough with biscuit mix, which is another great breakfast staple to add to the mix.  But just for fun,  I chose to take the opportunity to use dough from our local pizzeria, PizzAmore.

When this clever little idea popped in my brain, I asked my boyfriend if he could pick up a "wad" of pizza dough from PizzAmora on his way home.  He stared at me blankly for a minute and then asked, "exactly what unit of measurement is a 'wad'?"  Ha!  That's where all the trouble and fun began.

Okay, I was having a "ball" (get it? a ball!  Buwahahaha) playing with pizza dough.  This picture in particular made me giggle since it looked like I was holding it in my mouth ... though I had just tossed it in the air.

"Look ma, no hands!"

You can see the wild gleam in my eye from the fun that Iwas having.  I did say this was the "grown up" version of pizza for breakfast, right?   Oops!

Anyway, you want to mix a little flour and cornmeal for your surface (and your fingers) to prevent sticking.  I probably have WAY too much there.  You can use a little less.

Pizza dough is one of those things that just doesn't want stay where you put it.  If there is one little trick I learned from watching Jessie at PizzAmore, it's that you've got to let gravity help you stretch the dough.

Pick it up by one side ... let it start to droop .. then start moving it quickly between your hands like you are moving a wheel.

After it is about the size you want it, place it on your pizza pan or stone.

Even after all that stretching ... it still wants to shrink back to it's original ball like a tight pair of spandex!

Jessie has another trick for this that he calls "spanking the dough"

Eh ehm.

Well.  You could read into that if you wanted to ... but I'll tell you that I saw him try this at PizzAmore and it more like smacking it between your hands.

I'm digging myself into a hole here, aren't I?

Anyway, he then does the whole "hand tossed spin" thing with the dough above his head.  Since the dough would be mid air for a couple of seconds ... and I don't trust myself as a pizza dough spanker/smacker/twirler/etc  ... I'm going to make sure it stays on the table where I can make sure it has a good chance at becoming breakfast instead of my dog's treat.  And believe me, she's right by my feet ready and waiting ...

On to the toppings.  Make sure your cream cheese is smooth and soft.  Almost like frosting so that it's easy to spread.

Spread it over the dough ...

Oh, and PS ... that is a fairly new baking stone that has only had a couple of uses.  It's not "dirty" ... just needs a total bath in oil and some curing.

Okay. Now that that is clarified.  Add your hashbrowns and then sprinkle with mozzarella and Parmesan.  The recipe calls for 2 1/2 cups of hashbrowns ... but I think my pizza crust is a little smaller than what they make so I didn't need quite as much.

Next, chop up some pre-cooked bacon and green onions and spread those on top of the cheese and hashbrowns.

Slice up some artichoke heats ...

Mmm ... starting to look YUM!

Next, layer on your roasted red peppers and sprinkle on more cheese.

Add some capers and pop it into the oven for 15 minutes while you prepare your eggs.

Now THIS was a neat flavor that I'll have to add to other recipes.

White pepper.

It's a little more mild then regular black pepper, but then again it packs a little more heat.  Neat-o.

Add a 1/4 tsp of white pepper and 3 large eggs to a mixing bowl and whisk together.

Take the pizza out of the oven and SLOWLY pour the scrambled eggs on top.  You want them to fill into every open nook and cranny.  If you pour fast ... they'll shimmy off the top of the other ingredients and ooze over the edge.

Bake for another 20 minutes until the eggs are solid.  A great tip that the Hisega Lodge added was to then slice the pizza and add back to the oven for an additional 5 minutes.  It's definitely a "deep dish" style pizza,  so the extra 5 minutes helps it cook through.

You may even need a bigger pizza cutter!  I know I did!

I had forgotten all about the cream cheese we spread first on the crust ... until I took a bite.  Woooooow.

The cream cheese with the bacon and eggs and salty capers is mouth watering.  In fact, I'd say the white pepper and the cream cheese are the two "secret" ingredients that make this recipe pop.

Are you an Innkeeper?  Do you have a favorite breakfast recipe you'd like to share?  Email it to InnTheKitchen@gmail.com and we'll test it in our kitchen and post it here on www.InnTheKitchen.com

Hisega Lodge Breakfast Pizza

6-8 servings

Ingredients

2 cups biscuit mix

1/2 cup water

8 oz cream cheese, softened

6 green onions, finely sliced

6 canned, quartered artichokes

6 slices bacon, cooked and chopped

1/2 cup roasted red peppers, cut in strips

1 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella

2 1/2 cups frozen hashbrowns

1 1/2 tbsp capers

1/2 (additional) cup mozzarella

14 cup grated Parmesan cheese

3 eggs, whisked with 1 tbsp water and 1/2 tsp white pepper.

Directions

In a bowl, combine the biscuit mix and water and stir 20 strokes. Turn onto a floured surface
and knead 10 times. Roll into circle and put into a 12-inch pizza pan. OR roll into a rectangle
approximately 14-inch X 10-inches and place on the bottom and 1/2 inch up the sides of a
13X9 inch baking dish.

Spread the softened cream cheese evenly over the dough. Place the hashbrowns over the
cream cheese and follow with 1 1/2 cups mozzarella and the parmesan cheese. Sprinkle the
bacon, onions, and artichokes over that and arrange the red pepper strips over all. Sprinkle the
1/2 cup additional mozzarella over all and sprinkle the capers over that.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Bake pizza in middle of oven for 15 minutes and then pour the
egg mixture carefully over the pizza. Bake another 20 minutes until crust is golden brown and
the eggs are just solid. I cut the pieces when the pizza is almost done and then put it back in
the oven for 5 minutes to finish baking. Let stand 5 minutes before serving. Serve pizza with
fresh tomato and spinach.

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Yesterday we headed over to the Mount Dora Historic Inn to learn how to make ... quite possibly... the best omelet I've EVER had. Seriously. First of all, the salty scent of frying bacon got the best of my empty belly when we first stepped in the door. But when Chef/Innkeeper Jim Tuttle walked out with a bottle of chardonnay and said, "we're going to need some wine to make this breakfast," I knew it was going to be a fabulous day.

Chef Jim shared with us his secret to making the best omelet, cooking asparagus, and even a little dance that makes water boil faster. The recipe of the day was his Bacon Asparagus Stuffed Omelet with Buerre Blanc sauce. It's the perfect gourmet breakfast for two.

****Now, there are so many different methods for making an omelet. Some add water, some add milk, some cook with butter, some with oil, there really is no "wrong" way ******

Want to make your own awesome omelet? Here's what you'll need

Freshly cooked bacon and asparagus, eggs, 1/2 stick of butter, 1/2 Cup fresh grated cheese, dried mustard powder, salt, freshly ground pepper, a dash or two of Tabasco

First, start off by taking a look at my side notes for creating the buerre blanc sauce and perfectly cooked asparagus.

Now, let's get started on the perfect omelet. Chef Jim has a couple of secret ingredients I've never added to my omelet mix ... Tabasco and mustard powder. The first step is an easy and familiar one ... just break your eggs into a deep mixing bowl and whisk together.

Then sift your mustard powder through a sieve to break up any clumps and add about 5 "dashes" of Tabasco to taste. Personally, I usually don't like hot sauce, especially on my breakfast. But adding the Tabasco at this stage gives it a little more flavor without the kick. Also add just a dash of water (Chef Jim's not known for measuring things) and whisk together again. You're about ready to start your omelet.

Bacon. Bacon. Bacon. I hear the voice of that pooch in the bacon strips commercial chattering on in my head.  I'm just as crazy about bacon as he is ... except ... of course ... this is the real thing.

Prepare the bacon as you normally would. The TIP here is, after you've finished cooking it stove top, sandwich between paper towels and microwave for about 10 to 15 seconds to further absorb the extra grease. This tip makes for extra crispy bacon.

Chef Jim likes to use butter AND olive oil to coat his frying pan. So, just in case the olive oil and asparagus threw you for a loop and gave you the impression that this is a "healthy breakfast" ...  let me just say that the taste is worth EVERY calorie. Especially the buerre blanc sauce. Mmm. On with the omelet .

Chef Jim quoted Julia Child as saying, "an omelet contains a hard outer shell of eggs containing a soft scramble." Here's his tip on how to get an evenly cooked omelet. Lift up the cooked edge and allow the uncooked egg to flow around it. This creates layers of cooked egg. See the sequence below ...

At this point, you want to flip your omelet and layer with the goodies you've pre-prepared such as the bacon, asparagus and sprinkle with cheese.

Here's another extra step I had never considered. Jim pops his omelets in the oven for 3 minutes at 375 degrees in order to bring everything to the same temperature. Note, if you are going to do this, you need to make sure you have oven-safe frying pans (without any plastic parts) and remember to use oven mitts to remove them!

Flip them onto your serving plate ... drizzle with buerre blanc sauce ... savor the moment ... sprinkle with paprika ...

Bacon & Asparagus Stuffed Omelet

Ingredients

Bacon
Asparagus
7 Eggs
1/2 stick of Butter
1 Cup Fresh Grated Cheese (we used muenster and cheddar)
Dried Mustard Powder
Salt
Freshly Ground Pepper
Tabasco

Directions

1) Create your buerre blanc sauce and perfectly cooked asparagus.

2) Break your eggs into a deep mixing bowl and whisk together.

3) Sift your mustard powder through a sieve to break up any clumps and add about 5 "dashes" of Tabasco to whisked eggs.

4) Prepare the bacon as you normally would. The TIP here is, after you've finished cooking it stove top, sandwich between paper towels and microwave for about 10 to 15 seconds to further absorb the extra grease. This tip makes for extra crispy bacon.

5) Add butter and olive oil to coat frying pan.  Bring heat to medium high.

6) As egg is cooking, lift up the edge and allow the uncooked egg to flow around it. This creates layers of cooked egg.

7) When omelet is firm,  flip and layer with the goodies you've pre-prepared such as the bacon, asparagus and sprinkle with cheese.

8 ) Add omelets to the oven for 3 minutes at 375 degrees in order to bring everything to the same temperature.

9) After baking for 3 minutes, slide omelet onto your serving plate ... drizzle with buerre blanc sauce ... savor the moment ... sprinkle with paprika ... and enjoy!

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