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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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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Here in Florida, since the weather stays warm, the only way to know if the season has changed is when the store fronts change their displays.  And since orange and black and purple Halloween stuff is around every corner I turn when shopping ... we must be entering into my favorite season ... FALL!!!  I'm glad all the stores have their stuff out early because the month of October seems to fly by too fast.  I say, better to get started sooner rather than later ... even if it's still 90 degrees out.

Fall brings with it many big festivals to our quaint little town and one I'm really looking forward to this year is the 25th Annual Craft Fair. The sweet smell of kettle corn, funnel cakes and cinnamon brooms.  The buzz of the crowd.  And the many really cool artisan crafts lining the streets.

During our last festival, I had the opportunity to meet Teresa Haun, craftsman artist and creator of Mind's Eye Journals. She stayed at our cottages during Mount Dora's Annual Art Festival and we instantly became buds while sharing travel stories and philosophies on life around a fire pit while roasting marshmallows and making smores.

Teresa resides in Tahoe, but has spent the last year with her husband innkeeping at the Silver Forset Inn located in Montana between art shows. Being an innkeeper has given them both the opportunity to express their creative side in the kitchen mixing ingredients and and flavors.

She's coming back this October and I can't wait!  Teresa recently sent me two of their favorite recipes, and this one below is the perfect thing to wake your senses out of any Halloween-candy-sugar-induced coma you may find yourself in during the coming months.

I trimmed the recipe in half since I was just cooking for two ... however, I have the full recipe at the end of this post.

Here are the players ... full character roll listed at the bottom with the recipe.

Italian seasonings include marjoram, thyme, rosemary, sage, oregano and basil and are very fragrant. Usually you can find this in a gourmet spice blend. Once you add them to the simmering butter ... the aroma will lure people into your kitchen asking, "whatchya makin'?" Meaning ... "I'm going to get to taste this, right?"

Melt the butter in a sauce pan and add the spices and crushed garlic.  The garlic crusher takes two hands for me ... it was a big clove ... but no vampires will be lurking around here for Halloween with this recipe for sure!  Set your oven to 350 degrees to start warming up.

Garlic, spices and melted butter ... is anyone hovering over your shoulder making "Mmm" noises yet? I recommend doing this on low heat so that the butter doesn't bubble or burn.

While your waiting, wash your mushrooms and place them in a cake pan or cookie sheet with edges gill side up with the stems removed.

When the butter is fully melted and the spices have simmered for a minute or two,  evenly divide the mixture in all the caps. My baking dish is clear, so it looks like I'm doing this on my counter top.   Bake the caps for about 20 minutes at 350 degrees.

While your caps are cooking, your ready to start poaching your eggs. "I don't have an egg poacher," you say. No problem! You can poach eggs without an official egg poacher.
Next, add a tsp (maybe a dash more) of white vinegar. This helps the eggs stick together as one piece instead of making a stringy egg drop soup.

My first tip, bring the water to a boil, then turn down the heat so it is more of a simmer and not a rumbling bubbly boil.

And the secret ... crack your eggs into a small bowl and slide the egg from the bowl to the water.  This also helps them stay in one piece as opposed to plopping into some stringy Saturn-shape. Also, if you happen to break the yolk, you won't be dirtying up your water.

The eggs will take about 3 to 5 minute to cook depending on the firmness you like. I would start the process when your caps are almost complete. If you need to, you can add your eggs to an ice bath to stop the cooking process while you're preparing other things. We'll warm them up again in the oven with the mushroom caps.

You can use a slotted spoon to corral the egg when you first slide it into the water. Cover and cook for about 3 to 4 minutes.  For this recipe ... be sure not to over-cook the eggs as you're gonna add them to the oven as well.

While your eggs are cooking (and this is going to happen quickly, so don't be like me and wait until the last minute to get your spinach out of the fridge), saute/steam your spinach in another frying pan with a little olive oil and water. This should also only take about 3 to 4 minutes. We'll be flash broiling all the ingredients together in a little bit.

At this point, your caps should be done. Take them out of the oven and switch the temperature on the oven from 350 to Broil.

Arrange your spinach onto oven safe plates and gently slice your mushroom caps onto the spinach.

Next, you'll add the cream. I was a goof and forgot to divide the cream in half when I was reducing the recipe for two people. So ... I have a pint ... and at least I can use what's left over to cream my coffee. If you are baking 4 mushroom caps, then a pint is perfect. If you're only baking two, then a pint will drown them so don't add the whole thing.

Now that my confession is over with ... add two eggs to each cap and then drizzle with a cream.

The cream will blend with the butter, garlic and seasonings and create a rich savory sauce.

Sprinkle with grated Parmesan. This is getting good ...

Cover with foil and broil (didn't mean for that to rhyme) for about 3 to 4 minutes.

Just enough for the cheese to melt.

Mmm. Delish. When you remove from the oven, sprinkle with chopped parsley and enjoy!  Be sure to add the plates to a charger for a moment as they will be hot!

Portobello Eggs

Ingredients

2 Portabello Mushroom Caps
1 Garlic Clove
1 tbsp Italian Seasonings
3 tbsp Melted Butter
1 tsp White Vinegar
(not pictured and used for poaching eggs)
4 cups Spinach
(totally forgot this in the fridge come picture time! but it's in the recipe!)
1 pint Heavy Cream
(yeah, I should have reduced this to half ... at least I had some left over cream for my coffee!)
1/2 cup Grated Parmesan
Parsley for Garnish

Directions

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees

2) Melt the butter, add the crushed garlic and Italian seasonings. Using a cake pan or cookie sheet with edges, place the caps gill side up and without the stem. Equally divide the butter mixture between caps and bake for about 20 minutes. Caps should be cooked but not shriveled ... firm to the touch and just a little light color left. When the caps are done, remove them and cover with foil. Turn the oven up to broil.

3) While caps are cooking, start your poached egg water. It should almost be at a boil, but not rolling bubbling boil. Add a teaspoon of white vinegar to help bind the eggs. Crack the eggs one at a time into a small bowl, and slide the egg from the bowl to the water to poach your eggs. This helps contain the egg better and prevent it from spreading out and getting stringy in the water. The eggs should only take about 4 minutes depending on the firmness desired.

4) In a separate large frying pan, saute/steam your spinach in just a touch of olive oil and a little water.

5) Arrange spinach on oven safe plates. Place 1 cap on each bed of spinach, place 2 eggs on each cap.

6) Drizzle with heavy cream over the whole plate. (this mixes with the butter mixture adn creates a rich sauce) Sprinkle with Parmesan and flash under the broiler, just enough to melt the cheese a little. Garnish with chopped parsley and serve. (I like to "chop" my parsley with kitchen scissors)

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