Something with Pumpkin for My Valentine

It was five years ago that I made my then boyfriend, now husband, pumpkin cookies. I think at the time he was a little skeptical of what pumpkin was doing in a cookie. Apparently, up until that point in his life, pumpkin came out only once a year and in the form of a pie, never a cookie (unless of course it was a pumpkin for carving). He tried my pumpkin cookies though, and after just one bite declared his love for those pumpkin cookies, crowned them King of all cookies and now request them throughout the year regardless of the number of months that separate us from Thanksgiving. Five years ago, I had no idea that I had created a monster, a pumpkin loving monster, who over and over again request “something with pumpkin” whenever I ask him what he would like for a particular occasion.  

As Valentine's Day rolled around this year, I knew I wanted to make him a very special meal, one that would show just how much I love him and how thankful I am that he is my Valentine, not just on February 14th, but every day of the year. But when I asked him if he had any special request for his Valentine’s Day dinner the only thing I got out of him was “something with pumpkin.” No decadent chocolate soufflé, no chocolate candies in the shape of hearts, nothing that had anything to do with romance, love or anything Valentine’s Day related. He wanted pumpkin. I should have suspected as much seeing as how on his last birthday he did the same thing and requested a Pumpkin Cake rather than a traditional birthday cake (darn those pumpkin cookies). But no, I was caught off guard once again and needed to come up with “something with pumpkin” that was worthy to follow the beef tenderloin with red wine mushroom sauce, mushroom risotto, broccoli and rosemary bread dinner that I had planned for that evening. 

We didn’t need another course added to our meal, so pumpkin soup was a no go. I was already planning on mushroom risotto, so pumpkin risotto wouldn’t work. Dessert was the only course remaining that I could squeeze in something pumpkin. I couldn’t make pumpkin cookies though, they were already made too often and just not elegant or special enough for this occasion, no matter how tasty they were. Pumpkin Pie was out of the question, it just didn’t feel right. I had already made Pumpkin Cake with Maple Frosting for his birthday and really did not feel like repeating myself. So in desperation I turned to my favorite culinary reads and once again was not let down. Fine Cooking provided me with the perfect “something with pumpkin” recipe that was elegant, simple to make and added the perfect touch to our Valentine's Day's meal: Pumpkin Cake with Sage. 


I started off by combining all of the dry ingredients into one bowl: flour, baking powder, ground ginger and salt.

Next, I melted a stick and a half of butter and freshly chopped sage in a small sauce pan.

Once the butter mixture had cooled, I combined it with a cup of sugar, a cup of brown sugar, fresh pumpkin puree, 3 eggs and a splash of vanilla. 

Next, I gradually added in the flour mixture and stirred until combined.

Finally, I scrapped the batter into a greased bundt cake pan and baked at 375 degrees for about 45 minutes. 

Once the cake had cooled, I removed it from the pan and decorated with with fresh leaves of sage. 

Although completely unexpected, this "something with pumpkin" was a great addition to our Valentine's Day. I had been worried that a pumpkin dessert would not be special enough on the day ruled by chocolate and I really wanted to make the perfect dinner for my very deserving husband. So as he took his first bite, I watched in great anticipation. My Valentine fell in love though and said it was even better than his pumpkin birthday cake. He is somehow already trying to determine when he can request this cake again... Memorial Day, 4th of July, some random day in March? In the meantime though, he has plenty of leftovers to keep this Valentine's Day going for the rest of the week. 

Happy Valentine's Day to all! And to my Valentine, thank you for being mine. 

Cucina Italiana

My husband, Adam, and I have been talking about planning a trip to Europe for quite some time now. Yesterday, we finalized our plans and in honor of this trip which will end in Italy, I wanted to make a special Italian dish to celebrate. One of my favorite Italian chefs is Lidia Matticchio Bastianich who owns many wonderful restaurants including Lidia’s in Kansas City. I decided her recipe of fish with pepper sauce would be the perfect way to celebrate our upcoming adventure and learn a little bit more about Italian cooking and culture.

This recipe originates in the Le Marche region of central Italy. It includes red and yellow bell peppers, olive oil, salt, onion, celery, peperoncino flakes, marjoram, sage, orange zest, canned Italian tomatoes, and fresh white fish. First you prepare the sauce, then lightly brown the fish before letting it complete the cooking process in the simmering sauce. 

Lidia’s recipe calls for any white fish and she recommends using an oily fish such as bluefish or mackerel. I chose to go with Alaskan Cod fillet and this worked perfectly with the rich pepper sauce. The first step of the cooking process is to roast the peppers for about 1/2 an hour until the skins are loose enough to be easily removed. Discard the seeds and chop the peppers to be used later.

While the peppers are roasting, be sure to chop the necessary ingredients so that everything is ready to go when you need it. Dice up one onion and two sticks of celery. Next heat the olive oil in a large skillet or cast iron pan before adding the onion and celery and a dash of salt and peperoncino flakes. Allow to cook for a few minutes before adding in fresh springs of marjoram and sage, the zest of one whole orange and the Italian tomatoes plus a cup of water. From here the ingredients need time to soften and meld together, so bring the pot to a simmer and allow to cook for about 20 minutes or so. 

After this is complete and you have added in the roasted peppers, Lidia’s recipe suggest pouring the food into a mill to stain the sauce. I chose to actually go a different route and blend the sauce with an immersion blender. This allowed me to create a thicker sauce which I thought paired wonderfully with the fish. Either way would work, it just depends on what you are looking for. 

After completing this step, it is time to begin cooking the fish. Lidia seasons and flours her fish before frying it in oil. I chose to only season the fish with salt and freshly cracked black pepper and skipped the flour. I then lightly browned the fish on both sides. For me this is a very important step that can make or break the rest of the dish. You want to heat about a tablespoon of oil in a large skillet. Once the oil is heated completed, lay the fillets flesh side down in the pan and do not touch it for several minutes. If you continue to check the fish to see how the cooking is progressing, chances are it will not create the crust that you are looking for and the fish will end up ripping into multiple pieces. As much as you want to, you have to resist the urge to look at the fish. After about 3 minutes or so, carefully flip the fish one time and brown the other side for a few minutes.

Finally, once the fish is close to being cooked all the way through, add your pepper sauce to the pan and bring it to a simmer. Let the fish finish cooking for a few more minutes in the sauce before serving. This process allows the sauce to infuse into the fish creating a much more flavorful dish. 

Lidia suggests sprinkling parsley on top of the fish when serving, instead, I picked some fresh basil from our garden and used that as our final flavor. The basil definitely added additional elements of freshness and boldness to the dish. Lastly, along with the fish and pepper sauce, I served sautéed spinach and fresh french bread. The spinach can easily be sautéed at the same time that the fish is cooking. 

This was the perfect meal to celebrate our upcoming trip. I cannot wait to bring back and share with you all the many wonderful recipes of Le Marche and several other regions of Italy. Until then, we will continue to look forward to our trip with the help of Lidia. Buon divertimento!