The Pumpkinocalypse Has Begun

If October was official pork month, then the entire 4th quarter of the year should be devoted to pumpkins. Since the last week of October, pumpkins have been sacrificed and then reborn in my kitchen as the following:

• Pumpkin muffins,
• Pumpkin scones,
• Pumpkin pancakes,
• Pumpkin soup,
• Pumpkin cookies
• Pumpkin bread 
• Pumpkin on a stick
• Pumpkin spread on cardboard
• Pumpkin and trout

So tonight, I wanted to A) use pumpkin in a savory dish for dinner, and B) knock it off with the small scale baked goods and go for the gold with a pumpkin pie.

The end result tonight was Penne with Andouille in a Pumpkin Sauce:

Enlarged to show awesomeness

I kinda just subbed pumpkin into a tomato-based sauce, replaced the Italian herbs with more "fall/Thanksgiving/pumpkin" appropriate spices, and added zesty Andouille sausage.

And then, the pie:

'Nuff said about that.

I had been using canned pumpkin puree, but I just ran across sweet baking pumpkins at Whole Foods, so it looks like there is little hope in sight for the end of the Great Fall Pumpkin Massacre of Aught Ten.

--Isaac

PS: I tried a sample of cranberry white cheddar cheese during the previously discussed trip to Whole Foods, and it was FANtastic. I recommend you go get some right now for your cereal tomorrow morning.