Cooking with pumpkin

Do y'all groove on pumpkin? I love it, in pretty much everything: bread, muffins, tarts, pasta, roasted... Oddly enough, I forgo pumpkin most often in pie as it never really seems to stand up next to goodies like pecan or blackberry or even a good apple. Anyway, I commenced pumpkin season this year with a few loaves of whole-wheat pumpkin prune bread which is always good and is devoured over here seemingly instantaneously. I'll post that recipe in a bit. It freezes well, is great for pregnant women (high in folate, iron, fiber and magnesium) if you are one or know any, or makes a lovely housewarming, hostess or "I'm thinking of you" gift.

I then, as you're probably aware, moved on to pumpkin plum muffins with pepitas, and I'm now eyeing a pumpkin agnolotti recipe. Oh My God. For whatever reason, I find agnolotti to be a superior form of pasta.  Native to the Piemonte, or Piedmont, region of Italy, agnolotti are traditionally square, about 1", and stuffed with a variety of fillings. Several years ago, T and I were in San Francisco and had the incredibly good fortune to eat at Quince. It was one of the best meals I've ever eaten, anywhere in the world; nearly perfect was it except for the fact that I was pregnant and couldn't partake of their wonderful wine list. I've made up for it since. Anyway, we had razor clam crostini and some ethereal pastas. Tom had the rabbit-lamb-other meat agnolotti, and it was one of the few times I've seen him rendered nearly speechless by a dish.

Circling back to the current recipe, it's simple as can be but I know it would be fabulous. You make a stuffing of pumpkin, Parm, and a teensy bit of sugar, lemon juice, salt and pep, stuff in wonton wrappers, boil and serve with a butter-crème fraîche sauce topped with toasted pepitas. I think you could add a little nutmeg to the filling and not be sad at all. You could also add some sage to the butter sauce and be pretty satisfied too.

I intend to work on a pumpkin cheesecake (probs using some goat cheese) for Thanksgiving and the holiday season in total, and to do a simple roast with olive oil and sage, for one. So check back in as I'll be cooking and posting these recipes over the coming weeks.