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I made Puttanesca last night, and you know what? It only took 15 minutes total - what a treat!!! No Kitchen Aid, no nut toasting, no rolling of pastry - some quick sauteeing, simmering and boiling of water for rotini (pasta from a box as opposed to homemade - what a delight!), and it was over.

And even better, it was delicious.

This might not be the most bizarre thing ever, but my hubby is kind of skeptical about how delicious this is - pasta-filled omelettes!

I had a pasta dish that was rigatoni with summer squash, zucchini and corn. The next day I used it as stuffing for an omelette and it was divine! I'm thinking of trying it with a homemade marinara sometime or other pastas I make. It's a perfect meal, too.

These are from Martha and are out-of-control amazing.

http://www.marthastewart.com/recipe/pumpkin-cookies-with-brown-butter-icing?autonomy_kw=pumpkin%20cookie

Just the other night, I cooked up steamed it and on the side made a quick sauce of part-butter-part-olive oil, heated up. Then I threw in some garlic, cooked it a couple minutes (not browning it, though) and then added a squeeze of lemon juice. Pour it over the broccoli and you're done.

@Bangie - how can you go wrong with that recipe? It sounds divine! My family used to cook the broccoli up with some red pepper, carrot and garlic and then toss it together with cavatelli (and, of course, parmigiano e romano).

Okay, sadly, I'm about to get all sentimental, but oh, well, here goes:

Obama has inspired a great deal of hope in me, and I have to say that a chocolate chip cookie does the same. I bake like a fiend, making French tarts with fig cream, white-peach/black raspberry pies with a splash of rosewater, and multi-layer cakes with homemade lemon curd, but a good chocolate chip cookie is something that brings me indescribable joy. I'm hoping that an Obama presidency will not only turn this country around from the (sorry, Dubya-supporters!) infernal mess of the last eight years, but also help to truly start liberating us from the curse of racism that's plagued us since the nation's early days.

So, yes, the humble chocolate chip cookie - a perfect confection that never ceases to bring me delight.

Why do you think I titled it this way? A simple "Question about roasting chestnuts" is all fine and dandy, but after a week of more election hell and financial miseries, we all could use a little perking up, no?

Anyway, no, the house doesn't stink. The weird part is that I kind of think they have a flavor reminiscent of turkey (maybe it's just a vegetarian's bizarre gustatory hallucination). My plan tonight is to make chestnut soup, traditional Italian fare.

There's a wonderfully rich chocolate cake from Dorie Greenspan's Paris Sweets. It's pretty dense, so if you're looking for fluffy, this ain't it.

Grandmother's Creamy Chocolate Cake/Gateau au Chocolat Grand-Mere

2 sticks unsalted butter, cut into 16 pieces
8 oz. bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
3/4 cup sugar
4 large eggs, at room temp.
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
Whipped cream, creme fraiche

1. Center a rack in the oven and preheat to 300. Butter an 8-inch square pan and line it with alumninum foil. Have ready a larger pan that can hold the cake pan and water (to make a bain-marie).
2. Put the butter in a heavy medium saucepan, then add the chocolate and the sugar. Place the pan over medium-low heat and, stirring almost constantly, heat until the butter, chocolate, and sugar are melted and well belnded. Remove the pan from the heat and set it on the counter for 3 mintues.
3. One by one, stir the eggs into the chocolate mixture, using a whisk. Sift the flour over the misture and stir it in as well. Rap the saucepan on the counter to deflate any air bubbles and pour the batter into the prepared pan.
4. Put the cake pan into the larger pan, fill the larger pan with enough hot water to come halfway up the sides of the cake pan, and slip the setup into the oven. Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until the cake is set on top and a knife inserted in the cneter comes out streaky but not wet. Lift the cake pan out of the water bath and place it on a rack to cool to room temperature. Chill the cake for at least 1 hour before unmolding.
5. When the cake is cold, gently turn it over onto a serving platter, lift off the pan, and carefully remove the foil. The cake is meant to be served upside down, with its sleeeker side facing the world. If you'd like, it can be served cold or at room temperature with a schoop of whipped cream, creme fraiche, or ice cream.

I finally started to get bread right when I realized that the times suggested in recipes for rising were just nonsense. Instead, I relied on the look of it. If it hasn't doubled in bulk, it's really not ready and let it sit longer.

That's my biggest tip.

I'm not too surprised that the pumpkin flavor didn't come through - there's really no substitute for a real, honest-to-god squash, roasted and pureed. (Great idea on the butternut, Blue Iris!)

I find that experimenting with different heirloom varieties from the farmer's markets yield differing results, but there's always a definite squash flavor.

Buttercup squash makes a great tea bread, by the way, and Kabocha squash yields nice results, too.

I'm not sure how crazy you want to get, but try making your own basil pesto in a mortar and pestle, then top the bread with it and some wonderful cheese (asiago, fontina for a creamy option, even goat cheese will work) and broil those bad boys.

For the pesto, just throw a bunch of fresh basil (1-2 cups?), one good-sized clove of chopped garlic, a couple tbsp. chopped fresh parsley into the mortar and peslte and grind away. Add olive oil during the process, and then add a few tbsp. of pine nuts and 1/3-1/2 cup romano cheese. Keep adding oil and grinding until the consistency is right.This is one of those things that you do by taste, look, and feel so just go for it.

If not this, then I'm with Hungry Christel who mentioned the figs. You can't ever go wrong with fresh figs. (If you want try fresh figs and prosciutto - divine!)

On gay cable channel Logo, there's a show called The Big Gay Sketch Show (think SNL for us homos), and they have a Paula Deen bit where she has a food delivery service, which includes ham deep fried and covered in marshmallows, packages wrapped with bacon and red-licorice, and other trash that might sound far-fetched but is kind of horrifyingly accurate (especially after I saw her make a marsmallow, chocolate and whipped cream dessert "sandwich" on her show).