Edgar Allan Poe October: Pumpkin Alfredo Sauce

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"It is impossible to say how first the idea entered my brain; 

but once conceived, it haunted me day and night."

Edgar Allan Poe, "The Tell-Tale Heart"

My hands-down favorite picture book as a little girl was this version of Cinderella.  I swooned over her golden hair, her elegant dresses, and her pie-making skills.  But the part that endeared me to her forever was that pumpkin patch in her yard.

I don't know what it is about pumpkin, but everything it touches seems to taste better---including cookies, and cupcakes, pancakes, and pecan bars.  But here is the real magic in pumpkin:  it even makes savory things taste better, too, like alfredo sauce (which is pretty much perfection already).

I fiddled with a batch of alfredo last night until I had a pumpkin alfredo concoction worthy of hitting the dinner table.  And while my people may not have the most "refined" tastes, they enjoyed this meal immensely.  

(In fact, I almost awarded my husband an Oscar for his What About Bob? dinner-table impersonation.  "Mmmm!  Mmmm!  Is this sauce hand-shucked?")

Pumpkin Alfredo Sauce

1 stick butter

8 oz cream cheese, softened

2 cups half and half

1 cup parmesan cheese 

1 cup canned pumpkin

2 teaspoons crushed garlic

1/2 to 1 teaspoon salt (depending on taste)

1 teaspoon dried thyme

1/4 teaspoon dried sage

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

Melt butter in a saucepan and add cream cheese.  Mix until no lumps remain.  Slowly add half and half until sauce is smooth.   Add remaining ingredients and cook on low until parmesan is fully melted.  Serve over hot noodles.  Serves 10.

Really, the only thing that could have made our dinner any better last night is if it had been accompanied by a pumpkin pie.  

Where is that darned Cinderella with her pumpkin patch and pie-making skills when I need her?

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