Hi friends! Hope you all had a happy Thanksgiving! Ours was a whirlwind of visiting family in Greenville and Athens, there was lots of cooking, eating, long walks and a few too many Fixer Upper episodes. Have you all started holiday shopping? I’m such a last minute procrastinator when it comes to that stuff. And honestly I’ve just got baby stuff on the brain these days, like all I want for Christmas is cloth diapers – did I seriously just type that? What is happening to me? I love looking through gift lists that bloggers share like this one and this one. Here are some items I would add to the list: this linen robe, these slippers and these cute little lunch containers. Oh and this Saltapasta Stainless Steel Sauté Pan from Lagostina! The tri-ply stainless steel construction ensures fast and even heating throughout and the shape is great for not only pasta dishes but stir-fry, veggies and more. The sauce I made here is perhaps a little more rich than most recipes I share on Earthy Feast but hey, ’tis the season, plus the smell of lots of garlic and sage poaching in butter may just be the best smell ever.

Ingredients for the Creamy Butternut Squash Sauce

1 butternut squash

2 cloves of garlic

6 tablespoons butter

1/4 cup cream or half and half

a small handful fresh sage leaves

2 ounces parmesan cheese

1 teaspoon salt, more to taste

fresh ground pepper

your favorite pasta

Directions for the Sauce 

Shave, shred or thinly slice the squash. Mince the garlic. In a large pan, on medium heat add the minced garlic, sage and salt and pepper, sauté until fragrant. Add the thinly sliced butternut squash and sauté 5 to 10 minutes more or until the squash is tender. While the squash is cooking, cook the noodles. I made homemade noodles using this recipe, but this dish is almost equally as delicious with your favorite dried kind. When the squash is tender add the cream or half and half and turn heat down a bit. Toss the noodles into the sauce, add some grated parmesan cheese and taste for salt and pepper.

Notes

I received the Lagostina Saltapasta Pan in exchange for an honest review.

Yay! I’m back and I somehow survived two weekends in a row of hosting baby showers at my house. Mark and I joked that we should just do it again this weekend now that we’ve worked out all the kinks, ha! But we’re taking a little trip to the mountains instead – just the two of us, for some much needed rest and recovery. There’s still time to get the baby room ready, right? I mean, I’m only 30 weeks, it’s not time to stress quite yet. Our baby was showered with so many nice gifts, lots of cute onesies in gender-neutral grey and creams – we’re waiting to find out if it’s a boy or a girl. Lots of nice books and little wooden toys, a fun jumper and some carriers. My friend Kelly gave me this amazing book which I can’t wait to cook from, I’ll share a recipe with you guys in the upcoming weeks for sure! We cooked up quite a spread! Be sure to check out the party menu below! I couldn’t have done it without my mom, she made all the amazing cakes – I’m so lucky to have her! I wish I would’ve taken more pictures but with all the prepping, cooking, hosting and entertaining I could only snap a few.

Sweets

Frankfurter Kranz (German Raspberry Buttercream Cake)
French Apple Tart with Rum Glaze
Pear Frangipane Tart
Spitzbuben (Linzer Cookies)

Savory

Fennel, Apple, Manchego Salad
Spinach and Feta Rugelach from this book (I made my own pastry dough tho, using this recipe)
Mushroom Quiche from this book – which turned out amazing!
Homemade Pimento Cheese Dip served with fresh baked local bread
A green salad with pomegranates, pistachios, shallots and a pistachio oil/lemon juice vinaigrette

Red and white wines, sparking ciders and this festive punch to drink.