Halloween Pasta w/ Butternut Squash Sauce


OK, so this recipe is really inspired by or let’s say heavily borrowed from a recipe that I saw on a Barilla Campanelle box years ago. I saw some Reggano Halloween Shaped Pasta at Aldi recently, and I thought the butternut squash sauce would hit the right color and flavor for fall.

I’m not fancy enough for pancetta, so I used bacon pieces, and I skipped the balsamic vinegar and added a dash of heavy cream because why not? I didn’t measure anything, but here’s what I did;

Ingredients:

  • 1 bag Reganno Halloween Shaped Pasta (or whatever you have on hand, really).
  • ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
  • â…“ cup bacon pieces
  • 1 small Onion chopped
  • 2 small butternut squash, cubed (It was about 8 cups)
  • 2 cups chicken broth
  • ¼ cup heavy cream
  • salt, pepper, paprika, onion powder, garlic powder, Dash table blend to taste.

Method:

  1. Sauté onions & bacon pieces in the oil on medium-high heat until crispy. Use your seasonings here.
  2. Add the butternut squash and brown it up a bit. Seasonings again.
  3. Add in the chicken broth, and bring to a boil.
  4. Simmer for 10 to 15-ish minutes or until the squash gets soft.
  5. Process half of the sauce in the blender until smooth. (I used an immersion blender and did half of the sautee pan.)
  6. Add the heavy cream and give it a stir.
  7. Cook pasta according to directions and toss with or top with the sauce.

Notes:

  • I should have added some more crisped up bacon at the end.
  • Of course you could use & cook bacon or pancetta here. Or no meat.
  • Try the OG with the vinegar if that’s your thing.
  • I feel like roasting some butternut squash separately and adding it in would add some depth.
  • Hear me out… Roasted Brussels sprouts would work really well with this.

How would you do it? What are your butternut sqash recipes? Have any good pasta sauce recipes that aren’t marinara or alfredo?

The Millennium Falcon Guitar


While doing a Google image search for Star Wars Guitar, I came across several photos of this…

Millennium Falcon Guitar | Travis Stevens
Millennium Falcon Guitar | Travis StevensMillennium Falcon Guitar | Travis StevensMillennium Falcon Guitar | Travis StevensMillennium Falcon Guitar | Travis StevensMillennium Falcon Guitar | Travis Stevens

Now, that’s a hell of a guitar.  It’s made from guitar parts (obviously) and an old toy Millennium Falcon.  It’s even got Han & Chewie action figures inside.  How insane is that?  Despite the plastic-laden sound that it gives off (you can hear it in the video below), I’d love to have something like this, just for the sheer oddity and geekiness.  Can you imagine rolling up to a show, and pulling that out of a case on stage?  People wouldn’t know what to think.  (Unless you were in the Phenomenauts and they’d already seen your van.)

Urlesque has a cool initial interview and a nice follow-up about the guitar and the process that Stevens used to put it all together.  Oddity Central has a good article too.  I’d love to see how much this goes for when it sells.  Sadly, probably more than I can afford to drop on a guitar right now… but maybe I’ll hit up some toy shows & build my own.  Ha ha.