Comforts

Today was my work's annual luncheon, our biggest fundraiser for the year. The event continues to grow in attendance and revenue. Everything was great about today - great audience, great vendors, great stories told. But I think the nicest part of my day was back at the office.

Fellow staffers opened up a few of the leftover bottles of wine and we toasted our organization's work and our successes; I had kicked off my shoes. Everyone who was in the office this afternoon was crammed into the office's kitchen. And it was nice. It's important to me to really want to be at work - especially when it means time away from Jack and Jossie. I care about these people and they care about me, and that's comforting to know.

I was ready to order take-out when I got home tonight but had one last burst of energy and made this fairly simple pasta for our dinner instead. All of the comfort of macaroni and cheese with a bit of autumn thrown in:

Linguine with pumpkin Parmesan sauce

1 pound long strand linguine
1 tablespoon butter
2 small shallots, diced
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 15-ounce pumpkin puree
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 cup low-sodium chicken stock
1 cup fresh Parmesan cheese, grated

In a saucepan heat the butter until just melted and add the shallots. Cook the shallots until soft, about 8 minutes. Add salt. Pour in the pumpkin puree, heavy cream, and chicken stock.

Stir the mixture well over medium heat until smooth and creamy, about 10 minutes. Stir in the Parmesan until just melted and serve with cooked linguine.

This is a great kid-friendly dish with pantry ingredients. I think next time I'll add a little sage.

Jeremy is on a business trip tonight. It's a rainy night in Chicago, and I have a glass of wine to cozy up with. The kids miraculously went to bed early, so I can just relax my aching legs. Good night, my friends.