Ok, I don’t have a pic for our Halloween dinner, so I’ll just link to the two recipes we used. The shrimp and pasta was great. When you’re making it you think the sauce isn’t going to be that great or flavorful - it just doesn’t look like much. But when you get it in the bowl and tossed it’s a great light flavor. The squid ink pasta was great - kind of a slimy texture but a bit richer than regular semolina pasta. I found this at Buon Italia in Chelsea Market. I’ve also seen it in Dean&Deluca, which might be closer to you if you’re not in NYC. The Pumpkin crumb cake was also a hit. Don’t be intimidated by all the steps, it’s really not that hard, just follow carefully. The vanilla cake was nice and moist, the pumpkin filling was just sweet enough and the crumb top was a nice crunch. I highly recommend both of these recipes. This was about as celebratory as we get for Halloween so we were quite happy!

I probably won’t recommend making a whole week of pumpkin dishes, but by me doing this, you can pick and choose, and what better week to do this experiment. Johnathan’s enthusiasm might wane a bit by the end of the week, but I hope to make these dishes interesting enough that even if you did do a whole week of them you won’t hate pumpkins forever. Friday we’re having some close friends over for Halloween, as we all have an equal disinterest in Halloween celebrations. However I am making a festive dish using butternut squash and black fettuccine, and the pumpkin will be in the dessert. Here’s what I’m thinking for this week:

Monday - a Rachael Ray pasta I saw this weekend - Penne with a pumpkin cream sauce

Tuesday - Pumpkin Crab Cakes

Wednesday - Warm Pumpkin Salad with Polenta

Thursday - Pumpkin Risotto

Friday - Black Fettuccine with Shrimp and Butternut Squash with Pumpkin Crumb Cake for dessert.

This is a great, light summer meal that was an appetizer in the cookbook, but Johnathan and I enjoyed as a meal. The jalapeno was a great bite, and letting the whole mixture sit in the fridge for a bit makes everything soak together. I originally chose this meal to get rid of a bottle of bubbly that’s been collecting dust and is recommended to be paired with this recipe. It was a great combo - dry Brut and sweet spicy sandwich. This is also a fast meal, and you can let the mixture sit for 2-3 hours, so for a partae, you can easily make this ahead. If wine pairing tickles your fancy, you can get the wine cookbook I used here at our store.

Here’s the recipe:

3/4 lb shrimp, cooked, drained but not rinsed

1/4 cup finely chopped sweet or red onion

1 1/2 cups chopped ripe red tomatoes

1 rip avocado, pealled and cut into 1/4inch dice

1 jalapeno, seeded and minced

1 tablespoon lime juice

2 tablespoons seafood cocktail sauce

1/2 cup chopped cilantro

4 pita rounds cut into 8 triangles (for apps)

1. In a medium nonreactive mixing bowl, combine shrimp, onions, tomatoes, avocado, jalapeno, lime juice, cocktail sauce, and chopped cilantro and mix thoroughly but gently. Refrigerate, covered, for 2-3 hours before using. Season to taste with salt. Lightly toast pita bread so that it is warmed through but not crispy. Spread pita open and spoon shrimp mixture into it. Serve on a large platter garnished with long sprigs of cilantro (if you so choose….)