After spending the majority of my day off wasting time, I finally decided to do something productive. I took the subway down to Chelsea Market (because they have a nice restaurant supply store, and I needed to pick up a couple of tools for work). Since I was there, I decided to rummage around their farmers' market and pick up some ingredients for dinner. I found torpedo shallots (that I had never heard of, but had to buy; they taste like a regular shallot though they just are torpedo-shaped), curly kale, butternut squash, Hudson Valley Cream, and some local made pappardelle. I then decided to explore the Chelsea area. I stumbled on the pier just in time to catch the beautiful sunset above. When I got home, I used my fresh ingredients to make pappardelle with sautéed kale and shallot topped with cream poached butternut squash and shaved parmesan cheese.

Pappardelle with Sautéed Kale and Cream Poached Butternut Squash

Ingredients:

• Heavy Cream
• Butternut Squash
• Garlic
• Thyme
• Kale (any type will work)
• Parmasean 
• Shallot
• Pappardelle or any pasta of your choice

Tear kale off the tough stalk and then cut into 1-inch pieces. Then, triple wash the kale because it has the tendency to be very sandy. Place kale in a medium sauté pan with a small amount of Extra Virgin Olive Oil. Sauté, and then add a little water to steam the kale as well. Make sure you are seasoning throughout the cooking process.  Thinly slice the shallot and then add after the kale had become tender (about 10 minutes). Set kale aside. Peel and deseed the butternut squash, and then cut into a small dice, roughly 1/4" cubes. Barely sweat the butternut squash in butter with thinly sliced garlic and 2-4 thyme sprigs. Season. Then, cover the squash in heavy cream and cook until the butternut squash is tender (about 10 minutes). Once the squash is tender, remove the thyme sprigs. Next, boil the pasta in large amounts of boiling salted water according to the directions on the package. Drain pasta and place back into the pot. Add the kale mixture, Extra Virgin Olive Oil, salt, and pepper. Plate the pasta, then spoon the butternut squash and cream mixture over it. Using a peeler, shave the Parmesan directly on top of the pasta to taste.