a night to myself.

As much as I love my husband and spending the evenings at home with him, sometimes it's nice when he has something to do so I can have an evening alone. It gives me a chance to try out new recipes that he may not enjoy and cook things for myself that feel like an indulgence. I'll pour myself a bottle of wine and put on my favorite show and settle in for the night with a nice plate of food.

This recipe came from such a night. I had had a jar of pumpkin pesto in the cupboard for a while waiting to use it to make pumpkin and sage risotto. I knew that Dave wouldn't enjoy it because of the pumpkin, so it was the perfect sports-night dinner. I had never made risotto before, but was excited to try my hand at this magical dish. And magical it is... both in how it comes together into creamy goodness and the taste. The sweetness of the pumpkin is the perfect match for the sharpness of the sage.

Creamy Pumpkin and Sage Risotto
2 T butter
2 T olive oil
1 cup onion
1 T sage
1 T garlic
1 cup arborio rice
1/4 cup white wine
4 cups heated stock
1 jar pumpkin pesto
2 T marscapone
salt and pepper to taste

Heat butter and olive oil and sauté onion, sage and garlic. Pour in rice and cook until just coated with the butter/oil. Stir in wine and cook until just absorbed. Stir in stock one cup at a time. Stir constantly, adding stock until rice is al dente. Fold in pumpkin and marscapone and season to taste. Finish with a sprinkle of parmesan.