Pumpkin and Sage Cream Sauce

I often speak through this blog about creative thinking with ingredients you have on hand. So today when I played eye spy in my refrigerator and pantry I discovered five items: pumpkin, onions, chicken stock, fresh sage and heavy cream. For me it spelled out - make a sauce.
Tomorrow (Sunday) I will grab a whole chicken on sale for 99¢ a pound. Chicken does not get any less expensive than that nowadays. My rotisserie chicken dinner will get enhanced with this sauce. I can tell you with great pleasure it makes one cup of sauce for $2.62 and it is incredibly tasty. All of the ingredients meld together in perfect harmony with one another to create a symphony of flavor in your mouth.

Generally when I am melting butter to saute onions and to avoid a browned butter I add some regular olive oil. But for this recipe I am going with all butter and I DO want to get a browned butter to add that sort of nutty flavor along with the sage.

• 1/2 cup onion - fine dice
• 1/2 cup pumpkin puree
• 1/3 cup chicken broth
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• 2 tbsp. butter
• 1 tbsp. fresh sage leaves - finely chopped
• 1/4 tsp. kosher salt
• 1/8 tsp. white pepper

1. In a skillet over medium heat melt the butter and let it just begin to brown then toss in the fresh sage leaves and give it a stir. Cook for a minute or so to let the sage flavor develop in the butter. Then add in the finely diced onion. Reduce the heat to low and cook the onions until softened.
2. Add in the pumpkin puree and whisk around and continue to cook the pumpkin over low heat for a minute to allow these flavors to blend together. Whisk in the chicken broth until smooth.
3. Finish off the sauce with the cream, whisking constantly until you achieve a smooth consistency. Add in the salt and white pepper and whisk well.

And I leave you with this quote:

"Sauces comprise the honor and glory of French cookery. They have contributed to its superiority, or pre-eminence, which is disputed by none. Sauces are the orchestration and accompaniment of a fine meal, and enable a good chef or cook to demonstrate his talent."

Curnonsky

P.S. - As of 1/27/14: This is a multifaceted sauce. After I created it I used it on chicken for dinner, in making hang over eggs and today I made tortellini for lunch and put it on that. Also, until today I thought I just might have been original on this idea but it seems others have done it before me. Bummer. Oh well. Here's the photo I took today: