Smoky Pumpkin Mac and Cheese with Garlicky Breadcrumbs

Three weeks or less. The due date is August fifteenth and the doctor says everything is exactly right and Shanice says she is comfortable but ready, which is how all late-pregnancy women sound and feel: a readiness that is less about eagerness and more about the body's own insistence that this has reached its right completion. Three weeks is enough time for anything to happen. I have told CJ and Destiny both: call me at whatever hour. Both said they know. Both have my bag packed.

I made Bernice's cast iron cornbread this week and ate it slowly at the kitchen table alone in the middle of a Tuesday afternoon. No occasion. Just the cornbread and the quiet and the understanding that these days of quiet midweek afternoons are coming to be divided differently. Not lost — never lost, nothing is lost when something new arrives — but divided. There will be quiet afternoons that include a sleeping grandchild on a blanket in the next room. There will be loud mornings that weren't loud before. There will be a third person in CJ's face who is not CJ and not Shanice but is somehow both of them, and also Marcus, and also me, and also all the people before us whose names I know and don't know.

Caleb Marcus Simms. Corn fed from this kitchen. Held in these hands. Learned from these recipes. Shown the peas going in the ground in March. Told the story of the ring and how it fit. Given the cast iron someday. Given the name and the reason for it and the man who was gone before he could hold him. I am ready. Whatever ready is, I am it.

Bernice’s cornbread held that Tuesday afternoon the way only certain recipes can — still and certain, no occasion required. But the rest of the week needed something that could carry a little more, something that could fill the house with smell and warmth while I waited for a phone to ring. This smoky pumpkin mac and cheese is the kind of dish I reach for when my hands need to be doing something and my heart needs the kitchen to feel like itself — something Caleb will sit down to someday at this same table, and not even know to be grateful for yet.

Prep Time: 20 minutes | Cook Time: 35 minutes | Total Time: 55 minutes | Servings: 6

Ingredients

12 oz cavatappi or elbow macaroni
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 cups whole milk, warmed
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup canned pumpkin puree (not pie filling)
1 1/2 cups sharp cheddar cheese, freshly shredded
1 cup smoked gouda, freshly shredded
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more for pasta water
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 cup coarse breadcrumbs (panko preferred)
3 tablespoons olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped

Instructions

Cook the pasta. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the pasta 2 minutes less than package directions (it will finish in the oven). Drain and set aside.
Make the garlicky breadcrumbs. In a small skillet over medium heat, warm the olive oil. Add the minced garlic and cook for 1 minute until fragrant. Add breadcrumbs and stir to coat. Toast for 3–4 minutes until golden. Remove from heat and stir in parsley. Set aside.
Build the cheese sauce. In a large oven-safe skillet or Dutch oven over medium heat, melt the butter. Whisk in the flour and cook for 1–2 minutes until the mixture smells slightly nutty. Slowly pour in the warm milk and cream, whisking constantly to prevent lumps. Cook for 4–5 minutes, stirring often, until the sauce thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon.
Add pumpkin and seasoning. Stir in the pumpkin puree, smoked paprika, garlic powder, nutmeg, salt, and pepper. Reduce heat to low and stir until fully incorporated and smooth.
Melt in the cheese. Add the shredded cheddar and smoked gouda a handful at a time, stirring between additions until fully melted and the sauce is silky. Taste and adjust salt if needed.
Combine and top. Add the drained pasta to the sauce and fold gently until every piece is coated. Smooth the top with a spatula. Scatter the garlicky breadcrumbs evenly over the surface.
Bake. Transfer the skillet to an oven preheated to 375°F. Bake uncovered for 18–22 minutes until the top is golden and the edges are bubbling. Let rest for 5 minutes before serving.

Nutrition (per serving)

Smoky Pumpkin Mac and Cheese with Garlicky Breadcrumbs — A Kitchen That Knows How to Wait