Butternut Squash Ravioli with Sage-Brown Butter and Herb Grilled Chicken

Again I find myself extremely behind with the posts... the Lacy family travel agency is still buzzing with interview and work travel. I haven’t yet posted a great easy recipe from over a week ago now... We had our good friends Taylor and Alden over for Sunday dinner. I’d picked up some Whole Foods Butternut Squash Ravioli (frozen) and some other accompaniments to put together a great fall meal. I absolutely love squash/pumpkin of all kinds. My favorite way to prepare ravioli with a sweet filling like butternut squash is with a simple sage-brown butter sauce. The combination of sweet and savory is absolutely fantastic- and it really could not be any easier unless you bought your sauce in a jar. I cooked the ravioli per the package instructions (they only took 3 minutes so I had to work fast) and made the sauce at the same time. In a large skillet I melted ¾ of a stick of unsalted butter. I let it go over medium heat just until it barely started to turn a light golden brown. I then add two tablespoons or so of fresh sage leaves -sliced into a chiffonade, a hefty pinch of kosher salt, and some freshly cracked black pepper. I stir it all together, the sage starts to crackle just barely, the butter browning a bit more, and that’s it! The smell is HEAVENLY. Taylor commented that it smelled like sausage when he walked through the kitchen- the sage really packs a punch. I drained the ravioli and then tossed it in the skillet with the butter sauce and served immediately. I then plated it in a pasta bowl topped with freshly grated parmesan reggiano cheese. This is a fantastic meal in itself, I served it with a mixed green, goat cheese and cranberry salad and some fresh Italian bread- however I wanted to add some protein given we had guests for dinner. I had a package of three chicken breasts that I halved lengthwise, rubbed with olive oil, kosher salt, pepper and some herbs de Provence. I let it sit for a couple of hours in the fridge. John then grilled the chicken just before we were ready to eat. I sliced the chicken and plated it on top of the ravioli. The herbs de Provence added a little something extra, tying in nicely with the flavor of the fresh sage.

Our guests brought a bottle of Estancia Cab which was fantastic and we later opened a Sur Malbec as well. Both were big and rich, perfect on a cool fall Sunday evening alongside pasta dinner.