Pumpkin Polenta with Spinach Sausage Sauce

The other night, I whipped together something that turned out quite tasty when our friends Jen and Harper were over. I really liked how it turned out, so I thought I would put the general recipe out here. I don't tend to measure anything when I cook, so I don't have exact measurements... improvise... make it your way. The sauce is intended to be served on top of the polenta. Here are the details:

Pumpkin Polenta 1. Start with a small pumpkin, cut or shave the skin off*, halve and scoop out the seeds. Cube the meat. 2. Saute the pumpkin over oil and high heat to caramelize the outsides 3. Add equal parts milk and broth (water with bullion cubes is fine) to a pot with a splash of olive oil and bring to a boil 4. When it starts boiling, add the corn meal enough to be rather loose. It will hydrate significantly. 5. Once the polenta is boiling, bring to low heat and add the pumpkin 6. Add salt and pepper (and a pinch of cayenne pepper if you want) to taste 7. Stir often, until the pumpkin is completely softened and dissolved... about a half an hour. As the polenta thickens, thin it out with water or milk. I tend to like a polenta like this to be rather soft, but you can control this however you prefer. 8. Optional: A handful of melty cheese cubes to richen it up a bit * Cutting the skin off the pumpkin can be tricky. An option would be to roast a halved pumpkin at 350 until soft, and scoop the softened meat out of the shell into the polenta. You loose the caramelized outsides, but that is probably a subtlety. Spinach Sausage Sauce This is kind of like a southern sausage gravy... 1. Brown the sausage in a pan. I used links, but I usually prefer bulk sausage for something like this. 2. Pull the sausage out, but leave the drippings 3. Add enough flour to create a roux, and cook it for a few minutes 4. Add cold milk and bring to a boil... enough milk to your desired thickness. 5. Add about two large handfuls of chopped, fresh spinach and cook it until it has all softened into the sauce 6. Return the sausage to the sauce. Thin it with milk or thicken by cooking longer depending on your desired thickness