Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Cooking Together: Homemade Ravioli

Valentine's Day 2010: a night at home cooking, eating, and watching the olympics!

Homemade Ravioli.
Homemade pasta is a breeze if you have a pasta roller - but you still should hand knead for 10 minutes for proper elasticity.
While letting the dough rest for about 30 minutes - H made the filling for our ravioli: a mixture of Ricotta, Parm, ground pork, ground veal, basil, and garlic.




I rolled out the small nougets of dough - about 2x bigger than an egg. I rolled as we needed it to avoid drying and help it stick together without water. H. got to work filling, folding, and squeezing.

IMPORTANT: when filling and folding, you must get all air out of the pocket - this prevents tearing or splitting later.
We froze most of the batch - and kept out enough for dinner. Freeze flat on a sheet for about an hour, then transfer to a ziplock in serving sizes. Do not thaw before cooking.

Cook at a HIGH SIMMER [not a rolling boil]. The rolling boil is too violent for the little handmade wonders and they tend to split.

Served with butter and parmesan. YUM.



Saturday, February 13, 2010

Wish List

Reading about our great Constitution is sending my mind into the kitchen. I keep seeing great recipes that get saved in my "favorites" tab under "recipes" - hopefully to bake soon!

1. Joy the Baker - top 10 quick breads. These sound and look great! A nice variety to change things up.
2. Amy Atlas gives you two great Valentine's Recipes that involve lots of chocolate. TASTY!
3. The Flavor Vault's Oatmeal Craisin Cookie - with white chocolate and pecans.
4. Amateur Gourmet's Banana Pudding
5. Baking Obsession: Double Chocolate and Cherry Scones with Creme Fraiche and Cherry Preserves