Homemade Ravioli
Some people find cooking a chore and dread the thought of it - obviously, that is not us.
We draw inspiration for cooking from a myriad of sources. From family and online friends, cooking shows on TV, recipe websites, cookbooks and food magazines to just rooting around in the kitchen needing to use up something. We love to cook and love to eat. Finding ideas is the easy part - trying to make them all is what's difficult!
The other day we were watching a show and they made homemade ravioli. Nothing unusual there - Victor makes homemade ravioli pretty regularly - but what made this different was they were using actual ravioli cutters - something we have never owned.
We have an ancient ravioli rolling pin, but it's mainly for decoration, nowadays - there's a crack along one side.
While watching the show, Victor picked up his phone, and yesterday, we had ravioli cutters delivered to the house.
That, of course, meant we - as in Victor - needed to use them right away!
He decided he was going with a really basic pasta and sauce - with a basic cheese filling. A classic ravioli. And then he decided he would play with the dough a bit and infuse some fresh basil leaves into it!
This is actually a pretty easy process but it really is cool as hell! It's like finding fossils in your dough!
Ravioli Dough
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 4 eggs
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
Create well on board with flour and salt. Mix eggs and oil together and pour into center. Slowly incorporate flour into eggs.
When it has all come together, knead on board for about 10 minutes or until it is smooth and elastic.
Wrap dough and let sit for about 30 minutes to relax.
Cut dough in fourths and, one at a time, send through pasta roller. To embed the basil, after rolling a few times. place fresh leaves on half of the dough and fold the other half over to completely cover them. Continue to roll dough through machine, reducing the thickness as you normally do.
Cheese Filling
- 1 container ricotta
- 1 egg
- shredded Italian cheese blend
- fresh parsley
- garlic powder
- salt & pepper
Mix all ingredients well.
To make ravioli:
Place pasta sheet on counter and spray with water. Place tablespoons of filling on dough and then cover with a second sheet. Use a ravioli cutter - or crimped cutter or knife to cut ravioli into desired sizes or shapes.
Cook in barely boiling water for 3-4 minutes or until done.
Serve with your favorite sauce.
The sauce was a jar of Victor's homemade sauce and roasted red pepper sausage.
The ravioli were light as a feather - the dough was thin - not the belly bomb that so many ravioli can be. The sauce, of course, was perfect - he has that down to a blindfolded science - and he added some fried hot peppers to the sausages at the last minute just to add some interest.
Pure heaven!
A quarter of the dough made 16 large ravioli - the rest was portioned and put into the freezer for a later date. We ate six each and Blanche will get the rest as after dinner treats. Yes, our dog is spoiled.
I would have eaten more but tomorrow is weigh-in day. One must be good.
The End of Week Thirty-Five
Weight-loss this week is being measured in ounces, not pounds - but it's in the loss category. I'll take it.
It's also being measured in the pain category. Our trainer is ramping it up, again. He had us working the core, today. I wanted to die several times. The core muscles are just that - the abdominal muscles, back muscles and the muscles around the pelvis. They are where it all begins - and, where I may meet my end.
Strengthening the core means actually doing things with your body instead of with weights or machines. Weights and machines are a lot easier. If weight-loss was measured by perspiration, there would be nothing left of me.
But... it's all working. Slowly and painfully - but it's working.
The weather is working, as well. It is 74°F outside, right now. We're already planning our yard clean-up - called the local recycling center and got info about bringing in yard waste and buying some topsoil and compost - and starting to think about the garden and what we plan to grow, this year.
I'm totally ready for Spring!
But while I'm ready for Spring, Mother Nature still has a few tricks up her sleeves. Temps are set to drop, again. Our final frost date is April 30th, which means I can start doing a few inside seeds any time, now...
In planning for the better weather, the grill parts I ordered will be here on Tuesday. I had planned on grilling a chicken breast, tonight, on the falling-apart grill, but Victor volunteered to do cutlets - and I'm always ready for a change in plans. I'm much more flexible mentally than I am physically.
The cutlets were a simple chicken breast, sliced and pounded, dipped in flour, egg, and breadcrumbs seasoned with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and oregano. The potatoes were baby yukons with olive oil, garlic powder, oregano, parmesan cheese, and salt and pepper - in the oven at 350°F for 35 or so minutes.
And the bean salad from yesterday.
Another successful gym day and dinner.
To toast our success and kick off the St Patrick's Day weekend, those glasses on the top right of the photo hold The Sexton - an outrageously good Irish Whiskey - created by one of the few female Master Blenders in the industry.
She did well.
Here's to more success.
Shrimp Ravioli with Limoncello Sauce
Homemade shrimp ravioli with a sun-dried tomato pasta, topped with a limoncello sauce. If dinner, tonight, was a reality TV show - I won with a unanimous decision.
I don't often swoon when eating something, but this was totally swoon-worthy. I didn't want my plate to ever empty. Chunks of shrimp inside perfect pasta pockets topped with butter and limoncello and mascarpone. Everything about it screamed delicious.
The filling could go into anything, from a cannelloni or manicotti to a stuffing for fish and the pasta dough could be spinach, plain, or even lemon-infused. And the sauce... the limoncello was perfect, but a red sauce would work, as well. It's one of those dishes where each individual part was perfect - and any one of them could be used with something else and still be perfect.
The perfect meal.
Shrimp Ravioli with Limoncello Sauce
Pasta Dough
- 1/4 (generous) cup finely minced sun-dried tomatoes in oil
- Fine sea salt
- 2 cups flour
- 2 large eggs
- 2 large egg yolks
Shrimp Filling
- 1 lb of medium shrimp cut into small chunks
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 3 scallions, finely chopped
- 1 tsp lemon juice + grated peel of one lemon
- 1/4 cup ricotta
- 2 heaping tablespoons mascarpone
- 1/3 cup grated parmesan
- 2 teaspoons, chopped parsley
- Salt/Pepper to taste
Limoncello Sauce
- 4 tbsp limoncello
- 3 tbsp lemon juice
- 3 tbsp. butter
- 3 tbsp. mascarpone
For pasta dough:
On a clean work surface, mound 2 cups flour and form a well in the center.
Add 2 eggs, 2 egg yolks, and sun-dried tomatoes into the well. Using a fork (or your fingers) gently break up yolk and slowly incorporate flour . Continue until the liquid is absorbed, then knead for 10 minutes.
Wrap dough tightly in plastic and let rest for 30 minutes.
After the dough has rested:
Take the dough and divide into 3 equal pieces (cover the other two and set aside)
Set the rollers of pasta machine at the widest setting then feed pasta through rollers 3 or 4 times folding and turning pasta until it is smooth and the width of the machine.
Roll dough through the machine, decreasing the setting one notch at a time (do not fold or turn the dough this time) until pasta sheet is a scant 1/16 inch thick.
For the filling:
Quickly sauté garlic and onion. Add seafood and parsley, toss til coated, then let it cool.
Add the ricotta, parmesan, and mascarpone. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
Cut dough into 3" squares and place a heaping teaspoon of filling on top. Brush top with egg wash.
Fold into a triangle and crimp edge with a fork. Place them onto a sheet pan lightly dusted with flour.
Cook in lightly boiling water about 3-5 minutes.
For the sauce:
Simmer the limoncello with the lemon juice. Stir in butter to melt, then add the mascarpone. Add a bit of salt & pepper, if desired.
You do not want or need a lot of sauce - it is buttery-rich. It's also not designed to be a smooth cream sauce - it's a flavored butter sauce - so less is more.
What I really wanted was more. And more.
It really was a perfect meal.
The End of Week Thirty-Four
Another week, another pound. Life is good.
The word of the week, this week, is breathe. I think it is the word we both hear the most when we're with the trainer. There is something about the intake and exhaust of breath that really makes a workout well... work. I'm not quite there, yet. There are times when I have the perfect rhythm, but they are still not a natural phenomenon. Often, it seems that I really have to think it - and thinking it screws up the natural rhythm. Inhale nose, exhale mouth, inhale mouth, exhale mouth, inhale, inhale, hold breath, what am I supposed to be doing? screw up, sweat pouring down, repeat. One would think that after this long, I'd have a better clue.
On the other hand, he leads us through routines where I can actually feel improvement with each rep and his constant reminders to breath do help to keep me focused on not dying. More often than not, though, it's reaching 18 of 20 reps the third time around and knowing that breath or no breath, there is just no way that 19 is going to happen.
None of this is natural to me and all of it has been a struggle - but, for the most part, it's getting easier even as it gets more difficult. And the recovery time is almost instantaneous compared to when we started. Fewer aspirins...
I don't think I will ever consider this fun, but it continues to be rewarding. And that, boys and girls, is what's important.
Food is also important, and Victor made sure we had an awesome dinner, tonight!
I had pulled a pork tenderloin out of the freezer with no clear idea of what I was going to do with it. Victor decided he was going to stuff it - and I never argue when someone else wants to cook!
Victor did a bit of a clean out the 'fridge stuffing, with:
- dried apricots
- celery
- carrots
- green onions
- mushrooms
- fennel
- garlic
- cheese
He sauteed everything but the cheese in olive oil, and then added a bit of crushed red pepper, salt & black pepper. Then a bit of white wine and some chicken stock and cooked it down. He added a few breadcrumbs at the end.
While it was cooling, he butterflied and then pounded the tenderloin. He laid it flat, spread on the stuffing, and then added a bit of quattro formaggio down the center. Rolled and tied, and into a 350°F oven for 30 minutes with cubed sweet potatoes on the side.
Perfection on a plate and the perfect end to our workout week.
Week Thirty-Five starts on Monday.
The End of Week Thirty-Three
Ah... another week and more weight loss. It appears that by telling myself I didn't care if I lost any weight caused me to lose 2 1/2 pounds. I'm hoping that if I tell myself to gain a couple that I'll lose even more. At this point I don't care how irrational things sound - it's whatever it takes.
Down a few pounds and I have a nice, sore bruise on my left calf. I got it from trying to swing my legs up and over some damned bars twenty-five times while hanging from my forearms. That was Wednesday and it's still sore. Flexibility has never been my strong point to begin with and there are certain movements that just ain't gonna happen - but I finally did manage it a few times. The other twenty-two resulted in an altogether new type of pain as I banged the end of it instead of swinging over it. I swear the Marquis de Sade thinks up these damned things.
On a positive note, though, I actually did do it. I've tried at least once a week since first trying it months ago - never getting my legs up high enough. If the gymnasium gods are willing, the next time I'll do it a few more times and won't be quite as bruised. Now that I know the pain involved, there's a lot of incentive to get it done right.
Victor banged his knee on Monday and was favoring it a bit during some of the exercises, but he worked through it, as well. Ya just keep doing what ya have to do.
This is why we have a personal trainer. Not to cause pain, but to push us to do things we wouldn't otherwise do. I don't see myself going back repeatedly to try and do something on my own. I just don't. I need him to keep pushing me when I don't want to do it. Which is all of the time. I really don't want to do it - even though I see the results, feel the results, and know it's the best thing I've done for myself in years. Left to my own devices, I'd bake cookies.
And he does keep pushing. And I'm not baking cookies. And we're both losing weight. And feeling better - albeit sore in places...
I think the smartest thing we did was to commit for a year. It would actually be pretty easy to tell ourselves we've more or less achieved our goals so we could slow down and relax a bit. Forty-five pounds is a lot of weight to lose. However, it has become more than weight loss - it's about actual health and well-being. And we're committed to seeing it through - and feeling better, stronger, and just being healthier.
Tonight, it's pasta night at our house. Homemade spinach pasta. As I have mentioned many times, nothing is off limits around here. Victor made a pretty big batch last week and after making cannelloni and ravioli, the rest went into the freezer. It came out this morning and he turned it into linguine.
The joys of being married to an Italian...
He made a fairly basic scampi-style sauce. He started by cooking the shrimp shells in olive oil, garlic, and white wine. He cooked it all down, and then strained it. From there, he quickly sauteed the shrimp and then added the wine sauce, lemon zest, lemon juice, parsley, crushed red pepper, and a pinch of salt and pepper.
He quickly cooked the pasta and then mixed it unto the sauce with a bit of butter and freshly grated parmesan. He had saved a bit of pasta water just in case it needed some - but it was perfect as-is.
Very simple but just loaded with flavor. I completely cleaned my plate - and was borderline close to licking it clean, as well. It really was good.
Nineteen weeks left before we're on our own.
We can do it.
Giorno di San Valentino Parte Due
For the non-Italian speakers out there, that would be Valentine's Day Part two. Part Two, because, while we've been in and out of the kitchen most of the day, this is dinner!
Victor saw this recipe the other day and asked if I wanted to go out to dinner, tonight, of have him cook. While I really do like going out once in a while, I'd much rather eat at home on nights everyone else wants to go out. Besides... He's a really good cook.
And really good cook came up with a killer dinner! This really did rock the casbah. Everything about it worked - from the saltiness of the olives and anchovies to the sweetness of the onions and the little kick from the lemon and spice from the red pepper flakes.
I could go on and on, but instead, I'll just say Highly Recommended.
And Happy Valentine's Day!
Spicy Spaghetti
adapted from NY Times
- Kosher salt, as needed
- olive oil
- 2 large onions, halved and very thinly sliced
- 12 ounces spaghetti
- 6 garlic cloves
- ½ teaspoon chile paste or red-pepper flakes, or to taste
- 2 anchovies, chopped
- 1 cup chopped mix of parsley and basil (or use all parsley)
- ⅓ cup chopped cured Moroccan or other intensely flavored black olives
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cubed
- Lemon wedges
- Grated Parmesan, for serving (optional)
PREPARATION
Put a large pot of salted water on to boil.
Cook the onions: Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender and pale golden - about 20 minutes.
Cook spaghetti according to package directions until just al dente. Reserve 1 cup pasta water; drain pasta.
Thinly slice 4 garlic cloves, and stir into golden onions, along with red-pepper flakes. Continue to cook until onions are a rich brown, about 10 minutes longer.
Finely grate remaining garlic cloves, and mash into anchovies.
Move some of the onion mixture to the side of the pan and add anchovy paste to bare spot in the skillet. Cook paste for 1 minute, then add herbs and olives, stir everything together, and cook another 1 minute.
Stir in cooked pasta, butter, and salt to taste, tossing to coat pasta. Add pasta water if it looks dry.
Serve with a generous squeeze of lemon, and sprinkle with Parmesan and more chile on top.
And just because... here's that crusty baguette. It really was good - crusty crunch and perfectly-chewy interior.
Gnocchi
I casually mentioned to Victor, this morning, that it would be great if he made butternut squash gnocchi for dinner tonight. I had bought a rather large butternut squash and used half of it for dinner on Thursday and had put the rest in the 'fridge. He casually mentioned back that he had already used the leftover squash in the soup we were having for lunch.
But, he said, he's be happy to make gnocchi. Works for me!
He made a ricotta gnocchi - flour, ricotta, pecorino cheese, egg, salt, and pepper - and a sauce of tomatoes we canned last summer and hot Italian sausage. One of those meals that is simple, yet screams flavor from the rooftops. The sauce had just enough heat to be interesting, and the gnocchi were light as a feather. Melt-in-your-mouth pillows of flavor.
He also mad up a little antipasti of roasted hot and sweet peppers, olives, and cheese - they paired nicely with the pasta.
A couple of slices of homemade bread I had pulled from the freezer, and dinner was served - an exquisite dinner, I might add.
We really do eat well around here. In fact, he asked me earlier today if I wanted to go out for dinner on Valentine's Day or have him cook. That was like the biggest DUH in the world - have him cook, of course!!!
He's going to do a spaghetti with caramelized onions. I'm going to make a loaf of crusty bread.
Did I mention we eat well around here?!?
Almond and Raisin Butter
One thing I have learned living on the east coast is crystal blue skies mean cold. Gray skies mean hot. Today, we have really blue skies.
It's nothing like what's happening just west of us, but it's still damned cold - and getting colder as I type. We're forecasted to drop to 0°F (that's -18°C) with a wind chill of -10°F (about -24°C) later today and tonight. That's pretty flippin' cold.
One way to stay warm is to bake bread. I did that, yesterday. Bread, of course, needs something to put on it - and Victor took care of that, today!
He's been making his own nut butters for a while, now, having tired of the supermarket offerings. We always have nuts in the house - and even have a bit more, right now, leftover from the holidays. One recent batch was hazelnut - and then a hazelnut and chocolate, like a gianduia - think Nutella.
Today, he took about a pound of blanched almonds and made an almond and raisin spread that is out of this world! Just a bit on fresh bread set my taste-buds singing.
Almond and Raisin Butter
- 1lb almonds
- 2 tbsp honey
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 tbsp grapeseed oil
- 1/2lb golden raisins, divided
Place almonds and salt in food processor and process until it begins to come together as a paste.
Add the honey and salt and continue mixing.
Add half the raisins and continue mixing.
Drizzle in grapeseed - or other neutral oil - until desired consistency.
Stir in remaining raisins, and enjoy.
The beauty of making your own nut butters is controlling the various ingredients - and being able to play with flavors that are just not available in the grocery stores.
Almond and raisin is simply stellar. I can't wait to see the next batch!
Butternut Squash and Apple Soup
We've been eating soups for lunch for quite a while, now. It's the perfect meal for heating us up and filling us up during these cold winter months. Besides just being good, they're packed with nutrients. It's win-win for weather and weight-loss.
We take turns making them - both of us are pretty handy in the kitchen - and each batch will last three to five days, depending upon ingredients and just how big of a pot we make.
I made a corn and seafood chowder the other day and Victor made a Butternut Squash and Apple soup, this morning - perfect for our impending snow.
Butternut Squash and Apple Soup
- 1 Medium butternut squash
- 1 Medium potato
- 1 Medium onion
- 2 Carrots
- 2 Apples
- 3 cloves of garlic – minced or micro planed
- 2 Tsp ground Ginger
- 1 Tsp Coriander
- 1 Tsp Cinnamon
- ½ Tsp Cayenne - Optional
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 1 Cup good, dry white wine
- Olive Oil
- 2 qts Chicken stock
- 2 qts water
Peel and dice the onion.
Peel and seed butternut squash and cut into chunks.
Peel potato and cut into chunks.
Chop two carrots to bite size.
Core and peel the apples then cut into chunks.
Heat about 2 TBS olive oil in the pot and sauté the onions and garlic with a bit of salt until soft (about 5 mins). Add another 2 TBS of olive oil to the pot and the squash, potato, carrots and apples along with the spices (Ginger, Coriander, Cinnamon, Cayenne – salt and pepper) and stir letting the spices bloom in the pot for about 5 mins.
Add the white wine and bring it to a simmer for another 5 mins before adding the stock and water. Bring to a boil then allow to simmer for about 30 minutes or until the vegetables are soft.
Once the everything was soft I took a potato masher and hand mashed everything to a chunky, grainy consistency. You may also use a blender, food processor or immersion blender to puree the soup smooth.
Taste – adjust seasonings if needed and you’re off to the races.
It's sweet, spicy, rich, and full of flavor. The perfect antidote to winter.
Spaghetti and Meatballs
There's something about pasta on Sunday that makes me smile. Since Sunday pasta is not a childhood memory of mine, it must stem from living with an Italian for almost 25 years.
We often had a big Sunday Dinner if my father was home from the firehouse, but it could also have been a simple spaghetti with meat sauce if he was working. And a homemade dessert - either way.
It's funny how food triggers memories. My mom would often make a thin spaghetti sauce and then cook the spaghetti right in the sauce - the starch from the pasta thickening the sauce. And from watching America's Test Kitchen, it's a thing, again.
Mom was always ahead of her times.
Victor, of course, makes his own sauce and I can it - about 15 quarts at a time. I understand why jarred sauce is so popular at the grocery store - it really is convenient. I just don't like any of them. I am totally and completely spoiled always having homemade sauce at my disposal.
We're down to the last quart of Victor's sauce so I'm going to have to get some tomatoes really soon. He needs to cook up another batch - it's something I really hate being out of.
The meatballs, tonight, were perfect.
And really easy to put together...
Ingredients:
- ground beef
- bread crumbs
- grated pecorino
- garlic
- eggs
- salt
- pepper
- oregano
Mix, roll, fry.
We've adjusted to eating 2 ounces of pasta at a meal. Victor has me weigh it out because he still thinks in terms of a pound of pasta for two people. That's the Italian version of Sunday Dinner - along with meatballs, sausages, a lasagne or two, maybe some baked ziti. Lots of bread to dunk. And a nice salad.
I miss it and I don't. I love all of the various foods and flavors. I don't miss the bloated feeling after.
Less is more.
Stuffed Pork Tenderloin
I was busy, today, working on a little project for my siblings... I have a lot of stuff that once belonged to my mom and other relatives that we've used over the years, but are unlikely to keep using a lot in the future. I've been thinking that they - or their kids - might be able to use it, so today I started taking pictures of things and set up a web page where they can see the stuff and decide if they want it. There's nothing of great value, but there are some really nice platters, bowls, serving dishes, and even a 1930s GE Mixer that belonged to my great aunt - and it still works.
I was planning on making a pork tenderloin-something for dinner, but Victor decided he'd create dinner and let me finish getting things together.
He came walking into the office with a jar of artichoke pesto I had bought from Eataly back in October and asked me if I had any plans for it. I said, no, he smiled, and said he now did. I could keep on working - dinner was going to be taken care of.
It's great being married to a man who knows how to cook.
He took the pork loin and butterflied it, and then added the artichoke pesto, proscuitto, sun-dried tomatoes in oil, bread crumbs, and cheese, tied it all together, and then baked it in a hot oven for 40 minutes. He put mini potatoes along side to bake in the pork fat and juices.
Dinner was stellar!
The pork was moist and tender, the stuffing rich and flavorful, the potatoes perfectly cooked.
I have said many times that food can put a big smile on my face - and I'm grinning from ear-to-ear as I type this. It really was good.
The project was completed and now it's off to a couple of Great British Bake Off shows.
Life is good.
Stuffed Peppers
I picked up a couple of red peppers at the store the other day while doing the shopping, and when we were putting things away, Victor said he thought they would make great stuffed peppers.
I smiled and said go for it! No matter how much I may enjoy cooking, I also enjoy being cooked for - especially by someone who knows how to cook!
Last night, I asked him if he wanted to use beef or pork for the filling - we had both in the freezer. He laughed and said I guess I'm making stuffed peppers, tomorrow. I smiled back and replied what a great idea!
Great minds do think alike!
He chose the pork. It was a good choice! A trick he used was to brush the inside of the peppers with a bit of olive oil and then add in bread crumbs to help absorb some of the juices as they cooked. Measurements are determined by size of peppers and how many you're making, but a bit of a rule of thumb is equal amounts of meat to all the other filling.
Another thing he added - totally non-traditional - was about a good half-cup of the fruit I made for the lamb dish we had on New Year's Eve. It added that excellent agrodolce flavor we both love so much. I think it's something I want to have in the 'fridge on a regular basis. It has a ridiculously long shelf life - not that we'll ever keep it that long!
Stuffed Peppers
- ground pork
- rice, cooked
- carrots, chopped
- celery, chopped
- shallots, chopped
- green onion, chopped
- garlic, minced
- hot pepper, minced
- salt and pepper
- oregano
- parsley
- pecorino, grated
- breadcrumbs
- tomato sauce
- mixed dried fruit
Sauté the vegetables in a bit of olive oil until they soften. Add the pork and continue cooking until it is cooked through and vegetables are tender. Remove from pan into a large bowl.
Add rice and mix well. Add a bit of tomato sauce and stir in pecorino, salt, pepper, parsley, and oregano, to taste. Add a few bread crumbs if filling seems too loose.
Brush the inside of the peppers with a bit of oil and sprinkle liberally with bread crumbs. Fill with pork and tomato stuffing.
Place in an oiled casserole with a bit of tomato sauce on the bottom. Top with more bread crumbs, cover, and bake at 350°F for an hour. Uncover during the last 15 minutes and add shredded cheese, if desired.
They were perfection on a plate! A little bit of heat from the hot pepper, the sweetness from the fruit, the tenderness of the pepper... The pork was lighter than the beef would have been, allowing all of the different flavors to all shine!
It really did come together as a perfect dish.