Ravioli

The End of Week Fifty

Fifty weeks. Five-Zero. Us. At a gym. For fifty weeks. Who woulda thunk?!?

Certainly not either of us. We were both way over-weight, doing mundane tasks was a chore, and we were rapidly turning into sloths. But we ate well. A bit too well.

And then the notice about Silver Sneakers arrived in the mail. We found out we could actually get a free gym membership at the local LA Fitness, so we went up to see what it was all about. The thought was maybe use the pool a bit, walk on a treadmill... you know... old people stuff.

What we weren't expecting to do was get a health assessment and to sign up with a Personal Trainer for a year - at an outrageous sum of money per month, I might add...

That outrageous sum of money has been the best money we ever spent.

I cannot begin to tell you how much better we feel. How much energy we have, how much easier life, in general, has become. And it's all because we answered an ad in the mail - and took a chance.

If you've been following the saga, you'll note that we eat well. We're not dieting by any stretch of the magination. We eat what we want with no forbidden foods. By not denying ourselves we've been able to change how we eat - smaller portions, for one, and making better choices to fill us up, for another.

Our ooey-gooey desserts have pretty much gone by the wayside, but they've been replaced with lots of fresh fruit - usually topped with prosecco or a crisp white wine.

We're not suffering.

We eat bread, we eat white rice, we eat potatoes. In fact, here's the bread I made yesterday:

Red Fife Flour

It's made with Rustic Red Fife Wheat Flour from Anson Mills. The thought is, if we're going to eat something, it's going to be a good something.

Which brings us right to tonight's dinner...

It's amazing how many foods are on do not eat lists - with every list designed by someone making money from it. Can't eat carbs, can't eat bread, can't eat pasta. Can't eat anything that is fun, comforting, or filling.

We've pretty much destroyed that theory.

We saw a variation of these ravioli being made the other night and immediately knew they were destined for dinner. Yes. We have lost weight and still eat like kings. And this may be the most kingly thing I have ever eaten.

Ever.In.My.Life.

Ravioli

It's a ravioli with an egg yolk inside. I can't even begin to describe it. Words are failing me.

Ravioli

The recipe is actually quite simple, the ingredients are few, but the combination is simply out of this world.

The pasta dough is based on a recipe from Alon Shaya. The filling and sauce are pure Victor.

Pasta Dough

  • 1 1/4 cup 00 flour
  • 1/2 cup semolina
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 egg yolks
  • 2 tsp olive oil

Mix flours. make a well and add the eggs, egg yolks, and oil. Slowly mix in the flour and knead until smooth. Let rest 30 minutes before rolling to desired shape.

Ricotta Filling

  • 2 cups ricotta
  • 1 egg
  • 1/2 cup shredded Italian cheese blend
  • 1/2 cup grated parmigiano reggiano
  • 1/2 cup cooked spinach, chopped and drained well
  • pinch garlic powder
  • salt and pepper, to taste
  • 1 egg yolk per ravioli

Mix all ingredients - except final egg yolk - together. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Fresh Tomato Sauce

  • 2 large tomatoes
  • olive oil
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 1 tsp dried oregano
  • splash water
  • salt and pepper, to taste
  • fresh basil for serving

Heat oil on skillet. Add minced garlic and lightly cook. Add roughly-chopped tomatoes with their juices. Stir in oregano and a splash of water. Simmer until tomatoes break down and sauce slightly thickens. Check for seasoning and add salt and pepper, as desired.

To Assemble and Cook

Ravioli

Roll dough through pasta machine and cut into circles - one slightly larger for the top.

Place filling on bottom round and make an indentation. Place a single egg yolk. Dampen edge with water and place top piece of dough over, carefully pressing out any air. Crimp and seal.

Place in large shallow pan with barely boiling water and cook for exactly six minutes.

Ravioli

And then we have the finished product.

Ravioli

Total food porn. There's really no other way to describe it.

After plating the dish, Victor topped it with grated Cured Egg Yolk - egg yolks dried in salt and sugar.

This really was one of the best meals I have ever eaten anywhere. Every single bite was a taste sensation, from the perfect pasta to the fresh tomatoes, the rich cheese filling - and that runny egg yolk. Every bit of it came together - perfectly.

I swooned at every bite.

Going to the gym, losing weight, and eating like kings.

It really does not suck to be us.

 


Gnocchi alla Romana

Gnocchi alla Romana

I receive a daily email from La Cucina Italiana - in Italian. There are usually one or two ideas that look promising - and I do have to admit that Google Translate can really be a hoot when it comes to translating food ingredients and cooking terms.

This morning, Victor said he was going to make some sweet potato gnocchi just to have. He wanted to make a small gnocchi salad and then freeze the rest for dinner some day. It's great to have homemade items in the freezer for those brain-dead what-should-we-have-for-dinner days...

While he went off to make gnocchi, I opened the La Cucina email - all about gnocchi!

I scrolled through quite a few recipes and landed on one called Gnocchi alla Romana - something I had never heard of before. After a quick look at the pictures and ingredients, I knew it was dinner, tonight! I had already planned shrimp, and the gnocchi looked like the perfect accompaniment.

Gnocchi alla Romana

INGREDIENTS

  • 1 L milk
  • 250 g semolina
  • 120 g butter
  • 80 g grated parmesan
  • 2 egg yolks
  • nutmeg
  • salt

PREPARATION

1. Bring the milk to a boil with half a liter of water, 20 g of butter and a pinch of salt. At the boil, pour in the semolina, stirring first with a whisk and then, as soon as it begins to thicken, with a spoon. Cook the obtained polenta for about 15'.

2. Turn off the heat and season with a sprinkling of nutmeg, a tablespoon of parmesan cheese and the egg yolks.

3. Pour the polenta onto a tray soaked with water and level it, smoothing it with a spatula, to a thickness of 1.5-2 cm and let it cool completely.

Gnocchi alla Romana

4. Cut the gnocchi into the polenta layer with a round pastry cutter or with a small glass (ø 5 cm).

Gnocchi alla Romana

5. Melt 80 g of butter in a small pan; butter the baking dish with another piece of butter (or portion dishes) and arrange the gnocchi in layers. Sprinkle with plenty of grated parmesan and sprinkle with melted butter. Finally, put them in the oven at 200 ° C until they are grilled on the surface.
Gnocchi alla Romana

The sauce was an on-the-fly creation. I went for something a bit bold against the rich creaminess of the gnocchi - olives and roasted red peppers.

Shrimp Sauce

  • shrimp
  • white wine
  • leeks
  • garlic
  • roasted red peppers
  • crushed red pepper
  • olive tapenade

Saute leeks until slightly wilted. Stir in garlic. Add white wine and simmer a bit until leeks are tender. Add chopped roasted red peppers, crushed red peppers, to taste, and tapenade. Stir in shrimp and simmer until cooked through.

Check for seasoning and add salt & pepper, as desired.

This is one of those things that almost defies description. It's called a gnocchi, referred to as polenta in the recipe, and tastes like creamy heaven. The gnocchi literally melt in your mouth, covering your tongue with an almost custard-like sensation. Perfection on a plate.

We knew it was a winner because we ate in almost complete silence - except for the ooh's and ahh's that would occasionally escape our lips between bites. We were much too busy eating to talk.

The recipe made a lot, and we have another two meals in the freezer.

This is fun!

Gnocchi alla Romana

 

 


Tagliatelle

Tagliatelle with Creamed Leeks, Sausage, and Peas

We've had friends visiting for the past few days - and that always means fun times. It's been non-stop laughter and conversation and non-stop food - with a bit of wine thrown in for good measure. Definitely my kind of gathering.

We haven't been doing a lot of non-stop eating this past year, but we were able to graze away without stuffing ourselves to the gills - just a bit of willpower and knowing when enough was enough. We ate well, we ate a lot - definitely more than our normal routine - but we did pay attention. As I have said many times, we're not on diets. We eat what we want when we want and do not deny ourselves. We paid attention.

What we didn't do was take a lot of pictures of what we were making - I tend to completely forget about snapping a photo when we have friends around. No pictures at all of the Dungeness Crab and Shrimp Louie's from Monday, but I did get a picture of the tagliatelle Victor made for dinner on Tuesday.

It was totally awesome!

Tagliatelle

The pasta recipe is a take on Alon Shaya.

Fresh Pasta

  • 1 1/4 cups Tipo "00" flour or all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup semolina
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 egg yolks
  • 2 tsp olive oil

Mix and mound the flours on the counter and make a well in the center.

Add the eggs and oil to the center and slowly start incorporating flour into the eggs. When it becomes cohesive enough to start kneading, begin by pressing the heel of your hand down and pushing the pasta, fold it over itself, and repeat. The process will take about 10 minutes. The dough will become rather stiff, but smooth. The more you do it, the more you will get the feel and the more natural it becomes.

Wrap the dough in plastic and let rest for at least 30 minutes at room temperature.

Take pieces of the dough and roll through a pasta machine or by hand, and form into your desired shape.

Fresh Sausage

  • 1 lb ground pork
  • 1 tsp fennel seeds
  • 1 tsp fennel powder
  • 1/4 tsp chili flakes
  • 1/2 tsp garlic powder
  • 1/2 tsp onion powder
  • S&P to taste

Mix all ingredients.

Fry small chunks of sausage mixture in a hot skillet, keeping the pieces bite-sized. Set aside.

Creamed Leek Sauce

  • 1 lb leeks - white and pale green parts - well-cleaned
  • 1 cup white wine
  • 1 cup water
  • 1/2 cup heavy cream
  • 1 cup peas
  • 1/2 tsp thyme
  • S&P

Clean and slice leeks. Place in skillet with a bit of olive oil and cook until they begin to wilt. Add 1/2 cup water and 1/2 cup wine cook until liquid is mostly reduced. Add remaining liquid and cook until leeks are very tender, adding more wine, if needed.

Place leeks and their cooking liquid, 1/2 cup cream, and thyme into a blender and puree until smooth.

Place back into skillet and add the reserved sausage and the peas. heat through.

Thin, if necessary, with a splash more wine or water.

Check for seasoning and add salt or pepper, as desired.

Mix with pasta and serve.

Everything about this dish was right.

The pasta was light and delicate. The sauce was also deceptively light. It gets its body from the pureed leeks with just enough richness from a bit of cream. The sausage added flavor and texture, and the peas did, as well.

It took a bit of time to make the individual components, but the dish, itself, came together in mere minutes.

Definitely a keeper!

We had limoncello tiramisu for dessert. Small portions - I made a half-recipe! I neglected to get a picture, so here's one from Easter. Same dessert, different plate.

Easter 2019

And we had lots of fun things to nosh on... The beauty of good friends is you make a lot of whatever and then you bring it out, put it back, bring it out, again, put it back, lather, rinse, repeat.

We had a big batch of hummus that we just kept refreshing and switching out things to dip into it...

Hummus

Hummus

adapted from Alon Shaya

Ingredients

  • 1 pound dried chickpeas (2 1/2 cups), soaked overnight and drained
  • 4 garlic cloves, peeled
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 cup tahini
  • 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
  • 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
  • Salt

In a saucepan, cover the chickpeas, garlic and baking soda with 2 inches of water and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer over moderately low heat, stirring every 15 minutes, until the chickpeas are tender, 50 minutes; if necessary, add water to keep them covered.

Drain the chickpeas and garlic and transfer to a food processor; puree until very smooth. With the machine on, gradually add the tahini, lemon juice, 1/3 cup of olive oil and the cumin; season the hummus with salt.

Spoon the hummus into a bowl and drizzle with olive oil.

Pork tenderloin grilled and marinated in spicy garlic sauce. This is the basic Asian-inspired marinade I make for any number of meats...

Asian Pork

Spicy Garlic Sauce

  • 1/2 cup soy sauce
  • 2 tbsp sugar
  • 1/4 cup minced fresh parsley
  • 1/2 cup rice wine, or sherry
  • 2 tbsp minced fresh garlic
  • 1 tbsp sesame oil
  • 2 (or more) tbsp chili paste (Sambal Oelek)

Mix all ingredients.

Slice meat into bite-sized pieces and place in marinade. Chill at least one hour.

And one of our new favorite snacks, roasted chickpeas.

roasted chickpeas

We've made them with several different toppings, but really like garlic powder and finely grated parmigiano reggiano. You can use canned, just rinse well.

Crunchy Roasted Chickpeas

adapted from NY Times

  • 2 cups cooked chickpeas
  • 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 heaping teaspoon garlic powder
  • 2 tablespoons finely grated parmigiano reggiano
  • Salt to taste

Spread out chickpeas on a paper towel. Pat dry, then let dry for about an hour.

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Line a heavy rimmed sheet pan with parchment paper, and spread chickpeas evenly on the pan.

Bake in the center of the oven until crunchy, about 30 minutes, stirring and rotating every 10 minutes.

Place hot chickpeas in a bowl and drizzle with olive oil, garlic powder, parmigiano reggiano, and salt.

And, we made bread, of course! Sourdough, using Susan's fabulous starter. Ann loved it so much we sent her home with starter to make her own!

sourdough bread

I made two baguettes on the baking stone and a boule in the cast iron pot.

It was great for cheeses, the pork, dipping into hummus, sopping up pasta sauce, and slathering with butter.

The measurements are a bit vague, but I more or less follow the Tartine Sourdough method...

I keep about 75 grams of starter from each batch and have that in the 'fridge. When I want to bake bread, I pull it out and add 200 grams of water and 200 grams of bread flour, mix it, and leave it out about 8 hours or overnight - depending upon what time I started it.

I take 75 grams of that and it goes back into the 'fridge for the next batch.

To the remaining, I add about 300 grams of flour - and it can be an assortment of rye, sprouted wheat, and/or white bread flour - 10 grams of salt, and about 100 grams of water. The water varies by flour types. I'm looking for a loose but not wet dough.

I almost always mix with the Kitchenaid, but, it works by hand, as well.

I more or less follow the Tartine folding, and then form into loaves or boules. Regardless of shape, the oven is preheated to 500°F and temperature is dropped to 450°F once the bread goes in and baked until golden and hollow-sounding when tapped.

The food was good, but it was the company that made everything so great. There's a comfort with old friends that brings immeasurable pleasure. There's no pretense, there's no having to be on your best behavior. There's no mincing words or having to worry that someone will take something the wong way. It's simply basking in the joy of being together.

Something we just don't do often enough.

 

 

 


Umbricelli

Umbricelli

We've been watching more travel and cooking shows - wishing we were off to Europe or the Mediterranean. I don't think I will ever tire of travelling - or dreaming about travelling. So many food and travel shows focus on the Michelin starred restaurants - where everyone has tweezers in their pockets to put the plates together. Personally, I don't care how good the food may be - I can get tweezer food down the street or in just about any city in the USofA. Yes, it's beautiful, yes, those plates are works of art, but I want to eat where the locals eat.

I'm a street food person, a trattoria or bistro person. I'm a plebeian through and through.

One recipe that caught our eye, recently, was a pasta from Umbria - Umbricelli. The show didn't give a recipe, but it showed a woman making a basic dough with flour and eggs, rolling and forming it. They call it little earth worms because it's fairly long and thick.

Victor has made a lot of pasta over the years, so he thought he'd give it a try, tonight. We didn't have a recipe for the pasta, but it looked similar to his basic dough - and we just happened to have some already made!

How fortuitous!

It didn't roll quite as easily as the clip we saw on TV, but he's also not a 75 year old Italian woman who's been making this since she was 8 years old. Besides, through the miracle of film editing, anything she made would look effortless. Reality TV is not real.

Our pasta, on the other hand, was!

Umbricelli

The flavor was excellent! The sauce was perfect - he spiced up a jar of his homemade sauce, cooked a couple of sausages, and simmered everything together.

The pasta, itself, was chewier than we normally eat, but... it was also ten times thicker than he normally makes. It had a great substance and a great flavor - and it went well with a hearty sauce. I could see myself having a plate of this sitting at a little neighborhood trattoria in Citta di Castello with a glass of Chianti and some crusty bread...

Maybe in the Spring.....

Umbricelli

 


Gnocchi

Gnocchi

Sunshine, blue skies, and another great day...

It started off a bit mediocre when I went grocery shopping. The local Wegmans was out of three of the ten things on my shopping list. Normally, I don't really care, but these are things that Nonna eats and I can't get elsewhere.

But... I made it home, made three salads for lunches, and then headed off to a fun gathering of former coworkers. My old store was one of 17 chosen throughout the chain to get a special Employee Recognition party - and I was invited to share in the festivities. Lots of hugs and kisses, good food, gossip, and laughter.

I do not miss working - at all. I do miss many of the crazy and zany people I used to work with, though. Fortunately, I still get to see them when I shop. It's not quite the same, but... It's better than actually having to go to work.

Back home, it was trim some bushes in back and then get dinner started... We had picked up a bag of baby peppers at gentile's, yesterday, and they became the base for a gnocchi dish - using gnocchi from the freezer.

The dish was baby peppers, a jalapeño pepper, onion, garlic, and broccolini all cooked together, with a splash of red wine and about a cup of Victor's pasta sauce. I cooked up the gnocchi and added them to the sauce, and dinner was served.

Gnocchi

It was really simple, and really flavorful. My kind of meal.

 


Cannelloni

Cannelloni

I learned something new, today...

I have always thought that cannelloni was made with a crespelle - a crepe - and manicotti was made with pasta. I pretty much based this on the cannelloni we used to make at Pirro's a million years ago and the boxes of manicotti pasta in the grocery store. It's actually the other way around...

It seems that it is the American market that makes and sells large pasta tubes (that are pretty much impossible to fill) and calls them manicotti and those little squares of fresh pasta we used to buy were, well... pasta.

Victor, of course, is the one who told me this.

It was his idea to make cannelloni, today, using some of the pasta dough he had in the freezer, and filling ingredients we had in the 'fridge. The sauce was his jarred sauce.

Cannelloni

The filling was garlic, egg, ricotta, pepato cheese, a chopped hot pepper, fresh herbs, and some crumbled, cooked sausage.

He rolled the pasta, cut it into squares, cooked it, and then dropped it into ice water to quickly cool.  He then added the filling, rolled them, and into the pan they went with sauce and cheese on top.

Baked at 350°F for 45 minutes - covered for the first 30 minutes and uncovered for the final 15.

Cannelloni

The original thought was we would each have two. The reality check was we each had one with a couple of chunks of sausage - and we'll have leftovers on Monday.

Cannelloni

Perfection on a plate - and more on Monday.

I really don't mind being wrong.....


Pappardelle and Salmon

Pappardelle and Salmon

Ever have one of those Mary Poppins days that was practically perfect in every way?!?

For me, that was today.

It started off by heading to the garden store to pick up a few things and then we headed into the garden. Even though it was pretty windy, the sun was shining and it was warm...

Vegetable Garden

We amended the soil, got the weed cover down, planted some tomatoes, eggplant, beets, beans, tomatillos, and lettuces in the main area and set up a separate area just for peppers. We still have more tomatoes, leeks, and melons to plant... all started from seed. And room for a few more things as we think of them...

Meanwhile... I was also making sourdough bread.

Sourdough

Our friend, Susan, was over on Tuesday and brought with her a plethora of goodies - from a pappardelle roller/cutter to salmon and halibut fresh-caught in Alaska by friends of hers, to her sourdough starter. A truly good friend shows up with food items.

I made one of the best loaves of bread I've made in a long time. I didn't follow a recipe for this one - i just took the starter, fed it, increased it, and after playing with it, baked it off.

Sourdough

When you've made enough loaves of bread, you just kinda know what to do... It's really about technique - not measurements. And this worked on every level. It's the perfect starter - and I'll be keeping this one going! Perfect sourdough using bread flour and sprouted wheat flour.

Sourdough

But the real hit of the evening was the Pappardelle with Salmon that Victor made.

It's an egg pasta and the eggs were fresh eggs from Jimmy. The pappardelle roller was a gift from Susan...

Pappardelle

As was the salmon...

Alaskan Salmon

Our entire dinner had its roots in friends. Life does not get much better than that.

Pappardelle and Salmon

The dish was salmon poached in white wine and lemon, and the sauce was fennel, artichoke hearts, clam broth, fresh tomatoes, dried pepper flakes and dried oregano from our garden... very simple but bursting with flavor.

Everything about it worked. A perfect meal to top a perfect day.

 

 


Fresh Pasta

Fresh Pasta

This is one of those meals that came together because of an alignment of stars...

I headed off 20 miles out of my way to a new grocery store where a couple of friends from my former place of employment work. Naturally, neither of them were there, but I did get to do a bit of shopping.

Nice store, lots of pre-made and fresh items - pretty much the standard, nowadays - and, more importantly, a friendly and helpful staff. People actually made eye contact with me and asked if they could help.

As it was my first time in the store, I just meandered. In my meandering, I saw a package of crayfish tails - cleaned, cooked, and reasonably priced. I put it into the cart. I bought a few other things off the list - I always look for deals or specialty items in any store - and headed up to the cashiers. They were fun.

When I got home, Victor mentioned he was thinking about making some pasta. We have pasta in the freezer from the ravioli he made last week.

In the back of my mind, I had been thinking of an andouille sausage and crayfish dish we had in San Francisco, and his mention of fresh pasta set the wheels in motion. Pasta with spicy Italian sausage and crayfish became the focus.

Victor decided to do half regular and half squid ink, which only made the crayfish and sausage even better.

Fresh Pasta

The sauce became:

  • 1 link of hot Italian sausage
  • 8 oz cooked crayfish tails
  • 6 ounces homemade pasta sauce
  • 1/2 cup diced fennel
  • 1/2 cup diced onion'2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 cup clam juice

Saute onion, fennel, and garlic until translucent. Add sausage and cook through. Add pasta sauce and thin with clam juice to desired consistency. Add salt, pepper, and additional red pepper flakes, as desired.

It really was one of those perfect meals. The only thing it lacked was a loaf of really crusty sourdough bread to sop up all of the sauce and wipe the plate clean.

Next week, I need to hit another store and visit some folks I have really been remiss in seeing.

Retirement is good...

 


Ravioli

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.

Ravioli

While watching the show, Victor picked up his phone, and yesterday, we had ravioli cutters delivered to the house.

Ravioli

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!

Ravioli

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.

 

 

 

 


Butternut Squash Gnocchi

Butternut Squash Gnocchi

We had a productive day, today... I cleaned up part of our front side yard and Victor made homemade butternut squash gnocchi. The yard is shared with neighbors and was over-planted by 3 neighbors ago - and it's gone wild, ever since. It was time to try and tame it, a bit...

While I was toiling away with my new-found energy, Victor took to the kitchen to use up a butternut squash I bought last week. The weather is ever-so-slowly starting to turn - it's not going to be squash and gnocchi time much longer. He took advantage of it.

The difficult part about trying to write a recipe for something like gnocchi is that ingredients vary too much. The squash Victor used, today, was pretty wet after roasting - more so than others - so more flour was needed. You really need to just start making it and go with your own trial and error.

The basic is baking off potatoes and butternut squash – and then sending them through a ricer.

Then, it’s mixing in 2 eggs, salt, maybe a pinch of nutmeg, grated cheese… and slowly incorporating a bit of flour…

When it all comes together, it’s rolled into a rope, cut, and then shaped.

It's not difficult - it just needs time and practice.

Butternut Squash Gnocchi

I cut up asparagus, green onions, and a zucchini and sauteed it all in a bit of butter and olive oil. I then added a bunch of mixed mushrooms, garlic, salt, pepper, and white wine.

When it started getting saucy, I added some gorgonzola cheese and a handful of chopped parsley. I mixed in the gnocchi, let it cook together for a minute, and dinner was served.

If you're in the kitchen, have some fun and just go for it.

The absolute worst thing that can happen is you throw it all out and call for pizza.

 

 


Beef in Guinness

Lá Fhéile Pádraig, Cuid a Dó

Our Beef Braised in Guinness took a turn to the better, this evening. This is a dish I've been making for years and haven't really varied much from the basic. Tonight, we varied!

It started with Victor not knowing what I was planning for dinner, tonight, so he went into the kitchen and made a batch of pasta. Our meals are pretty flexible - either of us can just go in and decide to do dinner without fanfare or consultation. It works for us.

I said, great, I was going to do Beef in Guinness but nothing had been prepped. He said he'd freeze the dough. I said No... make wide noodles. I had a plan...

Fresh Pasta

Instead of doing my typical large pieces of beef and potatoes, I did stew-sized pieces - sans potatoes - and made a bit of a different dish. A stew-like dish with noodles. Same rich, delicious flavor - just a different final presentation.

Part of the fun of cooking is switching things out - being creative. Tonight, we were creative.

Beef Braised in Guinness

  • 16 oz beef, in cubes
  • 1 large leek, diced
  • 8 shallots, halved
  • 2 carrots, sliced
  • 2 celery stalks, sliced
  • 1 pound assorted mushrooms
  • all-purpose flour
  • Salt and pepper
  • Garlic powder
  • 3 tbsp butter
  • 1 tsp basil
  • 2 bottles Guinness
  • 2 tbsp honey
  • Fresh pasta noodles

Cut the meat into cubes. Peel the shallots and slice in half. Chop the leek. Slice the carrots into rounds.

Place the flour in a dish and mix in 1 tsp of salt, pepper, and a bit of garlic powder. Heat the butter in an oven proof pan with lid.  Dredge the pieces of meat in the seasoned flour and brown. Set aside as the pieces are cooked. Add the leeks and shallots and cook until soft. Add the carrots and mushrooms and cook until mushrooms have wilted.

Add the Guinness. Allow to boil for a minute or two, then add the basil and honey. Add the meat. Taste and add salt and pepper, as needed.

Cover the dish and bake at 325° for about 90 minutes.

Right before taking out of the oven, cook pasta noodles. Drain well and add to the stew.

Beef in Guinness

Flexibility really is key in cooking. Hell, it's key in life. We ended up with a perfect meal that both of us contributed to and exceeded what either of us had thought about making individually. We added a couple of slices of the Soda Bread with Cayenne I had made earlier in the day.

It does not suck to be us.


Shrimp Ravioli

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.

Shrimp Ravioli

Fold into a triangle and crimp edge with a fork. Place them onto a sheet pan lightly dusted with flour.

Shrimp Ravioli

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.

Shrimp Ravioli

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.