Ravioli

There is really nothing quite as good as homemade ravioli. Once it is done and everything is cleaned up. There is no limit to what filling can be concocted. No limits on sizes or shapes of the little pillows. Just one's imagination.

The filling was the easy part. I simply put all the ingredients in the food processor and mixed it thoroughly. I used frozen spinach (thaw, then squeeze as much liquid out of it as possible), eggs, Parmesan cheese, prosciutto, chicken, ricotta cheese and garlic. Really. It was that simple.

The pasta gets a bit trickier. Flour, eggs, salt, olive oil and water are standard. Any pasta recipe should work fine. The important thing is to let it rest for an hour after it has been thoroughly mixed and kneaded. Something to do with the gluten. I can't explain the science of it. I saw it on TV and sometimes that's good enough. Just sometimes.

I divided the pasta dough into four equal sections. Just to make it easier to work with. I attached the pasta machine to the counter and began to pass a ball of dough through at the widest setting. Fold the sheet in half and run it through again. Repeat that a few times until the sheet looks solid. Then, rest the pasta machine to one size thinner. Pass the sheet through a few times, folding in half as on the first setting. When I got to setting number five, I had the thickness I was looking for.

I cut the sheet in half and laid one half on my work surface. I then used a small (one inch) ice cream scoop and placed dollops of the filling on the sheet, allowing adequate space between them. With my fingers, I gently patted the balls of filling, flattening them slightly. The second sheet of pasta is then laid over the top. Carefully, I pressed down around the developing raviolis to expel excess air. Then, using a semi-decorative cutter, I cut out the individual raviolis.

Place them on a cookie sheet and then freeze them before packaging them. Unless you want to eat them right away. I froze four packages, and had a few extra to eat right away.

I just topped them with a little tomato sauce, and boy were they delicious. I am planning a surprise dinner for Susie on Wednesday and will use some chopped kalamata olives, reconstituted sun-dried tomatoes and olive oil. For starters.

Bon appétit!

Linguine with Shrimp & Lemon Oil

This dish is as seen on the Cooking Channel. Again. A light, quick and easy entrée that can be whipped up in a jiffy. And again, I diverged from the original recipe in places.

A couple hours ahead of time I zested a lemon into some olive oil. Then I watched some television.

When it was time to get down to it, I boiled some salted water in which to cook the linguine. The pasta is cooked until al dente.

While the pasta cooks, olive oil is heated in a large skillet. Sliced scallions and garlic are added and cooked until softened. Shrimp are added and cooked until pink. This takes about five minutes. To the skillet are then added the cooked, drained linguine, lemon juice, lemon zest, salt and pepper. This is tossed to combine. Arugula and chopped flat-leaf parsley are then added. The lemon zest is strained from the olive oil and the oil is added to the skillet and tossed to coat the pasta. The zest is discarded.

That's all there is to it. I told you it was quick and easy.

Bon appétit!

Quick Pesto Pasta Salad

In need of a side dish, I thought quick. Or I quickly thought. Whichever. I have a variety of pastas in the cupboard. That's a start. Hmm. Let's see. Lots of homemade pesto. Sun dried tomatoes. Some diced prosciutto from when I made that pizza last week. And pitted kalamata olives as well. I think I have all I need.

I prepared a package of farfalle pasta. While the pasta cooked, I reconstituted some dried tomatoes by adding boiling water to them in a bowl. After draining the pasta, I added pesto, a bit at a time, and stirring until the farfalle was coated to my liking. I mixed in the prosciutto, chopped olives, and the tomatoes. Finally, I mixed in some grated Parmesan cheese. A pasta dish is just not complete without at least a little Parmesan. Seriously folks.

The result was, is, simply delicious. Especially when considering how minimal the effort to make it was.

Bon appétit!

Smoked Salmon Ravioli

Homemade pasta filled with homemade smoked salmon? Sure. Why not? I have an old ravioli maker from my grandmother. Still in the original box no less. And I have a hand-crank pasta maker as well. I was set.

I mixed the pasta dough with my hands. There really is no other way. I didn't have semolina flour so I used regular all-purpose flour. Two cups flour, two eggs, two tablespoons each of olive oil and water. The dough is a little rough to knead together. After it is well-mixed, let it rest for 15 minutes.

I set up the pasta maker on the counter and divided the dough into quarters. Working with a quarter at a time, I cranked it through the pasta maker, progressing from setting one through four, running the developing sheet through each setting a couple of times.

I lightly floured the ravioli maker and lay the pasta sheet across the top. Taking about a tablespoon of shredded smoked salmon, I pressed it into each indentation of the ravioli maker.

Then make another pasta sheet to go on top. Prior to laying it on though, brush a little water on the pasta in the tray. This will help in sealing the ravioli. Lay the sheet on top and gently work out any air bubbles that may be present. Then, using the small rolling pin from the ravioli maker, seal and crimp the ravioli. Gently remove the ravioli from the mold and onto a cookie sheet. I have found that popping these into the freezer makes separating the ravioli a whole lot easier.

I made a second set of twelve raviolis, and froze them all. I returned to the freezer later to gently shake the raviolis to help keep them from freezing together.

The raviolis are cooked in gently boiling water. They only need a couple minutes to cook the pasta and heat the salmon filling. I served these with sun-dried tomato tapenade, slices of steamed zucchini, sliced avocado and shaved Parmesan cheese. Garlic bread on the side. Of course.

Bon appétit!

Roman Style Baked Semolina Gnocchi

This one comes from the pages of the New York Times. I stayed true to the recipe for the semolina gnocchi. Milk, nutmeg, salt and butter are brought just to a boil. The heat is reduced to medium and the semolina flour is added in a thin stream while constantly whisking to prevent clumps. When the semolina mixture is smooth, the heat is reduced to "very low" to continue cooking for another 15 minutes. All the while stirring. My dough mixture was pretty thick at this point, and since I didn't want the dough to burn and I didn't want to stand at the stove stirring for 15 minutes, I let it go 5.

After removing from the heat, I mixed in egg yolks, rapidly stirring them in to prevent scrambled egg lumps, and then some grated Parmesan.

The dough is then pressed into a greased baking pan at a thickness of 1/2 inch. Cover with plastic wrap and chill.

The next day, I took a piece of PVC pipe about 1.5 inches in diameter and used it as a cutter to create disks from the chilled dough. I laid the disks in a buttered baking dish and placed a few shreads of Parmesan on top of each one. Then into a 450° oven for about 15 minutes, until lightly browned.

For the sauce, I just winged it and didn't even look at the recipe. I used a couple cans of diced tomatoes, some chopped garlic, salt, pepper and a couple cubes of frozen basil puree that I made last fall.

When the sauce was heated, I added some meatballs I made earlier, to reheat them. The meatballs were made with ground pork, egg whites, bread crumbs and chopped garlic. Pitted kalamata olives were available on the side.

This is part of my mom's birthday dinner, and was completed with steamed sliced squash and homemade bread made yesterday.

Bon appétit!