Valentine's Ravioli
NES and I have this Valentine's day tradition: we switch off making dinner and dessert. This year was a dinner year for me, and a dessert year for NES. To be honest, the other combination is the more natural one. This year totally blew that out of the water though!
I had pinned a recipe for ravioli on Pinterest a long time ago. Ravioli is one of NES's favorite things, and he has been subtly hinting to me recently that I should try fresh pasta again. And honestly, it was time.
Valentine's day morning was a little hectic. I was trying to clean a severely burnt pan, dealing with a leak from the snow/rain/thawing of the night before, and in general running around like crazy. Then, it was time to go grocery shopping. Somehow NES and I managed to go grocery shopping in the same store at the same time without seeing each other. And not trying to avoid each other. That was a feat!
I had absolutely no idea how long making fresh raviolis was going to take. I started around 3, hoping we'd be eating before 10 pm.
Making the pasta dough in the mixer made life much easier. Oh my goodness.
I pulled out my pasta machine for the second time. It's hard to believe had really only used it once before. I was still intimidated by it. I feel a lot better about it now. It didn't take nearly as long to roll out all the pasta as I expected.
What took the longest was cutting and stuffing each ravioli. Unfortunately the cookie cutter I was using was slightly uneven (which probably would have been fine if I was making cookies) and I had to trim each one.
But they worked out.
And there was even extra pasta, to boot!
The filling was really simple, and really tasty! Yum, cheese!
I went simple for the "sauce" -- inspired by some pasta NES made last week, I just put a little pepper, oregano and red pepper flakes on top.
Add some garlic bread and some peppers, and dinner was ready!
And it was even 5:50 p.m.! A respectable dinner time.
I was exiled from the kitchen after I cleaned up, and NES took over for dessert.
He made me a teeny tiny little cake! Isn't it cute?!
And he made the "best frosting ever" instead of the strawberry frosting. It was pretty amazing. It was light, but still tasted like buttercream. Crazy.
It even had Reeses Pieces polka dots! And the cake was light and moist and amazing. Yum.
Oh, and look what was sitting in the candy shop just asking for me to bring it home to NES! Ramen chocolate!
Also, mom found these: penguins for NES and doughboy for me!
And who can really resist Dave the minion?
Four Cheese Ravioli
from Annie's Eats
1/2 cup part-skim ricotta
1/2 cup mozzarella, shredded
1/2 cup fontina, shredded
1/2 cup shredded parmesan
1 clove garlic, pressed or finely minced
1/4 tsp. dried oregano
1/4 tsp. dried basil
1/4 tsp. salt
pinch black pepper
Pasta:
4 eggs
1 tbsp. water, plus more as needed
1 tbsp. olive oil
3 1/2 cups flour
1/2 tsp. salt
In a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, mix the eggs, 1 tbsp. water, oil and flour on low speed. A dough should begin to form. Mix until the ingredients until they are well mixed. If the dough doesn't come together, add more water, 1 tbsp. at a time. Add just enough to make the dough come together.
Transfer the dough to a work surface, and knead 1-2 minutes. Cover with a clean towel and allow to rest 20 minutes before proceeding.
Meanwhile, mix together all the ingredients for the filling in a bowl.
Divide the pasta dough into 4 pieces. Roll the pasta dough into thin sheets according to your pasta maker's instructions.
Mine says to send the dough through at the widest setting 6-8 times, folding in half each time. I dipped my dough in a little flour after this to make sure it wasn't too sticky.
Then, reducing by one thickness at a time, feed the dough through the maker. I went to the 2nd to thinnest setting.
Place the dough on a floured work surface. Cut the ravioli shapes. Spoon 1-2 tsp. of filling onto half the shapes. Make sure there is a clear perimeter around each heart.
Dip a finger into water, and brush around the edges of the heart with the filling in it. Add one of the remaining hearts on top of the filling and press firmly around the edges. This seals the filling in.
Boil water. Cook for 5 minutes or until al dente.
Top as desired.
I had pinned a recipe for ravioli on Pinterest a long time ago. Ravioli is one of NES's favorite things, and he has been subtly hinting to me recently that I should try fresh pasta again. And honestly, it was time.
Making the pasta dough in the mixer made life much easier. Oh my goodness.
I pulled out my pasta machine for the second time. It's hard to believe had really only used it once before. I was still intimidated by it. I feel a lot better about it now. It didn't take nearly as long to roll out all the pasta as I expected.
I went simple for the "sauce" -- inspired by some pasta NES made last week, I just put a little pepper, oregano and red pepper flakes on top.
He made me a teeny tiny little cake! Isn't it cute?!
Four Cheese Ravioli
from Annie's Eats
1/2 cup part-skim ricotta
1/2 cup mozzarella, shredded
1/2 cup fontina, shredded
1/2 cup shredded parmesan
1 clove garlic, pressed or finely minced
1/4 tsp. dried oregano
1/4 tsp. dried basil
1/4 tsp. salt
pinch black pepper
Pasta:
4 eggs
1 tbsp. water, plus more as needed
1 tbsp. olive oil
3 1/2 cups flour
1/2 tsp. salt
In a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, mix the eggs, 1 tbsp. water, oil and flour on low speed. A dough should begin to form. Mix until the ingredients until they are well mixed. If the dough doesn't come together, add more water, 1 tbsp. at a time. Add just enough to make the dough come together.
Transfer the dough to a work surface, and knead 1-2 minutes. Cover with a clean towel and allow to rest 20 minutes before proceeding.
Meanwhile, mix together all the ingredients for the filling in a bowl.
Divide the pasta dough into 4 pieces. Roll the pasta dough into thin sheets according to your pasta maker's instructions.
Mine says to send the dough through at the widest setting 6-8 times, folding in half each time. I dipped my dough in a little flour after this to make sure it wasn't too sticky.
Then, reducing by one thickness at a time, feed the dough through the maker. I went to the 2nd to thinnest setting.
Place the dough on a floured work surface. Cut the ravioli shapes. Spoon 1-2 tsp. of filling onto half the shapes. Make sure there is a clear perimeter around each heart.
Dip a finger into water, and brush around the edges of the heart with the filling in it. Add one of the remaining hearts on top of the filling and press firmly around the edges. This seals the filling in.
Boil water. Cook for 5 minutes or until al dente.
Top as desired.
Always fun to read your blogs. Plus I enjoy looking at your photography. You are very talented and have a very perceptive eye. As a former photo geek I respect your vision. Keep up the good work.
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