It was a mere 6 months ago when I decided to start posting every week. It was partly for you, reader, to be reassured that you could come here every week and hopefully gain a new little tidbit to chew on and hopefully cook or bake yourself. It was also for me, as I hoped I would be motivated to try new things, establish a writing routine, improve my baking and photography skills. I think these things have occurred in middling amounts, but I bet there is so much more out there. However, at this moment...
I feel stuck.
It's not that I lack delicious things in my life. Rather, as this "weekend meditation" so thoughtfully put it: blogging about food is tricky sometimes, especially when what you eat is not particularly unique or attached to a meaningful/witty/interesting story. Case in point: I sat down this week to an untold number of heirloom tomato/fresh mozzarella/basil salads (yes, me, the president of the I Hate Salads club). Wonderful? Yes. Blog worthy? Ehh...
Other noteworthy eats from the past week: polishing off the ice cream brownie cupcakes, these scones (in mini form!), a summer squash gratin gone horribly wrong (I blame the pyromanic oven broiler), the best bbq chicken to ever flirt with my lips, Lois the Pie Queen, my very first cup of Philz, 5 minute pho, fried chicken sandwiches and cookies at Bakesale Betty, Remedy coffee, the most potent hot chocolate I've ever experienced at Bittersweet.
Yes, it was all tasty beyond compare (save the burnt-to-a-crisp gratin). But now that I've returned from la la land (aka the Bay Area), I'm jonesing for newness. This is where you come in.
I need your ideas! Tell me about things you want to learn, things you've always wondered about, things that would excite you enough to get you into the kitchen! Tutorials on how to do X? Explanations on topics Y or Z? Your own guest spot? Better photography? (If so, lend me your camera! :) Every suggestion will be, at the very least, seriously considered. I'm all ears, and if you didn't catch this already, I am in desperate need of inspiration (from you)! Help!!
What do you want to see here?
I really really want the caprese salad. And more stories about food.
ReplyDeleteAnd more that's what she said jokes.
Dear Stephanie:
ReplyDeleteI can tell you of my quest for this recipe, or rather, this food, if you make it. I think this would be a most excellent blog post, I can contribute, and it is DEFINITELY a recipe you don't see everyday, but IT'S DELICIOUS!!! trust me, it took me years to find even two recipies and I don't know if they're any good. I suggest a trial run on your own if you have time and then together we do a taste test come August. By taste test I mean you cook and I eat. Lol, jk I'll totally help! I am an avid reader of your blog! CONSIDER MY INPUT!!! And we'll totally have to double or triple it. pshh, 4-5 as a first course. meaning like a couple of measly pieces each. no no, we need more. in my lazy self meantime i might try some premade ricotta tortellini(especially if i can find the safeway brand whole grain one--it's delish and has a bit of sweetness to it that would pair well) with the sauce.
Recipe:
Cinnamon and Ricotta Ravioli with Basil
(Serves 4 or 5 as a first course)
For the pasta:
4 extra large eggs
A pinch of salt
3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for kneading and rolling
For the filling:
1 1/2 cups ricotta, drained
1 large egg
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon sugar
2 heaping tablespoons grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, plus a chunk to bring to the table
Freshly ground black pepper
Salt
For the sauce:
1 stick unsalted butter
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon sugar
Freshly ground black pepper
A handful of basil leaves, cut into thin strips
To make the dough, place the eggs in a food processor and sprinkle on the salt. Pulse a few times just to mix them well. Start adding flour, about a cup at a time, pulsing it in, until you have a moist ball (you may not need all three cups of flour). When the dough has formed a ball, pulse about 30 seconds more, and then dump it out onto a floured surface and kneed it until it’s smooth and soft. Wrap in plastic wrap and let it rest about 30 minutes.
ReplyDeleteWhile the dough is resting, mix all the ingredients for the filling together in a bowl. The filling should be very slightly sweet with a subtle cinnamon edge, but it will also have a salty note from the Parmigiano. Put the bowl in the refrigerator while you roll out the pasta (this will firm up the filling a bit, making it easier to fill the ravioli with).
Divide the dough into four pieces, keeping each covered with plastic wrap until you work with it, so it doesn’t dry out. Run a piece of the dough through the widest setting on a hand-cranked pasta machine two times. Start running it through thinner and thinner settings until you get to the last setting and the pasta is very thin and smooth. Lay the pasta sheets out on a floured surface, and let them dry for about 15 minutes before cutting (this makes them easier to handle). With an approximately 3-inch cookie cutter, or something equivalent, cut large circles in the dough. Drop heaping tablespoons of the ricotta filling on half of the rounds, and brush a little water around the edges of all the other rounds. Place the other rounds on top, and press around the filling to get rid of any air pockets. Seal the edges all around with the tines of a fork, making a little ridged pattern. (This is evidently how my great-grandmother finished hers, and it does make them look nice. Lay the ravioli out on a well-floured sheet pan, and let sit unrefrigerated until you cook them (if they need to wait for more than a few hours, I would freeze them before the bottoms get moist and start sticking to the sheet pan).
To make the sauce: In a small sauce pan, melt the butter over low heat. Turn off the heat and add the cinnamon, sugar, and black pepper.
When you’re ready to serve the ravioli, set up a large pot of pasta-cooking water, and bring it to a boil. Add a generous amount of salt. Add the ravioli and boil them just until they float to the surface, about 3 minutes. Let them cook about another minute, and then scoop them from the water with a large strainer, letting all the cooking water drip off, and place them on a large warmed platter (Pouring them into a colander might break them apart; this method is much gentler.)
Add a splash of pasta-cooking water to the butter sauce and give it a stir. Drizzle the sauce over the top and scatter on the basil. Serve right away, bringing the remaining Parmigiano to the table for grating.
To make the dough, place the eggs in a food processor and sprinkle on the salt. Pulse a few times just to mix them well. Start adding flour, about a cup at a time, pulsing it in, until you have a moist ball (you may not need all three cups of flour). When the dough has formed a ball, pulse about 30 seconds more, and then dump it out onto a floured surface and kneed it until it’s smooth and soft. Wrap in plastic wrap and let it rest about 30 minutes.
ReplyDeleteWhile the dough is resting, mix all the ingredients for the filling together in a bowl. The filling should be very slightly sweet with a subtle cinnamon edge, but it will also have a salty note from the Parmigiano. Put the bowl in the refrigerator while you roll out the pasta (this will firm up the filling a bit, making it easier to fill the ravioli with).
Divide the dough into four pieces, keeping each covered with plastic wrap until you work with it, so it doesn’t dry out. Run a piece of the dough through the widest setting on a hand-cranked pasta machine two times. Start running it through thinner and thinner settings until you get to the last setting and the pasta is very thin and smooth. Lay the pasta sheets out on a floured surface, and let them dry for about 15 minutes before cutting (this makes them easier to handle). With an approximately 3-inch cookie cutter, or something equivalent, cut large circles in the dough. Drop heaping tablespoons of the ricotta filling on half of the rounds, and brush a little water around the edges of all the other rounds. Place the other rounds on top, and press around the filling to get rid of any air pockets. Seal the edges all around with the tines of a fork, making a little ridged pattern. (This is evidently how my great-grandmother finished hers, and it does make them look nice. Lay the ravioli out on a well-floured sheet pan, and let sit unrefrigerated until you cook them (if they need to wait for more than a few hours, I would freeze them before the bottoms get moist and start sticking to the sheet pan).
To make the sauce: In a small sauce pan, melt the butter over low heat. Turn off the heat and add the cinnamon, sugar, and black pepper.
When you’re ready to serve the ravioli, set up a large pot of pasta-cooking water, and bring it to a boil. Add a generous amount of salt. Add the ravioli and boil them just until they float to the surface, about 3 minutes. Let them cook about another minute, and then scoop them from the water with a large strainer, letting all the cooking water drip off, and place them on a large warmed platter (Pouring them into a colander might break them apart; this method is much gentler.)
ReplyDeleteAdd a splash of pasta-cooking water to the butter sauce and give it a stir. Drizzle the sauce over the top and scatter on the basil. Serve right away, bringing the remaining Parmigiano to the table for grating.
can you post something that'll make me eat my veggies? like really, really amazing delicious veggies?
ReplyDeleteit's hot and i've been living on popsicles...and starting to feel a little, you know, guilty about it.
Thanks for a nice post.
ReplyDeleteDo n't eat more fat diet more which is not good for health.
ReplyDelete