Homemade Sausage Stuffed Ravioli

I did something yesterday that I do not normally do – and that is not much of anything.  My weekends are usually very busy.  It is a rare occurrence that finds me plopped down in a chair and reading on a weekend.  Yesterday was that rare occurrence – there I was in my chair reading my camera manual in between jumping up and trying some more food shots and then some more and more and more.  I never photographed food until I started my blog.  To say it is challenging for me is an understatement.   Food staging and photography may as well be a different language as far as I am concerned.  One of the biggest hurdles I am facing is lighting, lol notice that I say ONE OF my biggest hurdles.  Most of my cooking occurs at night and if you are a food blogger you know the challenges presented by lighting or lack of.  My husband, sensing my escalating frustration, said to me “You weren’t born walking, you didn’t take fantastic nature shots right away, you can’t expect to be great right away with food photography; you have to start somewhere.  For now I guess I have to be patient and learn and allow the process to unfold and one day I will be happy with the results of my photos; one day my photo will be accepted by Food Gawker or Taste Spotting … until then I will be plopping down in a chair more often reading a lot and practicing, practicing, practicing.

Fortunately I didn’t have a big, time-consuming dinner planned since that took up a greater part of my afternoon.  I made a Caesars salad and took some homemade sausage stuffed ravioli out of the freezer, heated up some sauce and dinner was ready quickly with little preparation and great results.  Sigh … at least dinner was great!

Sausage Ravioli Filling (Source:  Better Homes & Gardens)

Makes: 6 servings Yield: 1 cup filling (enough for 6 servings)

 Ingredients

• 4 ounces bulk Italian sausage
• 3/4 cup packed fresh spinach leaves
• 1 egg yolk, lightly beaten
• 1/3 cup ricotta cheese
• 1 teaspoon snipped fresh sage or 1/4 teaspoon dried sage, crushed
• 1/8 teaspoon grated whole nutmeg

Directions

1. In a large skillet, cook sausage over medium-high heat until brown, using a wooden spoon to break up sausage as it cooks. Stir in spinach; cook and stir until wilted. Drain off fat. If mixture is too coarse to stuff ravioli, transfer to a food processor or blender; cover and process or blend with several on/off pulses until chopped.

2. In a medium bowl, combine egg yolk, ricotta cheese, sage, and nutmeg. Stir in sausage mixture. Cover and chill until needed.