Thinking Outside the Noodle – Sage Pasta Ravioli with Butternut Squash Filling – Part 3 of 3

I’m wrapping up this series with one of my favorite ravioli fillings.  Fresh sage pasta dough is a perfect wrapper for butternut squash filling.  If you haven’t tried making ravioli yet, don’t be intimidated.  It’s the very first pasta I made and really not as hard as you might think, especially with a pasta roller and ravioli press.  Enjoy!

Sage Pasta Ravioli with Butternut Squash Filling

Ingredients
9 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons minced shallots
1 cup roasted butternut squash puree
Salt
Freshly ground white pepper
3 tablespoons heavy cream
3 tablespoons grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, plus 2 ounces
Pinch nutmeg
1 recipe fresh sage pasta, about 1/4-inch thick
12 fresh sage leaves
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh parsley leaves

Directions
In a large saute pan, over medium heat, melt 1 tablespoon of the butter. Add the shallots and saute for 1 minute. Add the squash puree and cook until the mixture is slightly dry, about 2 to 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Stir in the cream and continue to cook for 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in 3 tablespoons cheese and nutmeg, to taste. Season with salt and pepper. Cool completely.

Cut the pasta ribbons into 3-inch squares. Place 2 teaspoons of the filling in the center of each pasta square. Bring 1 corner of the square to the other, forming a triangle and seal the pasta completely. (alternatively, use a ravioli press).  Add the pasta to pot of boiling salted water. Cook until al dente, about 2 to 3 minutes or until the pasta floats and is pale in color.

Remove the pasta from the water and drain well. Season the pasta with salt and pepper.

In a large saute pan, melt the remaining 8 tablespoons of butter. Add the sage to the butter and continue to cook until the butter starts to brown. Remove from the heat.

Place some of the pasta in the center of each serving plate. Spoon the butter sauce over the pasta. Sprinkle the 2 ounces of cheese over each plate and garnish with parsley.

Recipe Source:  foodnetwork.com

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Chocolate and Pasta Lovers Unite – Chocolate Ravioli with Cannoli Filling and Chocolate Raspberry Sauce

Chocolate Ravioli with Chocolate Cannoli Filling and Chocolate Raspberry sauce – A Pasta Princess Original – Time for some creative pasta!

I’ve never had chocolate pasta, nor have I made it.  I am a firm believer that one can never have too much chocolate or pasta.  My inspiration came from my recently canned jars of chocolate raspberry sauce.  In thinking about a creative approach for pasta I came up with chocolate ravioli filled with chocolate cannoli filling.  What a great accompaniment to my chocolate raspberry sauce!  I tried the ravioli warm and I tried them cold and I prefer them chilled.  Get creative, get pasta, get chocolate!  ENJOY!

Chocolate Ravioli Ingredients 

2 1/3 cups Flour
1/2 cup Cocoa powder
3 Large eggs
1/3 cup Water

Combine flour and cocoa in mixer.  Make a well in the middle and add eggs.  Slowly stream 1/3 cup water into the mix – while running – until dough comes together. Attach the dough hook and knead until smooth, approximately 6 minutes.  Wrap tightly in plastic wrap, allow to rest at least 10 minutes.

Roll dough through a pasta machine to desired thickness.  Using a ravioli form, lay out a sheet of pasta and fill with chocolate cannoli filling.*  Put the top sheet of pasta on, roll with rolling pin to ensure all air bubbles are released and pop out your ravioli.  Store in fridge if eating the same day, otherwise, put on a cookie sheet and put the ravioli in a freezer.  Once frozen they can be stored in a freezer zip lock bag until ready to be devoured.

To cook the ravioli bring a large pot of water to a boil. Gently add ravioli to boiling water, one at a time, about 6 to a batch. Ravioli has finished cooking when they float to the surface of the water. Use a slotted spoon to remove cooked ravioli from the water, dip in cool water to halt the cooking process.

Serve warm or cold, dusted with powdered sugar or drizzled with sauce.

Chocolate Cannoli Filling*

• 12 oz whole milk Ricotta cheese, strained
• 8 oz Mascarpone cheese
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 3 tablespoons cocoa

In a mixing bowl, using a rubber or silicone spatula, blend together Ricotta and Mascarpone cheese while running and pressing mixture along bottom of bowl to remove any lumps. Fold in powdered sugar. Cover and chill 30 minutes (or until ready to use).

 

Coming later … chocolate raspberry sauce.

Homemade Pasta 3 Ways – Part I – Magenta Colored Pasta – Ravioli

Part I of a 3 Part Pasta series.  I spent a good part of the day Saturday creating some eye-catching, taste tantalizing pasta that I’d love to share with you.  I made pasta 3 ways ~~ 3 different shapes, 3 different colors, 3 different vegetables!  Travel along and have some fun!

Homemade Pasta 3 Ways – Magenta Colored Pasta – Ravioli Part I

Pasta Dough – Magenta Color

• 2-1/4 Cups Flour
• 3 Eggs
• 1/4 Heaping Cup Beets, finely chopped*
• 1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
• 1-2 Tablespoons Water (as needed)
• Dash of Salt

*Preheat over to 425 degrees, wrap red beets in foil, and roast until tender approximately 45 minutes, depending on size.  Let cool then chop fine in a food processor.  Beets will add more liquid to the dough, so add water accordingly.

NOTE:  You can make pasta without a pasta maker, but in all honesty, if I had to roll and cut all that dough by hand I wouldn’t be making pasta!    I have a Kitchenaid Mixer and also purchased the pasta attachments.  It wasn’t until a year ago, that I finally bought a Kitchenaid Mixer.  It was one of those things that I thought I didn’t need and could make do with the inexpensive mixer I had for 15 years  and I did make do.  But let me tell you … I wish I had purchased it years ago ~ if only I knew then what I knew now!  The Kitchenaid is a workhorse!!  It has made my life so much easier and is so worth the money if you do a lot of baking and pasta making.  No, this blog isn’t endorsed by Kitchenaid, just trying to pass on what I wish I had known years ago.

Directions:

Put eggs and beets together in food processor and pulse to combine. Combine flour and salt in mixing bowl. Make a well in the middle of the flour.

Add to the middle well of flour the eggs and beet mixture, olive oil, and water.  Add flour or extra water to dough as needed – consistency should not be sticky. With beater attachment, beat on low for 1 minute. Switch to dough hook and mix for 6 minutes. Take dough and cover in plastic wrap and let rest for at least 10 minutes.

After all my pasta dough was made I then put all the dough through a pasta roller.  This recipe is for 1 lb. of pasta so I split it in half, and rolled one half at a time.  I did the same for all 4 lbs of dough.  One in magenta, green, orange and plain.  I covered each sheet with plastic wrap so it wouldn’t dry out while I was rolling the rest of the dough.

Making the Criss-cross Design

I took a sheet each of the magenta, green and orange and put each one through the spaghetti cutter.  I then took the plain colored sheet of pasta and laid it out on the counter. I placed the colored spaghetti alternating on top of the plain sheet of pasta and repeated crosswise.  I pressed the spaghetti to the plain sheet with my fingers and then lifted the sheet carefully and put it through the pasta press.  It is then ready to make ravioli.  Make sure to put the patterned side face down, facing the counter, in your ravioli press.  Fill your ravioli with desired filling, lay a sheet on top, roll with a rolling-pin to ease out any air pockets.  Flip it over and admire your handiwork!

Tip:  When using a ravioli press always be sure to spray it with cooking spray each time so that the ravioli pop out easily.

If you won’t be eating the ravioli right away simply put them on a cookie tray, pop them into the freezer and then store in a zip lock freezer bag.  When you are ready to indulge in a sumptuous treat, boil some water, place the frozen ravioli gently in the boiling water and cook for approximately 4-5 minutes until they rise to the top! Enjoy!

Coming next … Homemade Pasta 3 Ways – Green Colored Pasta – Fettuccine

Homemade Ravioli – All Dressed for Christmas

I love experimenting with pasta – so for the holidays I made homemade ravioli in Christmas colors.  I used spinach to create the green dough and beets to make the red dough. You can view my post here to see how I make the stripes.  The recipe I use for all my pasta is here. It’s really quite festive, don’t you agree?  It can be stuffed with anything; this particular ravioli was filled with sausage filling.

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.

Butternut Squash and Pear Ravioli with Rosemary Sauce

Another great Butternut Squash recipe!   I made this over the weekend and froze 36 ravioli, anticipating a Butternut Squash craving in early Spring when there won’t be any to be found!  I feel like a squirrel hiding away my “acorns/Butternut Squash”!  

I thought a bright yellow dough would be a fun contrast to the bright orange of the squash filling.  I used turmeric in the pasta dough to obtain the bright yellow color.  This recipe for the filling was found here.

Ingredients:

• 1 Lb Fresh Pasta (I used this recipe)
• 1 Butternut Squash
• 1 Large Pear, peeled, cored, and diced small
• 1/4 Teaspoon Chili Powder, preferably Ancho chili
• 1/4 Cup Dry Jack, Asiago, or Parmesan Cheese, grated
• 1/4 Cup Pecans, toasted and roughly chopped
• 4 Tablespoons Butter, unsalted
• 2 Teaspoons Fresh Rosemary, chopped fine
• Pinch Salt

Preparation:

Make the Filling

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Cut the squash in half lengthwise and scoop out the seeds. Place the squash flesh side down on a cookie sheet lined with aluminum foil. Roast the squash until the flesh is easily pierced with a fork (about 45 minutes). Let cool slightly and scoop out the flesh.

Place the cooked squash into a large fry pan and cook over medium heat. Cook for about 10 minutes to dry out the squash. Remove from heat and place in a large bowl.

To the squash, add the cheese, chili powder, and diced pear. Mix well and add salt to taste.

Cook the ravioli for 4-5 minutes in salted boiling water.

Make the Sauce

Melt the butter in a small sauce pan. Add the chopped rosemary and cook for 1 minute. Set aside.

Place a serving of ravioli into each bowl or plate. Spoon the rosemary sauce over the ravioli and sprinkle some pecans over the top.

Enjoy!

Chicken Marsala Ravioli Filling with Rosemary Cream Sauce

In my continuing obsession with making homemade ravioli and looking for different fillings I came across this recipe on Food Network from Tyler Florence.  I didn’t have any sage on hand so I changed the recipe and added some fresh rosemary from my garden.

This has become one of my favorite fillings!  Ravioli freeze well and make a quick elegant dinner.  Take them out of the freezer, drop into boiling water and they are done in approximately 5 minutes!  Once the ravioli float to the top they are ready to eat.

Chicken Marsala Ravioli Filling

Recipe courtesy Tyler Florence

Ingredients

• 8 ounces chicken breast, cut in strips
• 4 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• 1 shallot, chopped
• 1 garlic clove, chopped
• 1/4 cup Marsala wine or chicken broth
• 4 thin slices prosciutto, sliced
• 4 bay leaves
• Fresh thyme and parsley leaves
• 2 tablespoons bread crumbs
• 2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese, grated, divided
• Salt and pepper
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup heavy cream

Directions

Brown chicken in 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium-high heat. Add shallot and garlic. Deglaze with Marsala. Take pan away from heat source and flambe. Return pan to stove, flame will go out in about 1 minute. Add prosciutto and herbs. Sprinkle in bread crumbs and 1 tablespoon Parmesan. Drizzle in 1 tablespoon of olive oil to keep moist. Discard bay leaves. Pulse together all ingredients in a food processor. Add egg, cream, remaining Parmesan and olive oil. Pulse again. Chill before filling ravioli.

For the sauce I substituted the sage with fresh rosemary, used Half and Half  and added a ½ Cup of parmesan cheese.

Mushroom Cream Sauce

Recipe courtesy Tyler Florence

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2 garlic cloves, finely minced
• 5 sage leaves
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• 6 ounces portobello mushrooms, sliced
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 leek, roughly chopped

Directions

Melt butter in a saute pan over low heat. Add garlic and sage. Season with salt and pepper. Add the mushrooms, cook 5 minutes until slightly softened. Pour in cream and heat slowly. When the sauce has reached a velvety smooth consistency, remove from stove. Stir in leek and serve immediately with chicken Marsala ravioli.

Now . . . light a couple of candles, put on some nice music and enjoy!

Ravioli

These are absolutely delicious!  The filling is best when fresh corn is in season.

Star Raviolis in Sweet Basil Cream Sauce

Recipe courtesy Guy Fieri, 2008

Serves:  6 to 8 servings

Ingredients

• 2 ears Fresh sweet corn, shucked and removed from the cob
• 3 tablespoons Red bell pepper, minced
• 3 tablespoons sweet onion, diced
• 10 each Fresh basil leaves, chiffonade
• Freshly cracked pepper
• 5 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
• 1 pinch nutmeg, ground
• 6 ounces ricotta cheese, room temp
• 6 ounces cream cheese, room temp
• 1 package wonton wrappers (I used homemade pasta dough)
• 2 egg yolks, beaten
• 3 tablespoons Parmesan, grated

Directions

Melt butter in sauté pan, add in corn, red bell pepper and onion. Let sauté until onion is translucent and corn has released some of its sugars. Add in 1/2 of the basil leaves and a couple of twists of black pepper. Add in 1/4 cup heavy cream and reduce by half. Set aside to cool.

When cool, smash up a bit with a fork, stir in ricotta and cream cheese. Place wonton wrappers down (three at a time works) and in the center of each, place 1 1/2 t filling. Brush exposed wrapper with egg yolk, carefully place a second wrapper on top and carefully seal edges, making sure to get out any air bubbles. Set aside on floured baking sheet and continue to assemble.

When finished, boil water and gently add raviolis a few at a time, cooking for 2 minutes or until they float. Carefully remove and drain.

For Sauce: In clean saute pan, melt remaining 4 tablespoons butter, when melted, add in remaining basil, sauté until crisp and butter is just very lightly browning. Add in remaining cream and reduce to thickened. Salt and pepper to taste, serve over raviolis immediately.

Garnish with Parmesan.

Who Said Looks Don’t Matter!

How to create beautiful striped ravioli.

I believe looks matter, at least when creating ravioli.  Food is not only about taste, but about appearance – it all works together to create a complete “foodie” experience.

The first step is to make your pasta dough in various colors.  I used carrot for the orange, beet for red, turmeric for yellow and spinach for the green dough.  The taste of the vegetables does not come through when eating the ravioli – especially noteworthy for those who don’t like beets!

Roll out sheets of all your colored and plain pasta dough.  Pass the colored dough through the fettuccine cutter and lay the strips out on the plain dough, arranging by color and pressing to adhere the strips to the sheet.  Gently pick up the sheet and run through the pasta press one time to adhere the strips.  If using a ravioli form, lay the sheet striped side down, fill the pockets, place a plain sheet of pasta on top, press with a rolling pin … and look at your creation!

Ravioli that is not only beautiful to look at,

but absolutely delicious!

Girl Friend Lunch

 

 

In the sweetness of friendship let there be laughter, and sharing of pleasures. For in the dew of little things the heart finds its morning and is refreshed.

       Khalil Gibran

 

 Mixed greens salad with orange Vinaigrette

 My homemade ravioli stuffed with sausage and ricotta with fresh pesto sauce

 

My Lemon Meringue Pie

 

Our best friend, she is the one who: 

• Is there for you whenever you need her

• Would do anything for you

• Laughs with you

• Uplifts you

• Tells it like it is

• Consoles you

• Compliments you and encourages you

• Becomes your “Shopping Sister”

• Shares common interests with you

• Listens when you need to talk

• Understands you

• Gets it

• Will be honest with you

• Lets you be yourself and doesn’t judge

• You have fun with

 

Girl Friend Lunch – what would we do without our best  girl friend!