buona sera

I was feeling ambitious this past Sunday and decided to tackle homemade ravioli. I've done it several times before, but it's a bit time-consuming and exhausting (note: cranking the pasta machine for hours is a great workout). But after all that cranking, you've built up a big appetite and get to indulge in your hard, yet delicious, work and your date (or whoever you're feeding) will praise you as a culinary goddess/god. Totally worth the effort.

There are three main components to a good ravioli dish. The filling, the pasta and the sauce. Because I am who I am, I made all three from scratch, but I've got a shortcut that'll make this easier and just as tasty if you're not in the mood to crank all afternoon. You can always assemble your ravioli, freeze it and cook it the next day to make it easier yet again!

So first thing's first. If you're going to be super ambitious and chef-like, you want to make your pasta dough first so you can refrigerate it for at least 30 minutes — giving it time to rest. You'll need one recipe of either basic egg pasta or a whole wheat variety. You can either handcut your raviolis or get a nifty ravioli moldthat makes perfect raviolis everytime. Make sure you're well rested, because rolling out the dough will take it out of you. On the other hand, if you have no desire to make homemade pasta, and I can understand why, pick up some wonton wrappers at the grocery store. They work great as makeshift ravioli skins.

Next you'll make the filling, pulse it a few times in the food processor and let it sit aside. You want to make sure you season your filling really well so you can taste it once it's in the pasta.

The last step is the sauce! Homemade sauce might seem a little elaborate, but this one is really really simple and only takes about 15 minutes to make. It also looks fancy and sophisticated, much cooler than marinara out of a jar.
A meal this great begs for a nice ambience. Candles, a bottle of red wine, the lights dimmed — whatever does it for you. I was hoping for better weather so we could sit on the patio again and mimic the setting of an Italian sidewalk trattoria, but it was too chilly. Unfortunately, I also don't have dimmers in my dining room...or candles, so the romantic Italian setting was out. Despite those obstacles, the meal and the company was just as enjoyable.

Buffalo Rosemary Ravioli, serves 4

• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 medium shallot, minced
• 1 lb. ground buffalo
• 2 Tbsp minced garlic
• 1 Tbsp fresh chopped rosemary
• 1 1/2 tsp fresh chopped sage
• 1/4 c. freshly grated parmesan
• 1 egg
• S&P
• one recipe pasta dough or 1 packet of wonton wrappers

In a skillet, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Add shallots and saute for 5 minutes, until tender. Turn heat up and add buffalo. Brown the meat until cooked through. Strain off excess liquid. Lower heat to medium-low. Add garlic and cook for 2 minutes. Add herbs and cook for another two minutes. Set aside to cool slightly. In a food processor, pulse the meat and cheese until finely chopped. Season to taste. Add egg and combine in food processor. Make sure to not taste filling after you've added the egg. Roll pasta according to recipe and fill or fill wonton wrappers, dabbing a little water on the edge to seal. Place them on a baking sheet lined parchment paper until ready to cook. Cook in boiling water until they start to float and the pasta is cooked through 5-8 minutes.
To freeze, place entire baking sheet in freezer and chill until completely frozen. Transfer to a freezer bag and keep frozen until ready to cook.

Mushroom White Wine Sauce, serves 4

• 2 cups chicken or beef stock
• 1/2 cup white wine
• 1/8 tsp garlic powder
• 2 tsp cornstarch
• 2 sage leaves
• 1 tsp unsalted butter
• 1-8oz. package baby bella mushrooms, stemmed and sliced
• S&P

Combine, chicken stock and white wine in a shallow skillet. Add garlic powder and sage leaves. Bring to a simmer and reduce by half. Whisk cornstarch in, be careful because it gets chunky easily. Add mushrooms and cook for 5-8 minutes. Add butter and season to taste. Toss with fresh pasta and serve with parmesan.

Note: When rolling fresh pasta dough, you only want to roll it to the second to smallest setting on your pasta machine. If you roll it to the smallest, the dough is more susceptible to tearing.