little woman

Tonight I flew too close to the sun. I started roasting a butternut squash for the ravioli and then started making a couple of loaves of zucchini bread. After I put the zucchini bread in the oven, I decided if I didn’t use those far gone bananas now to make banana nut bread, I would never get around to it. When Paul got home he started making the pasta dough for the ravioli. Somehow, everything came out just fine and nothing got burned… but we had way too many things going at once tonight!

Butternut Squash Ravioli

Ingredients

see Homemade Pasta Dough recipe or use wonton paper
1 butternut squash
8 oz marscapone
6 shallots
salt
pepper
olive oil
parm

Roast the squash for about an hour. Now, start your pasta dough. Obviously stop this process before it is time to cut the sheets into noodles.

After the squash cools, scrape the meat out and compost the skins. Cut up the shallots and sautee in a medium pot. After the shallots are fragrant, add in the squash and stir frequently. When it begins to look dry, take off the heat and add in the marscapone. Stir while the marscapone melts and add salt & pepper to taste. I also added a little sriracha sauce for a little heat.

Cut your pasta sheets into squares and put a dab of your squash mixture in the middle.

With your finger, wet the edges of the square, fold it over and pinch the sides together.

Pop them in boiling water and watch them rise to the top. I used a slotted spoon to take them out as we had several batches. Toss them with a little olive oil (to prevent sticking), salt & pepper, and parmesan. Very, very tasty!

We had quite a bit of pasta left over after we ran out of squash mixture. We cut it into noodles and froze it for later!

Not sure what has made me experiment so much in the kitchen the last week… perhaps it just provides something else to focus on instead of the wedding. Also, I have had a bit of a dillsplosion. This weekend I made my first attempt at pickles!

I did it while we watched Mary’s commencement. There was a live stream of it online (and apparently some on TV) because President Obama gave the commencement speech! I had to look up who gave my commencement speech… Gordon England. Meh…

As I do with most anything I make, I made it up as I went along, using a Spicy Dill Pickles recipe from Emeril to guide me. First your must sterilize. I put everything in boiling water for about 5 minutes.

While everything was getting sterilized, I cut everything up. I included big chunks of onion, lots of fresh dill, peppercorns, big cloves of garlic and, of course, the pickling cucumbers. I didn’t have any peppers on hand.

After everything has been sterilized and cooled, start your pickle juice! I used 3 cups of apple cider vinegar, 3 cups of water, 1/2 cup pickling salt, and 1/4 cup sugar. Stir so it all dissolves and bring to a boil. While that is coming to a boil, pack the jars full!

After your juice comes to a boil, pour it into each jar leaving a little room at the top. Be careful! It is hot! Tap each jar on the counter at least once to get rid of any air bubbles. Then place your lids!

Bring more water to a boil so you can process the jars. Carefully put your jars into the boiling water for about 15 minutes. I found that taking the pot off the heat made it easier for taking them out of the boiling bath when they were finished. Tongs didn’t do it for me.

That recipe called for 3 weeks of waiting… but it also left the cucumbers whole instead of cutting chips. Oh well, we will be preoccupied and out of the country for a bit anyway. We will try them when we get back from GB.

One of our wedding gifts was a pasta machine. Tonight we took our first stab at fresh pasta and it was a huge success! I don’t think I will ever go back.

Ingredients

3 1/2 cups organic, unbleached, all-purpose flour

6 regular cage free organic eggs

Process

Mound flour on a clean surface. Have plenty of work space. Make a well in the middle of the flour and crack all your eggs inside.

Whisk the eggs in the middle and then incorporate the flour into the eggs. The dough should be sticky and elastic. Knead the dough for about 4 minutes.

Wrap in plastic and let sit for 15 minutes. After it rests, cut into 1/3s.

Take one section and wrap the rest back up in the plastic. It is important the dough never get too dry through this entire process. Take your first section and put it through the pasta roller on the highest/widest/thickest setting (7 on mine).

Then fold it into 1/3s onto itself… like a letter.

Put the folded section through the pasta roller again, still on the widest setting. Continue to do this 6 or 7 times. Should the dough become sticky, sprinkle with flour. After 6 or 7 times, the dough should remain elastic and smooth. Set this aside and cover it with a dish towel while you do the same to the other 2 sections.

After all 3 sections of the dough are finished, take the first section you completed and put it through the roller again on one setting smaller (6). Continue putting it through the roller each time turning down a setting by one (5, 4, 3) until you get to the next to last setting (2). This section will be come extremely long.

At this point we cut this long piece in half. Set this section aside and cover with a dish towel. Do the same to the other 2 sections. We ended up layering sections of pasta and a dish towel to make sure it didn’t dry out. After all 3 sections have been rolled down to the next to last setting, let them all sit for about 10 minutes.

After they rest, take your first section and put it through the pasta cutter of your choice. We chose the linguine because the thicker strands might hold up best for our first attempt. We didn’t find this process to be a one-person job, but especially this part.

As your cut pasta comes out, lay it out on the dish towels again (or a spiffy pasta drying wrack if you have one… or coat hangers). Cut all sections and lay out to dry for 15 minutes.

Then you are ready to cook! We boiled half and put half in a plastic bag to freeze for later. It supposedly lasts for 6 months frozen. Don’t forget to put the date!

I wasn’t sure if it would, but, like homemade gnocchi, the pasta floated to the top when it was finished. Don’t walk away. It won’t need to cook longer than 5 minutes. I stuck around and continued to stir lightly. I was afraid it might congeal in a ball if I didn’t.

When I drained the pasta in the colander, I immediately ran some cold water on it to stop the cooking. Voilà! I tossed in some basil from the garden, tiny mozzarella balls, cherry tomatoes, olive oil, 4 or 5 chopped garlic cloves, and salt & black pepper. I can’t wait to make this meal again with homemade mozzarella and tomatoes and garlic from the garden!

Very tasty first attempt!

This weekend has been insane. Baby, family craziness. This morning we had a Father’s Day brunch at Abbie’s house. I hate buying things. I only want to make things. And we needed to take things. After my very mediocre attempt at sourdough bread yesterday, I thought I was all “made” out for the weekend. But I woke up this morning with muffins on the mind… with lemon.

I could only find half of a lemon that Paul used earlier in the week for a beer. I couldnt zest it very well. I didn’t have blueberries but i started to make this recipe anyway. In the middle of that I switched gears and wanted lemon with rosemary. So I made this recipe… kind of.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup milk
• 2 tablespoons minced fresh rosemary
• 2 teaspoons grated lemon peel
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup butter or margarine, melted
• 2 tablespoons sugar

DIRECTIONS

1. In a saucepan, combine the milk, rosemary and lemon peel. Bring to a simmer; cook and stir over low heat for 2 minutes. Remove from the heat; cool slightly. In a bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and salt; set aside. In another bowl, whisk the eggs until foamy. Stir in butter, sugar and milk mixture until combined. Stir into the dry ingredients just until moistened. Fill greased or paper-lined muffin cups two-thirds full. Bake at 375 degrees F for 20-22 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack.

I say kind of b/c my lemon supply was pretty poor but i managed to get just enough zest. Also I had already put the sugar in with the dry ingredients per the other recipe instead of mixing it with the wet. Oh well. They turned out alright! I will make another attempt at these sometime. YUM!

Paul and I are going up north next weekend to hang with my dad for Father’s Day. We are going to a Rangers game. Should be fun!

HAPPY FATHER’S DAY ALL! AND HAPPY MIDSUMMER! Make a bonfire!

Happy Memorial Day all! Andy and Christina had people over for a BBQ and I decided to try some new stuff!

Today I made my first lattice top berry pie… with my first attempt at homemade crust. I cook a lot but I am a lousy baker… that is why this is only my first attempt at this. But what says Memorial Day picnic more than a homemade pie!?

I used this recipe for a Summer Berry Pie from Whole Foods.

Summer Berry Pie

This simple fruit pie is delicious year-round but it’s particularly special in the summer, when berries are at their sweetest and most juicy. Arrange a lattice crust over the top of the pie, if you prefer.

Ingredients

2 1/2 cups flour, divided
2 teaspoons granulated sugar
Salt
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter, chilled and cut into small cubes
3 cups (about 3/4 pound) blackberries
3 cups (about 3/4 pound) raspberries
2 cups (about 1/2 pound) blueberries
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon raw or turbinado sugar, divided
Zest of 1 large orange or lemon
1 tablespoon milk or heavy cream

Method

Put 2 cups of the flour, granulated sugar and 1/4 teaspoon salt in the bowl of a food processor and pulse briefly to combine. Add butter and pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal. (Alternatively, cut butter in by hand with two table knives.) Add 1/4 cup ice-cold water and pulse, or mix by hand with a fork, just until dough begins to come together. Form dough into two 4-inch discs, cover and chill until firm, about 2 hours or overnight.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Put blackberries, raspberries, blueberries, 1/2 cup of the raw sugar, remaining 1/2 cup flour, zest and a pinch of salt in a large bowl and mash together gently until well combined and juicy but still chunky; set aside. On a lightly floured surface, roll out one piece of dough into a 10-inch circle and gently transfer to an 8-inch pie pan. Transfer berry mixture to pie pan; set aside.

Roll out remaining dough as you did the first piece and transfer to pie pan, gently draping it over the berry filling. Firmly press the edges together then trim away excess dough. Pinch or crimp edges as desired and cut 3 slits in the top of the pie to allow steam to escape. Brush crust with milk and sprinkle with remaining 1 tablespoon raw sugar then bake until golden brown and bubbly, about 1 hour. Set aside to let cool completely then serve.

Nutrition

Per serving (1 piece/about 6oz/178g-wt.): 330 calories (130 from fat), 15g total fat, 9g saturated fat, 35mg cholesterol, 90mg sodium, 49g total carbohydrate (6g dietary fiber, 18g sugar), 5g protein

I used this recipe for the crust because it had foolproof in the name… seriously.

These are the instructions I followed for making the lattice top. Great instructions and great pictures!!

This was the final product. I think it went over well

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Next I made these Baked Beans, also a recipe from Whole Foods.

Ingredients

3 slices nitrate-free bacon, roughly chopped
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 large yellow onion, chopped
1 to 2 tablespoons tomato paste
1/2 cup light brown sugar
2 tablespoons molasses
1/2 to 1 teaspoon chipotle chile powder, more to taste
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
3 (15-ounce) cans white beans, such as navy, rinsed and drained or 6 cups cooked white beans
1 to 1 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth, plus more if needed
Salt and pepper to taste

Method

Preheat oven to 325°F. Cook bacon in a large, oven-proof skillet over medium heat until it starts to release its fat. Add olive oil and onions and cook until translucent and soft, 5 to 7 minutes. Stir in tomato paste, sugar, molasses, chile powder, mustard and vinegar until well combined and cook for 1 minute. Add beans, broth, salt and pepper and stir gently to combine.

Cover skillet tightly with a lid or foil and bake for 1 hour. Remove lid, add more broth if needed to moisten beans and continue to bake, uncovered, until top is browned and bubbly, about 30 minutes more. Serve hot.

Nutrition

Per serving (about 10oz/284g-wt.): 360 calories (70 from fat), 7g total fat, 2g saturated fat, 5mg cholesterol, 330mg sodium, 62g total carbohydrate (9g dietary fiber, 21g sugar), 15g protein

These turned out well and are vegetarian/vegan.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Lastly I made this Grilled-Pepper Salad with Currants, Capers and Feta from Food & Wine. It was very tasty

Ingredients

1 large red bell pepper
1 large yellow bell pepper
1 large orange bell pepper
1 large green bell pepper
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons pine nuts
2 tablespoons dried currants
1 tablespoon drained small capers
2 tablespoons sherry vinegar
1/4 cup chopped parsley
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
Salt and freshly ground pepper

Directions

Light a charcoal grill. Grill the peppers over high heat, turning, until charred all over. Transfer to a large plate and let stand until cool enough to handle. Peel the peppers and discard the charred skins, seeds and stems. Quarter the peppers lengthwise and arrange them on a platter.

In a small skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil. Add the garlic and pine nuts and cook over moderate heat until golden, about 4 minutes. Stir in the currants and capers. Remove from the heat and stir in the remaining 1/4 cup of the olive oil. Let cool to room temperature. Whisk in the vinegar and stir in the parsley and feta; season with salt and pepper. Pour the dressing over the peppers and serve.