Made my first pie ever (that I can recall – I’ve been baking since I was a wee girl) for my mother-in-law as a Mothers Day gift yesterday. She really liked it, and she’s been a baker for close to 70 years. Her only comment is that she prefers her pies to have slices not chunks of apple in it. If that’s the worst she can say to someone who doesn’t like to bake pies, then I’m happy.
Last night’s linner (lunch-dinner), Veggy Calzones: tomato sauce (from a jar), shredded mozzarella, diced green peppers, yellow onions and broccoli, on top of store bought pizza dough. Baked for 12 minutes at 475 degrees.
Made in our squishy, cheesey sammie thingie maker, aka the panini press. It rocks! This is our first effort, a ‘po man’s Reuben: leftover pork roast, spinach, cheddar (like) cheese, and zesty sammie spread. Brilliant.
The other night I had the urge to make some homemade ravioli. I didn’t feel like making a big production out of it, so I chose to use wanton wrappers in place of pasta made from scratch. I made the filling using up some ricotta that was about to go bad and some parley that refused to stay around for longer than two days in my fridge. I added some shredded fresh Parmesan (never, ever use that crap that comes from a container – never!), some S&P and one egg I whisked first.
I added roughly one teaspoon of filling to each sheet, wet the edges with my water dampened finger around the blob of filling to ensure a good seal when I cooked them in a pot of boiling water. The last thing you want is for your pasta sheets to seperate and leak your lovely filling out into the general public. It’s dirty and hard to clean up, and you end up draining the pot and starting the water all over again. Trust me. Been there, done that. Oy.
So, after I let the sheets tack together, resting on a cookie sheet covered with plastic wrap, for a few minutes, I went back and used my ravioli cutter to crinkle cut the edges. Don’t they look pretty and yummy?
After the assembly is complete, I placed them in the fridge as it, uncovered, to chill till the next night’s dinner time rolled around. (I made these at 10:00pm the night before, so I missed that night’s dinner hour.) If I had had time, I would have made these the night of given they only took me 30 minutes from start to finish for a batch of 12 raviolis. If you are planning to serve more than 5-6 per person, give yourself a full hour to make more.
Oh, and don’t forget to generously salt your pot of water when it starts to boil and before you add your pasta to cook. Let them cook for about five minutes for one side and another 2-3 on the other side (wanton sheets are denser than fresh pasta, therefore take longer to turn translucent, but worth the waiting time). Scoop each out using a slotted spoon, place them in a shallow bowl and top with your favourite heated up pasta sauce.
I need more fiber (according to a few women I know who have medical degrees) so I have taken to adding a half cup of split peas to my sauces now to bulk them up. It really adds a nice texture to your sauces. Try it.
4 tbsp of butter
1 small onion, small diced chunks
1/4 cup of all purpose flour
1 quart milk
2 cups cheese (can be a blend of mozzarella and cheddar, or simply use marbled cheese)
Melt the butter over low to medium heat till it’s all melted and immediately add the onions and turn the heat up a bit to medium. Cook the onions till they are translucent, and then add the flour. Stir the mixture to cook the flour into the butter and onions. When all of the flour is wet and cooked a bit, add the milk. Cook this mixture for about 8-10 minutes till the starch from the flour thickens the milk. When the sauce is sufficiently thick enough to coat a metal spoon, use a whisk in the pot to ensure all of the flour lumps are broken down before adding your cheese and folding it in till it’s all melted. Remove from heat and let stand a few minutes, or add the sauce to your casserole or entrée dish immediately.
Fairly easy, no?