Prosciutto Ravioli

December 18th, 2009

I love this time of year to cook with friends and family. Assembly line cooking can be a ton of fun especially for people who are intimidated being in a kitchen. This ravioli recipe is super easy because it calls for wonton wrappers- which can usually be found in the produce section of your local market. However, if you’re Italian and pride yourself on making your own pasta don’t use the wrappers. Your family and friends will be insulted and you’ll never live it down!

This is not a heavy pasta dish. The light dumpling packages are filled with creamy ricotta, salty prosciutto and drizzled with a buttery, oregano glaze. If you have never stuffed ravioli before make sure your filling is dry and centered and the edges are completely sealed before it goes for a swim in heavily salted water.  This dish will delight all your holiday guests.

Prosciutto Ravioli

1 (15-ounce) container whole milk ricotta cheese
1 (10-ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed, *squeezed dry*4 ounces thinly sliced prosciutto, chopped
2 large egg yolks
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
48 wonton wrappers
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
Freshly grated pecorino

Whisk the ricotta, spinach, prosciutto, egg yolks, salt, and pepper in a medium bowl to blend.

Place 1 tablespoon of the ricotta filling in the center of a wonton wrapper. Brush the edge of the wrapper lightly with water. Fold the wrapper in half, enclosing the filling completely and forming a triangle. Pinch the edges to seal. Transfer the ravioli to baking sheets. Repeat with the remaining filling and wrappers. (Can be prepared up to 2 hours ahead; cover and refrigerate.)

Melt the butter in a heavy small skillet over medium heat. Add the oregano and stir 1 minute. Season, to taste, with salt and pepper. Remove from the heat.

Working in batches, cook the ravioli in a large pot of boiling salted water until just tender, stirring occasionally, about 4 minutes per batch. Transfer the ravioli to a large shallow bowl.

Pour the oregano butter over the ravioli and toss gently to coat. Sprinkle the pecorino over the ravioli and serve.

 Recipe via Giada

Recipe For Butternut Squash Ravioli

By: Helen Polaski

Butternut squash ravioli is an excellent pasta dish for diabetics or those who are interested in watching their waistlines. With only 82 calories per serving, and no fat, squash is low in calories yet high in fiber and filled with plenty of good-for-you nutrients.

Butternut squash ravioli can be reduced in calories even more if you use light cream, margarine instead of butter and low-fat cheese. The pasta dough, however, will pack on the calories, so take care how you make the dough or use wonton skins, which are about 15 to 20 calories per wrapper. The following recipe is enough for three servings. One serving of butternut squash ravioli with wonton skins is about 200 calories.

Butternut Squash Ravioli
Ingredients You Will Need:
4 tablespoons butter, melted
2 cloves garlic, crushed
3 tablespoons shallots, minced
1 cup butternut squash puree
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper
½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons heavy cream
Fresh sage leaves, chopped
Fresh parsley leaves, chopped
24 wonton skins, or pasta from following recipe
2 tablespoons fresh sage, chopped
¼ cup butter, softened

Heat the butter in a skillet, and sauté the garlic and shallots until tender. Add the squash, and mix well. Salt and pepper as desired. Blend in the cheese and cream. When the mixture is thoroughly blended, add the chopped sage and parsley leaves. Place one scoop on one side of a wonton wrapper and fold over, sealing the edges. Cook the pasta in boiling water for about three minutes. Mix the fresh sage into the ¼ cup of softened butter, and spread this sage butter sauce over the raviolis. Serve with garlic toast.

Making Ravioli Pasta
When making ravioli pasta from scratch, you will need several different tools. If you don't have a ravioli pasta maker, opt for a small plastic drinking cup to cut out the pasta. A pasta maker or ravioli maker is ideal, of course, but using the open end of a cup works just as well. Have a bowl of water and a pastry brush on hand to help seal the edges.

Basis Pasta Dough Recipe
Ingredients You Will Need:
2 to 3 eggs
½ teaspoon salt
2 to 3 cups white flour
2 tablespoons water (optional)
2 tablespoons vegetable oil (optional)

http://www.life123.com/food/italian-food/ravioli/butternut-squash-ravioli.shtml

This recipe will make about 24 raviolis. Mix the first four ingredients with a fork. Add the flour slowly, 1 cup at a time, or place a mound of flour on a clean countertop, make a well in it and then dump the ingredients into the well. To get the gluten working, knead the dough for about 7 minutes. Roll out the dough with a rolling pin to about ⅛-inch thickness. Cut the raviolis out with the open end of a small glass, place 1 teaspoon of filling on each dough circle and add another circle over the filling and seal. If necessary, add water to the edges to seal.    

About Pumpkin Varieties [Split from SF Board]

Ah, let me put on my gardening hat for a moment here. The reason many made from scratch pumpkin pies are so bad is that not all pumpkins are created equal. Actually, to be precise, 'pumpkin' is NOT a botanically precise term. 'Pumpkin' is a visual designation. Any winter squash can be called a pumpkin if fits our visual criteria for pumpkin: round, ribbed, orange (with a special exception made for the white ones).

Not everything that's called a pumpkin is even the same species! Most of them, the Jack-O-Lantern types, are Cucurbita maxima, but some like Small Sugar are C. pepo, and the ones that are used in canning such as Dickinson are C. moschata, which don't even look like a classic pumpkin. Go to
http://www.mobot.org/gardeninghelp/pl... and scroll down to see a picture of one. Further down the page is Winter Luxury Pie, reportedly one of the best for pie making.

The Jack-o-lantern types have been bred for thin walls that are easy to carve. Taste was not a factor! They make terrible pies because they're watery, stringy, not particularly sweet, and frankly not very tasty. Nothing wrong with the species -- some of the best eating squashes are C. maxima, but Jack-o-lanterns aren't them!

http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/344527

Hope this was of interest and not to gardening geeky. I have a passion for winter squashes. They're so beautiful, come in such a variety, and have a wide range of tastes and textures.  

Libby's Homemade Pumpkin Pie

Prep:

0 min

Cooking:

65 mins

Cooling:

120 mins

Yields:

8 servings

For a special treat try this creamy pumpkin pie. It's smooth texture, delicate aroma and incomparable taste lend a special note to any moment of your day. Serve this delicacy on special occasions and you will make quite an impression on your guests.

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 3/4 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
• 2 large eggs
• 1 can (15 oz.) LIBBY'S® 100% Pure Pumpkin
• 1 can (12 oz.) NESTLÉ® CARNATION® Evaporated Milk
• 1 unbaked 9-inch (4-cup volume) deep-dish pie shell
• 1 cup whipped cream (optional)

Directions

MIX sugar, salt and spice in small bowl. Beat eggs in large bowl. Stir in pumpkin and sugar-spice mixture. Gradually stir in evaporated milk.

POUR into pie shell.

BAKE in preheated 425° F. oven for 15 minutes. Reduce temperature to 350° F.; bake for 40 to 50 minutes or until knife inserted near center comes out clean. Cool on wire rack for 2 hours. Serve immediately or refrigerate. Top with whipped cream.              http://www.verybestbaking.com/recipes/106796/Libbys-Homemade-Pumpkin-Pie/detail.aspx

LIBBY'S® Famous Pumpkin Pie

Prep:

15 mins

Cooking:

55 mins

Cooling:

120 mins

Yields:

8 servings

This is the traditional holiday pumpkin pie. This classic recipe has been on LIBBY'S® Pumpkin labels since 1950. This pie is easy to prepare and even easier to enjoy. Just mix, pour, bake for a delicious homemade tradition.

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 2 large eggs
• 1 can (15 oz.) LIBBY'S® 100% Pure Pumpkin
• 1 can (12 fl. oz.) NESTLÉ® CARNATION® Evaporated Milk
• 1 unbaked 9-inch (4-cup volume) deep-dish pie shell
• Whipped cream (optional)

Directions

MIX sugar, cinnamon, salt, ginger and cloves in small bowl. Beat eggs in large bowl. Stir in pumpkin and sugar-spice mixture. Gradually stir in evaporated milk.

POUR into pie shell.

BAKE in preheated 425° F oven for 15 minutes. Reduce temperature to 350° F; bake for 40 to 50 minutes or until knife inserted near center comes out clean. Cool on wire rack for 2 hours. Serve immediately or refrigerate. Top with whipped cream before serving.      http://www.verybestbaking.com/recipes/18470/LIBBYS-Famous-Pumpkin-Pie/detail.aspx          

recipe: white chocolate rocky road cake!

 

i made this very pretty rocky road cake yesterday in preparation for christmas and thought that i would share the recipe! oh it also makes a very sweet gift!

recipe: white chocolate rocky road cake

ingredients:

350g premium belgian white chocolate

200g marshmallows

200g turkish delight

80g glace cherries

10g chopped peanuts

10g desiccated coconut

edible glitter (optional)

method:

• greese and line a 5'' cake tin with baking paper
• gently melt chocolate in the microwave
• meanwhile, combine all other ingredients in a large bowl
• stir through melted chocolate and pour into tin
• gently squash mixture down to fill gaps
• use a pallete knife to smooth the top
• refigerate overnight and then remove from tin
• sprinkle with edible glitter
• decorate with a pretty ribbon and wrap in clear celophane until christmas
• http://hello-naomi.blogspot.com/search?updated-max=2010-12-29T22%3A59%3A00%2B11%3A00&max-results=20

I {heart} Christmas, teacher gifts!

http://cinnaberry-suite.blogspot.com/search/label/Christmas

Have you seen these around? Sorry to bore you if you have:) They start out like this:
and turn into these Candy Cane Peppermint Bark HeartsI made up a couple batches for teachers' Christmas presents. SOOOOO cute! My boys said they were super yummy too. Need a quick gift idea...well...here ya go!

Wally world has all the stuff you need to make 'em: Small candy canes, $1.00, Almond Bark less than $2.00, and I didn't even use those big ol' peppermint sticks, so just ignore those.

You place the candy canes in a heart shape on a peice of wax paper.
Melt a couple squares of chocolate bark in the microwave. WARNING: NEVER LEAVE YOU BARK UNATTENDED TO CHECK YOUR FACEBOOK PAGE! SHOOT!Make sure you check on it often and stir stIR, STIR!

You can choose to spoon the bark into the hearts or use a pastry bag. I just used a large ziplock to do mine.

As you can see...when your chocolate bark is set,
melt some vanilla bark. I added 1/4 tsp. of peppermint extract to my 3 cubes that I melted. Once again I filled my bag and piped in into the hearts on top of the chocolate. I then took the back of a spoon and smoothed it out a little.
I had quite a few broken Candy Canes in my little box..I totally should have taken them back, right? I'm sure it didn't help that my little girl was "HELPING" me chuck everything into the back of my trunk. TANGENT, OVER>>> I threw the broken ones in my little mini chopper and ground them into a super fine powder.
Next after my vanilla bark was hardened, I drizzled it with more chocolate and sprinkled with the candy cane dust. They turned out super cute!Who cares if they get stuck in your teeth and will totally give you lock jaw! They look fabulous all wrapped up with a tag... that's all that matters! Oh, and don't be sending me all your dental bills. I WARNED YOU! Here's a close up of the tag.
I just digi scrapped it and printed them off. EASY! The tag says," Merry Christmas from the bottom of our HEARTS" Cheesy like nachos. Let me know if you need a label I can shoot one your way:) Happy candy making:)