Valentine Ravioli!

Happy Valentine's Day.  As I type this, I have Butter Chicken in my slow cooker and Nutella Brownies in the oven.  There is a lot of love going on in my kitchen right now.  I'm looking forward to dinner.  But we also had a nice pre-Valentine's Day family dinner on Sunday.  Everyone pitched in, and we made mushroom ravioli.

Kev and I went out to dinner at Palio a couple of weeks ago, and I got some really good mushroom raviolis.  I've been wanting to make pasta lately, so I looked around on the internet and found a couple of mushroom filling recipes which I used as guides.  One thing I really wanted to do was copy how the restaurant sprinkled crumbled up amaretti cookies on top of the pasta.  It was a really nice touch.  It added a little texture and a little sweetness.  So, I went to Wegman's, where I have purchased amaretti cookies before, and - no cookies.  I looked all over town - Super Target, Giant, Safeway - no cookies.  So, I gave up on that idea, but that's OK.  The ravioli must go on.

So, Sunday morning, I made the filling.  Then, I made some pasta sheets while Kev and Daphne filled them.  I can't say enough good things about the KitchenAid pasta attachment and the Norpro ravioli maker.  Both are so easy and fun to use.  Daphne can almost do the ravioli maker by herself:

Aaah...the army of ravioli is complete:

Later that afternoon, when I ran out to Safeway on my final quest for cookies, THIS happened:

I came home from the store, and when Daphne heard me, she came running downstairs all dressed up, ready for a fancy dinner.  This was all her idea.  She got herself dressed and put clips in her own hair.  I love that kid.

Eventually, dinner was served.  Since there were no cookies, I toasted some pecans to sprinkle on top.  I also made a sage butter cream sauce that I am proud to say I made up all by myself without a recipe.  The Force was with me.

The pasta, filling, and sauce all got rave reviews from Kev, who said it was better than the restaurant.  I liked it too and was sad when I took my last bite (22 raviolis are in the freezer for another day, though...woohoo!).  Daphne really wanted to like it, but didn't.  The filling was mushy and there was cheese.  Not really her thing.  I didn't expect her to like it, but I am so proud of her for trying it without any battling or complaining whatsoever.  In fact, for tasting the ravioli, she got her 20th Star Wars point, and finally earned the privilege of watching Star Wars.  Next Saturday, we're having Family Star Wars day, which will include Star Wars themed foods, so stay tuned for that.

Below are recipes for the mushroom filling and sauce.  Follow the KitchenAid directions or your preferred method for making the fresh pasta, or use wanton wrappers and seal them with water (you can google how to do that if you haven't done it before).  Top with lots of freshly grated parmesan, toasted pecans (or amaretti cookie crumbs), and serve with a nice salad.  Yum.

Mushroom Ravioli Filling

Ingredients:

Mushrooms (I used one pint-sized container each of button, cremini, and shitake mushooms) thickly sliced or quartered
2 or 3 cloves of garlic, chopped
1/4 cup butter
1 Tbsp olive oil
salt
pepper
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp garlic powder
2 Tbsp beef broth 
1 cup ricotta cheese
1/2 cup parmesan cheese (freshly grated if possible)


Directions:

Melt butter over medium heat and add olive oil.
Add mushrooms and saute, stirring occasionally, until they release their juices and the pan is no longer sort of all watery.  This takes several minutes.  Be patient.
Season with salt, pepper,  onion powder and garlic powder.
Add garlic and cook for about 30 seconds.
Add beef broth and let it reduce.
Set mushrooms aside to cool.
Add ricotta, parmesan, and cooled mushrooms to food processor and blend until smooth. (Or if you like the filling to have a little texture, don't blend as long).
Taste and season as needed.
Use mixture to fill pasta according to your preferred method ( I used my Norpro press).
Let pasta dry for about an hour before cooking, or freeze in a single layer.
This made 44 raviolis.


Sage Butter Cream Sauce

Ingredients:

1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup AP flour
dried sage
salt
pepper
about 1 1/2 cups chicken stock 
heavy cream
nutmeg

Directions:

Melt butter over medium heat.
Add flour and stir constantly, once combined, cook for a minute or two
Add chicken stock,  stirring constantly until combined and there are no lumps of flour, bring to a simmer to thicken
Season with sage, salt, and pepper to taste
Add 1/4 or 1/2 cup heavy cream (whatever you like). 
Taste and re-season as needed.  Warm through, but don't let it boil.
Grate some nutmeg - just a little - into the sauce and stir to combine.

Add to ravioli, top with toasted pecans (or crumbled amaretti cookies if you can find them) and freshly grated parmesan cheese,  and enjoy!