Ho Ho Ho Merry Hanu-Kwansa-mas!!
I could not wait. Nope, I just could not do it. I bought myself a Christmas present early. I know, I know. You are never supposed to buy yourself a present right before the holidays. But I just could not help myself. Want to hear what I got? I got a ravioli attachment for my little Atlas pasta machine. Man, it’s the coolest. Roll out the pasta, drop it into the ravioli maker, spoon in some filling and Volia! Raviolis!!
If it were only that simple. I had great fun whipping up the meat filling for those little pillows of goodness but it was definitely a trial and error process for me. The pasta sheets kept ripping and sometimes the raviolis would not fill. But after a few failed attempts I got it down. So will you so don’t get frustrated just keep at it and soon your ravioli will be as good looking as mine.
This time around I used a classic technique that makes for a flavorful and meaty ravioli. I am so excited to share this with you as it is fun technique and it gives the meat a great texture and incorporates the different ingredient flavors completely. What is best about this technique is that you can use it to make raviolis, meatballs, meatloaf, sausage or meat patties. Let me describe it for you.
First: Put your food processor bowl, lid and blade into the freezer. You want the pieces to be as cold as they can be. Having all of your ingredients super cool will aid their ability to combine.
Second: Grind the meat yourself. Please use a meat grinder as this cuts the long muscles of the meat at regular intervals. I used a blend of lamb, chicken, pork and beef. Using a food processor to grind meat only separates the muscles strands and will cut them unevenly giving the final product a lumpy texture.
Third: After all the meat is ground put it into the refrigerator covered or into the freezer for about 15 to 20 minutes so that it becomes very cold.
Fourth: Separate one egg for each pound of meat you will be processing. You will be using the egg whites. Go ahead and cook up the egg yolk for breakfast or save it for your nog!
Fifth: Prepare your flavoring ingredients. You will always need a little salt as this helps the proteins bind. I saute’d an onion with some garlic and separately toasted about a tablespoon a fennel seed per pound. Don’t be bashful with any of the ingredients except salt. If it is not enough add more next time or vice versa.
Time to make Force Meat!!
Place up to one pound of meat into the chilled food processor. Add the saute’d onion garlic mixture and a heavy pinch pf salt. Process at high speed for about 15 seconds then add the egg white while processing. Process for another 15 to 30 seconds and Voila! You have force meat.
To test the flavor I put a small pan of water on to boil. When the water begins to simmer, the point just below a boil when little bubbles gently begin to rise, drop a small soon of the meat mixture in to it and let it cook for about 3 minutes. Remove it and cut the piece through to make sure it is done. Give it a taste. If it needs a little pepper go ahead and blend it in for another 15 seconds. If it wants more toasted fennel, repeat the process.
Return the mixture to the refrigerator and let it chill for about 15 minutes before using. Now you can make raviolis or sausage or even Wanton, or Potstickers. This classic technique is so easy and all purpose you are going to blow your friends and family away with it.
I got so excited using my new ravioli maker that I had to whip up something a little extra so I grabbed a Spanikopita recipe off of the InterWeb and used it to fill some left over pasta I had lying around.
Spinach Filling
2 bunch Spinach, chopped and washed
1 Onion, chopped and saute’d
6 Green Onions, chopped and saute’d
Chop the above ingredients and saute’ them for about 10 minutes.
1 cup Feta Cheese
1/2 cup Ricotta
Salt and pepper to taste
Add the saute’d ingredients and the cheeses to the food processor and blend until all the ingredients are blended. Use to fill pasta or puff pastry as desired.
To see how I make my pasta read my Roly Poly Ravioli!! post. The basic recipe I use is
Pasta Recipe
2 cups Semoilina flour
3 Eggs, large
1 Salt pinch
Mix all the ingredients in a bowl and knead together. If the dough doesn’t stick together add one teaspoon of water at a time and mix well until the pasta holds together. Knead on a floured table for about 10 minutes until the dough ball is relatively smooth then let rest for about 15 minutes before using or wrap in plastic and place in the refrigerator or freezer until needed.
I rolled out the sheets of pasta and popped them in to the magic Atlas pasta maker and dropped in my new favorite meat filling into the hopper and look-out-world . . . Raviolis!!
My holiday dinner this season will be cracked crab, chicken ceasar salad, antipasta with the ravioli to finish. I hope that you are looking forward to your holiday meal as much as I am.
Eat Well and Smile Often!!
tj
p.s. I’ll start my diet next year.
In this corner, weighing in at a plump 3 1/2 pounds the current heavy weight roasted chicken champion of the world: Madeline Kamman’s Herbed Butter under-the-skin.
And in this corner, weighing in at a firm 3.25 pounds, the Contender, made-by-mom-at home Mahogany Chicken. The pride of the borough, this friendly approach to adding flavor should not be underestimated; stylish, smart and sassy. Who will be the winner is anyone’s guess. Kamman’s herbed champion has the breasts to put up a great fight. But The Mahogany contender has got the legs to run away with it all. Marquis of Queensbury rules apply!
In the left corner prepped with just a rub of salt and pepper on the skin: The Mahogany Contender. In the right corner with an herbed butter rubbed under the skin directly on the breast: The Herbed Champion.
In the left side of the oven The Contender holds its own against The Champion. But don’t count out the slippery moves that Herbed Butter can bring to this fight. The heat is up for both of them and so far neither is backing down from a basting.
The final round and The Contender is putting on a show. Evenly browned after multiple bastings She’s showing no sign of legging off. The Champ, a little unevenly used from the butter directly under the skin, is still in the fight. Her delicious herbs giving off the airs of a true champion, one who never quits.
I recently got called on my cooking BS.
Now to the title of this piece and how Pilav became Pilaf. In 1533, at the age of fourteen, Catherine de Medici of Italy married Henry II, king of France. Henry, to our benefit you’ll soon discover, was much more interested in his mistress Diane de Poitiers than his new bride. Catherine as a result was excluded from politics and all things court like. Instead of staying by her husband’s side she traveled the country with her entourage. Here comes the good part. The Italians, being the great travelers and traders they are, brought back not only goods for commerce but great heaps of culture from around the globe. In Catherine’s entourage were chefs schooled in cross cultural cooking techniques and the dishes they inspired. As they progressed around France, Catherine chefs would require the assistance of local cooks to prepare the Queen’s meals. Catherine moved on but the cooking techniques remained, Pilaf included. While there has been some trifling debate as to whether Catherine actually had this much effect on French cuisine, those of us who study it can precisely time its rise to the Renaissance period. So there!
What to do? What to do? What to do? A winter’s day ripe for hot tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches. But, tomato season is over and I just can’t get my self to buy those pale pink, baseball hard orbs the grocer labels as tomatoes. I remember my mother trying to get the Kids to eat vegetables during the winter and serving us these rock hard, white tomatoes with a wedge of iceberg lettuce and an oversize portion of bleu cheese dressing. Yes, health was on her mind.
Anyway, this weekend the rain was coming down and Suzanne and I were hankering for something warm and satisfying. Tomato soup sounded great but alas . . . no fresh tomatoes. Wait!! That is not entirely true. While they were not fresh off the vine in the minute, I did have a jar of tomatoes that I put up right after picking. I reached into my pantry and came out with a quart jar of lovely ripe, stewed tomatoes. One of the great challenges of having an edible garden is using all of its produce. This year I went heavily into tomatoes and was rewarded with a bumper crop. Take a minute to review my 
The next step is my favorite. I like to blend my soups. Now some cooks like to use immersion blenders, those little electric motor sticks with wimpy little blades that barely move your soup around the pot. Me, I like using a blender on low speed until I get the texture I want. And . . . every once in a while I forget to keep my hand on the lid and oops, I get a little messy. Occasionally I will strain my soup to remove any extra chunky bits. I tried that this time and was not happy with the results so I dumped the solids back into the pot and was happy that I did.
Giving the puree’ a taste test I found the soup to be a little flat so I added just a pinch of kosher salt. Wow!! Did that pick the flavors right up. Normally I would add some acid to brighten the flavor but the tomatoes brought just enough to the dish so no vinegar was needed.
Fortunately for me she did not stop there. Suzanne also whipped up a little fresh pesto which she used to coat a slice of freshly baked baguette. On top of which she added slices of Gruyere and Mozzarella. Get that all melty in the toaster oven and Man!! What a meal.
So, this last rainy weekend, Suzanne and I tucked into freshly baked bread topped with pesto and cheese with a steaming hot bowl of tomato cream soup. Took the shivers right away. My advice is: If you find yourself wanting for grilled cheese and soup one rainy day, dig a little deeper into the pantry and see just what might make make the day a little brighter.