Hot Pink

Hello blogosphere. I'm here for the day (and maybe a couple more depending on my schedule and inspiration this week) because I wanted to showcase the ravioli I made for dinner the other day.

I had a few friends over for dinner so I thought I would treat them to home made pasta. Kill two birds with one stone: surprise my friends with a unique dish (which turned out to be a crowd pleaser) and gather material for my almost abandoned--keyword almost--food blog.

Before I move onto the recipe let me write an update on my life. I'm officially three weeks away from my first marathon! I can't begin to explain how excited and scared I am. Even though my initial fear of not finishing was obliterated by months of hard training and disappeared somewhere along week 12, a new fear has emerged in its place. I'm now terrified of not reaching my goal of a Boston Qualifier.

In a way, I'm happy I still fear something because it's making me challenge myself and stay focused on the running ahead. But at the same time, I'm anxious for the day to come when I can turn my dream into an achievement.

Ok. Enough writing about my running--I don't want to jinx anything--here is the recipe to these delicious and photogenic beet ravioli. I'll link to the pasta recipe, but if that is too much for one go, wonton wrappers are a good substitute (or so Epicurious says). Still, if you have the time and the motivation, I recommend making the pasta dough too; no need for a pasta machine and completely worth it.

Beet Ravioli with Poppy Seed Butter (adapted from Epicurious)
Makes about 60 ravioli.
Active time: 45 mins. Total time:

• 2 red beets (about 14 oz.)
• 1/2 cup ricotta cheese
• 2 tablespoons dried breadcrumbs
• 1 1/4 Fresh Egg Pasta (or other pasta recipe)
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 tablespoon poppy seeds
• 1/4 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese + extra for serving

1. Preheat oven to 400F. Wrap beets individually in foil and place on baking sheet. Roast until tender when pierced with knife, about 1 hour. Open foil and let cool.
2. Peel beets and finely grate. Add ricotta cheese and season with salt and pepper. Stir in breadcrumbs.
3. Prepare a baking sheet by placing a layer of plastic wrap (or half of a clear plastic bag) and sprinkle it with flour. Roll pasta dough into sheets according to recipe above. Working with one sheet at a time, using a 3-inch round biscuit cutter, cut 7-8 rounds out of each sheet. Transfer rounds to prepared sheet, lightly sprinkle with flour and cover with another layer of plastic. Repeat with remaining dough.
4. Sprinkle two smooth kitchen towels with flour and set aside; place a small bowl of water next to work surface. Working in batches, place pasta rounds on work surface and spoon 1 teaspoon beet filling onto half of each round. Dip fingertip into water and dampen edge of the round; fold over the filling, pushing out as much air as possible and pressing edges to seal. Transfer sealed ravioli to prepared towels. Repeat with remainder. 
5. Melt butter in a large skillet and stir in poppy seeds; keep warm. Working in batches, cook ravioli in a large pot of salted boiling water until tender, about 4 minutes each. Using slotted spoon, transfer to skillet with butter and toss to coat. Transfer ravioli to serving dish and and sprinkle with 1/4 cup parmesan. Serve warm and with extra parmesan cheese.

Mushroom Ravioli

First of all, I am NEVER making pasta again without a pasta maker--well at least not ravioli.

Since I have settled that, I can tell you about my horrible experience trying to make ravioli (without a pasta maker or a rolling pin). I decided to make it after browsing through my new Food & Wine cookbook and becoming hungry just by looking at the photographs. The recipe seemed easy. It was not.

Anyways, given that I am going back to my old blogging ways (posting more often than not), here is my first recipe of the semester: mushroom ravioli.

If you have a lot of dedication--and plenty of time on your hands--try this; if not, wait until you purchase a pasta maker and then do it. Even though I became discouraged during the process, in the end these turned out better than I expected.

Ravioli (adapted from Food & Wine)

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 tablespoon semolina flour + more for dusting
• 3 large eggs (make sure they are large)
• 1-1 1/2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• Filling (I used sauteed mushrooms)

1. In a food processor, pulse all-purpose flour with salt and semolina flour. Add eggs and pulse until just incorporated, careful not to overdo.
2. With the machine on, add olive oil in a thin stream and process until moistened crumbs form. Turn onto semolina-dusted surface and knead dough just until smooth. Wrap dough in plastic wrap and let sit at room temperature for 30 minutes.
3. Cut dough into 4 equal pieces and wrap in plastic. Working with one piece at a time, flatten using a rolling pin (or wine bottle in  my case) until dough is thin enough to see the outline of your hand through it. Dust with more semolina if necessary, but careful not to add too much since it will dry the dough.
4. Cut strips of dough 8 inches wide. Place filling 1/2 inch from edge, placing more filling every other inch. Fold dough over filling and cut ravioli, leaving a 1/2 inch edge. Using a fork, press dough together around filling to seal. Place ravioli on a semolina-dusted baking sheet until finished with remaining dough.
5. In a large pot, boil water with a pinch of salt. Cook half the ravioli over high heat until al dente, about 3 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, carefully transfer ravioli to platter (or pan if working with sauce). Repeat with remaining ravioli and serve right away. Uncooked ravioli can be frozen for up to 1 month (freeze first on baking sheet and transfer to plastic bag).

For a quick sauce: dice tomatoes and sauté in pan over medium heat. Add ravioli when tomatoes are cooked and stir for a couple of minutes. Sprinkle ravioli with mozzarella cheese and serve immediately.