Holy Smokes I Actually Made Pasta

With my bare hands, because I don't currently have one of those fancy pasta roller attachments for Black Betty. Who is Black Betty, you might ask? Well, besides being this really awesome song, Black Betty happens to be the hardest working member of the Geeky family and the source of ongoing joke between Geeky Dude and myself.  Whenever she is mentioned,the conversation always ends in each of us racing to say "Bam-Ba-Lam!" Oh yes, we're that couple.

Black Betty does love her accessories, however not as much as Geeky Girl loves her shoes, so therefore she remains pasta roller attachment-less. I'm a bad Kitchen Aid mother. As a punishment, I get to roll out my own pasta dough, which honestly folks, and pardon my French here, is a real pain in the arse. 

But, you didn't come here to read about my amazing shoe collection addiction..... so, without further adieu, please enjoy this AMAZING recipe for ravioli! It's seriously going to rock your socks off.

Pumpkin Ravioli in a Rosemary and Thyme Brown Butter Sauce

Pasta Dough

5 eggs

1 tablespoon of salt

1 tablespoon of olive oil 

3 cups of all-purpose flour

Simple Pumpkin Filling

1 can of pumpkin
1 cup of Pecorino {or Ricotta which is what I used}
2 Teaspoons of Nutmeg
1 Teaspoon Cinnamon
1 Teaspoon of Rubbed Sage
1 Teaspoon Thyme
1 dash of salt and pepper

Rosemary and Thyme Brown Butter Sauce


4 Tablespoons of butter
Rosemary 
Thyme 

In a small bowl, beat the eggs, salt and olive oil. In a large bowl, place the flour and pour in the egg mixture. Stir with a fork and fold together until all of the egg mixture is absorbed and the dough forms into a sticky ball.  Flour your hands and divide the dough into 3 separate ones. Knead each dough a bit to form it into a ball. Cover each in cellophane and refrigerate for a few hours.

While the pasta dough is chilling, prepare you pumpkin filling by thoroughly mixing together all ingredients. Set aside.

Roll out the ball of dough as flat/thin as you can get it. I cut mine into circles using a cookie cutter but you could do squares as well with a knife or ravioli cutter. 

After you've cut the dough into whatever shape you choose, roll each ravioli a little bit before scooping on a small dollop of pumpkin mixture. Place another square or circle (depending on what shape you chose) on top, and using a fork, press the two pieces of dough together at the edges, which creates a pretty border.

Once you've assembling your masterpieces, place them in a pot of well salted boiling water until they rise to the top. About 3-4 minutes....or 10-15 if you didn't roll out your dough thin enough. Drain them (carefully!) in a colander.

Melt 4 tablespoons of butter. Just before it starts to brown, add fresh rosemary and thyme leaves, stirring until the butter slightly browns. Pour over raviolis, admire your homemade works of  art, and then devour.

**Notes and Alterations** Holy smokes, I was worried about this recipe because I tried a ravioli before putting on the sauce and honestly it wasn't super. It kind of tasted like pumpkin pie got confused and lost inside a ravioli shell....but then, then we made this amazing savory browned butter and oh my holy browned buttery goodness. I will most definitely make this again....sadly probably this week because that easy pumpkin filling makes twice what is needed for what the pasta dough makes for ravioli shells and Geeky Dude pretty much inhaled it.  

Next time, I'd like to use fresh squash, butternut would be amazing. I didn't have fresh herbs because it's winter (okay technically Spring now, but there is still several feet of snow on the ground and my herbs are not happy and growing outside yet) so I used dried herbs. I can't even begin to imagine how much more amazing this would be with fresh rosemary and thyme browned butter. 

I Just Love A Good Quinoa Recipe

Hello blogosphere!

I hear that once again the Vatican is setting records with Popliness (it's a word, I said so) by electing a non-European pope today. Not only that, but he apparently renamed himself from Jorge (which I think would have been a kick-ass pope name...Pope Jorge...c'mon!)  to Pope Francis I. This apparently also breaks with tradition because there has never before been a Pope Francis in the history of popes. The things you learn.

In other news, I'm gearing up for a trip home to the East Coast to see my family and visit with some friends for an East Coast style bridal shower leaving Geeky Dude home to fend for himself. As I've said before he is a great cook, but sadly when left to his own devices will gladly eat just peanut butter and jelly and cereal to avoid having to cook meals for just himself.

That being said I decided to prep him for a 3-day weekend alone with another big batch of stew so he can feast on leftovers while I dine on lobster :)

This recipe is courtesy of Cookin' Canuck (Adore the name!) and I made some pretty hefty adjustments due to ingredient shortages and my own personal preferences. I'll note them at the bottom of the recipe along with the results.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 lb. butternut squash, peeled, seeded & chopped into 1/2-inch pieces
• 3 1/2 cups chicken broth
• 1 1/2 lb. boneless, skinless chicken thighs
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 1/2 tsp dried oregano
• 1 can (14 oz) petite diced tomatoes
• 2/3 cup uncooked quinoa
• 3/4 cup pitted and quartered kalamata olives
• Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 1/4 cup minced fresh flat-leaf parsley

Instructions

1. Steam the butternut squash until barely tender, about 10 minutes. Remove half of the squash pieces and set aside.
2. Steam the remaining squash until very tender, an additional 4 to 6 minutes. Mash this squash with the back of a fork. Set aside.
3. In a large saucepan set over medium-high heat, bring the chicken broth to a simmer.
4. Add chicken thighs, cover, and cook until chicken is cooked through, about 15 minutes.
5. Transfer the chicken thighs to a plate and allow to cool. Pour broth into a medium-sized bowl.
6. Return the saucepan to the stovetop and lower heat to medium. Add olive oil.
7. Add onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is starting to turn brown, 8 to 10 minutes.
8. Add minced garlic and oregano. Cook, stirring, for 1 additional minute.
9. To the saucepan, add tomatoes, butternut squash pieces, mashed butternut squash. Stir to combine.
10. Stir in reserved chicken broth and quinoa. Bring to a simmer, cover and cook until the quinoa turns translucent, about 15 minutes.
11. Shred the chicken with your fingers or a fork.
12. Stir the chicken, olives and pepper into the stew and simmer, uncovered, to heat, about 5 minutes.
13. Stir in parsley and serve.

***Adjustments and Results***  I didn't have a butternut squash handy, so I used some white pumpkins we had lying around begging to be used. In hindsight this wasn't the best choice. I would recommend a squash over a pumpkin (acorn or butternut) as they have a stronger flavor. I also roasted my pumpkin in the oven, another something I wouldn't recommend unless you have copious amounts of time on your hands. Seriously. 

I added a pinch of rosemary and thyme to this as well and omitted the olives as I can't tell you my absolute hatred of all things olive (except, oddly....olive oil, which is amazing)

I ended up adding a bit more liquid towards the end because the quinoa really soaked up a lot and I had reservations about it being quite so thick.

All in all, this is a good base recipe and I would recommend it. It's pretty gosh darn tasty.