Friday, November 09, 2012

Kitchen Queen Contest Entry #7 - Ms. First Nations' Raviolis with Sauce!!!

Kitchen Queen Contest Entry #7 - Ms. First Nations' Raviolis with Sauce!!!


This makes enough to feed three people, with leftovers for lunch!

RAVIOLIS WITH SAUCE!!!

FILLING: Make one day ahead of time and refrigerate, then bring to room temp for use.
-1 ten 0z. bag of spinach, cleaned and stemmed, chopped fine (use a cuisinart...do not puree)
-1 eight-oz ball mozzarella cheese, shredded
-1/2 cup myzithra cheese, grated
-1 tbl. garlic, pureed (more or less, to taste)
-3/4 cup white onion, pureed
-1/3 cup dry bread crumbs (more or less, to perfect consistency)
-Sour cream or whole milk yogurt to moisten
-1 tsp dry oregano, or to taste
-Salt and pepper to taste

Mix ingredients by hand. The consistency should be just moist enough to hold together when formed into a ball, so err on the side of dryness to begin with.


...not quite this dry. But I found a picture of a Croc on fire, and fire makes things dry, and...yeah.

PASTA
Three cups of WHITE all purpose flour
-1 whole egg
-5 egg yolks
-2 tbls olive oil
-Milk to moisten (aprox. 1/2 cup...the amount added will depend on the humidity of the room)
Dump all this into the Cuisinart . Screw you Marcella Hazan. You say it's not authentic if you don't mix this by hand on the counter, fine; then you can just come over to my house and do it yourself. Yeah I thought not.

Dump this out onto the counter and lightly knead, adding milk or flour as needed until it forms a heavy, non-sticky dough. Cover and let set at room temp at least 1 hour. (This needs to be at room temp to 'work' properly, too, so if you have to refrigerate it, take it out a couple of hours beforehand and let it sit until it's up to speed, which is about 75km. It's better if you make it the day you use it, though.)


...this picture bears no relevance to the following.

Now:
Cut dough into 4 pieces. Have plenty of flour on hand for dusting.
-If you have a pasta machine, roll the dusted dough through the 5 setting, fold over, (just this once!!) and run it through again. Take that sheet and thin it through the 3 and then the 2 and set aside on the floured board.

-If you just have a rolling pin (or a wine bottle, like I used for 16 years) then take each piece one at a time, and roll out as flat as you can, fold it over once and then roll it out once more until it is just shy of transparency.
Now simply blop lumps of filling onto one half of the sheet of dough, leaving about 2 inches between each lump. Spray a little water on the filling side, then flap the other half of the dough over the top of it and press all around the lumps with your fingers. Now cut them out any which way, which is very tasty and picturesque and leaves no waste.

Cook in boiling salted water for 2 minutes, drain, then serve immediately with a sauce. OO look, here's one:

AWESOME SAUCE for all your awesome needs


Make this one day ahead of time.
BLEND (in a blender, geeze):
-Olive oil - choose a green, bright, fruity one. The more gunky the better in fact.
and
-Plain old tomato sauce out of the can (be fancy and use San Marzano, although it doesn't matter in the slightest)
with
-A tiny, tiny dab of mayonnaise to emulsify it all. You want a thinnish carrier, like a salad dressing or a soup consistency.
Dump in a bowl and add:
-Chopped black NICOISE olives, (rinse BRIEFLY to remove some of the salt)
-Chopped green MANZANILLA olives (again, rinse BRIEFLY to remove some of the salt)
...and yes, the variety matters.
-Minced garlic to taste
-lemon zest, about 1/2 tsp
-Freshly ground black pepper to taste
Go light with the sauce. These are all very strong flavors. You just want to smooch the raviolis with a little pizazz.
-Top with chopped roasted hazelnuts. THIS MATTERS. You'll see.

And there you go! Is done! Eat it now!

51 comments:

  1. Ooooo!
    Girl really knows her shit, talkin' like a truck drivin' chef...

    Makes me want to win the contest now.

    *leaves to soak hitchin' thumb in Palmolive*

    ReplyDelete
  2. "Sour cream or whole milk yogurt to moisten"

    Can I sub baby formula?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Can you substitute breast milk if you’re lactating?

      Delete
    2. Yes, thank you, MJ. I couldn't bring myself to type that female-ish word. Especially with so many mens reading this.

      Perhaps you should clarify, "lactating" as I am thinking some mens may think it it's related to (excessive) laxative usage.

      Delete
    3. MARGARET: I'm sure our male readers would instantly become lactose intolerant if I explain further.

      Delete
    4. He began telling himself that he would lactate, and within a week, one of his breasts swelled up and milk began dripping out. When we excitedly showed my father (a physician) David’s breast he said, “Obviously there’s something physiologically wrong with David.”

      Delete
    5. The fact that David had willed himself to do this, did not impress him. We knew, however, that this was yet another example of THE POWER OF THE MIND.

      Delete
    6. "After he discovered that his body had indeed been responsive to his thoughts, he suggested to himself that the lactation would stop, and within a week his breast returned to normal."

      David's no fun. Like my twin.

      Delete
  3. The best recipe of the contest so far.


    ...and I love Kalamata olives!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. OO you silver tongued devil you.

      Delete
    2. Jon says that to ALL the girls.

      How many times do I have to TELL you Bitches?

      Delete
    3. Yes he does, such a disappointment.

      Delete
    4. Well... I'm clearly not going to win this contest with such great recipes as yours, gorgeous ladies, so I thought I'd better try my luck at that "Most Repetitive Comment" award!!!

      Ms N, I think I'm gonna turn those raviolis into Venus navels when I make them.

      Delete
    5. Clean the lint trap first, Huggy Jon.

      Delete
    6. C'est comme ça que vous appelez la "mousse de nombril"??? hehe! ;)

      Delete
  4. Who knew Miss F.N. was all fancy and stuff?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Me and the Biker are Northwest native, small carbon footprint, organic at all costs, locavore when possible, exotic ingredient sourcin' foodie nerds. BIGTIME. When you win the compo, you'll see.

      Delete
    2. You’ll get to see the toilet planters in their yard, too, Peenee.

      *runs*

      Delete
    3. THERE ARE NO TOILET PLANTERS in my yard. Yeah,come on in; I'll show you the toilet. TWIRLIE TIME!!!!!!!!!!

      Delete
  5. myzithra cheese?

    does it come in individually wrapped slices?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. just googled it. i've never heard of it before now.

      my god, infomaniac....expanding minds.

      Delete
    2. Whoops...myzythra cheese is pretty common around here; it's a very sharp Greek goat cheese and it's hard as a golf ball. YOu grate it over stuff usually.

      Delete
    3. Oops, I forgot to hyperlink Myzithra cheese in the post in case there was anyone who hadn’t heard of it before. It’s new to me too, Norma.

      Perhaps Ms. Nations can “whey-in” …. geddit? … on what it says you can use as substitutes for Myzithra…

      Myzithra is a whey cheese, and nothing is quite as good as the originals, but if you can't find them:
      For fresh myzithra: mascarpone or ricotta
      For aged myzithra: kefalotyri, parmesan, pecorino romano.

      Delete
    4. Ho de ho! I'm 'whey' ing in on the damn cheese! A good substitute is just that ghetto crumbled feta cheese you can get at Costco. It's got the 'sharp, sour, creamy' thing happening. Just ramp back on the breast milk as feta is kinda on the dampish side.

      Delete
  6. Ooooh, sounds so yummeh!!

    But for my simple culinary skills(or lack thereof), I wouldn't even attempt this. :(

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You remain the Queen of German Style Casseroles, Ute.

      Delete
  7. This sounds really yummy, what with all those flavorful ingredients! The CROC pix is a nice touch, too!

    PS: Mistress, did I win yet?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Mistress MJ has every notion of disqualifying you for mentioning the “C” word.

      That goes double for Ms. Nations.

      You are both lucky that Mistress MJ is a benevolent hostess.

      Delete
    2. Say now! It was in the process of being DEVOURED BY FLAME. Sure as hell made me happy. And before you drop LX down the oubliette, nobody should be disqualified for using a proper noun if what that noun is nouning is the death of a truly ugly piece of footwear. *throws self in front of LX*

      Delete
  8. Ms Nations is calling for my special ingredient!
    Ack, she is too good at this and obviously has no need for the M&S food halls.
    Sx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. What is your special ingredient, Miss Scarlet?

      And if you’re looking for a Christmas gift for Mistress MJ, a Scottish Shortbread Biscuit Tin from the M&S Food Hall wouldn’t go amiss.

      Delete
    2. I misss M&S. We use to have one here in Montreal. It withdrew totally from Canada a few years ago after about 20 years of not making money. In fact, it was the food section that supported the rest. :(

      Delete
    3. What special ingredient? What special ingredient? What special ingredient? What special ingredient?

      Delete
    4. I can't say, Ms Nations, not yet anyway as it makes up the whole of my recipe.
      Sx

      Delete
  9. This recipe gets my vote. I wouldn't change a thing, I'm not even tempted to add a chilli to disguise it's wanton nature.

    And to drink...

    I'm instantly drawn to the Loire region, the spiritual home of Sauvignon Blanc. Tescos finest Sancerre (£11.99) with it's intense aromas of citrus fruits and redcurrants followed by crisp, dry and refreshing flavours on the palate and goes well with goats cheese.


    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Tesco is "the spiritual home of Sauvignon Blanc". Jx

      Delete
    2. Hooray for supermarket wine and Tesco plonk.

      Delete
  10. Bravo Ms Nations, and mostly "Sauced" from local ingredients. You must take a size 2 in carbon shoes....

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. As long as she's not wearing Crocs, all is well, Prinny.

      Delete
    2. Like a good little hippie, I'm wearing those black cloth 'Mary Jane' type shoes put out by the Communist Chinese. Gung hay fat choy and all that.

      Delete
  11. My stomach is rumbling... Jx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You must be lactating.

      Delete
    2. “An exciting, funny and provocative book that covers new ground. Do you fancy a breastmilk cocktail? Are you a breastfeeding father? Does milk spurt out when you make love?"

      Delete
    3. That went without saying. *shudder*

      Delete
    4. My stomach suddenly stopped rumbling. I feel it may soon empty itself... Jx

      Delete
  12. Ravioli are grown in tin cans. Here's what you do with them.

    ReplyDelete