Howdy All!
Well, I just could not resist that title, so I'm gonna use it from now on. Okay then, soooo, I'm in the mood for pasta. Not just any pasta, but homemade ravioli. As some of you know, I'm addicted to cold smoking (blame Todd) and I smoked some of my yummy pasta flour, not all, but about a third. Then I mixed up some eggs and the smoked flour and some non-smoked flour like so:
Then I rolled it out and wrapped it in the most gawd awful cling wrap ever known to man. It clings to every single thing except what it is supposed to cling to AND wouldn't you know, I have 8,453 feet of it. For the shame. Any hoo, I let it rest for a bit, heck after the beat down I just issued it, well, what can I say, a girl has to take out her frustrations somehow.
While it was napping (lazy sack of poo!) I started working on my meat. I buy the motherload pork butts when they go on sale and I grind some and put it in Squirrel size packages and toss in the freezer. So I mixed it up with some fresh herbs and fennel seeds to make my version of Italian sausage. Oh wait, it's EYE-tal-yun sausage down here in south Georgia. Here's a little tip: Toast your fennel seeds before using, it gives them a nice flavor. The fresh herbs I added were parsley, garlic, basil, lemon thyme. Yummoliciousoramafest.
Okay, then I got me some baby spinach and added that in, and guess what? I cut the cheese. I did. Lots of it, there are three cheeses involved and that's alot of cheese to cut, but I'm a tough cookie and I can cut the cheese better than anybody I know. I started with this baby:
Above, my friends, is one of the finest cheeses I have ever put in my mouth. It's a provolone and it's expensive and I sleep with it under my pillow. Freaky Squirrel. And next up is the second of the trinity of cheeses and while it's not as expensive and I don't hug it and squeeze it and call it George, I love it nonetheless because I made it myself, yep, some Squirrel mozzarella:
And then I was a patient girl and melted cheese, and wilted spinach and tossed it and turned it until I got this, gracious, I could just eat every bit of this right now and the heck with the lazy good for nothing pasta, but I didn't:
Next up is my cutie patootie pasta machine set up. It's the barbie doll version, hand cranked, ya need extra hands, but ain't got'em (she kicked Ken out) sorta machinery. But it's better than nothing (did I mention she kicked Ken to the curb?) It's mighty hard to take a picture and roll this mess out at the same time. I am now the queen of multi-tasking, crown me (insert majestical music here).
So after it's all rolled out ya take a square biscuit cutter - who makes square biscuits by the way? Who uses a biscuit cutter by the way? Cut out some squares, a bunch o'squares actually like so:
Then get a small bowl of water ready, your yummo filling and some squares of pasta and proceed with the prepping, in the meantime, get a big pot of water boiling and add a big chunk of salt. You've probably heard all those high falootin' chefs say something like "It should taste like the ocean". Well, evidently those folks have never tasted the ocean. I have. I don't want my pasta water to taste like the ocean because the ocean tastes like doodie, not that I have ever tasted doodie, but I'm just sayin. I was in the ocean one time, minding my own beeswax and something brushed my leg. Well let me tell you I high-tailed it outta there so fast and during my whole two minutes of dog paddling I consumed 1,843 and a half gallons of ocean water. So, yes I am an expert on what the ocean really tastes like. Sorry, I'm ranting again.
So take one square, add some filling, wet your finger and go around the edges and add another square on top, press them together and put aside while you finish the rest. I couldn't take pictures of this part because it has to proceed really quickly. It only takes about 4 minutes to boil and I didn't want to overcook them.
Oh yea, I forgot that I took some salami and rolled it up and cut it up chiffonade style and fried it till crispy...
Chiffa wha????
Then I took the final jar of sauce from my canning '09 and heated it up.
THEN... I poured some hot sauce on a plate THEN added my ravioli's THEN added my secret ingredient: Lemon zest, yes my friends, zest some fresh lemon over your warm pasta as it is sooooo fabulous. THEN I added this beauty, another of my favorite cheeses Parmigiano Reggiano (I call him Reggie, cuz we are tight like that):
And guess what? We are ready to devour our homemade, lightly smokey Italian sausage and cheese and baby spinach and and more cheese stuffed ravioli with lemon zest and crispy salami-doodles!!! WoooHoooo!!
Well, I just could not resist that title, so I'm gonna use it from now on. Okay then, soooo, I'm in the mood for pasta. Not just any pasta, but homemade ravioli. As some of you know, I'm addicted to cold smoking (blame Todd) and I smoked some of my yummy pasta flour, not all, but about a third. Then I mixed up some eggs and the smoked flour and some non-smoked flour like so:
Then I rolled it out and wrapped it in the most gawd awful cling wrap ever known to man. It clings to every single thing except what it is supposed to cling to AND wouldn't you know, I have 8,453 feet of it. For the shame. Any hoo, I let it rest for a bit, heck after the beat down I just issued it, well, what can I say, a girl has to take out her frustrations somehow.
While it was napping (lazy sack of poo!) I started working on my meat. I buy the motherload pork butts when they go on sale and I grind some and put it in Squirrel size packages and toss in the freezer. So I mixed it up with some fresh herbs and fennel seeds to make my version of Italian sausage. Oh wait, it's EYE-tal-yun sausage down here in south Georgia. Here's a little tip: Toast your fennel seeds before using, it gives them a nice flavor. The fresh herbs I added were parsley, garlic, basil, lemon thyme. Yummoliciousoramafest.
Okay, then I got me some baby spinach and added that in, and guess what? I cut the cheese. I did. Lots of it, there are three cheeses involved and that's alot of cheese to cut, but I'm a tough cookie and I can cut the cheese better than anybody I know. I started with this baby:
Above, my friends, is one of the finest cheeses I have ever put in my mouth. It's a provolone and it's expensive and I sleep with it under my pillow. Freaky Squirrel. And next up is the second of the trinity of cheeses and while it's not as expensive and I don't hug it and squeeze it and call it George, I love it nonetheless because I made it myself, yep, some Squirrel mozzarella:
And then I was a patient girl and melted cheese, and wilted spinach and tossed it and turned it until I got this, gracious, I could just eat every bit of this right now and the heck with the lazy good for nothing pasta, but I didn't:
Next up is my cutie patootie pasta machine set up. It's the barbie doll version, hand cranked, ya need extra hands, but ain't got'em (she kicked Ken out) sorta machinery. But it's better than nothing (did I mention she kicked Ken to the curb?) It's mighty hard to take a picture and roll this mess out at the same time. I am now the queen of multi-tasking, crown me (insert majestical music here).
So after it's all rolled out ya take a square biscuit cutter - who makes square biscuits by the way? Who uses a biscuit cutter by the way? Cut out some squares, a bunch o'squares actually like so:
Then get a small bowl of water ready, your yummo filling and some squares of pasta and proceed with the prepping, in the meantime, get a big pot of water boiling and add a big chunk of salt. You've probably heard all those high falootin' chefs say something like "It should taste like the ocean". Well, evidently those folks have never tasted the ocean. I have. I don't want my pasta water to taste like the ocean because the ocean tastes like doodie, not that I have ever tasted doodie, but I'm just sayin. I was in the ocean one time, minding my own beeswax and something brushed my leg. Well let me tell you I high-tailed it outta there so fast and during my whole two minutes of dog paddling I consumed 1,843 and a half gallons of ocean water. So, yes I am an expert on what the ocean really tastes like. Sorry, I'm ranting again.
So take one square, add some filling, wet your finger and go around the edges and add another square on top, press them together and put aside while you finish the rest. I couldn't take pictures of this part because it has to proceed really quickly. It only takes about 4 minutes to boil and I didn't want to overcook them.
Oh yea, I forgot that I took some salami and rolled it up and cut it up chiffonade style and fried it till crispy...
Chiffa wha????
Then I took the final jar of sauce from my canning '09 and heated it up.
THEN... I poured some hot sauce on a plate THEN added my ravioli's THEN added my secret ingredient: Lemon zest, yes my friends, zest some fresh lemon over your warm pasta as it is sooooo fabulous. THEN I added this beauty, another of my favorite cheeses Parmigiano Reggiano (I call him Reggie, cuz we are tight like that):
And guess what? We are ready to devour our homemade, lightly smokey Italian sausage and cheese and baby spinach and and more cheese stuffed ravioli with lemon zest and crispy salami-doodles!!! WoooHoooo!!
