Summer Kick- off

I hope you all had a lovely holiday weekend.  Can you believe we are already kicking off summer?  How did you spend your long weekend? 

Mine was spent visiting with some of my dearest friends and family.  Naturally there was a lot of food involved…

For our Memorial Day BBQ, I prepared my favorite pasta salad recipe.  It was a hit!  Ingredients like sundried tomatoes, pepperoncini peppers, and feta cheese give the dish a Mediterranean flare- a nice update to the standard pasta salad recipe.

The recipe is as follows:

{***** } Pasta Salad

 Serves: 4 to 6

Kosher salt

1 pound tricolor pasta, such as bow tie or fusili

¼ cup balsamic vinegar

2 to 3 teaspoons Dijon mustard

Freshly ground pepper

2/3 to ¾ cup extra- virgin olive oil

1/3 cup diced sun- dried tomatoes

¼ cup basil, julienned

¼ cup diced onion

2-4 large pickled pepperoncini peppers, diced

3 tablespoons halved black olives

2 teaspoons chopped fresh oregano

1 ½ ounces feta cheese, crumbled

1 ½ tablespoons grated Romano cheese

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.  Add the pasta and cook until al dente; drain, then rinse with cold water to cool.

Meanwhile, make the vinaigrette: Whisk the vinegar, mustard, 1 teaspoon salt, and pepper to taste in a small bowl.  Gradually whisk in enough of the oil to make a smooth dressing; season with salt and pepper.

Combine the sun- dried tomatoes, basil, onion, pepperoncini, olives and oregano in a bowl.  Add the cooked pasta, ½ teaspoon salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper.  Add the vinaigrette and both cheeses and toss.  Chill until ready to serve.

*Original recipe per Nick Anthony

Sunday Supper

In my world, Sundays are reserved for relaxing and trying new recipes.  During the week I am often pressed for time and feeling a little low on energy come five o’ clock.  But, on Sundays I like to cook from scratch and experiment with new ingredients. 

Recently I made my own ravioli with… wait for it… wonton wrappers!  They were delicious.  I was inspired by a recipe from Sunset Magazine.  I wasn’t quite sure how the recipe would pan out, but I would definitely make these again.  I look forward to experimenting with new fillings and toppings!  Perhaps I will sub in a little butternut squash & burrata next time?

All in all the ravioli required less time & work than anticipated (approximately 1 hour -including prep time).  I think this would be a fun family dinner project… making ravioli from scratch (kind of).

Cheese Ravioli

Serves 4

1 cup ricotta

¼ cup grated parmesan cheese

1 cup finely chopped flat- leaf parsley, plus ½ cup leaves

1 large egg

About ½ tsp kosher salt

¼ teaspoon pepper

48 round wonton wrappers

6 tablespoons butter

1 teaspoon lemon juice 

{To make the ravioli filling combine cheeses, chopped parsley, egg, ½ teaspoon salt, and pepper in a medium bowl.}

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.

Lay 8 wrappers on a flat surface and spoon 1 tablespoon cheese mixture onto center of each.  Working with one wrapper at a time, moisten edge with water and top with another wrapper, press to seal tightly.

Transfer ravioli to a greased baking sheet, cover, and repeat to make more ravioli.  Preheat oven to 250F.

Cook 4 to 5 ravioli at a time in boiling water until dough is tender, 3 minutes.  Transfer to greased baking sheet in a single layer, cover with foil, and keep warm in oven.

Meanwhile, make sauce: Melt butter in large frying pan over medium- high heat.  Cook, swirling until light- golden, three minutes.

Remove from heat; stir in lemon juice and parsley leaves.  Layer ravioli and sauce on platter. 

Serve!