Spinach and Two Cheese Ravioli

A month ago, I'm in the grocery store and I see wonton wrappers on sale.  Because I'm a sheep for sales, I grab them and throw them in my cart without a plan on how to use them.  (Well I guess I could make wonton...)

Two weeks ago I notice I'm nearing the expiration date and start making plans for the wonton wrappers.  Since I didn't feel like making wonton, I decide to make ravioli instead.  Wonton wrappers are a good stand-in for ravioli wrappers, especially if you don't feel like making a ton of dough.

I wanted to make a non-meat based ravioli that wasn't butternut squash.  I couldn't think of anything until I stumbled on Tyler Florence's Spinach and Three Cheese Ravioli.  Awesome!  The thing I really enjoyed about this recipe is that it is very similar to the cheese filling I make for lasagna. 

First, I want to apologize for the quality of the pictures - I had my P&S camera on hand, and I didn't want to unearth my DSLR.

Second, Tyler Florence is going to hate me because I monkeyed around with his recipe to suit my needs.  A lot.  The base of the recipe came from his however, and this is where the credit should be given.

Mmm.

A quick note on making ravioli with wonton wrappers - I used one wrapper per ravioli.  After they cooked up, I realized that was probably not the brightest idea.  You need a thick wrapper for the ravioli to stand up to the boiling, and the two wrappers should be strong enough.  Ooops. 

Spinach and Two Cheese Ravioli, adapted from Tyler Florence's Spinach and Three Cheese Ravioli with Sugo Sauce.  My changes are in parenthesis.

Ingredients:

• 1 15 ounce container ricotta cheese
• 2 8 ounce balls of fresh buffalo mozzarella, water drained and shredded.  (I used 4 ounces of already shredded Mozarella out of a bag.)
• 1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan (I completely forgot this step and didn't add it, but feel free to add it if you wish!)
• 2 cups fresh baby spinach, chopped. (I used 1 package of frozen spinach, thawed and drained of all liquid.) 
• 1 egg, beaten
• salt and pepper.
• 1 package of wonton wrappers (about 48 wrappers a package)

Directions:

1.  Combine cheese, spinach, egg, salt and pepper in a large bowl, mixing thoroughly.

2.  Take one wrapper, and place a teaspoonfull sized amount of cheese in the wrapper.  Add more if you think you can seal it without it bursting or popping out the sides. 

If you use less filling, use water to dampen the edges and fold over, making a triangle.

If you use more filling, use water to dampen all four edges, and place another wrapper on top.

I went with the half sized ravioli.

3.  When you have filled all the wrappers, set water in a large pot to boil.

4.  If you are not going to eat all your ravioli immediately (this recipe makes a lot...) lay the ravioli on a parchment lined sheet pan.  Make sure they are not touching each other.  Place in the freezer, and freeze for at least 30 minutes, but preferably one hour.

After an hour, remove from the freezer and place inside of plastic baggies for storage.  You can boil from frozen in the future.

5.  When the water boils, drop in the ravioli one by one.  Allow to boil for at least 4 minutes.  They will float to the top when ready.  Remove from the water one by one with a slotted spoon and place on the plate.  DO NOT DRAIN IN A STRAINER.  They still stick together and it's a pain to separate them.  (experience here...)

6.  Serve with your favorite sauce.

My favorite sauce is a simple tomato sauce from Lucinda Scala Quinn, which will be a future post.

If you have a great, crusty bread to go with this meal, or even some garlic bread, serve along side the ravioli and enjoy.

Lesson from today:  get a better Point and Shoot camera!

Fish Maw and Crab Soup

Shark fin soup used to be all the rage (and delicious) and the ultimate topper in "we spent a lot of money on this meal" at many Chinese weddings.  Lately, my conscience has been getting to me, with stories of how the fins are cut off the sharks and the shark is thrown back into the water to die.

A cheaper, friendlier alternative is fish maw, which is the part of the fish that fills with air and allows it to remain buoyant.  After being fried, it can be soaked to be softened and used in soups in place of shark fin.  (Another alternative is to use fried pork skin.)

Traditionally at New Years, my mom will make a sea cucumber soup, but this year she elected to go with a fish maw and crab soup.  (Thank goodness too, I HATE sea cucumbers!)

This recipe is courtesy of Leann Chin from Food Network.  It is very close to my mom's recipe, except where it says to add chicken, replace it with crab.  My mom also does not add mushrooms or chives to the soup.

Fish maw and crab soup simmering on the stove.

Ingredients:

• 2 ounces processed fish maw (hot sandblasted, see Cook's Note)
• 8 thin slices fresh ginger
• 6 cups chicken broth
• 8 medium dry black mushrooms, rehydrated for 20 minutes, destemmed, and cut into thin strips
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 3 tablespoons water
• 2 egg whites, beaten with salt and white pepper
• 1 cup julienned yellow chives
• 1 cup shredded cooked chicken (or 1 cup of cooked crab)
• Salt and white pepper

Directions:

1.  Soak fish maw in warm water for 2 hours.

2.  Place fish maw in a 4-quart saucepan and cover with cold water. Add 4 ginger slices and bring to a boil. Boil for 5 minutes on medium low heat and then drain fish in colander, rinsing with cold water. Squeeze out any excess water.

3.  Cut the maw into 1/2 inch diced pieces, discarding any hard pieces.

4.  Heat the chicken broth and the remaining 4 ginger slices in a large pot until boiling. Add the fish maw and the black mushrooms. Heat to boiling and then turn to medium low heat and simmer 10 minutes.

5.  While soup is simmering, combine the cornstarch and water in a small bowl. Remove the 4 slices of ginger from soup. Turn heat to high and stir in the cornstarch mixture.

6.  When soup returns to a rapid boil, stir in egg white mixture a little at a time, stirring constantly with a fork until egg mixture forms threads. Taste soup at this time to see if salt and white pepper are needed. Add the shredded chicken (or crab) and yellow chives; stir to mix. Turn off heat and serve.

Cook's Note: Fish maw comes dried and processed. If you purchase the dried fish maw that is unprocessed and hard as plastic, you need to deep fry in oil at 375 degrees F for a few seconds until they puff up. Then you can proceed with the soaking process in the recipe.

Stove Top Mac-n-Cheese by Alton Brown

Alton Brown is one of my favorite personalities on Food Network.  His scientific approach to cooking is so helpful, because it really does help me to understand how my food cooks and what I can do to enhance my meals.

Plus the science is dumbed down enough for me to understand.  Needless to say, I was in the School of Social Sciences in college. 

I noticed Brown Eyed Baker mention that January is THE month for macaroni and cheese and I just had to contribute this Alton Brown recipe I love.  It's so simple, so quick, and has drawn raves each time I've brought it for pot lucks. 

(Or maybe people are just being polite...)

Is politeness necessary when the mac and cheese so cheesy good?

I think not.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 pound dry elbow macaroni
• 4 tablespoons butter (I live by unsalted butter)
• 2 eggs
• 6 ounces evaporated milk
• 1/2 teaspoon hot sauce (I omitted this)
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• Fresh black pepper
• 3/4 teaspoon dry mustard (I recommend 1/2 teaspoon to cut down on the sharp mustard taste)
• 10 ounces sharp cheddar, shredded

Directions:
1.  In a large pot of boiling, salted water, cook the macaroni to al dente and drain. 

2.  While the pasta is cooking, whisk together eggs, milk, hot sauce, pepper, and mustard.

3.  Return the pasta to the pot and add butter (I sliced it into one tablespoon pieces.)  Stir to melt butter and coat.

4.  Stir in the eggs/milk/hot sauce/pepper/mustard mixture into the pasta. 

5.  Add the cheese.  Over low heat continue to stir for about 3 minutes or until creamy.

The results were absolutely delicious, creamy, and ridiculously easy to prepare macaroni and cheese.  It's much better than any box version of macaroni and cheese out there!  They may be cheaper, but the quality of fresh ingredients in mac and cheese absolutely cannot be beat.

How fast is this recipe?  I made it for a pot luck at work, and I managed to make it in less than 20 minutes in the morning before leaving for work - that's how fast.  The majority of the time is spent waiting for the water to boil and the pasta to cook.  I think I took more time looking for a six ounce can of evaporated milk!

You might ask why evaporated milk - simply, it elminates the need for a roux.  Evaporated milk regularly comes in 12 ounce cans, but I was able to find a five ounce can at Target.  I said "I'll make do!!!" and used that, as I didn't want to waste half a can of milk.

Definitely make this if you need a quick dish for a pot luck or a fast dinner.

Also check out the macaroni and cheese blog from the Wisconsin Cheese Council.  While I am a California Girl and I think California Cheese trumps all, they have a lot of great recipes for mac and cheese.