Lamb and Goat Cheese Ravioli

Wow. This Ravioli was amazing. Nick and I agree that it's the best ravioli of the week so far.

It's extremely hard to go from cooking all vegetarian to roasting a lamb. I felt so bad from the moment I picked out the meat from the freezer at the store (yes we bought frozen lamb, it was half the price man!). While standing over the crock pot, shredding the lamb butt, I couldn't get "bah bah black sheep" out of my heat. The version that I sang to my dad in front of the video camera after a performance at pre-school. So cute. So innocent. I"m so glad that it tasted amazing, I would have felt so bad if that little lamb sacrificed its life for crappy ravioli.

Definitely felt like a food critic after eating this one. The lamb and creamy goat cheese just worked perfectly together. And when I added the honey... wow, it was completely amazing. I couldn't believe how awesome everything ended up being. This is going to be a hard ravioli to beat. I've never really truly tasted food that worked together so well.

Lamb and Goat Cheese Ravioli

Serves: 4

Ingredients:

2 lamb shanks, salt and peppered

1 medium onion, chopped

1 stock of celery, chopped

2 medium carrots, chopped

4 garlic cloves, chopped

2 cups vegetable stock

1 cup red wine

1 tsp dried thyme

salt/pepper

1/2 cup goat cheese

2 tablespoons honey

40 wonton wrappers

Directions:

Place lamb, onion, celery, carrots, garlic, stock, red wine, thyme, salt, and pepper in a crock pot. Turn heat to low and cook for 8 hours. Remove the lamb and shred. Strain out the vegetables and reserve the liquid for sauce.

Place the shredded lamb in a bowl and mix in goat cheese and honey. Place a tablespoon of mixture in the middle of a wonton wrapper and top with another. Seal with fork. (make sure to rub water along the edges of the ravioli to help seal.)

Pour the reserved liquid into a saute pan and let simmer on medium high for about 25 minutes.

Place the ravioli into a pot of gently boiling water for about 2 minutes. Remove and plate. Pour some of the remaining liquid over top and drizzle with honey.

Yum!

Edamame Walnut Ravioli

This ravioli was pretty delicious. Of course after the first bite, I ask Nick if he likes it more than the lobster ravioli from Monday. He said that the lobster was better, but it was close. I actually may have liked this one better than the lobster (note that I don't enjoy seafood as much as most), but again it was a close one.

I was worried at first because this recipe didn't have a sauce, and really what is a ravioli without a sauce. I actually even drizzled olive oil over the top because I'm sure a non-sauce aphobe... if that makes sense.

Next time I make this, I think I would add a little brown sugar to the filling and a splash of soy sauce. I just LOVE garlic edamame with brown sugar and soy sauce so I think adding it to the filling would make it even more amazing. And even though it was great without sauce on top, I might have to add a little something, I'm a dipping person.

Enjoy!












Edamame Walnut Ravioli
Serves: 4

Ingredients:
1 cup Edamame, shelled and frozen 
1 small garlic clove
1 tbsp white wine
Salt and Pepper
2 tbsp fresh chives, chopped
3 tbsp white wine
4 cups fresh baby spinach tightly packed
2 tbsp fresh chives chopped
2 tbsp olive oil
Salt and Pepper

Filling:

1/4 scant cup walnuts 

18-20 wonton wrappers

Spinach and Mushroom Saute:

8 ox carton of mushrooms (I used bella)

1 small garlic clove 

Directions:

Place the walnuts in a large pan. Toast the walnuts on medium heat until they are lightly browned. To the pan, add frozen, shelled edamame, garlic clove, white wine, salt and pepper.

Let the wine bubble away on medium heat, about 1 minute. When the wine has evaporated, transfer the walnut-edamame mixture to a food processor. Blend into a smooth paste.

Place a teaspoon full of the walnut-edamame mixture in the center of the wonton wrapper. Then sprinkle some chopped chives on top of the mixture. Place in gently boiling water and let boil for about 1-2 minutes.

Meanwhile, chop the mushrooms. Rise spinach leaves, and finely mince the garlic clove. Heat olive oil in a pan. Add the chopped mushrooms in a single layer. Cook the mushrooms on medium high heat, moving them as little as possible, until they are golden brown, about 3 minutes.

Then add the minced garlic, salt, pepper and white wine. Let the wine bubble and evaporate a little. Then add the spinach leaves and saute till they are just wilted.

To serve the ravioli – place the spinach mushroom saute in a serving dish. Place the ravioli on top. Garnish with chives.

Lobster Ravioli with Lemon Champagne Sauce

Yay!!!

I love themed weeks! This week I'm doing 7 different types of ravioli. Why? Because ravioli is awesome and so versatile. You can put anything in between two sheets of pasta and call it ravioli. Also, I've been watching Masterchef a ton lately and want to create everything I see... so I'll start with ravioli.

Tonight I made Lobster Ravioli with Lemon Champagne Sauce. Nick raved about it the whole time we ate it. He rated it a 9.5. I never let him rate anything a perfect 10, so 9.5 is pretty amazing. I've never been a real seafood person, or a lemon cream sauce person, but this was delicious. Tonight, we thought of names for our restaurant. hee hee. The only complaint I have is that it didn't make more. We had 4 ravioli's each, which was plenty for dinner (they are so filling!), but now Nick is making mac and cheese for our lunch tomorrow. I wish it had been enough for 2 meals each. Oh well.

Since I don't have a pasta maker (which I'm registering for) and I've tried to make ravioli by hand and just can't get it thin enough, I cheated a bit and used won ton rappers. I mean, they are $1.50 for a huge pack... who would go through the trouble of making their own pasta (But don't worry! I do plan to later this week... stay tuned!)?

Please enjoy this meal and think of Nick cracking lobster claws with the back of a can opener when you try this recipe.

Lobster Ravioli with Lemon Champagne Sauce

Serves: 4

Ingredients:

For Filling:

1/2 lb of cooked lobster (we used 2 claws), chopped 1/4 inch cubes

1/4 cup ricotta cheese

2-3 tablespoons of grated parmesan cheese

1 egg, beaten

16 wonton wrappers

For Sauce:

2 tablespoons butter

4 minced garlic cloves

1 tablespoon parsley

1/2 cup champagne

juice from 1/2 lemon

2-3 tablespoons of heavy cream

1 tablespoon of grated parmesan cheese

Directions:

Mix together lobster, ricotta and parmesan. In a separate small bowl, beat the egg slightly with a fork to create an egg wash.

Brush bottom wonton (or pasta sheet) with egg wash and place 1 tablespoon of lobster mixture in the center. Brush top of wonton with egg wash and place on bottom, sealing by pinching the edges with a fork.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Place the ravioli in the boiling water (gently boiling, otherwise it might break) and let boil for 2-3 minutes until ravioli begin to float. Take out of water and place in a large bowl.

Meanwhile to make the sauce, saute the garlic for a minute in the butter. Add champagne, parsley and cream. Boil for 3-4 minutes until it reduces. Lower heat to low and add a tablespoon of grated parmesan cheese. Let simmer for 5 minutes or until thickened.

Toss the cooked ravioli in sauce and serve with lemon slices.

Eggplant with Tomato Gravy

My lovely vegan friend from work would bring me her left over dinner from the night before while Nick was on the boat, and I would eat it for breakfast. It was all pretty amazing stuff, but one thing that I loved was this home made tomato gravy. It was so amazing and delicious and I felt like I was eating a pizza every time. So she gave me the recipe and I totally botched it because you're supposed to boil the tomatos first and peal them... and I totally just skipped that little step all together. Still, mine turned out pretty amazing. I'll definitely make this dish again.

Eggplant with Tomato Gravy

Serves: 6

Ingredients:

1 large eggplant (or 3 small thai eggplants)

3 roma tomatos (you can use more, that's just all I had)

1 medium onion, chopped

5 cloves of garlic, minced

1 tablespoon basil (or fresh basil. yum!)

2 tablespoons sugar

1/2 cup panko bread crumbs

1/4 cup flour

1 egg, beaten

1/2 cup mozzarella cheese

olive oil

Directions:

Slice the eggplant into thin strips. Dredge in flour, dip in egg, then bread crumbs. Lightly fry both sides in a little bit of olive oil and place in 9 inch square baking dish. Preheat oven to 350.

Meanwhile, saute the onions and garlic until translucent and add tomato, sugar, and basil and boil for a couple of minutes. Turn down heat and let simmer 10-15 minutes (I really didn't keep track of time, but I think the longer the better).

Bake the eggplant in the preheated oven for about 10 minutes. Take out and add tomato gravy, and cheese and bake for another 5 minutes. Yum!

Thai Fish Tacos

I've been watching a lot of Gordon Ramsey shows lately and he's strict about tasting your food throughout the cooking process to make sure everything tastes right. So, I was cooking my sauce for this dish and tasted it at the end (after following the directions to a T... wait... I don't follow directions...), when I tasted it, I thought it was pretty gross and felt super bad cause I didn't know how to fix it. I guess I was just expecting a different flavor than what it was. Anyway, I didn't do anything about it, just warned Nick that it might be gross and we might be eating mac and cheese tonight.

So here I am feeling all disappointed and whining cause it's gonna be gross. Then I put it all together and tried it and it was pretty amazing!! Everything came together in the end and I was pleased. I do like fish tacos! Nick rated them an 8. I think I would have grilled the fish next time, but we were lazy and didn't feel like going downstairs to grill (oh to live in a house with a grill on our back patio... someday).

Enjoy!

Thai Fish Tacos

Ingredients:

Fish

1/4 cup coconut milk

1/4 cup lime juice

1 tablespoon red chile paste

1 tablespoon honey

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

2 pounds skinless mahi mahi

Thai Slaw

1/2 cup coconut milk

1/2 cup peanut butter

1/4 cup lime juice

1 tablespoon fish sauce

1 teaspoon red chile past

e Maple syrup (optional)

Red chile flakes (optional)

2 cups thinly sliced red cabbage

1/2 medium red onion, thinly sliced

3 tablespoons chopped cilantro

2 carrots, grated

Flour tortillas

Avocado slices

Directions:

For the fish, whisk together coconut milk, lime juice, chile paste, honey, garlic and 1/4 cup water to make a marinade. Arrange fish in a wide, shallow dish, pour marinade over the top and turn to coat all over. Cover dish with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour. 

Meanwhile, for the slaw, put coconut milk, peanut butter, lime juice, fish sauce, and chile paste into a small pot over medium low heat. Cook, stirring often, for 5 minutes to make a dressing. Taste and add a bit of maple syrup if more sweetness is desired and red pepper flakes if more spice is needed. Set dressing aside. 

Put cabbage, onions, cilantro and carrots into a large bowl with half of the reserved dressing and toss to coat. Set slaw aside. 

Preheat oiled grill to medium heat. Drain fish, discarding marinade, and cook on grill until it flakes easily with a fork and is opaque, 5 to 7 minutes per side. (To warm tortillas while grilling fish, wrap tortilla stack in aluminum foil and place on grill grate over low heat, turning once while fish cooks.) Transfer fish to a cutting board and roughly chop. Serve fish in warm tortillas, topped with reserved slaw and avocado slices, and drizzled with remaining dressing, if you like.

Peanut Butter Balls

Whether it's a going away party at work or a bbq picnic with friends, I show up and people ask "did you bring balls?" They're talking about Oreo Balls (from a previous post). I swear I've made those things at least 16 times since being here. They are quite amazing, but I wanted to expand the variety of balls that folks could choose from (Folks is a Hawaii thing... I like it).

I stumbled across this recipe one day while searching for marshmallow creme recipes. Don't ask why I was looking up marshmallow cream. Probably because it's amazing and all I make with it is fruit dip (yum... fresh strawberries from the garden... how I miss thee). Anyway... I made these peanut butter balls for a going away party at work along with oreo balls. Then I asked which ones people liked best and it was pretty much 50/50. I didn't like these at first, but after putting them in the fridge over night and eating them cold... it was total bliss. I am in love. These are extremely easy and I know you'll make lots and lots of friends if you bring these to work, or a party, or anywhere you want to make friends.

Enjoy!

Peanut Butter Balls

Ingredients:

1 7oz container of marshmallow creme

1 cup creamy peanut butter

2 cups crispy rice cereal

6 squares of chocolate almond bark

Directions:

Mix the marshmallow creme and peanut butter in a large bowl until combined. Add crispy rice cereal and stir. Let sit in fridge for about 30 minutes. Take out and roll into balls. Meanwhile, melt chocolate almond bark in microwave or over a double boiler. Dip balls in chocolate and place on wax paper. Let cool. Refrigerate for an hour (trust me, the are awesome cold!) Enjoy!!

Tofu Sandwiches

I've been practicing cooking with Tofu lately. It's kind of complicated to cook when you have no idea what you're doing. So that's why I'm practicing. It can taste really good, but I recommend eating it in moderation cause too much tofu is never a good thing. I really have no idea if that's true, but I just think of it as you wouldn't eat steak for every dinner, so why eat tofu for every dinner? Whatever... I dunno. Anyway, I think I've accomplished a lot in the land of tofu.

Nick and I used to get an order of bbq boneless wings every night one of us would work at Applebee's. I remember him coming home at 2 in the morning from a shift with a container of wings. I would immediately pop up and eat my half, then go back to sleep.

Oh memories of the horrible things we used to eat. I made my own rendition of bbq boneless wings... only they are called bbq tofu sticks. They are pretty amazing, not 1800 calories like the wings at Applebees, and pretty easy. Not something that I'd eat all the time, cause I feel like anything tasting that good can't be good for you, but still a nice little treat while watching football or something.

I also made a buffalo tofu sandwich, and a CLT sandwich (cucumber, lettuce, tofu). They were all nice vegetarian sandwiches. You can basically do anything with it, once you know how to cook it. So...

Tofu Sticks or Sandwich

Ingredients:

1 package of tofu

1/2 cup flour

1 egg white

1 tbsp sauce (bbq, buffalo, etc)

olive oil

Directions:

Slice the tofu into 1/4-1/2 inch slices and pat with paper towel to release some liquid.

Place on baking sheet with rack and put in 350 degree oven for about 15 minutes. Take out and cool (I put in the freezer cause I'm impatient).

Slice into strips if desired.

Pour a tsp. of sauce in egg white and mix. Dip tofu into egg mixture and then flour (I also like to put some spices in my flour, chili powder, cayenne pepper, etc.).

Lightly fry tofu sticks in a bit of olive oil until crispy and put back in the oven for 5 more minutes. Can dip in favorite dressing or put on a sandwich with lettuce, tomato, cucumber, whatever!! yumsy!

My favorites:

BBQ Tofu Sticks (bbq sauce in egg, ranch dressing)

Buffalo Tofu Sandwich (Hot sauce in the egg, cayenne in the flour, top with lettuce, tomato, and blue cheese dressing)

Cucumber, Lettuce, Tofu Sandwich (curry powder in the flour)

Eggplant Milanese

A lady from work let me try her version of Eggplant Milanese one day and it was so good that I had to try and make it for myself.

Nick rated this dish a 9.5 out of 10. He rated it a 10, but then I said "What? A 10? You never rate anything a 10." So he changed it to a 9.5. It was amazing. So simple too! We had it with some ciabatta bread. Yum Yum! I will make this again!

One thing I might change next time is use spinach

instead of arugula. It was good, but I love fresh

spinach!!

Eggplant Milanese

Serves: 4

Ingredients:

1 large eggplant, sliced thin

1 egg

1/2 cup of flour

1 cup panko bread crumbs

3 roma tomatos

1/2 onion

4 cloves garlic

1 bunch of arugula

balsamic vinegar

olive oil

Directions:

Dredge your thinly sliced eggplant in flour, dip in egg, and dip in panko bread crumbs.

Lightly fry in batches in a little bit of olive oil.

Meanwhile, chop onions, garlic, and 2 roma tomatos. Saute in a frying pan until nice and liquidly with a little bit of balsamic vinegar. (may add other spices as well)

Place the eggplant on a plate and top with onion/garlic/tomato mixture.

Place remaining chopped roma tomato and arugula on top of the mixture.

See... it's super easy!!