Journal # 9: Pass that Pasta!

My first post for February! Yey! Enough celebration, let's talk food! :)

Ever since I had the time to cook, I've always wanted fresh everything. Freshly made pizza, bread, cookies, fresh everything! I've always wondered about how to make fresh pasta. I've watched Masterchef US people do it and it didn't seem difficult. I love pasta, BTW! 

Pasta is one of the best gifts the Italian people shared with the world! So here I am, going to share with you a recipe that I have tried and love! 

Here's a teaser first:

After maybe 1 1/2 hours of prep and cooking here's the result:

Looks good, right?

Okay, before I tell you what's inside those magical ravioli. Let's talk about how I made them.

Making the Ravioli
Once again, I used Laura Vitale's Pasta Dough recipe! I love watching her vids, it's really helpful and entertaining! Be sure to check out that link. 

Some helpful tips for newbies out there:

1. Be resourceful
Laura's recipe requires a food processor, however I don't have one and maybe I'm not planning on getting one. SO I just mixed them manually by hand, I just made sure the eggs were beaten prior to me mixing them. Mix until the ingredients are well distributed. 

Remember, you don't have to have all the fancy equipments those Chefs have, you just have to know what they do and you can try and copy that to your recipe. 

2. Be Patient. 
You have to chill it in the fridge for 30mins. So prepare the other ingredients for the filling and the sauce. 

To tell you it wasn't as EASY as I thought it would be. Flattening the dough without a pasta roller is tiring! It takes A LOT of time too!I am an impatient girl, so this was tough for me and I was getting hungry. LOL

I started with a rolling pin and just laid it on my counter like I would any other dough. So I rolled it out until it was maybe 1cm thick (about 10pcs of bond paper stacked). It took me literally 15 minutes to get it right. It was tough for me, cause the dough kept sticking on the rolling pin. So make sure you FLOUR it from time to time. If you over-flour it, the pasta will become really tough.

Then I used a dough cutter to get the shapes I wanted. I made a square and a round one. For your ease, you can use a set of cookie cutters for great looking ravioli. 

3. Well...actually...you should...Yeah, there's supposed to be a number 3, but I can't think of another one. Ha-ha! Hope those two suffice. 

Moving on to our recipe.

Filling the ravioli
I prepared 3 kinds of cheeses for my ravioli and some basil, spinach, garlic, and meat to go with it. 

Popeye's favorite:
1. 1/2 c. of Cottage Cheese: if they come in tubs, make sure to drain them prior to usage, so that the pasta won't be too wet. It would be difficult to seal them.
2. 1-2 tsps. of Fried Garlic Bits: You can buy them from the store or make them on your own, just don't burn them.
3. 10 pcs. Spinach Leaves: Now you see why Popeye likes this! :) Fresh and rinsed. You could alternate basil with these.
4. 1/2 tsp. White Pepper: 

Mighty Meat-y:
1. 1/2 c. cooked ground beef (seasoned with salt and pepper)
2. Goat's cheese: I love its mild flavor. :)


To make 10 Ravioli (Good for 2 persons)
You need: 1/3 of the Pasta dough recipe + One of the filling recipes above.
Cook the ravioli in boiling water with salt and oil for about 8-10 minutes. Check the consistency of the pasta at 8mins. (cooking time depends on the thickness of the pasta you made.)

It's NOW time to make the dressing/sauce for it.

It was undeniably delicious!

For my family, I made some fresh pesto (from the basil and spinach leftovers) and some tomato sauce.

This picture really makes me hungry. Don't tell me that you didn't salivate over that because I know you did!

Use your favorite red sauce recipe, the one that you normally use for spaghetti.

Here's what the fresh pesto with ravioli looks like.

Vegetarian version: Pesto dressing and Spinach filled Ravioli

This pesto is just olive oil, basil, spinach and a bit of salt. Just use a hand held blender and mix em up until you get the right consistency and flavor. Don't over blend it. It might become paste. :))

Over all, my family and boyfriend, oh and my sister's "friend" enjoyed the wonderful meal!


Fresh pasta really tastes different from the ready made ones. I don't know, maybe it's just psychological but so what! It's better cause it was made by me with lots o love and nothing beats that! Ha ha!

Hope you enjoyed reading! God bless! :)

Journal # 8: Je t'aime Pizza!

I am a pizza lover and who isn't? right? It's the one thing that I could eat for everyday and not get satiated. It is no surprise to know that pizza is made and served in every country in the world.

I found Laura Vitale in youtube and watched her video on how to make pizza dough and it's just wonderful! I never thought making pizza dough would be this easy! Really! Even newbies can try making it and not fail. 

I just used the dough for this recipe and the rest of the stuff are mine. 

Just a tip: when using recipes with yeast, an envelope/packet means 2 1/4 tsp. of yeast. Don't put in the yeast in the water if it is not the right temperature! It will kill the yeast and won't let your dough rise. Total disaster!

Also, when I made her recipe, I think it had too little salt in it. So I doubled the salt from 1 tsp. to 2 tsps. 

Make sure to follow her instructions strictly (except for the tweak I made) and use this for your tomato sauce

Pizza Sauce:
1 1/2 cups of tomato sauce
6cloves garlic
2 tsps. Italian Seasoning (if you don't have any, dried basil leaves will do)
Salt and Pepper (to taste)

This will be good enough for the dough you made. Use a garlic press to crush the garlic really fine. Add it and the rest of the ingredients to the tomato sauce. 

Don't make it too salty because the cheese (any kind) will help with the saltiness.

I used sliced ham, green olives, mozzarella, cheddar and goat's cheese for the toppings. It turned out really well.

Then bake it for 17-20mins. at 375F. 

Voila! You are now an official pizza maker! Be sure to keep her dough recipe! It's just wonderful! But I'll try out some other recipes, maybe there is something even better!