Cappellacci (Sweet Potato Ravioli)

I'm (slowly) working my way through Marcella Hazan's Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking, which I got for Christmas, and this recipe needed to be made mostly because cookies are in the sweet potato filling. I repeat: cookies are in the sweet potato filling! I understand that might turn some people off, but it was irresistible to me. 

It might sound a little indulgent, but what else would you expect from the genius of a woman who popularized putting five tablespoons of butter into tomato sauce? The cookies add a little crunch to the filling that is just perfect.

Ingredients

For the sweet potato filling

2 medium-size sweet potatoes

2 Italian amaretti cookies

1 egg yolk

4 tablespoons prosciutto, chopped

1 1/2 cups grated parmigiano-reggiano

1/2 teaspoon dried parsley (or substitute with fresh)

Pinch of whole nutmeg

Salt

For the pasta*

1 2/3 cups unbleached flour

3 large eggs

1 tablespoon water

For the butter and parmesan cream sauce

1 cup grated parmigiano-reggiano

2 1/2 tablespoons butter

*I made this ravioli two nights in a row, one night with pasta from scratch and the other with wonton wrappers instead (which I had seen in other recipes). It works infinitely better with the homemade pasta, but if you are crunched for time, the wonton-wrapper way is not that bad.

Directions

-Microwave sweet potatoes for 7 minutes on each side until tender. Split them in half and scoop out potato pulp into a medium bowl.

-Mash up those amaretti cookies with a mortar and pestle in a small bowl.

-Add cookies, egg yolk, prosciutto, parmigiano-reggiano, parsley, a pinch of nutmeg, and salt to potatoes. Mix until combined. Set aside.

-Combine flour, eggs, and water to make pasta dough, kneading by hand for at least 8 minutes. Roll out to desired thinness. (If you are using a pasta-making machine like I did, thin out to a 5.) Cut dough into either 3-inch or 4-inch squares (depending on how big you want your ravioli to be).

-Place about 1 tablespoon of ravioli mixture in the center of each square. Layer another square on top. Pinch closed.

-Cook ravioli in boiling, salted water for 4 minutes.

-Drain, then toss with parmigiano-reggiano and butter, until butter is melted all over.

(Recipe adapted from Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking by Marcella Hazan)

HBD Dinner at Bufalina

This last weekend was my birthday, and a group of friends and I headed to Bufalina for some delicious Neopolitan-style pizzas. Chris and I got the fresca with prosciutto, arugula, cherry tomatoes, mozzarella, and parmesan, and also the margherita. (We excitedly over-ordered for the two of us and ended up taking almost half of each home.) The restaurant has a sort of low-key, modern vibe to it with its communal picnic tables and white wood-fired oven and was definitely a great place to bring a bunch of friends for a cozy b-day dinner. Definitely putting this place on my Revisit List. 

Bufalina // 1519 East Cesar Chavez // ATX, 78702

 Fresca pizza

Cab franc

InstaMax photos

Sun-Dried Tomato Cream Sauce

Every time I make this sauce to serve with spaghetti or chicken, I wonder why it's been so long since the last time I whipped it together. It's that good. And takes less than 10 minutes. So: WIN.

Last night we had it with homemade spinach spaghetti, and yep-po! Delicious. And also Christmas-y in appearance, which is always a plus.

Sun-Dried Tomato Cream Sauce
Serves 2

1/2 tablespoon butter
1 large shallot, minced
3/4 cup whipping cream
1/2 cup white wine
1/2 cup drained oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, chopped
1 teaspoon dried basil (or substitute with fresh, if you didn't somehow manage to kill the basil plant your mother gave you)

-Sauté shallot in butter for 1 minute.
-Add whipping cream, white wine, sun-dried tomatoes, and basil. Bring to boil. Cook 6 minutes or until sauce thickens, stirring occasionally.
-Season with salt and pepper to taste.
-Serve with pasta of your choice or over chicken.

Maria Carmen's Carbonara

My mom does not like to cook, but she cooked for us all the time growing up. This was very confusing to me as a teenager. But why can't we just order Chinese? Pasta? Again?

Then I realized her hatred of cooking was less than her hatred of us eating fast food all the time. So basically, she gets an Awesome Mom Award for putting endless hours behind the stove doing a chore (!) she sort of despised all for the love of her girls. *Moment of silence for all mothers everywhere taking one for their teams*

Here is one of her delicious recipes that we all loved back in the days of Rainbow Brite and sticker books, and continue to make as adults now for our own families. 

Ingredients

12 ounces bacon

10 ounces frozen peas

1 pound spaghetti

4 eggs

1 cup parmesan

Freshly ground pepper

Cut bacon into 1/2 inch pieces. Cook until done. Set aside. Meanwhile microwave the peas with a few tablespoons of water for four minutes or so, then drain. Mix together the eggs, parmesan, and freshly ground pepper (to taste). Cook spaghetti in a pot of salted boiling water until al dente. Reserve 1/4 cup of the water and temper the egg mixture. (This will help you avoid getting scrambled eggs in your pasta.) Drain your spaghetti and add the egg mixture, followed by the bacon and peas.