Homemade Ravioli…Making It Isn’t Easy

But homemade ravioli is certainly worth it. The difference between homemade ravioli made with pasta that has been made with Double Zero flour and store-bought ravioli is like night and day. The texture and mouthfeel that the Double Zero flour gives you is fantastic.

Dean Zanella is a friend of ours that is a chef in Chicago. He makes gnocchi that is unlike any gnocchi I have ever had. To me, most gnocchi are very heavy gut bombs. Dean’s gnocchi are light and airy. I asked him how he got them to be so light. He told me that it was his grandmother’s recipe from Italy and that he could tell me but would have to kill me to protect the secret. Fast forward 15 years and we visited Mama Agata, a chef on the Amalfi coast in Italy. Low and behold, her pasta made with Double Zero flour, produced the same light texture and mouthfeel as Dean’s grandmother’s recipe. Ever since then I have been making some pretty good ravioli.Chefs Harry Crane, Dean Zanella, John Hogan and Lucien Vendome

Making ravioli is a couple hour endeavor. It just takes time. You have to make the pasta dough. Then you have to make the filling. Then the process of making the pasta dough can get pretty tough. It is the kind of thing that if you do it regularly it gets easier. For me, I do it so infrequently, that there is a learning curve every time I make ravioli. It just isn’t easy. Then again, with a second snowstorm in a week, I have a couple hours to play with.

Cheese Ravioli In A Light Savory Herb Sauce

 

One little detail is that you need a pasta machine to make decent pasta. My brother-in-law Bob Hamilton gave us one 25 years ago. I used it a few times, but until I learned about Double Zero flour, using the machine was more trouble than it was worth. It sat in the attic for years but now it has been promoted to a kitchen shelf.

This story brings me back to a Bolognese sauce I had once at a hilltop castle in northern Italy in the 1990’s. It was amazing. I tried for years to replicate it without success. I thought that maybe it was the setting, the day, phase of the moon. Then I told the story to my favorite chef Lucien Vendome and he asked: Have you tried adding heavy cream? Voila!

My ravioli made with Double Zero flour isn’t easy to make, but pretty darned good. Try it with my Bolognese sauce made with heavy cream and you won’t be disappointed.

Bolognese Sauce

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The Perfect Comfort Food

Some times even your wine group needs a little comfort food. It doesn’t need to be a cold snowy day to have comfort food theme for your wine group gathering. There are not many foods that are more comforting than French Onion Soup.

French Onion Soup Recipe

Why not kick off your wine group by greeting your guest with a small ramekin of french onion soup and a nice glass of chardonnay? For me, the challenge with French Onion Soup is that I love it, but a bowl can be too filling. Hence, the idea of starting out your guests with a small ramekin works pretty well. My bet is that even when you encourage friends that they don’t need to finish it, by the end of the evening, everyone will have slurped the last drop and scraped the caramelized cheese.

Another favorite of mine is a dish I call Bistro Clams. It combines some of my favorite food groups, seafood, garlic/herb butter and bacon. You might need a piece of baguette to sponge up the last drops of butter and a glass of cabernet, but you can’t go wrong with this appetizer

Bistro Clams Recipe

Enjoy the comfort.

If you enjoyed this blog and similar other stories/wine group/supper club lessons follow me on Facebook and Twitter and subscribe to get future blogs at www.impromptufridaynights.com/blog and check out my book Impromptu Friday Nights a Guide to Supper Clubs. Published by Morgan James Publishing and available through most channels where books are sold.