Won ton Wrappers – To Make Ravioli – Who Knew?

I have a few resources that give recipes for using won ton wrappers to make ravioli. Well, I am not one to turn down a good idea. I thought I would give it a try. After all, I had some leftover ricotta cheese from another project. And I am also not one to throw away good food. So I found what I believed was a good recipe and got to work.

Here’s my recipe for easy low-fat cheese ravioli:

¾ cup part-skim ricotta cheese
¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
¼ cup fresh basil, chopped
1 large egg
1 garlic clove, minced
Pinch of ground nutmeg
24 won ton wrappers

Directions:
1. Mix ricotta cheese, Parmesan cheese, basil (or basil pesto), egg, garlic, and nutmeg. Place 1 rounded teaspoon of filling in center of wrapper. Brush edge of wrapper with water. Fold wrapper in half, press to remove air and seal the ravioli. Transfer ravioli to baking sheet. (Line baking sheet with plastic or wax paper. It makes taking off a lot easier.) Cover with a damp paper towel until ready to cook.

2. Most recipes say to cook the ravioli in a large pot of boiling water. However, I find it easier to cook them in a large skillet, something with a large bottom. Add about 2 teaspoons of salt to 6 to 8 cups water and bring to a boil. Carefully add ravioli. Cook until ravioli are just tender, stirring gently, about 3 minutes. When you can see the filling through the wrapper, they are done. Using slotted spoon, transfer ravioli to bowls. Serve with the sauce of your choice. Sprinkle each with ½ tablespoon Parmesan cheese and serve.

I have just completed my first batch of won ton ravioli. And yes, ravioli can be successfully made using won ton wrappers. After all, won ton wrappers are egg pasta that has been rolled and cut, just like ravioli dough. Won ton wrappers work great for stuffing.

Making ravioli with won ton wrappers was fun (yes, I’m a little different). It was a relatively easy process. The filling can be done ahead of time and refrigerated. When you are ready to fill, set up an assembly line and go for it! My only suggestion would be to not overfill or you won’t be able to seal them.

I discussed making ravioli with one of my colleagues. She explained that she thought her kids would like to make them because they like to fill things. So if you have kids that are interested in food, give ravioli making a try.

I hope you enjoy the process!

Chicken and Dumplings

I love chicken and dumplings, but I must admit that my first impression of this dish was not too favorable. I just remember that white, soft skin. I just didn’t find that too appealing. But, I grew up! Over the years I discovered that there is more than one way to make chicken and dumplings and if I wanted to, I could change the recipe.

It seems that most Southern recipes omit the carrots and celery while most Midwestern recipes include them. As for me, I am for the celery, now the carrots, that’s up for debate. There are a few seasonings that I do believe belong in chicken and dumplings, parsley, either dried or fresh, onions, and maybe poultry seasoning (yes, you can use it more than at Christmas time).

I grew up with rolled dumplings, but I have grown rather fond of drop dumplings. They seem to have a lighter and fluffier texture. I also put parsley in the dumplings. They just need a little color.

I used to make chicken and dumplings by sautéing the chicken, boiling, deboning. But I have discovered rotisserie chicken. What I did before rotisserie chicken is a mystery to me. After all, I want out of the kitchen occasionally. For chicken and dumplings, I purchase a savory flavored chicken. I prefer one that is not too flavorful. Place the chicken and any pan juices in a Dutch oven. Cover with water. Simmer for an hour or so. Cool and if desired, remove the fat, but leave a little for flavor. Remove the skin and bones. Cut chicken into desired pieces.

Sauté carrots, celery and onions in oil. You can also do this in chicken fat. Why waste good fat? Add chicken and broth.

Dumplings

2 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 Tablespoon dried parsley
¼ cup shortening
2/3 to ¾ cup milk

Combine flour, baking powder, salt and parsley in a bowl. Cut shortening into flour mixture with a pastry blender until crumbly. Add milk, stirring until dry ingredients are moistened. Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface. Knead dough 10 to 12 times or until dough is smooth. Roll to 1/8-inch thickness; cut into 1½ X 2-inch strips. Bring chicken and broth to a simmer; drop dough into broth. Simmer for 4 to 5 minutes or until done. Enjoy!

Barley – It’s not Just for Soup Anymore!

Most of us know people that like rice, corn, and oatmeal. But when was the last time someone told you they liked barley? Barley is just not a food most of think about eating. When most of us do think about barley, it is in the form of beef and barley soup.

In honor of National Nutrition Month (http://www.eatright.org/Public/content.aspx?id=11498), I thought I would write about barley. Just like most of you, I don’t think much about barley. However, since starting this blog, I gotta think outside the box. Grains have long been featured in many cuisines around the world. They provide about 75 to 100 calories and 4 to 6 grams of fiber per ½ cup serving. Grains are an excellent source of vitamins and minerals. Barley is even allowed to bear a statement that reads, ‘As a part of a healthy diet, the soluble fiber in barley helps reduce cholesterol levels’.

A recipe for Hearty Barley Fruit Salad is included in this blog. Some of us thought of it as Hearty Barley Ambrosia, but we are old enough to remember ambrosia. Now before turning up your nose, barley does not provide much flavor. It provides a nice chewy texture. It’s a good way to sneak grains into the diet. If you want to go beyond this recipe, here are a few other resources to help you get started.

Resources for Barley Recipes

• Quaker Oats - http://bit.ly/f4i7lX
• Epicurious - http://www.epicurious.com/tools/searchresults?search=barley
• Eating Well Magazine - http://www.eatingwell.com/search/apachesolr_search/barley
• Better Homes and Gardens Magazine - http://search.bhg.com/search/s?q=barley&x=27&y=9

Hearty Barley Fruit Salad
Serves 6 to 8.

Ingredients:
1 cup water
1/3 cup quick barley
1 can (11 ounce) mandarin oranges, drained
1 cup miniature marshmallows
½ cup halved seedless red grapes
¼ cup slivered almonds, lightly toasted
¼ cup shredded or flaked coconut
1 cup sour cream

Directions:
1. In a medium saucepan bring water to a boil; stir in barley. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for about 10 to 12 minutes. Drain and allow barley to cool.

2. Combine barley with remaining ingredients except sour cream. Toss lightly to mix. Fold in sour cream. Chill for several hours before serving.

The Perfect Chocolate Cake

I’ve really been getting into this Julia/Julie thing. I refuse to cook my way through Mastering the Art of French Cooking or any other cookbook. So, I have been on a mission to decide what I could do. I decided on making the perfect chocolate cake.

You see, most chocolate cakes seem a little dry. So I want to make a perfect chocolate cake. To get started, I picked a recipe entitled “The Perfect Chocolate Cake”. This is a chocolate cake with whipped cream filling and a chocolate frosting. I baked it and it turned out to be ‘perfect’. The cake was moist with a wonderful chocolate flavor. To be sure I was on track; I served it to some friends of mine. To my utter surprise, my friend Roger licked the plate. And I thought I can’t improve on plate licking. As it turns out the recipe was first published by Southern Living magazine in September 1977. It has been more of their more requested cake recipes. I guess that proves that a true classic never goes out of style.

I didn’t manage to get a picture of Roger. But it would have been quite a picture. You will have to be content with a picture of the cake and a recipe. I hope you bake the cake and enjoy it as much as my friends. Who knows, it could become your plate licking cake too.

If you have a ‘perfect’ chocolate cake recipe, please let us know.

Perfect Chocolate Cake

Ingredients:

Cake
1 cup cocoa
2 cups boiling water
1 cup butter or margarine, softened
2½ cups sugar
4 eggs
2¾ cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1½ teaspoons vanilla flavoring
Whipped Cream Filling (recipes follows)
Perfect Chocolate Frosting (recipes follows)

Directions:

1. Combine cocoa and boiling water, stirring until smooth. Set aside.

2. Cream butter; gradually add sugar, beating well at medium speed of an electric mixer. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.

3. Combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl; add to creamed mixture alternately with cocoa mixture, beating at low speed of electric mixer, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Stir in vanilla. Do not overbeat.

4. Line three 9-inch greased cake pans with wax paper; grease and flour wax paper. Pour batter into cake pans. Bake at 350°F for 20 to 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in pans for 10 minutes; remove from pans, peel off wax paper, and cool layers completely on wire racks.

5. Spread Whipped Cream Filling between layers; spread Perfect Chocolate Frosting on top and sides of cake. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Whipped Cream Filling
1 cup whipping cream
1 teaspoon vanilla flavoring
¼ cup sifted powdered sugar

Beat whipping cream and vanilla until foamy; gradually add powdered sugar, beating until soft peaks form. Chill.

Perfect Chocolate Frosting

Ingredients:
1 package (6 ounces) semi-sweet chocolate morsels
½ cup half and half
¾ cup butter
2 ½ cups sifted powdered sugar

 Directions:
1. Combine first 3 ingredients in a heavy saucepan; cook over medium heat, stirring until chocolate melts. Remove from heat; add powdered sugar, mixing well.

2. Set saucepan in ice, and beat at low speed of an electric mixer until frosting holds its shape and loses its gloss. Add a few more drops of half and half if needed to make spreading consistency.

Winter Salads – No Tomatoes Needed

I like salads even in the winter when the temperature dips below the freezing point. But iceberg lettuce and cardboard tomatoes just don’t do it for me. Okay, maybe I’m something of a salad snob. I used to always put tomatoes on my salads. One day I complained to a friend about the cost and flavor of winter tomatoes. Her remark was “well, why do you use them?” I answered back “It’s a salad, so you must use tomatoes”. She immediately wanted to know where that rule came from.

Well, needless to say, her comment got me to thinking about my salad making philosophy. I finally decided she was right and a salad could be made without tomatoes. Making a salad without tomatoes has just unleashed my creativity. I now make a salad according to what is in season. During the winter I choose things that are readily available in the winter. The good thing about this is that foods normally taste better when eaten during their growing season. Varying ingredients gives me a little more variety.

Here are my basic rules for a winter salad. Start with a nice lettuce, like romaine or spring greens (I know this probably breaks the winter thing, but oh well). Check your local supermarket and be a little adventurous. I like to use apples, Cheddar cheese and maybe dried cranberries. And if I am in the mood, I may add a few toasted walnuts.

Winter Salad

Per Person
Use about 1 to 1½ cups lettuce
1 Tablespoon grated or crumbled cheese (Blue, Cheddar, Parmesan)
1/4 of a fresh fruit (apple, pear, orange, grapefruit, avocado)
1 Tablespoon chopped nuts
1 Tablespoon dried fruit (cranberries, cherries, raisins)

Season the salad with a little salt and pepper and add your favorite salad dressing. I think you can get the point of my salad. Be as creative as you desire. You are only limited by your imagination.

Potato Gnocchi - Italy

The second dumpling we are going to explore is the potato gnocchi from Italy. “Gnocchi” (pronounced “NYOH-kee”) is an Italian word that means “lump” or “knot”, which probably refers to their shape. This type of gnocchi is very simple and usually has only four ingredients: potato, flour, eggs, and salt. (Some resources use the whole egg and some use only the yolk, so you decide.) It is believed that gnocchi has been prepared for thousands of years, since the time of the Roman Empire. Consequently, gnocchi may be the ancestor for many of the other types of dumplings. There are many variations of gnocchi – you can make it with potatoes, bread crumbs, semolina or vegetables and serve it in various sauces, butter, or cheese. Take a trip to Italy and enjoy potato gnocchi!

Helpful Hints! (‘Cause we all need them every once in a while)
To make the best possible dough for gnocchi it is important to use potatoes that have a lower moisture content, russet. If you don’t have russets, something like Yukon Gold will also work. This recipe calls for 1 ¼ cup of flour. You may need to use more or less depending on the moisture content of your potatoes.

Potato Gnocchi

Serves 4 to 6 (about 10 gnocchi)

Ingredients:
2 pounds russet potatoes
½ teaspoon salt
2 large egg yolks, beaten
1¼ cup all-purpose flour

Preparing the Dough:

1. Peel the potatoes so there are no visible discolorations. Cut each one into chunks. Place potatoes in a bowl of cold water to prevent browning.
2. Add potatoes to the saucepan and cover with water. Cover. Bring potatoes to a boil and cook until they are fork tender.
3. Drain the water; put the pan back on the stove. Leave the heat on for another 2 minutes to dry the potatoes out. Turn off the heat, add the salt and mash the potatoes with a fork or potato masher until smooth. 4. Put the potatoes in a large bowl, and allow them to cool for 15 minutes.
5. Pour the beaten egg yolks over the cooled potatoes and mix well. Then sprinkle 1 cup of flour on top.
6. Use a spatula or wooden spoon to gently mix the ingredients together until combined.
7. Using your hands, knead dough until it holds together. It may be a little sticky. If it’s too sticky, add 1 tablespoon of flour at a time, as needed.
8. Divide the dough into 6 equal pieces and roll each portion into a 10 inch long “rope”.
9. Cut the rope into 1 inch pieces.
10. On each piece, use or fingertip to make a small indentation in the center of each gnocchi. This helps it to retain any sauce you may serve with it.

 Cooking the Gnocchi
1. Bring another pot of water to a gentle boil.
2. Add one quarter of the gnocchi at a time to the boiling water. When the gnocchi floats to the top they are done. Use a slotted spoon to collect them and transfer to a plate.
3. Continue cooking the gnocchi in batches until they are all cooked.
4. Serve immediately with sauce or see the sautéed variation below.

Making Ahead
If you’d like to make gnocchi ahead of time, toss the cooked gnocchi with olive oil and refrigerate for up to 2 days. You can also freeze uncooked gnocchi in a single layer on a lined baking sheet. Transfer to an airtight container. They can be frozen for up to 3 months. When ready to eat them, cook them the same as the unfrozen gnocchi.

Sautéed Gnocchi
1. Once the gnocchi has been cooked, you can sauté it in 1 teaspoon of extra virgin olive oil. Over medium-high heat, sauté one quarter of the gnocchi at a time for about 2 minutes or until they develop a golden-brown crust. Sauce Time! We have three different types of sauces for your gnocchi. Pick your favorite or try them all! (We did)!

Pesto Alfredo

Serves 4 to 6.

Ingredients:
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1/8 cup grated Romano cheese
1½ Tablespoon basil pesto
½ Tablespoon pine nuts
1 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
¼ teaspoon salt

Directions:
1. In a saucepan, heat the olive oil – this happens quickly. Add pesto and pine nuts and cook for 1 minute. Watch carefully, the pesto will burn.
2. Pour the cream into the pan and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Add the cheese, stirring constantly to prevent lumps. Serve over cooked gnocchi.

Garlic Cream

Serves 4 to 6.

Ingredients:
1 medium onion
3 cloves of garlic
1 cup heavy cream
¼ cup butter
3 to 4 Tablespoons flour

Directions:
1. Chop the onion and thinly slice the garlic.

2. Add the butter to a large sauté pan, cook the onion over medium heat until browned. Add the garlic.

3. Stir in the flour a little at a time until smooth and let it brown slightly. Slowly add the cream, stirring constantly. Heat this until it’s thickened. Pour over gnocchi and serve.

Marinara Sauce

Serves 4 to 6.

Ingredients:
1 small onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
2 Tablespoon olive or vegetable oil
1 can (28 ounce) whole or diced tomatoes (not drained)
2 teaspoon Italian seasoning

Directions:
1. Heat the olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat and add the onion. Sauté the onion until it’s translucent. Add the garlic and let it cook for 1 minute. Add tomatoes and Italian seasoning. Simmer the ingredients together for 20 minutes. Toss with gnocchi and enjoy!

Chocolate – Eat Up, for Health Benefits, Of Course

Chocolate, we love it. And now, it’s good for you! We love it and it’s healthy, too. I never thought those two statements would ever be seen together. Before you rush out to empty the stores of chocolate, let’s take a deeper look.

Theobroma cacao, the botanical name for chocolate means “food of the gods”. We enjoy chocolate in many forms, hot chocolate, chocolate chip cookies, cakes, candies and everything in between. Chocolate can be used in savory and sweet foods. The web is brimming with chocolate recipes to delight the tastebuds. Cook books have been devoted entirely to the subject of chocolate.

Although Americans love chocolate, we are not the number one consumer – that title belongs to Belgium, consuming about 10.74 kg per person. Americans consume about 5.58 kg of chocolate per person, ranking 10th in consumption.

If you consume chocolate for the health benefits and that is why we choose it, right? Here are a few things you may want to know. The health benefits of chocolate come from a group of compounds referred to as flavonoids. These compounds act as antioxidants and may help lower LDL cholesterol, blood pressure and increase blood flow to the brain. To get the maximum health benefits, eat dark chocolate. It contains a higher level of cocoa and therefore a higher level of antioxidants.

Before overindulging, chocolate does contain fat and sugar. A one ounce portion should provide the health benefits without increasing the waistline. If you want to indulge in chocolate on Valentine’s Day or any day, give the recipe for chocolate fondue a try. It makes two servings – one for you and maybe one to share.

Chocolate Fondue

Serves 2.

Ingredients:
3 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
3 Tablespoons heavy cream or half-and-half
Pinch of salt
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Assorted fruit (strawberries, fresh pineapple, pears, apricots, banana)

Directions:
1. Place chocolate, cream and salt in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave on medium. Stirring every 20 seconds, until melted. Add vanilla and stir.

2. To serve, use skewers to dip fruit into warm chocolate.

Note: If desired, substitute 1 tablespoon of coffee for 1 tablespoon of cream. Chocolate will harden upon cooling. If you have leftover chocolate, add dried cranberries and almonds. Drop on wax paper and allow to harden.