Ravioli With Fontina and Walnut Sauce

Ravioli With Fontina and Walnut Sauce

Serves 4

Hands-on Time: 25m

Total Time: 25m

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup walnuts
• 16 to 18 ounces fresh or frozen cheese ravioli
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 cup grated fontina
• 1/4 cup mascarpone
• kosher salt and black pepper
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives

Directions

1. Heat oven to 400°F. Spread the walnuts on a rimmed baking sheet and roast until fragrant and toasted, 6 to 8 minutes; coarsely chop.

2. Meanwhile, cook the ravioli according to the package directions, drain, and return them to the pot.

3. In a small saucepan, bring the cream to a simmer. Add the fontina and mascarpone and cook, whisking vigorously, until melted and smooth.

4. Gently mix the ravioli with the cream mixture, walnuts, ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper. Sprinkle with the chives before serving.

Crepes with Spinach, Bacon and Mushroom Filling

Crepes with Spinach, Bacon and Mushroom Filling

INGREDIENTS:

1 recipe Basic Crepes 6 slices bacon 1 tablespoon unsalted butter 1/2 pound fresh mushrooms, sliced 3 tablespoons unsalted butter 1/4 cup all-purpose flour 1 cup milk 1 (10 ounce) package frozen chopped

spinach, thawed and drained 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese salt and pepper to taste 2/3 cup chicken broth 2 eggs 1/2 cup lemon juice salt and pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS:

1.	Prepare Basic Crepes recipe according to recipe directions. Separate with wax paper and keep warm until ready to serve.
2.	Place bacon in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium-high heat until evenly brown. Drain, crumble and set aside. Reserve about 1 tablespoon drippings, add 1 tablespoon butter, and saute mushrooms.
3.	In a separate saucepan, melt 3 tablespoons butter over medium heat. Whisk in 1/4 cup flour, stirring constantly, until a smooth paste is formed. Gradually stir in 1 cup milk, stirring constantly until a smooth thick gravy is formed. Add bacon, mushrooms, spinach, parsley, Parmesan cheese, salt and pepper. Let cook until somewhat thick, about 10 minutes.
4.	In saucepan bring broth to a boil. In a small bowl, whisk together eggs and lemon juice. Temper eggs and broth together whisking constantly so as to cook, but not to scramble the eggs. (Cooking eggs to 170 degrees F). Again, salt and pepper to taste. Basic Crepes INGREDIENTS: 1 cup all-purpose flour 2 eggs 1/2 cup milk 1/2 cup water 1/4 teaspoon salt 2 tablespoons butter, melted DIRECTIONS: 1. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour and the eggs. Gradually add in the milk and water, stirring to combine. Add the salt and butter; beat until smooth. 2. Heat a lightly oiled griddle or frying pan over medium high heat. Pour or scoop the batter onto the griddle, using approximately 1/4 cup for each crepe. Tilt the pan with a circular motion so that the batter coats the surface evenly. 3. Cook the crepe for about 2 minutes, until the bottom is light brown. Loosen with a spatula, turn and cook the other side. Serve hot.
5.	Fill each crepe with spinach and meat filling, roll up, and top with warm egg sauce.

GARLIC CREAM SAUCE

4 SERVINGS 20 cloves, garlic - peeled 1 shallot - peeled and quartered 1 1/4 cups, heavy cream [possibly more, as needed] herb springs [optional - see introductory note] salt and pepper to taste

In a saucepan, place the garlic cloves, quartered shallot and cream. Bring the cream barely to a simmer, then cover the pan and cook as slowly as possible until the garlic and shallot pieces are very soft - about 1 to 2 hours. Transfer the mixture to a blender, and puree, adding more cream as needed. Set aside until serving time. To serve: reheat the garlic mixture over very low heat [do not allow the mixture to boil] adding more cream if the mixture seems too thick. Season lightly with salt and pepper. COOK’S NOTE: If adding an herb is desired, either add the herb during the last half hour of cooking (before pureeing the mixture) or add it when reheating the sauce before serving. When the flavor has infused the sauce sufficiently, remove or strain away the herb sprigs.

Witches Brew

Witches Brew

Ingredients:

1 (10 ounce) package frozen raspberries , thawed 2 1/2 cups cranberry juice 2 envelopes unflavored gelatin

2 liters ginger ale 2 liters sparkling apple cider (non -alcoholic) 6 gummi snakes candy

Directions:

1.	To make the frozen hand: Wash and rinse the outside of a rubber glove. Turn glove inside out and set aside. In a 4 cup measuring cup, combine the thawed raspberries and cranberry juice.
2.	Pour 2 cups of the raspberry mixture into a small saucepan. Sprinkle the gelatin over and let stand 2 minutes. Warm over low heat, stirring constantly, just until gelatin dissolves. Mix back into the reserved raspberry mixture in the measuring cup.
3.	Pour raspberry mixture into the inverted glove. Gather up the top of the glove and tie securely with kitchen twine. Freeze until solid, or several days if possible.
4.	To serve: Carefully cut glove away from frozen hand. Place frozen hand, palm side up, leaning against side of a large punch bowl. Pour in ginger ale and sparkling cider. Garnish with gummy snakes.

Greek-alicious Pasta Salad

Greek-alicious Pasta Salad

INGREDIENTS:

2 1/2 cups bow tie (farfalle) pasta 1 cup Greek salad dressing(Ken’s is good) 2 1/2 tablespoons mayonnaise 4 radishes, finely chopped

1/2 cucumber, peeled and chopped 1 (15 ounce) can garbanzo beans, drained 3/4 cup crumbled feta cheese

DIRECTIONS:

1.	Fill a large pot with lightly salted water and bring to a rolling boil over high heat. Once the water is boiling, stir in the bow tie pasta and return to a boil. Cook the pasta uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the pasta has cooked through, but is still firm to the bite, about 12 minutes. Drain well in a colander set in the sink.
2.	Place the Greek dressing and mayonnaise into a large salad bowl, and whisk together until smooth and well blended. Add the cooked pasta, and stir lightly to coat the pasta. Sprinkle on the radishes, cucumber, garbanzo beans, and crumbled feta cheese, and fold in gently.
3.	Cover the salad and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Spooky Witches Fingers

Spooky Witches Fingers

Ingredients:

1 cup butter, softened 1 cup confectioners' sugar 1 egg 1 teaspoon almond extract 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon baking powder 1 teaspoon salt 3/4 cup whole almonds 1 (.75 ounce) tube red decorating gel

Directions:

1.	Combine the butter, sugar, egg, almond extract, and vanilla extract in a mixing bowl. Beat together with an electric mixer; gradually add the flour, baking powder, and salt, continually beating; refrigerate 20 to 30 minutes.
2.	Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Lightly grease baking sheets.
3.	Remove dough from refrigerator in small amounts. Scoop 1 heaping teaspoon at a time onto a piece of waxed paper. Use the waxed paper to roll the dough into a thin finger-shaped cookie. Press one almond into one end of each cookie to give the appearance of a long fingernail. Squeeze cookie near the tip and again near the center of each to give the impression of knuckles. You can also cut into the dough with a sharp knife at the same points to help give a more finger-like appearance. Arrange the shaped cookies on the baking sheets.
4.	Bake in the preheated oven until the cookies are slightly golden in color, 20 to 25 minutes.
5.	Remove the almond from the end of each cookie; squeeze a small amount of red decorating gel into the cavity; replace the almond to cause the gel to ooze out around the tip of the cookie.

Cheese Puffs

Cheese Puffs

Ingredients

• 6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) butter
• 1 cup water
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup flour
• 4 eggs
• 1 cup Gruyère cheese, shredded

Yields: 24-30 puffs

Preparation

Preheat oven to 400ºF

In a medium saucepot over medium-high heat, combine water, butter and salt. Heat until butter has melted and water is boiling.

Add flour and cook, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon. Stir until mixture begins to create a dough ball in the center of the pot and the dough is completely pulling away from the sides of the pan, about 2 minutes.

Transfer mixture to a mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. On low speed, add the eggs to the mixture one at a time, scraping the sides of the bowl well after each addition and beating until the bowl feels cool (the mixture should be very smooth and silky). Add in the cheese after the last addition of the eggs.

Transfer the mixture to a plastic food storage bag and cut half an inch off of one corner to create a pastry bag. On a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, squeeze the mixture into small rounds and bake until golden brown and puffed, about 25 minutes.

The pastries can be made a day or two ahead of time and kept in an airtight container at room temperature. If they feel soggy when you take them out, pop them into a 400ºF oven for a couple of minutes until they crisp up again.

Recipe courtesy of Rachael Ray