Bacon-filled Ravioli with Mushroom Sauce

These bacon and ricotta filled ravioli were one of my favorite dishes of the evening. Our ravioli chef, Mark Borghetti, whips these out faster than you can imagine. "I'm Italian," he says in his suburban Chicago accent. "You oughta see my mom make ravioli."

Mark uses this pasta roller that clamps to a table or counter and the sheets come out smooth and even. If you don't have this, or a pasta machine, a rolling pin will do. He also has this round ravioli cutter that crimps the edges while it cuts through two layers of pasta, as you can see above. Alas, we don't have this tool either, so next time we make this recipe, we'll be cutting these into squares with a knife.

I hear there's also a thing called a ravioli mold that helps the ravioli-making process in some way. I shouldn't hear about things like this - my kitchen is way too small for any other gadgets or utensils.

Mark says he got the original recipe from The Food Network.

Ingredients

For the dough

4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
6 large eggs, beaten

For the filling

1 cup sliced yellow onion
8 slices thick-cut bacon, roughly chopped
4 carrots, diced
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Salt and Pepper to taste
1 1/2 cups fresh parsley, chopped
1/3 cup ricotta cheese
3 ounces gruyere or swiss cheese, grated
2 large egg yolks

For the sauce

4 tbsp butter
Salt and pepper to taste
1 pound assorted mushrooms, sliced
1 clove garlic, minced
4 green onions, chopped
2 pints grape or cherry tomatoes, halved
2 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
2 tbsp fresh basil leaves, chopped

Instructions

To make the dough

Put the flour and eggs in a food processor or mixer. Process until the dough clings to the beaters or blades. Turn out the dough on a floured surface and shape into a rectangle. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside 30 minutes at room temperature.

Let's eat!

To make the filling

In a food processor or blender, blend the onions, raw bacon, and carrots until finely chopped and well mixed. Pour 1 cup of water in a large skillet and heat until boiling. Add the bacon mixture, nutmeg, salt, and pepper, reduce heat to medium, and cook until the water is evaporated and the vegetables start to brown, about 10 minutes. Stir in the parsley, then place in a bowl and let it cool about 15 minutes. Mix in the rest of the filling ingredients and refrigerate until ready to stuff the ravioli. Note: this can be made one or two days ahead of time.

To make the ravioli

Sprinkle the dough with flour and divide into 6 pieces. Shape each piece into a 4" by 2" rectangle. If using a pasta machine, adjust it to the widest setting then roll the pasta through several times, reducing the setting until the pasta is about 1/16th inch thick. If using a rolling pin, turn the dough out on a floured surface and roll it until it is 1/16th inch thick and about 3" wide. Repeat with the rest of the dough.

On a floured surface, lay out one sheet of dough. Scoop out tablespoons of the ricotta filling and place them two inches apart on the sheet of dough, making sure you leave 2 inches along the edges of the dough as well. Place another sheet of dough over the top of the ravioli. Using a ravioli cutter, knife, or pizza wheel, cut out the ravioli. Repeat with the remaining dough and filling.

At this point, you can freeze the ravioli for later (no, eat it now!) or put it in a covered container and refrigerate for another day. Since we weren't going to eat for another hour or so, Mark put his raviolis on a cookie sheet and placed them in the freezer so they would hold together much better when he boiled them.

To make the sauce

Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Stir in the mushrooms, salt, and pepper, and saute until tender, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and green onions, and cook and stir for one minute. Add the tomatoes, basil, and parsley, and cook for 3-5 minutes, until the tomatoes are softened.

Boil the ravioli in a large pot for 10 minutes, then remove to a serving platter. Stir 1 1/2 cups of the ravioli cooking water to the sauce, and simmer 5 minutes. Serve with the sauce drizzled over the ravioli or passed in a separate bowl.

Serves 6-8.

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Goat Cheese Fruit Salad in Parmesan Baskets

I wish I had better photos of these delicate and flavorful little salads, but our Iron Chef Bacon Cook Off was in full gear and there was a lot of action in the room. The recipe is made in two steps, but nothing is very hard about the process. This recipe, crafted by my friend Talea, is definitely a dish to impress and dazzle, and can be either an appetizer or a bit of a side salad. Yum!

Parmesan Baskets

Ingredients

10 ounces coarsely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano or Asiago cheese

1/2 teaspoon coarsely ground multi color pepper medley-optional

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and place the oven rack in the middle of the oven. Grease a muffin tin or use parchment baking cups. Stir together the cheese and pepper, and gently pat into a very thin layer on the bottom and up the sides of each muffin cup.

Bake until bubbly and lightly golden, about 4 minutes. Allow to cool before slipping them out of the pan. These will keep crisp for several days at room temperature in a covered container.

Makes 12 -16 baskets.

Goat Cheese Fruit Salad

Ingredients

1 cup frisee lettuce, torn into bite size pieces (frisee lettuce is that frizzy-looking pale lettuce next to all the specialty lettuces; it has a nice bite to it, but substitute other lettuce if you can't find it)

1 Granny Smith apple, julienned
1 tbsp chopped fresh tarragon
Juice of ½ Lemon
3 slices of bacon, fried crisp and chopped, leave a few crumbs for final topping;
½ cup heirloom tomato, sliced into thin wedges
½ cup toasted Walnuts, chopped
1/4 cup cranberry goat cheese

For the Vinaigrette:

1/3 cup olive oil
3 tbsp pomegranate balsamic vinegar
2 tbsp white wine vinegar
2 tsp honey
1 tsp oriental mustard
1 pinch of salt
½ tsp ground white pepper

Instructions

For the vinaigrette, beat oil and vinegar until emulsified and then add all other ingredients. Stir until combined. Keep at room temperature until ready to serve.

Add the lettuce to the bottom of the parmesan basket. Mix all other ingredients except the cheese together and place on top of lettuce. Top with goat cheese and vinaigrette.

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Bacon and Tomato Bruschetta with Gorgonzola

Last weekend a group of my talented foodie friends got together for an Iron Chef Bacon Cook Off party. This quick appetizer was the opening to our meal, from my friends John and Peg. Delicious!

Ingredients

1 loaf French bread
1 jar sun-dried tomatoes
2 plum tomatoes
4 slices bacon, fried crisp
1 cup fresh basil
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup finely chopped Gorgonzola

Instructions

Slice the bread into 1/2" thick rounds and place on a baking sheet. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Chop the tomatoes, bacon, and fresh basil, then mix with the olive oil. You can make this up to a day in advance, but let sit for 10 minutes at room temperature.. Pile the mixture evenly on the bread rounds, then sprinkle with the Gorgonzola.

Bake for 10-15 minutes, until the bread is toasted and the topping is hot. Serve immediately.

Makes about 36 bruschette.

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Iron Chef Bacon Cookoff Party

When you've been craving bacon - which is always, in our home - the best thing you can do is round up a bunch of friends who love to cook and have a massive Iron Chef Bacon Cook Off. This is how we spent last weekend.

Our friends John and Peg hosted, and twelve of us sipped bacon-infused old fashioneds and chopped and baked and rolled our way to a glorious dinner. I love it when dinner takes a couple of hours and we all giggle and sprawl around the table in a food coma, taking just one more bite and a bit more wine.

We're ready to eat!

I'll be sharing a bunch of my talented friends' recipes over the next month, You'll have these to look forward to:

Bacon and Tomato Bruschetta

Bacon-stuffed ravioli in mushroom sauce

Stacked Bacon-Pecan Pear Salads

Goat Cheese Fruit Salad in Parmesan nests

Chocolate-caramel cheesecake with bacon

Bacon-bourbon brownies with pecans

Chocolate chip candied bacon cookies with bourbon cream

With all the bacon and a healthy helping of wine, we were all a little sluggish and dehydrated the next day, but it was worth every bite.

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One-Pan Mac & Cheese with Spinach & Bacon

Everybody's got a box of macaroni and cheese somewhere in the cabinets, right? It's one of my guilty pleasures. Adding spinach, bacon, and a bit more cheese makes this quick dinner more substantial. I made it up the other night while catching up with my daughter Jessie on the phone, and she wanted the recipe right away. I think this qualifies as gourmet First Apartment Food.

So what's up in First Born's and The Boy's life? Along with trudging to work and university in below-zero Polar Vortex weather, they're dog-sitting their aunt's mini dachshund - and enjoying it! This is a little weird for me; like every other mom of twenty-somethings, my memories of her as a teenager blur oddly at times with the adult she is now. And what I remember is being frustrated with cats that needed food and water when she wanted to be left alone and affectionate when she...well...wanted to be left alone. There was a lot of that once.

It's been a whole month since I spent time with her, and I miss her a lot. Last month we got together for a cooking date and made peanut chicken noodles and pork dim sum and hung out all day. Of all the stages of having a daughter, this is most certainly the best stage yet.

Ingredients

1 box macaroni and cheese

4 slices of bacon

2 cups packed baby spinach leaves

3 tbsp butter or margarine

1/2 cup milk

1/8 tsp. ground cayenne pepper

1 tsp onion powder

1/2 cup shredded colby cheese

Instructions

In a large saucepan, bring 6 cups of water to a boil and add the noodles. Set aside the cheese packet. Boil for 7-8 minutes, until tender. While it's boiling, cut the bacon into 1/2" pieces, and chop the spinach. When the noodles are tender, drain them in a colander.

While the noodles drain, cook the bacon in the saucepan over medium heat. When it is starting to get crispy, drain out the fat and add the spinach and butter. Cook the spinach 1-2 minutes, until it is slightly wilted. Add the milk, cayenne pepper, and onion powder. Stir in the noodles and cheese. When the cheese is melted, serve.

Serves 2-3.

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