CABBY'S RAVIOLI ALFREDO

Wow, been a long time since I posted. Sorry for the long gap! I've been ill, but hopefully will be able to get back on track with the cooking soon.
For my birthday dinner I decided to make my own meal instead of going to a restaurant, and went all out for it. The plan HAD been ravioli with alfredo sauce, breadsticks, and creampuffs, but my return to cooking was a bit more work than I was ready to take on. Unfortunately I had to skip the breadsticks and dessert.
On the plus side, I FINALLY bought a pasta machine, which I've been wanting for a long time. Normally I would just roll out the dough by hand, but due to limited counterspace I've just been making less fresh pasta instead. Do you have any idea how hard it is to find a local store that carries hand crank pasta machines? I had no idea that they were so rare now-a-days. I ended up going to a store I would never set foot in otherwise- Bed Bath and Beyond. Just my luck that they were the ONLY store in this city that carries it.
Anyway, since this dish has multiple parts, I will be doing 3 posts for it: ravioli, alfredo, and toppings. In the past I did "quick" versions of this using store bought ravioli, jars of alfredo sauce, and then my own toppings, but decided to go all out for my birthday dinner.

PART 1: MUSHROOM RAVIOLI

Since I did not want to spend TOO much money on this dish, I used button mushrooms for the ravioli, which worked fine. If you want a bit more mushroom flavor or to make it a bit more high class, morels would be fabulous for this dish.

PASTA

2 1/2 cup flour
1/4 tsp salt
2 eggs
splash of olive oil
hot water (as needed)

1. sift flour and salt into a large bowl. Make a well in the center and add beaten eggs and olive oil.
2. using a fork, gently stir the eggs, pulling small amounts of flour from the edges.
3. when the dough has become too stiff to work with a fork, turn it over onto a floured surface and knead for 5-10 minutes until pliable. for dough that is too stiff or dry, add a tablespoon of hot water and continue to knead.
4. shape dough into a ball and wrap in a damp towel. let stand for 10 minutes.

While the dough was resting I moved onto:

RICOTTA FILLING

15oz ricotta cheese
1/4 cup shredded parmesan
1 egg
1 tsp salt
1/4 cup chopped mushroom
desired seasonings (i tossed in some fresh basil)

This part is really easy... mix it all together, cover, and put it back in the fridge until you need it.

FILLING THE RAVIOLI

And this point you are kinda on your own, since everyone has different equipment. I used my pasta machine to roll out the dough (ending on setting 3, about the thickness of a nickel), then used a 4in round cutter (same as I use for pierogi). I placed about a teaspoon of filling in each circle, brushed the dough with warm water, folded in half, and used my fingers to seal. Ravioli attachments for pasta machines make consistant ravioli, or you could use a ravioli cutter (those seem impossible to find). There are also ravioli rollers, although those require large hand rolled sheets of pasta.
I let my raviolis dry out a bit before placing them in the refrigerator, about 10 minutes on each side, so they would not stick together so much.

PART 2: ALFREDO SAUCE

Mmm, my favorite part, the alfredo! I really treated myself with this one! I used heavy cream, butter, and the best parmesan I could find! If you are serious about cheese, or just want the best you can get, use Sartori's SarVecchio parmesan.
"PLYMOUTH, Wis. (March 24, 2009) -- A record 1,360 cheese entries from 32 states competed at the 2009 US Championship Cheese Contest all hoping to receive the title of “US Champion.” But only one cheese, Sartori Reserve® SarVecchio Parmesan, holds the title as the best cheese in the United States."
Being in WI, it was easy for me to get this cheese (I had planned to go to a cheeseshop for it, but found it at my regular grocery store =X), and it was totally worth it. Sartori also had a few international award winning parmesans in 2008, so if you can get this brand, I HIGHLY recommend it. http://mmm.sartorireserve.com/wheretobuy.aspx
OK, off my cheese rave and onto the recipe!

1 stick of unsalted butter (real butter, margarine will destroy this)
2 pints heavy cream
1/4 cup flour
4 cloves of garlic, quartered
1/2 a small yellow onion, diced
1 1/2 cup parmesan
splash of olive oil
splash of red wine
milk (as needed)
salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

1. melt butter in a saucepan on medium low heat. add garlic and onions, sautee until just starting to change color.
2. add sifted flour in small amounts, stirring with a wisk.
3. wisk in cream, no more than a few tablespoons at a time, stirring vigorously.
(if you add too much at a time you will end up with a soup with lumps! make sure to completely mix it in before adding more. cold cream will start hardening the butter, so i let the cream rest on the counter about 30min before hand)
4. continue to cook over medium low heat until it begins to thicken. stir in the olive oil and wine.
5. add the shredded cheese 1/4 cup at a time, waiting for it to melt before adding more.
(if you find that it has become too thick, add a splash of milk)
6. when the cheese has completely melted into the sauce, add the salt and pepper to taste. leave sauce over low heat (don't forget to stir now and then) as we move onto the next part!

STEP 3: THE TOPPINGS AND PUTTING IT TOGETHER

2 Tablespoon butter
3 Tablespoon brown sugar
6 cloves garlic
1/2 large red onion
1 roma tomato
fresh basil
shredded parmesan


1. bring unsalted water for the ravioli to a boil. add ravioli, and return to a boil, cooking for 5-7 minutes. drain (do not rinse) and set aside in an uncovered dish.

2. slice onion into 1/2in rings, then slice the rings in half. cut medium garlic cloves in half, quarter larger cloves.

3. melt butter over medium heat. add garlic and onions, and sautee until onions begin to soften. sprinkle brown sugar over and continue to cook for about 5 minutes, or until onions soften and sugar has become a syrup

4. arrange ravioli on a plate so that they don't overlap. spoon alfredo over to cover all ravioli

5. to arrange the caramelized onions, i use a slotted spatula and gently shake it over the alfredo

6. top the onions with diced roma and chopped basil

7. add a sprinkle of cheese on top if desired

And VIOLA! Finally done! There are many ways to make this meal cheaper and faster (frozen ravioli, jarred sauce, garlic powder..), but now and then it's good to treat yourself. If you really want to go all out with this:
1) use portobello or morel mushrooms for the ravioli.
2) get the tomatoes at the farmers market, they have a lot more flavor than ones ripened in a truck.
3) use baby red onions, halved. The first time I made this I was just trying to use up the baby reds, romas, and basil I had gotten at the farmer's market. The baby reds make a HUGE difference.
4) get good cheese! parmesan can get a bit pricy at times, but the cheap-preshredded-ziplock baggie stuff will turn all your hard work into only half as good as it can be.
The star of this dish is the onions, but the blend of all flavors together is a true WOW experience.

WARNING!: DO NOT SKIP ANYTHING UNLESS ALLERGIC. I've had 2 tomato haters and one onion hater gobble every single bite, no complaints. If someone doesn't like tomato or onions, just ask them to try a bite before pushing them aside. Chances are, they will eat every scrap.

If you have any requests/suggestions for recipes please send me an email at currentlycooking@gmail.com