We’re seven months into 2010 and I thought now might be a good time to review my to-do list for 2010.
Out of the 20 things on it, I’ve successfully accomplished the following:
- Made marshmallows
- Made Spanish churros
- Read 4 chef biographies/memoirs: Alice Waters and Chez Panisse, Daniel Boulud’s Letters to a Young Chef, Humble Pie by Gordon Ramsay, Spiced by Dahlia Jurgensen. Two more to go. Suggestions?
- Tried Tahitian vanilla, all thanks to orangefoodie.
- Grew herbs: lemongrass, more basil and mint! Now I just need some seeds for rosemary, thyme and oregano and I will have one happy windowsill.
- Tried two new salts: fleur de sel (should really make some fleur de sel caramels!), Anglesey sea salt. Three to go!
- And finally, I made fresh pasta!
Making fresh pasta is quite a task. And making fresh pasta without the pasta rollers is a task I grossly underestimated. After I made the dough according to the recipe in Jamie Oliver’s book, I let it rest for a while and then started to roll the dough out. What followed was a 40 minutes struggle to to transform the dough into a sheet so thin, a paper should be legible through it, well almost. Finally, at the end of my battle with the dough, I stuffed my chicken, cheese and mushroom filling into. Around that time I read about a chef extolling the virtues of hand rolled pasta in a local newspaper: because it’s not uniform, it is better suited for sauced to cling to it. Voila! And in addition to that, I saw my mom beaming as she bit into the handmade pasta tossed in my favourite hazelnut oil. That made it totally worth the effort. Although, next time I’d better invest in rollers before even thinking of making handmade pasta.
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These ravioli look perfect!! I love that everyone is making homemade pasta around the same time, including me. It is a funny coincidence! I’ve yet to make ravioli. I remember making pasta before getting my roller/cutter set, and it truly was a hassle. Now, it is still a hassle to make pasta with the roller/cutter, but the pasta gets really thin and lovely. I love the filling you used. YUM!
Anyway, I congratulate you for accomplishing so many of your goals!
I wouldn’t say “I told you so”…I have several raviolis in the Indigo menu I’d be making over the next few months.
That said, your ravioli looks very pretty :)
I should have listened!
What a lovely site u hv. i was looking for baking equipments & landed up on ur site. I hv added all of them in my amazon cart and am waiting for my friends in US to make a India visit. I also read ur write-up on Crawfor market. I am basically from Pune & currently reside in Hyderabad, where I find it very difficult to find aking stuff. I will get all the Betty Crocker cake mixes in all the possible flavours but I wont get basic stuff like instant yeast or even vanilla beans :(. Whenever I go to pune next i am going to make a bombay trip!
Home made pasta is the best. Be careful though, as soon as you’re used to it, you won’t want anything else anymore :-)
And what a great idea to have an annual to-do list in the kitchen. I’m going to steal that idea from you, next year (or maybe starting once I get my new kitchen.
Regarding the pasta, it really is tons and tons easier (and not such a humongous task) if you’d use a pasta machine. It’s totally worth the investment. (My favorite ravioli I made with the rollers and a mold are here: http://www.vandeflier.com/2010/03/ravioloni-alla-napoletana/
Nice looking ravioli!!
I’d suggest reading Ruhlman’s books if you haven’t already. Loved them all. Also Ruth Reichl’s books. All fantastic.
Oh yes! I love Ruth Reichl. Comfort Me with Apples is in the mail. I also have Ruhlman’s Making of a Chef but somehow I’ve gotten distracteed twice and never finished the book. Will need to start over. :)
I love making goals and checking them off the list! I’ve never made pasta but I have watched a friend do it. It’s so much fun, and it tastes wonderful. I’m glad you got a chance to try it!
wow! pasta from scratch, without a roller! i admire your patience!!! i will have to try this soon when i’m on vacation and I have the time to drive myself crazy trying to do it… it looks great and i’m sure it tasted even better!
Delicious looking ravioli! I usually start to-do lists at the beginning of the year and sadly, not much ever gets crossed off.
Nice! Fresh pasta is something I’ve been wanting to try in my kitchen- but I’ll take your advice and get a pasta roller first :)
Many congratulations on the catering venture! I’m sure you’ll make it a super success :)
That’s quite a list–I’m impressed. Wholeheartedly agree about the daunting task of making your own pasta, but it’s so good, isn’t it?
BTW, Have you read Tender At The Bone, by Ruth Riechl? A must read for foodies.
enjoyed your blog.
Tender at the Bone is on my wishlist. I’ve just ordered for Comfort me With Apples! :) Thanks for stopping by and commenting!
I haven’t made pasta by hand in ages – but I think I’ve just been inspired. I used to have a machine, but it was such a pain to clean that I gave it away. (The dough would get caught in the many, many parts) I may need to rethink how I’m going to do it now. Thanks for the inspiration
And I thought I was inspiration for not making pasta at home without rollers! Thanks for stopping by!
Thanks for your comment on my blog! So I could discover your site, too.
I was just smiling, as I read your “To-do-list 2010″. There are a lot things on it, which would be on my to-do-list, too, if I had made one this year ;). Just thought yesterday I should try again with the marshmallows, since the last attempt in pre-christmas-time was, well… crap. Really funny.
I commend you on rolling the pasta dough out by hand! Your raviolis turned out so beautifully and the addition of the nut oil is marvelous. By the way, your photos are just beautiful.
That pasta looks amazing ! Ravioli exceptional when made at home!
Ah, the joy of homemade pasta. I know exactly the victorious, triumphant feeling you experienced—I just made my first pasta a few weeks ago (also ravioli! also without a pasta maker!) and when I finished, oh, baby. I was SO EXCITED. Everyone who interacted with me for the next two days had to hear about it. : )
I would recommend The Apprentice: My Life in the Kitchen by Jacques Pepin – - it really takes you on the journey with him!
I love pasta but never made it myself. Thanks for putting up a great recipe. I’m gonna try it myself, hoping it comes out likes yours.
The ravioli look delicious. I would not dare to make pasta without a pasta machine…All the rolling is quite an effort.
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