Pumpkin ravioli ....again and again

~Hi Ya'll, this is a re post from November 2008 ...we are still packing and getting the new house ready. I am working on some Holiday tutorials, hope to post one soon...until then , don't just eat turkey...gobble gobble




In the first 3 months after my son was born ( and the month I was on bed rest before he was born) While learning to nurse, snuggling, and recovering from childbirth(Cesarean) I watched lots and lots of law and order( love me some Chris Noth cicra 1990)

... and the cooking network . My favorite was of course Paula Dean cause well cause she is Paula( it was like my mama was right there instead of in Bama).
But in the kitchen I find I like her tips more than her recipes. When put to the test Giada's Everyday Itailian had the recipes that worked time and time again. they suited mine and daddy's taste best. (my mother in-law , who is a master in the kitchen loves Ina and does well tweaking her recipes but I did not have as good of luck). Any way I learned a lot of smart things from that skinny Italian girl Anyone who pushesNutella as this lady does is alright by me (no matter how skinny she is) . The first was something I tried for valentines; which was chocolate raviolis using wonton wrappers for the pasta and Nutella for the filling. Very delish,very very yummy.
So then My mom got me Giada's book Everyday Italian
and I must say I use it even more that my Loretta Lynn cookbook,"you're cookin' it country"


The great thing about Giada's book is that the recpies are easy to make your own . She has a great marinara that I keep stocked in my freezer, I also use the brown butter sauce recipe(below), on all kinds of pasta.
So what is this post about? Well I had about half of my sugar pumpkin puree' left from the pumpkin zucchini bread I made last week. It was getting past the stage of being able to freeze it. So I decide to make some pumpkin raviolis. Giada actually has a recipe in her book for this but she bought the pumpkin raviolis. I bought some about a month ago and they were so bland that daddy was a little testy during dinner( no meat and bland raviolis).
So anyway I started doing a little recipe hunt and found these beautiful photos of ravioli using wonton wrappers also, on Wandering Chopsticks. This recipe seemed a little too bland for the discerning taste buds of my man so I searched on and found one from Martha.
This one looked interesting but I did not have the Locatelli cheese..and my food budget was already in the fridge this week. So I decided to wing it and the recipe below is what I came up with.

Pumpkin Ravioli

Wonton wrappers
1/12 c fresh pumpkin puree’
1/2tsp kosher salt to taste
Fresh ground pepper
1/4c fresh grated Parmesan
2-3 Tb brown sugar
1 tb fresh chopped sage
1/8 tsp nutmeg

Brown Butter Sauce with Sage
from my memory of Giada's Everyday Itailian
recipe
6-8 sage leaves torn into pieces
One stick of salted butter (yummy)
Pinch nutmeg
Salt
Pepper
1/2 c grated Parmesan
Adapted from everyday Italian
Cook butter on med heat till pale about 4-6 minutes
Add sage leaves fry in butter till crisp (about 2-3 minute)
Add salt pepper and nutmeg
Add ravioli then toss in cheese and serve
Garnish with Parmesan and fresh pepper

~As you can see I use about half a teaspoon of the filling in each wrapper
~Then brush one side with egg wash or water if you are out of eggs and fold over into a little triangle and crimp the edges lightly with a fork.~ This amount of filling made about 35-40 raviolis. I did not take photos last night...because honestly I did not have a lot of faith in the recipe I also only made half of the raviolis(for the same reason). So today I made the rest and froze them . ~I also made 2 for Burger's lunch at his request. I didn't bother to make sauce for these; I just put a pat of butter and some Parmesan on them and called it lunch.

~I was surprised to find that they tasted even better today after sitting in the fridge all night I guess the filling reached a peak flavor... Anyway I was very excited and so I am sharing.

Pumpkin Zucchini Bread recipe revisited!!!

This is a repost from the spring of our favoritepumpkin zucchini bread recipe. I usually make a couple of small loves and some muffins(burger loves his muffins)...and of course in the fall we all have access to fresh pumpkins and fresh pumpkin makes the best pumpkin bread!
~Muffins and breads are burger's favorite and pumpkin tops the list . So I make them year round. I like the zucchini added because that is the only way he eats it so far. I started using this pumpkin zucchini bread recipe almost 3 years ago. While making some bread early this week I realized, I had done gone and changed the recipe... quite a bit; So I am gonna share my version.
~I think my adaptation makes an extra moist(from extra pumpkin) bread that is a little lighter in texture and color thanks to the white lily. I actually stumbled on the white lily thing by accident . I was 1/2 a cup shy of regular flour while making some pumpkin bread and subbed in 1/2 a cup of white lily. I liked the result so I used it in all my muffin/ bread recipes. This time I decided to sub a full cup and liked the result even more. Of course this is optional if you do not have white lily just use regular flour and don't worry about adjusting the baking powder/soda . You will just have a denser bread which maybe what you like anyway! I always use fresh pumpkin if it is available but plain can pumpkin works in a pinch(and last week target had bunch of can pumpkin on clearance). I know some of my fellow bloggy ladies freeze large amounts of pumpkin so they probably have frozen pumpkin on hand.

~Ingredients

* 3 eggs, lightly beaten
* 1 white cup sugar
* 1 cup brown sugar packed
* 1 can of pumpkin or 1 1/2 cup fresh or frozen pumpkin
* 1 cup butter or margarine, melted
* 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
* 2cups all-purpose flour
* 1 cup white lily
* 1 teaspoon baking soda
* 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
* 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
* 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
* 1 cup shredded zucchini
* 1 cup chopped pecans(optional)

~DIRECTIONS

1. In a mixing bowl, combine eggs and sugar. Add pumpkin, butter and vanilla. Combine dry ingredients; gradually add to pumpkin mixture and mix well. Stir in zucchini and nuts. The original recipes says to Pour into two greased and floured 9-in. x 5-in. x 3-in. loaf pans. Bake at 350 degrees F for 45-50 minutes or until breads test done. Cool in pans 10 minutes. Remove to a wire rack.
2. I make six muffins minus the nuts (burger and daddy love muffins and not nuts in bread so much). I then mix and match the rest according to what pans I have on hand... maybe some mini loaves if I am planning on giving them away. I always make one big one and freeze it for later. The boys just work around those nuts. I use a tooth pick to check the done-ness since the different pans have different cooking times. A clean tooth pick is always my best done-ness indicator.