On January 1, I considered making a traditional New Year’s Day meal. There are certainly enough food traditions revolving around that date. People believe that by eating anything from black-eyed peas and pork to soba and tangerines, they will have good luck in the coming year. However, I’m not particularly superstitious, nor do I like a lot of the traditional American New Year’s foods. But I did want our first dinner of 2010 to be a special one. So, I spent the day in the kitchen making a recipe that I’d had bookmarked for quite some time – handmade ravioli in a decadent cream sauce.

The New Year is now 3 weeks old. The New Year’s Resolution newbies are starting to clear out of my gym. All those goals and promises revolving around crash diets and long workouts are already being forgotten. This is exactly why I don’t make New Year’s Resolutions at all. To me, it’s much better to enjoy all that life has to offer and work to improve oneself on a daily basis. This includes, among other things, enjoying good food and drink, and making time for regular exercise. One of my biggest pet peeves is when people go on and on about how “bad” a food is. No food is bad. If you want a cupcake, eat a cupcake, and do it without whining about how fat it will make you. Just don’t eat ten cupcakes. As Aristotle said (and yes, I am paraphrasing here), moderation is a virtue.

But I digress. Time to get off the soapbox and back to the recipe. It is now Mid-Winter in Ohio. It’s cold and icky outside. Comfort food is the order of the day, especially when that food is a rich, cheesy pasta in cream sauce.

Cheese Ravioli with Spinach Cream Sauce
Makes 4 Servings

Pasta Ingredients
(Makes 1 1/4 lb. pasta)
4 large eggs
2 tbsp. water
3 1/2 c. sifted all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. salt

Filling Ingredients
2 c. ricotta cheese
1/2 box (approx. 5 oz.) frozen spinach, thawed & dried
4 oz. mozzarella cheese
1/2 c. freshly grated Parmesan cheese
2 tsp. minced garlic
1 egg, lightly beaten
freshly ground salt & black pepper, to taste

Sauce Ingredients
2 tbsp. minced garlic
1 red bell pepper, roasted
3 plum tomatoes
2 tbsp. olive oil
1/2 box (approx. 5 oz.) frozen spinach, thawed & drained
1/2 c. dry vermouth
2 c. cream
1 tbsp. basil
1 tbsp. oregano
freshly ground salt & pepper, to taste

To make the pasta
1. Place all ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer. Mix on low speed (speed 2 on a KitchenAid stand mixer) with a flat beater for 30 seconds.
2. Replace flat beater with dough hook. Knead on low speed for 2 minutes.
3. Remove dough from bowl and knead with hands for 2 more minutes. Divide dough into 8 equal pieces and let rest for 20 minutes.
*At this point, the dough recipe instructed me to roll the pasta with my pasta roller, then shape it in a ravioli mold. However, I haven’t quite been able to justify the $120 pricetag that the KitchenAid pasta roller attachment comes with yet. As for the ravioli mold, I like unitaskers more than any self-respecting Alton Brown fan should. But I draw the line at things that I will use, at most, twice a year. So, I rolled the dough with my trusty rolling pin and cut it with a round cookie cutter. Here’s how I did it:
4. On a lightly floured surface, roll dough very thinly (most recipes suggest 1/16″, though mine was a bit thicker). Cut out the dough using cookie cutters and set aside.

To make the ravioli
1. While the dough is resting, make the filling by combining all ingredients in the order given. Mix well. Refrigerate until ready to use.
2. Place a dough circle on a flat surface. Top with a small amount of cheese filling. Place a second dough circle on top. Squeeze together, lightly wetting edges to seal. Repeat until all pasta and filling have been used. Place on baking sheets, cover with wax paper, and refrigerate until ready to use.
3. To make the sauce, cut red pepper and tomatoes in half. Roast in the broiler, turning once to ensure that both sides are browned. Skin and thinly slice peppers and tomatoes.
4. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add garlic, peppers, tomatoes, spinach, salt and pepper. Sauté for about a minute. Add vermouth and cook for another 1-2 minutes, until slightly reduced. Remove from heat and cook the ravioli.
5. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add ravioli, being careful not to crowd the pot. Boil for 5 minutes or until pasta is al dente. Remove and drain. Repeat until all ravioli is cooked.
6. Return sauce to a hot burner. Heat sauce, then add the cream. Carefully add ravioli to sauce and cook until sauce is slightly reduced. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and enjoy.

My Thoughts & Suggestions:
I served this recipe with a Caesar Salad and my trusty Garlic-Parmesan Bread. Definitely make sure you have some sort of dense, crusty bread available to sop up the excess sauce.

This is a time-consuming recipe. I didn’t time exactly how long it took me to make this recipe. I know I spent over 2 hours in the kitchen, and enjoyed every minute of it. As for my method, there are a lot of ways to actually form the ravioli. I used the one that made the most sense for my situation with the tools that I already had. My only real complaint was that the raviolis came out a little thicker than I would have liked. In spite of that, I’d definitely call this recipe a resounding success. It was a special meal for a special day; and definitely a lot more satisfying than the icky black-eyed peas my dad forced on me as a child.

Recipe Source: Adapted from Homemade Cheese Ravioli with Spinach Cream Sauce at Teri’s Kitchen using the KitchenAid Basic Egg Pasta Dough recipe.

In general, I take lunch to work with me. My job doesn’t lend itself to going out to lunch very often. So I try to make my lunch break a true break. It’s nice to take time during the workday to relax and enjoy good food while catching up on blogs and Facebook or chatting with coworkers. Lunch at work is especially nice when you take the time to prepare something fresh and tasty rather than run out for a sandwich or heat up a frozen meal (though I admit I do both of those things on occasion). Since mornings are so hectic, I like to prepare my lunch the night before. Leftovers are the obvious easy workday lunch. Just pack them up when dinner is over, reheat and you have a tasty lunch.

Big salads are another great lunch option. There are endless combinations of vegetables, add-ins and dressings. Salads are filling and healthy, as long as they contain a good mix of fiber, carbs and protein. Just go easy on the high-fat cheeses and dressings. It’s simple to prepare a couple salads at once, and can even be done a day or two in advance. Finally, one of the best things about lunch salads is that they are easy to adapt to the season. This winter salad is a favorite this time of year.

Winter Salad
Makes 2-3 Servings

Ingredients
1 head green leaf lettuce
1 tomato
1 small onion
1/2 yellow bell pepper
1/2 c. shelled walnuts
2/3 c. dried cranberries
8 oz. bleu cheese
2 tbsp. turkey bacon bits (optional)
Freshly ground sea salt & black pepper
Light balsamic vinaigrette salad dressing

Directions
1. Wash lettuce and dry well. Chop roughly. Wash and chop tomato, onion and bell pepper.
2. Combine walnuts, cranberries, bleu cheese and bacon bits (if using). Mix thoroughly.
3. Portion lettuce into 2-3 resealable containers. Add the other veggies. Top each salad with an equal amount of the walnut/cranberry/cheese mixture. Grind a little salt & pepper on top.
4. When ready to eat, add dressing to salad. Place lid on container. Shake to thoroughly combine salad dressing and ingredients. Enjoy!

Here in Columbus, there is a lot of snow on the ground. The temperatures have been consistently below freezing. It’s too cold to really enjoy any time spent outside. As a result, winter hibernation mode is seriously setting in. To me, this means lots of lazy weekends at home – reading blogs and books, playing games (video, board, tabletop), and enjoying comfort food. In short, winter is a perfect excuse to post this set of links:

• Video game cupcakes are nothing new. I made the ones pictured above a few years ago for a Super Bowl party. I know they aren’t standard Super Bowl party fare. But this is the same group of friends that has spent more than one New Years Eve playing Guitar Hero and Mario Kart. So I knew they would be appreciated. It was my first time using fondant, and taught me a valuable lesson about the importance of using flavorless red dye. For those that don’t know, red dye tends to be very bitter unless you use the flavorless version. I didn’t know this until my cute little cupcakes were topped with bitter red piranha plants. The cupcakes were still a hit. However, these game cupcakes that have been making the rounds on the internet beat my Mario cupcakes by a long shot.
• Jared and I often make homemade pizza on Sunday nights. To be honest, he makes the pizza crust. I just top it. One of these days, he’ll get around to posting his crust recipe on here. Until then, you’ll just have to trust me that it’s really good. Pizza on a Stick looks like a fun variation on regular pizza.
• What is a good weekend brunch without a cocktail? The problem is that mimosas seem very summery to me, and bloody marys are just plain nasty. Mele Kalikimaka Martinis would be a nice winter alternative, even after the holidays are over.
• On winter mornings, it’s always nice to have a healthy, homemade breakfast. Considering extra the drive-time that a winter commute can involve, it’s especially nice if that breakfast that can be eaten on the run or at the office. So I will definitely spend a Sunday afternoon making these Apple Walnut Spice Muffins very shortly.
• I do not give my slow cooker enough credit. Aside from Apple Butter Weekend, I really only pull it out a few times a year.  This winter, I have been trying to change that. I am continually surprised by the things one can make in a slow cooker. For example, it seems like a creamy soup would burn in the slow cooker. I hope this Crockpot Potato Soup recipe will prove me wrong when I try it.

Classic Bruschetta Topping
1 loaf Italian bread
6 medium tomatoes
20 fresh basil leaves
4 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
2 tsp. minced garlic
salt & pepper to taste

Directions
1. Seed and dice tomatoes. Finely chop basil leaves.
2. In a bowl, combine tomatoes with olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper. Sprinkle basil leaves on top.

Ricotta Bruschetta Topping
1 loaf Italian bread
15 oz. ricotta cheese, drained
3 medium tomatoes, seeded and diced
1 lemon, juiced
1/2 tsp. minced garlic
1/2 tsp. basil
1/2 tsp. oregano
salt & pepper to taste

Directions
1. Combine ricotta, lemon juice and garlic in a medium bowl.
2. Add tomatoes and spices. Mix well.

Kalamata Bruschetta Topping
1 loaf Italian bread
8 oz. kalamata olives, pitted and chopped
3 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
1 tsp. basil
1 tsp. rosemary
1/2 tsp. minced garlic
2 tbsp. toasted pine nuts

1. Once pine nuts are toasted, crush them into smaller pieces.
2. Combine all ingredients, including pine nuts, in a small bowl and mix well.

To Serve
1. Preheat oven to 375º. Slice 3 loaves of Italian bread into 1/4 inch thick slices
2. Toast bread slices in the oven for 3 minutes. Flip and toast for 2-3 more minutes.
3. Arrange toasted slices on a tray and top with bruschetta toppings. Or, place toasted bread slices in a basket and bruschetta toppings in a serving tray.

My thoughts:
I was very happy with the way this turned out. I put the toppings in a serving dish with 3 wells in it. Once the bread was toasted, I put the slices in a basket and covered them with a clean kitchen towel to keep them warm. This way, people could help themselves to the different bruschetta toppings as they pleased.

What does the holiday season mean, if not food? OK. Actually, it means a lot of other things. But this is a food blog, not a metaphysical, philosophical, or even particularly domestic one. Back in early November, I had intended to blog all of my holiday food adventures. Then I got super busy with work and family commitments. I still did a lot of baking and cooking. I just didn’t have time to upload the pictures, type out the recipes and make it all look pretty.

Now it is January. Christmas is over. But since Christmas is such an important time when it comes to food and food-related traditions, I’d like to record some of what I’ve been up to the last few weeks before moving on to 2010′s culinary experiences.

There are a lot of Christmas traditions that I love. But my favorite is Cookie Weekend. My mom, sister, aunts and cousins take over my grandma, Honey’s, kitchen. Everyone brings different recipes and baking supplies. We then spend the whole day making and decorating cookies and candies. Here are a few of the things we made that day, with links to the recipes that I used:

• Pea Blossoms – These are the classic peanut butter cookies with a Hershey’s kiss in the center. To me, they are the quintessential Christmas cookie. I think it’s because my mom only ever made them at Christmas.
• Taffy – For years, my sister wanted to make taffy. Everyone always denied her due to the mess and complication involved. This year, I decided we were going to make taffy. I gave her the recipe and a candy thermometer. She did the rest!
• Hard Cinnamon Candy – We decided this couldn’t be that much different than making taffy. It was super easy. In the process of making this candy and the taffy, we all got a lesson in the stages that sugar goes through when it cooks.



• Sugar Cookies (pictured above) – After all of the other cookies are done, everyone sits around the kitchen table and decorates sugar cookies. We make some pretty and others silly. I love decorating them so much that I actually made an additional 200 cookies on my own and gave them to my employees. The recipe I linked to is the sugar cookie recipe I’ve been using for several years. The first time I made these cookies, my aunt said that they tasted just like my great-grandma’s sugar cookies. I never did get to meet Great-Grandma; but I understand that she was quite the cook and baker. Needless to say, this was one of the best compliments my aunt could have paid me. These cookies are soft, buttery, and not-too-sweet. They stand up perfectly to buttercream frosting (see my last post for the recipe).

This is just a sampling of the good things we made that day. There were also snickerdoodles, truffles, chocolate overload cookies, and probably some other things I am forgetting. Like I said, Cookie Weekend is one of my favorite holiday traditions. It is an excuse to get together with a lot of great women, bake, laugh, and OD on sugar and coffee. What could be better in the midst of all the holiday stress and chaos?