whisk design inspired by Sprouted Design
Sunday was (hopefully) our last winter’s gasp around here, and being iced in a bit meant a pretty open afternoon for anything we wanted to do. I decided to get out the pasta machine – a fun kitchen tool that we don’t use that often. I wanted to make Roasted Carrot Ravioli, and that’s most certainly not a weeknight adventure.
Did you grow up having special Sunday dinners? One of my very best friends did – her father would take over the kitchen in the afternoon and create these extraordinary dinners that I was lucky enough to get invited to on a regular basis. (Tip: vigorous consumption and enthusiasm about food goes a long way towards earning you special guest privileges.) Sometimes we’d have bacon wrapped filet mignon, or platters piled high with freshly steamed crab legs. The thinnest crepes wrapped around sweet or savory fillings, thin slices of marinated meats and seafood that we cooked at the table over sizzling “hot rocks”, and one time we even had a plastic wrapped table with spicy creole food including crawfish. Whole ones. With eyes. This was pretty exotic fare for a kid growing up in a small town in central Kentucky. I mean, our family ate delicious and healthy food – but that did not include crustacean cassoulet by any stretch of the imagination. This was the kind of food you didn’t see in the grocery store. To this day, I’m still not sure where some of it came from. But Sunday nights at their house were special.
Last week was bookended (is that a word? spellcheck says ‘no’) with fresh pasta. My Sunday night special was that Roasted Carrot Ravioli in Thyme Brown Butter – think oven roasting carrots, the remainder of the stuffing cooked over a flame and then whirled together into a sweet-savory filling. Fresh pasta dough kneaded and left to rest, then flouring every surface and rolling thin sheets of pasta dough through the machine until finally, cutting, filling, and pinching little flower shaped pillows together. Delicious, and quite possibly worthy of the title “Sunday Dinner”.
Monday night we had Roasted Cauliflower with Tahini and Baba Ghanoush. I thought it was all delicious, but the girls skirted around most of it and filled up on pita bread and white rice. It was our second cauliflower dish in three days, so they got a bit of a pass.
Tuesday night we made a recipe again that we originally tried through Blue Apron. It was the Acorn Squash Tempura Tacos – we loved them the first time around. I did not have Spanish paprika, and didn’t buy any for this recipe. The regular paprika I did have on hand made the dish a little smokier versus sweeter, and not the same pretty shade of orange as the initial run, but it was still delicious. If you are thinking about trying this dish, I would recommend picking up some Spanish paprika – I think it makes enough of a difference to warrant the spice purchase.
Wednesday night was supposed to be Cauliflower Enchiladas with Poblano Cream Sauce (what was with me and cauliflower?) but it wasn’t until I was heating up the oven and washing the produce that I remembered that the grocery store had been out of the peppers we needed, and I had forgotten to write myself a note to pick up some more. It’s a pretty time consuming recipe, and so even a quick run to the store to grab some didn’t make sense, so we pushed off this dinner to Sunday night. It is so delicious – and really, it’s better suited to the weekend anyway.
Thursday night my parents came into town, and we picked up sandwiches from the neighborhood deli before heading over for a parent-teacher conference with E at her school.
Friday night we made the Brussels Sprouts and Grilled Fontina Sandwiches along with Roasted Red Pepper and Tomato Soup – we need to remember that a whole sandwich is pretty large, and split them next time. We had a lot of leftovers.
Saturday night the whole gang went to Pastaria – keeping up with our goal to try one new place on our list each month. It was delicious – a perfect place for a nice dinner out where kids are also welcome. It’s pretty fun to watch the fresh pasta being made, and the dinners are large and superb. The girls really enjoyed the arancini – toasted rice and cheese balls with dipping sauce. Plus, the kids get gelato with their meals. F chose basil (go figure) and licked the bowl clean.
A week of good eating and a long weekend of good visiting – a nice combination.