Ravioli and Watermelon

It's Thursday! I hope today is as good as Wednesday was. I got my Ralph Lauren red herringbone sheepskin throw in the mail!! 

Herringbone throw!

 I love it! It is uber soft, and was on sale half price. I used a Macy's gift card, so I got it for free. :) Now winter just needs to come again. 

But, while waiting on winter, watermelon is here!

 

Kris loves watermelon. Every time he goes to the store he comes back with a huger one than the last time. Last summer our fridge was full of chunks of watermelon. So to satisfy his cravings I bought an individual sized, seedless one. Then I noticed a recipe for tomato-watermelon salad, perfect! It turned out great. Super, surprisingly yummy.

 Tomato Watermelon Salad

Adapted from myrecipes.com.

Ingredients:

• 4 cups (3/4-inch) seeded watermelon cubes
• 1 pound ripe tomatoes, cut into 3/4-inch cubes (I used cherry tomatoes and cut in half)
• 2 1/2 teaspoons sugar 
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
• 1/8 cup extra virgin olive oil
• Cracked black pepper to taste

 

 1. Cut watermelon into bite sized cubes.

 2. Toss with sugar and salt, let stand 15 minutes. 

I'm so impatient, I always doubt it when the recipe asks me to wait. I let it stand, watching it thinking, is the sugar absorbing? What's really going to happen if I just put the rest of the ingredients in now? Until 15 minutes had gone by and I could keep cooking.

 3. Stir in vinegar and oil. Cover and chill 2 hours. (really?) 

Sprinkle with cracked black pepper to taste.

So of course I don't wait 2 hours, just until Kris got home, and it was cold enough then.

The original called for slices of red onion, but I left that out since Kris doesn't like onion raw, but it sounds like that could be good.

 

He loved it, and had two bowls, and I'm calling it a success.

 

Tomato Watermelon Salad

Meanwhile, I started making Butternut Squash Ravioli with Sage Butter Sauce, from my Williams-Sonoma cookbook.
The following will describe first-time, I've-never-made-ravioli-before, oh-no-I've-burned-the-sage, I-burned-the-sage-again, beginner's instructions.

Ingredients:

1 Butternut Squash
Olive Oil 

1 egg, lightly beaten
1/2 cup of cheese, preferably parmigiano reggiano

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp. ground cloves

1/2 tsp. freshly ground pepper
Wonton wrappers

1 stick of butter 

1 Tbs. fresh lemon juice
10-12 fresh sage leaves

Filling:

1. Cut the squash in half and scoop out the seeds and fibers.

2. Rub cut sides with olive oil and place face down on a baking sheet

3. Bake 1.5 hrs at 375F. 

4. Let cool, then scoop the flesh into a bowl and mash with a fork.

It says the flesh should be dry. I only cooked mine 1 hour and it was runny, so per instructions, I heated the mashed squash in a pot on medium heat for about 15 minutes until it was no longer runny. 

5. Mix in the egg, cheese, salt, cinnamon, cloves and pepper. Set aside. 

The recipe calls for 1 teaspoon salt. Kris and I found it a bit too salty, so I would reduce it a tad to about 1/2 or 3/4 teaspoon.

I had pre-made my filling the night before.

Next lay out the wonton wrappers. Fill each with a smaller amount of filling than you think it should hold. I read if you overfill, they could break open, so I was careful.

Then, brush all around the filling with some water, and put another wrapper on top.

Press down all around the filling, smoothing out any air bubbles. 

Transfer ravioli to a lightly floured baking sheet. Now, I'm not sure why you do that, but I follow the instructions so I don't get in trouble.

Finished ravioli

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Reduce heat to a low simmer. Gently place the ravioli in the water and cook until tender, about 5 - 6 minutes. Using a spoon with holes in it, remove and strain the ravioli.

Boiling ravioli

While you're cooking the ravioli, make the sauce.

First, burn the sage. 

Luckily, we are growing a sage plant that rarely gets used, so I kept going back to it for more. Put some olive oil in a frying pan to coat and heat to medium. The first time, I left the sage in the olive oil for about 30 seconds. Way too long, burned to a crisp. The second batch I left in for about 15 seconds. Still too long, burned to a crisp as well. The third time, I put it in the hot oil for about 7 seconds, and it turned out alright.

Burnt sage on right, OK sage on left

No-idea-how-to-cook-sage.jpg

Then, melt the butter in the pan. Stir in the lemon juice and pour over the ravioli.

Melting butter

Yummy Ravioli!

 Mmmm, so good. I didn't know how much sauce a professional chef would have poured over, so I just poured about half of the pan on each of our plates to be safe. 

Too much butter is a good thing.