First Thursdays: A Group Smackdown!

Michelle of Thursday Night Smackdown has invited all comers to jump into the ring with her by initiating a new monthly blog event called First Thursdays. Even though I'm kind of scared of her it sounded like fun, plus there's this scary dish I've been wanting to try forever, so... here we are.

I have to confess that I've broken the rules of Michelle's challenge, which CLEARLY stated we're to make a dish from our cookbook or magazine collection on the first Thursday of the month. I used an online recipe, and fortunately Michelle said she would let it go this time and didn't even swear at me. But I'm still scared of her.

I first saw ravioli filled with eggs yolks a few years ago on the egullet forum. I immediately added it to my list of things I ought to get around to trying and then ignored the whole idea for lack of a pasta machine. I managed to "forget" to buy a pasta machine forever, which went a long way toward justifying my neglect of the recipe, but then a friend went and gave me a damned machine.

But wait, I'd lost the recipe in the meantime, so I put finding it again on my list of things to get to and then ignored it. Reprieve! But the day of reckoning finally arrived last week while I was watching Martha Stewart, which I never, never do (and how this happened is a whole other story), and there was her guest, Odette Fada, demonstrating her recipe for Raviolo with Egg Yolk and  Truffle Butter.

Damn. The game was up,the stars aligned, and a smackdown scheduled.

Making the filling was easy enough-- it's just spinach, ricotta and parmesan. But the thing is, I'd never made my own pasta before. Ever.So first I was insecure about the texture of the dough (was it too dry? Were my CSA eggs too small and should I have added an extra to allow for that?). Then, when we started rolling the dough out, I wasn't at ALL prepared for how long the sheets of pasta were getting. The recipe instructed us to keep rolling out a single piece of dough until we'd reached the sixth setting. Now, honestly, by the time we got to the third setting, the piece was over three feet long already! Who has that much counter space?! So we cut it in half and then rolled each piece alternately, but then we had TWO  enormously long strips of pasta to contend with.  All to make four ravioli! At one point I seriously considered just hanging a piece around my neck like Christmas lights.

I will say that I experienced a real thrill as I watched a lump of dough become beautiful thin authentic-looking strips of pasta. Why, oh why, did I wait so long to try this?

Mid-post disclaimer: Michelle always takes photos of her Smackdown prep and of the meal as it comes together and I wanted to do that too, but I had my hands full of pasta and there was no way I could coordinate the camera at the same time.

Making the raviolo was kinda fun. You pipe a circle of the ricotta filling onto the pasta and then nestle an egg yolk inside the circle. Easy!

Another disclaimer: I could have stopped to take a photo at that point but I forgot, in my excitement at seeing it all start to come together.

Placing the second strip of pasta over the filling and trying to get air bubbles out before sealing it was not so easy. We definitely had air bubbles, which manifested just as soon as we dropped the ravioli into the boiling water.

They only cook for two minutes, so we had a mad scramble to clean up the area we'd rolled the pasta out on, which is also our designated photo opportunity location.

Last disclaimer: So you get two photos of the finished product which are basically exactly alike and I don't want to hear any complaints. I'll do better next time.

Fortunately Jack had started browning butter while I was assembling the raviolo, and we'd made a salad while the pasta dough was resting, so THAT was all ready and waiting.

Of course we had no truffles handy but we did have some truffle butter in the freezer and added a dollop to the browned butter for flavor.

End result? As Jack said, "Oh my giddy God these are good."

We'll make them again, with half the amount of dough. And I'd like to try smaller ones with quail egg yolks, too. I'm thinking they could be assembled an hour ahead of time and covered and refrigerated, so I could serve to friends with a little less in the way of rushing around. I mean, there's no way these babies get made to order in a restaurant, right?

In case you missed it the first time, click the link to find the recipe for Raviolo with Egg Yolk and  Truffle Butter. 

Comments

[Zita]

looks delicious, a good meatless recipe, can't wait to try it... thank's for sharing :)

[Sophie]

Hah! What a funny post.
Don't worry, the photos look great as usual, especially if they were taken in a mad rush at the end!

[Deeba]

GASP!!! What a wonderful 'giddy god' post this is!! Funnily enough, my heart skipped a beat when I read about the broken rules!! Recent phenomenon with me too when I send entried...wonder why it scares me!!Have a great 4th....

[Manggy]

Oohwhee! Congratulations on your first handmade pasta!! Now, if only a friend would give me a good pasta machine, hahaha :) Gently encasing an egg yolk doesn't sound easy. I'm so impressed, and the effect is just fantastic!
Of course, the truffle butter is just the perfect bit of over the topness that it needs :)

[michelle @ TNS]

hooray on your first handmade pasta - it looks fantastic.

and what's with all this "scared of me" shit? I AM A FUCKING TEEDYBEAR.

great post and entry, rule-breaking or not!

[[eatingclub] vancouver]

Great post. Putting these together is an amazing feat of dexterity. But, you know, you could still have taken pictures. ;)

[Julie]

That whole procedure of sealing the ravioli when there's an uncooked egg yolk inside sounds next to impossible. Way to challenge yourself on your first pasta making attempt! (Which by the way, looks extremely successful.)

[grace]

ya done good--they look pretty perfect to me! i loved your disclaimers. :)

[Meeta]

Oh my Ann - glad you cheated with this one a little because i really like the recipe here. simply delicious!

[Kittie]

Wow - I saw these on Masterchef, and thought they looked amazing. I'm so impressed with how yours look - great job!!

[RecipeGirl]

Ha! Michelle scares me too... but I'm too scared to say that.

This ravioli looks so very interesting. It's not anything I've ever thought to make!

[maybelles mom (feeding maybelle)]

yes, i totally understand about michelle, but I am impressed that you could write it. my smackdown was not nearly as exciting. yours looks great.

[adele]

Oh, that looks mouthwateringly delicious. I read somewhere that there was a restaurant doing egg-yolk ravioli with duck eggs, and that's been on my list of things to think about for a while.

Congratulations on your pasta success!

[Marla]

Great job! I like the idea of using quail eggs also,more manageable sized ravioli and the possibility of more than two, but from the looks of those babies, two would be more than enough, especially with truffle butter.

[Rebecca (Foodie With Family)]

I can practically taste those. What a fantastic recipe. (And complex- I'm still trying to picture how you managed with the egg yolk inside.) I think I would be the most popular wife (I'm also the only wife) that my husband ever had if I made these. He's nutty for egg yolks.

[michelle @ TNS]

I AM READING YOUR COMMENTS, PEOPLE.

come on, now. i'm all bark, no bite. plus, fear makes food taste better.

[MyKitchenInHalfCups]

Wow Ann I'd call that a challenge! I can well understand that you couldn't handle a camera and these at the same time! 'Egg yolk' in the middle . . . well dugh! Those look fantastic!!

[Lori Lynn @ Taste With The Eyes]

That was a fun read. I was anxious hearing about the process.
Anything with truffle butter and I'm all for it. Love the idea of a silky egg yolk in the ravioli.

[Dana]

This looks preposterously good.

[melissa]

Oh my god, all this fear of Michelle has me laughing hysterically. Hahahahahahaa!!!

What a great post Ann. I have been wanting to buy my own pasta roller for quite some time now. It's just a matter of spending the money. Congratulations on your first try, I salute your accomlishment.

[zenchef]

Hey, you should have called me. I always carry truffles in my pockets. Kiddiing!! Only when they're in season. :-)
Those raviolis look fantastic! I made something a bit similar once, it was ricotta, spinach and a quail egg inside a ravioli. Oh and yes, white truffle shaved over the top. Yum!

[katy]

i'm swooning. my goodness. and honestly, i love piping anything lately -- those pastry bags kind of make me feel like a real chef. :-)