Homemade Pumpkin Ravioli

A few months ago we did an Italian-themed dinner with friends. Whenever we go to C&T's house T and I will make something together from scratch and then split up the rest of the meal. She had printed out this recipe for pumpkin ravioli with brown butter sauce and pecans, so we used that to make the filling and the pasta. Since Baby Girl is allergic to nuts (and because we didn't want a butter-based sauce), I made a sage and garlic-infused cream sauce to serve on top instead.

I thought making the dough was going to be very labor-intensive but it was actually incredibly easy. Like, weeknight easy, assuming you have an hour to let the dough rise and a kitchen helper to thread the dough through the pasta roller. It's only 4 ingredients, things most people keep in their pantry and fridge. I was pleasantly surprised.

While the dough was resting I quickly threw together the filling and then we were able to chat until it was time to roll out the dough. Since T didn't have a ravioli mold we just free-formed ours. They came out very rustic, but they still tasted great.

For the final picture, T sprinkled her plate of ravioli with cinnamon and chopped walnuts but the rest of us just ate the ravioli and cream sauce. Delicious.

Pumpkin Ravioli with Sage and Garlic Cream Sauce
Pasta and filling from Julia's Album, sauce A Taste of Home Cooking original
Makes 24 ravioli

Dough:
2 1/2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1/2 cup hot water

Filling:
1 15-oz can pumpkin puree
4 tablespoons brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
salt and pepper

Sauce:
1 1/2 cups half and half
3-4 sage leaves, minced
3 garlic cloves, crushed
1/4 cup parmesan cheese, grated

To make the dough: mix the flour and salt together in a large bowl. In a small bowl, whisk the eggs and water together. Add the egg and water to the flour and mix until incorporated. Turn out onto a flour-dusted board or clean counter. Knead the dough until firm. The dough should not be too wet or too sticky - it should only stick to itself, but not to your hands. Add more flour as needed to keep the dough dry. Form the dough into a ball, wrap with plastic wrap and let stand for 1 hour at room temperature.

To make the filling: mix pumpkin puree with brown sugar and nutmeg. Season with salt and pepper.

To assemble the ravioli: unwrap the dough and divide into four equal parts. Flour your working area. Using a pasta roller, roll out each part of the dough very thinly. Make sure to flour the dough and the roller to avoid sticking. If you have a ravioli mold, flour the ravioli mold. After you have rolled the 2 portions of dough very thinly, place one layer of dough on the ravioli mold so that it covers all 12 holes. Place a small portion of ravioli filling into each indentation, making sure not to overfill. The filling should be at the same level or lower as the flat part of the mold. Place the second layer of pasta dough on top of the filled ravioli. Using a rolling pin, roll across the mold and along the edges to separate ravioli. As you roll the pin, it also removes all the air from the ravioli, which is very important. Carefully remove any extra dough hanging off the outside edges of the ravioli mold. Separate the 12 raviolis from one another. Flip ravioli mold to release ravioli. Repeat with the remaining dough to make 24 raviolis.

Bring a large pot of water to boil. Boil ravioli for 5 minutes, drain and set aside. Alternatively, if you�re not cooking them immediately, place them on a baking sheet and put in the freezer. After they are frozen, place them in a plastic bag and keep frozen until needed.

To make sage cream sauce: combine half and half, sage and garlic in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, stirring often. Boil for 15 minutes. Pour the sauce through a sieve to remove the sage and garlic, or you can use a blender to puree the sage and garlic into the sauce. Stir in the cheese and serve on top of the ravioli.

Pumpkin Coffee "Cake"

This time of year everyone is cooking and baking with pumpkin. I was looking in a pumpkin thread on my cooking board and came across this Pumpkin Coffee Cake. I wanted something easy to bring to my parent's house for dessert one Sunday and this looked like just the thing.

I put cake in quotes in the title of this post because I wouldn't necessarily call this cake. I failed to read the directions, just the ingredient list, before making this recipe and since it called for a boxed cake mix I (wrongly) assumed it would have more of a cake consistency. In actuality, you make a wet mixture and top it with the cake mix, resulting in more of a pudding-like consistency on the bottom with a strudel-like top.

It was still really good, though. It makes a great dessert and everyone enjoyed it. And it couldn't have been easier to put together, something I truly appreciate when baking.

It was even better the next day with a little whipped cream. I microwaved a piece to take the chill off and it was perfection. It may not be cake-like, but it's definitely delicious.

Pumpkin Coffee "Cake"
As seen on Peace, Love and French Fries

3/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
2 large eggs
15 oz can pumpkin puree
12 oz can evaporated milk
1 box yellow cake mix
1 stick unsalted butter

Preheat the oven to 350. Coat a 9x13 dish with cooking spray.

Mix sugar, salt, cinnamon, ginger and cloves together in a small bowl. In a large bowl, beat the eggs. Add in the pumpkin puree and sugar mixture. Gradually stir in the evaporated milk. Pour into the bottom of the prepared 9x13 dish.

Melt the butter, then add to the cake mix in a large bowl. Stir until combined. It should form a strudel-like mixture. Sprinkle evenly over the top of the pumpkin mixture.

Bake for 45-60 minutes, or until the cake has set and the top starts to brown. Allow to cool slightly before cutting into pieces. Serve warm with whipped cream.

Cheese Tortellini with Pumpkin Alfredo Sauce

Every weekday morning the ladies on my cooking board post blog updates. One morning last week Coleen over at Does Not Cook Well With Others posted these Cheese Tortellini with Pumpkin Alfredo Sauce. It looked absolutely delicious and I immediately printed out the recipe.

Then I had second thoughts. Even though Coleen said the pumpkin flavor was very mild I couldn't imagine how it would taste. Sweet? Savory? I wasn't sure. Despite those misgiving I put it on the menu. I even bought fresh tortellini since our store had a coupon. I told myself I'd make the sauce, toss just one tortellini in it to see how it tasted and if it wasn't good I'd open a jar of sauce and call it dinner.

Thankfully the jar of sauce stayed in the pantry for another day. This was fantastic. The pumpkin flavor is very mild, just like Coleen said, and the cheese and onion help keep it savory. Even Baby Girl loved this. She's a pasta fiend so I wasn't worried, but she practically inhaled her serving and asked for more.

Cheese Tortellini with Pumpkin Alfredo Sauce
From Food Network, as seen on Does Not Cook Well with Others

2 (9-ounce) packages of fresh cheese tortellini
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 small shallot, finely minced
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
Pinch of nutmeg (ground or fresh)
3/4 cup half and half
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for garnish
Salt and pepper

Bring a pot of generously-salted water to boil. Add the tortellini and cook according to package directions. Reserve one cup of cooking water before draining. Set aside.

Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the shallot and saut�, stirring often, until the shallot begins to soften, about 2 minutes. Add the pumpkin and the nutmeg, and cook for a minute, stirring constantly.

Stir in the cream, and bring the mixture to a slow (not rolling) boil. Immediately reduce the heat to medium-low, and simmer, stirring constantly, until the sauce thickens slightly, about 5 minutes. Stir in the cheese, and cook until the cheese melts and thickens the sauce, about another minute. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Add the tortellini to the skillet, and toss with the pumpkin alfredo sauce, adding some of the reserved cooking water to thin the sauce.

Divide among 4 plates and grate some Parmesan cheese over top.