The best part about being part of Roni’s family is that we often get together for dinners. Food is what brings people together. Great stories and ideas are born at the table. It always makes me happy when Rachel and Rick invite us over for a big ol' family get-together. It reminds me of my family back home. Before my sister and I grew up and moved away from Romania to pursue our dream jobs, every Sunday we had lunch together with my parents. It was either just the four of us or the whole family with grandparents, uncles and cousins once a month or so. Before my grandparents on my father’s side passed away, Sunday family lunches or dinners happened even more often. Sometimes we’d go to Buna for lunch and to Jolika for dinner. It was great because somehow it always turned into a cooking competition between my two amazing grandmothers, Jolika and Buna.

They both cooked good food but each one of them had their own style. Jolika, my Hungarian grandma, loved to cook hearty comfort food. She preferred pork over chicken and used sour cream in basically everything. Her food was the definition of traditional Hungarian cuisine. Buna on the other hand, has a more refined style and doesn’t shy away from fresh vegetables, although sometimes even she can go crazy with the pork and sour cream. I can’t wait for Roni to try Buna’s specialty - Cornmeal Stuffed Cabbage Rolls

A few couple of weeks ago Roni’s family celebrated Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year. Although I don’t really know much about Jewish holidays, I love that I get to learn about Jewish culture and traditions. I think I mentioned it before, but the fact that I was raised in a Catholic/Protestant/Orthodox family makes me a…well, I don’t even know what, but definitely a Christian. Roni being Jewish adds to the already many religious holidays that my family traditionally observes, making the entire month of December a Winter Holiday marathon in our house.

Back to Rosh Hashanah. I decided to make ravioli. Initially I wanted to make a chorizo sauce, but was politely reminded that pork isn’t exactly kosher to eat during Jewish holidays. Which is funny because Roni eats bacon at the same pace at which a fat kid eats candy. There’s a good chance she was probably even eating bacon while telling me not bring pork to Rosh Hashanah. Anyway, being under self-imposed pressure to coming up with something cool, I went through my notes and I found one saying “sage sauce for ravioli - A Chef’s Table”. I quickly browsed through all the episodes that I watched, even checked the internet, but unfortunately couldn’t find any reference to sage sauce. I'm not sure what made me write that down, but it sounded good.

Homemade ravioli may sound scary to some and I’m not going to lie to you and say it’s easy, because it’s not. But it’s not rocket science either. It’s easier than baking for sure. So why would you make it, you may ask? Because it’s rewarding and fun to make, not to mention, that it tastes a thousand times better than store-bought ravioli. It’s like tasting a good craft beer after drinking Bud Light your whole life (crazy Americans with your light beers). If you are concerned about the amount of butter and cream the sauce contains just sprinkle it with a good olive oil, sea salt and fresh cracked pepper instead. The subtle taste of the lemon zest and the tart juice will bring that refreshing element to this creamy meal. Buon appetito!

Homemade Green Pea and Ricotta Ravioli with Creamy Sage Sauce

Serves 4-6 people (about 30-35 ravioli)
Prep time: 60 minutes
Cook time: 30 minutes
Inactive time: 25 minutes

Ingredients

Pasta Dough (same as for Tagliatelle)

1/2 lb "00" flour
2 whole eggs, pasture raised
2 egg yolks, pasture raised
1/4 tsp salt
1 TBS olive oil, extra-virgin
1/2 cup "00" flour, for kneading and rolling
1 TBS salt, for cooking the ravioli

Filling

10 oz ricotta cheese
1/2 TBS fresh lemon zest (1/2 medium sized lemon)
3 tsp fresh lemon juice (1/2 medium sized lemon)
1 cup green peas (fresh or frozen)
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp ground white pepper
1/4 cup freshly grated parmesan
1 1/2 TBS fresh basil leaves, finely chopped (about 8-10 basil leaves)

Creamy Sage Sauce

5 TBS butter
20 fresh sage leaves
1/2 cup dry white wine (must be dry)
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground white pepper
3 tsp lemon juice (1/2 medium sized lemon)
1 1/2 cup heavy cream
3 tsp lemon juice (1/2 medium sized lemon)
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
1/2 cup pasta water
freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Instructions

Start with the pasta. In the center of your work station (preferably a large wooden cutting board) pile up a half pound of flour. Keep the rest nearby. Make a “well" in the center and pour in the eggs and the yolks. Add salt and one tablespoon olive oil and beat the mixture lightly with a fork. Using your fingertips, gradually start incorporating the flour into the egg mixture. Gradually work the dough together until all the flour is mixed in. The dough should be sticky to touch (not to your fingers) and it should hold together. Depending on the size of the eggs, you may need to hydrate your dough if it is too dry by adding a few teaspoons of water.
Knead the dough using the palms of your hand, until the dough becomes smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes. Make a ball out of the dough, sprinkle flour, wrap ball in plastic, and let it rest in the refrigerator for at least half an hour.
While the dough is resting prepare the filling. In a medium bowl mix all the ingredients for the filling. Using a wooden spoon or a spatula stir until all ingredients are well combined. Cover bowl with a plastic wrap and refrigerate.
Remove the dough from the refrigerator and divide it in 4-5 equal parts. Slightly drizzle water over a kitchen towel and cover the small dough balls. You will work with one at a time, so the damp towel will keep them from drying out.
Take the first piece of dough, flatten it with your hands so that it is 1-inch thick and sprinkle with a little flour on both sides. Using a pasta maker, roll out the dough. Start with the thickest setting and work your way to setting number 6. (1.5 mm)
To stretch the pasta into a sheet, roll it through the pasta maker on the rest of the settings, going down one level at a time (from thick to thin), rolling it through about 2 or 3 times on each level. The more you run it through the machine, the silkier your pasta will be. If the dough starts sticking at any point, sprinkle flour on it.
Once you have your sheet of pasta finished, cut into 2.5-3 inch-wide strips if using a ravioli stamp. If you opt to use a cutter instead of a stamp, leave the sheet as is for now because you will fold it over the filling in the next step.
Place a tablespoon of filling one inch apart from each other along the center of a dough strip if using a stamp, or over the lower half of your pasta sheet if using the folding method. Brush with water the second strip or top half of the dough to moisten it. It will help with sealing the ravioli.
Gently pat the dough down around the filling to make sure that they aren't any air pockets and the ravioli is sealed.
Firmly press ravioli stamp until it cuts through the dough. If using ravioli cutter, cut into even squares. Place the ravioli on parchment paper and sprinkle with flour. Repeat process until you finish the rest of the dough.
Bring a large pot of water and one tablespoon salt to a boil over medium-high heat.
While the water comes to a boil, prepare the creamy sage sauce. In a large deep skillet melt butter over medium-high heat. When completely melted add sage leaves and fry them for about 1 minute until the butter and sage leaves turn brown. Immediately add white wine and stir. Season with salt and pepper and cook for 4-5 minutes.
Pour in the cream, stir and bring again to a boil, about 2 more minutes. Add lemon juice and parmesan cheese and stir well. Reduce the heat to low and let it simmer while you cook the ravioli. Stir occasionally to make sure the sauce doesn't burn.
When the water in the pot starts boiling place ravioli in the water and cook for 3-5 minutes depending on the thickness of the pasta you used. When cut, the ravioli should show no starchy line in the middle.
Using a sieve or a slotted spoon transfer the the ravioli from the pan to the creamy the sage sauce. When all the pasta is cooked and in the skillet, scoop half cup pasta water and pour it in the skillet. Dispose the rest of the pasta water.
Crank up the heat to medium. Toss well until all the ravioli is coated in the creamy sauce. Bring to a boil and remove from the heat, about 2-3 minutes. Taste the sauce and adjust seasoning.

Notes

When making the dough, make sure that you don't use cold eggs straight from the refrigerator. Let them sit at room temperature at least 10 minutes prior to using them.
When using the pasta maker, run the dough through the largest setting at least 4-5 times, folding it in half after each roll.
For more restaurant-like thin ravioli work your way up to setting 7. Number 7 will yield a very thin sheet (about 1.3 mm) making it more delicate to work with. On the up side, the time it will take to cook will be less (2-3 minutes).
Folding the sheets in half is a quicker method than cutting the sheets into strips. I got used to the strips method, but either will work fine.

After ten awesome days in Singapore I had to say goodbye to this amazing country. I knew Singapore was not going to disappoint me and this trip just confirmed what I already knew- I love this country. I also love its people: the food hawkers, the vibrant and lively city, the mix of races and cultures that live together in harmony. It’s a country that seems to have everything figured out. People are happy- from the taxi drivers to the operators on the manufacturing floor where I worked— everyone told me the same thing: that they are proud and happy to be living in Singapore.

Although I worked long hours, I made sure that food wasn’t neglected. During lunch breaks, I asked the engineers that I worked with to take me to the closest food hawkers. Hawker centers are great and filled with food stalls that serve delicious and fresh dishes. If you go to Singapore you don’t want to miss out. They are cheap and have a great variety of cuisines: Chinese, Malay, Indian, Japanese, Indonesian and even Thai. During my stay in Singapore, I haven’t had a single mediocre meal. All of them were great. I re-visited a few of the places that Roni and I checked out while we were here in January. Even though my focus was to explore other places and discover hidden gems, I couldn’t skip the good old Original Peanut Pancake stall in Tanglin Halt, Bismillah Biryani in Little India or Tian Tian at the Maxwell Food Hawker Center.

I mentioned in a few of my previous posts that in Romania and Hungary, breakfast is a very important meal of the day. There is a saying in Romanian that tells you to eat like a king for breakfast, like a servant for lunch and like a beggar for dinner. Today’s recipe follows that logic. One of these toasts will fill you up for a long time. You’ll get a taste of sweet, savory and tart at the same time.

I came up with this recipe on a rough Sunday morning. I was hungover after playing Cards Against Humanity and drinking until 4am (I think) with our couchsurfers from New Zealand, Naomi and Neil. On days like that (when I feel like crap after having that one extra drink that I shouldn’t have had), only a filling breakfast can fix me. I need protein, carbs, fat, sugar and some fruit to feel less guilty and more healthy. This recipe has them all: cheese, bacon, bread, maple syrup and blueberries.

As I was browsing through the kitchen trying to puzzle together the Holy Five (protein, carbs, fat, sugar and fruit) that would cure the hungover beast inside of me, I stumbled upon bacon, eggs, blueberries, some leftover ricotta cheese from the previous night’s lasagna cooking with Neil and a loaf of challah bread. Home-baked challah. Home-baked bread isn’t something that you’ll find in our household, but our amazing couch surfers baked it for us. I’m not ashamed to admit that I was a little bit scared of baking until Neil showed me how easy it was and taught me how to make ciabatta and challah.

Making this awesome breakfast/brunch shouldn’t take longer than 45 minutes regardless of cooking skills and experience in the kitchen. It’s easy to prepare, yet delicious and filling. So what are you waiting for? Go to the store, buy what you don't have on hand, and start cooking. You have a long weekend and plenty of time to kill ahead. Maybe even a hangover to kill, too. Happy 4th of July and bon appetite!

Ricotta Bacon Stuffed Pain Perdu with Blueberry Flambé

Serves 4-6
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 30 minutes

Ingredients

Blueberry flambé

1 large orange, juiced
3/4 cup maple syrup (or brown sugar)
1/2 lemon, zested
1 1/2 pints fresh blueberries
1 stick cinnamon
1 1/4oz rum
1 tsp potato starch (optional)

Pain Perdu

6 slices bacon
1 cup ricotta
1/4 cup parmesan, freshly grated
1/2 cup parsley, finely chopped
2 TBS chives, finely chopped
1 TBS thyme, finely chopped
1/2 tsp black pepper, freshly ground
kosher salt, to taste
3 eggs, pasture raised
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp black pepper, freshly ground
1/4 cup parmesan, freshly grated
1/2 cup roasted walnuts, optional
4-6 slices of challah bread (about 3/4 inch thick)
2 TBS butter
1 TBS powdered sugar
1/2 cup roasted walnuts

Instructions

Start with the blueberry flambé. In a medium sauce pan or deep skillet, combine orange juice, maple syrup and lemon zest. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Add blueberries and cinnamon stick. Cook for about 5 minutes. Pour rum over the blueberries. Using a matchstick ignite it. Let the flame die out and cook for another 5 minutes. Congratulations, you just made a blueberry flambé.
If the sauce is too thin, scoop out 3-4 tablespoons of blueberry sauce into a small bowl. Add the potato starch and mix well. Return the starchy sauce to the pan and give it a stir so it mixes with the rest of the sauce. When the flambé thickened, remove from the heat and set aside.
The next step is the crispy bacon. Lay bacon slices in a cold skillet. Make sure they don’t overlap. Heat the skillet over medium-high heat. Cook bacon on each side until it becomes golden brown and crispy. Transfer bacon from the skillet to a paper towel lined plate or wire rack. Save the bacon fat. When it cooled down, crumble bacon into bite size pieces.
Now the filling. In a medium sized mixing bowl combine ricotta, bacon crumbles, parmesan, parsley, chives and thyme. Mix well and add 2 TBS bacon fat. Sprinkle black pepper and salt. Taste and adjust seasoning. Set cheese mixture aside.
In another bowl beat eggs. Add milk, parmesan and a pinch of salt and pepper.
Spread about 1/4 inch cheese mixture over one side of the bread. Top it with another slice. Dip bread in egg mixture. Let it soak for about 1 minute on each side. You don’t want your pain perdu to be dry.
Heat butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. When the butter starts foaming place bread in the skillet. Fry for 4-5 minutes on each side, until it becomes golden brown. You can add extra butter each time you flip the bread as it helps achieving richer flavor and color.
Sprinkle powdered sugar on top and serve it with the blueberry flambé and roasted walnuts. Enjoy!

NOTES

Contains alcohol! Handle the open flames with care.