Ravioli

Today I finally broke out my pasta machine and the new ravioli attachment! I experimented with a few different thicknesses and decided what I really liked. So I can't wait to try it again! It went great, and quicker than I expected! So YAY! I'm making another batch next week!

Torillas

This week my girlfriend wanted to learn how to make Tortillas. I started making my own tortillas 5 years ago, but I haven't done it in a while. Come to think of it it's been 2 years or maybe even more. Anyway, since Flour tortillas is easy (just time consuming) we decided to also try corn tortillas too. non of us had made them before, we just used the recipe on the package (which I didn't write down so I can't give it to you)
Both recipes call for mixing up the dough, letting it sit, creating balls and then rolling them out and cooking them on the stove top (or I used a skillet to do more at one time).
Flour Tortillas
6-8 tortillas
2 C flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
3 Tbsp plus 1 tsp shortening
3/4 C hot water
Place the baking powder, salt and shortening in bowl. Cut shortening until it is in very small crumbs. Then add a small amount of hot water and mix until dough is a soft spongy ball. Knead 5 mins and let rest, then knead again. Do this about 3 times. Form into 6-8 balls, and roll out. Place on hot dry skillet and cook for about 1 min on each side.
And done! I rolled mine out nice and thin, they were just like the stores, but once I finished I remembered that I liked them thicker... Oh well. Next time. They worked great for quesadillas for the kids.
As for the corn ones. The only thing I make with corn tortillas is my grandma stacked enchilada's. So a few days later I made them. These were too tough for me and not any better than the store bought, so for now I won't bother again. But if someone out there has some advice, I'm willing to try again!

Homemade pasta

So today my friends and I made homemade pasta. I did a trial run last week, and rolled it out by hand. I didn't get it quite thin enough, but the taste was amazing. Here is the recipe:
Basic Pasta
Makes 2 lbs
3 1/2 C flour
5 large eggs
1 tsp salt
1 tsp olive oil
Pour flour onto the counter and create a well in the center, add the rest of the ingredients into the well. Beat the eggs lightly with a fork, drawing in some of the flour as you go, until the eggs are mixed and slightly thickened. Using your hands gradually incorporate the flour into the eggs, blending everything into a smooth, not too stiff, dough. If it's crumbly add water as needed. Knead the dough until satiny and elastic, about 10 mins. Divide the dough into 4 pieces and wrap in plastic. Let it rest for 30 mins.
Then roll it out, it can be done by hand, but by far the easiest way (and thinnest) is to use a pasta roller. One of my friends had one and after doing one ball by hand we all decided to use her roller. In fact the other friend and I bought our own that very day. Set the machine to the widest setting, and pass the dough through three times, folding it over onto itself each time. The dough will go from lumpy to smooth. Then set the rollers one notch closer together and repeat rolling. Stretch the dough gently as it emerges from the rollers. Then lay out the strips to dry a bit (but only until a bit leathery, don't over dry)
Last week, when I did my trial run, I used my broom handle for drying, it worked, but wasn't as efficient. So I bought this drying tree. We made three different pastas, fettuccine:
Bow ties:
and cheese ravioli (this picture shows the wheat pasta one of the girls made, substitute 1-1 1/2 C whole wheat flour). The filling recipe is this:
Cheese filling (also what I use for my manicotti)
15 oz ricotta
2 C mozzarella shredded
1/2 C Parmesan grated
2 Tbsp chopped herb (parsley, oregano, basil...) your choice
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 clove garlic, crushed (optional)

Bagels

Two of my girlfriends and I decided to do some fun cooking together every week. This week they wanted to learn to make Bagels, so I taught. We each tried a different recipe so we could compare textures, flavors etc... We made 2 cheese garlic, whole wheat cinnamon, chocolate chocolate chip.
The first step is the mixing. The easiest way is by using a bread machine, on the dough setting. We also did two by hand to compare. Mix warm water, 1 tsp sugar and yeast, and let stand for 5 mins (if using fast rise yeast you can skip the 5 mins waiting) Mix remaining sugar, salt and half of the flour. Stir in the yeast mixture and remaining flour. Knead, adding more flour as necessary for 10-15 mins. Dough should be smooth, satiny, stiff and elastic, the dough should spring back when poked. Then cover and place someplace warm and rise until doubled, about 45 mins to 1 hour.
Here is the dough, I forgot to take a picture of the cheese one (the bread machine), the other two are chocolate, and the wheat (1/3 whole wheat, 2/3 bread flour)

Then you have to knead the dough, mix in any to chunks, shape into circles, and place on a baking sheet and cover for a second rise, about 20 mins. The cheese was the smoothest, dough, while the chocolate was very hard to work with, and the wheat was just perfect.

After the second rise you boil some water (with honey or sugar in it) and boil the bagels, a few at a time, for a min on each side. Then you can glaze add any toppings you want and bake! Bake at 400 degrees for 20-25 mins.

The cheese was delicious, but too soft, we needed to knead more flour into it. The chocolate was too stiff and needed more water, next time I won't bother with the cocoa (it only changed the color, it didn't add to the flavor, and made the dough stiffer) but just add the chocolate chips. The wheat was perfect!!!! So now we all know the correct texture. I'd made bagels before, often when we lived in Japan, but it has been a few years. The reminder was great, and I'll be back to making bagels often again now!
Here are the three we used today.

Garlic Cheddar Bagels
makes 2 lbs
1 1/2 C water
2 Tbsp oil
2 Tbsp sugar
4 tsp crushed garlic cloves
1 1/2 tsp salt
2 Tbsp cocoa
5 1/2 C bread flour
3 tsp yeast
2/3 C grated or cubed cheese
extra cheese for topping

Chocolate Chip Bagels
makes 2 lbs
1 1/2 C water
2 Tbsp oil
2 Tbsp brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp salt
2 Tbsp cocoa
5 1/2 C bread flour
3 tsp yeast
1 C mini chocolate chips or chunks

Cinnamon Sugar Wheat
makes 2 lbs
1 1/2 C water
2 Tbsp oil
2 Tbsp brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 C whole wheat flour
4 C bread flour
3 tsp yeast
Cinnamon/Sugar mixture to knead into swirls just before shapping, and for topping