my new love

is a ravioli-maker. um, not a man who is a ravioli maker, but a kitchen gadget that enables me to make ravioli.*


i found this little treasure under a table at one of my favourite flea markets. for $5, i couldn't pass it up.
so on superbowl sunday, as everyone else watched the game, i made ravioli. it was perfect -- i got to be a part of the party, but i didn't have to watch the game. i drank beer and played in the kitchen, and then afterwards, i had hungry people to feed. i couldn't have been happier. oh, and adding to my happiness is that the ravioli were a success -- i'd never made fresh pasta dough before, so i didn't know how it was all going to turn out. but all three (carrot pasta with cream cheese, ricotta and dill filling, beet pasta with goat cheese, ricotta and sage filling, and plain pasta with peas, ricotta, parmesan, and mint filling) were just right -- neither i nor my friends could think of a single way to improve upon them. i think this love is going to last.

now that i think of it -- this was a pretty darned good week of cooking adventures! on monday, i tested a new version of my recipe for date cake with toffee sauce and found, to my delight, that i've almost got it. (i'm trying TRYING to come up with a date cake that makes me as happy as the one served at moto, in brooklyn. mine is definitely a little different, but it's getting there -- next time will be a winner, i think.) and then on tuesday, i made my best risotto yet (the texture and consistency was PERFECT, the flavor combo was delightful --roasted butternut squash and just the right amount of gorgonzola).
okay... enough gloating in my successes. i've gotta get out of here and get to the gym!

*(is it kinda pathetic or kinda awesome that i fall in love with kitchen gadgets before i fall in love with men? i'm voting on kinda awesome?)