I am a self proclaimed night owl.

Here I am, listening to some Bruno Mars and updating you on what I have been up to.  Last we left I was getting ready to make my cupcakes and jello shots for our luau party we were going to.  My friend Morgan and I had a great time making our Pina Colada Cupcakes.  Boy did they come out great!  We made a basic yellow cake with some rum extract in them.  Then we made a filling to inject them with a pastry bag. We diced up some fresh pineapple, mixed it with a large box of vanilla instant pudding mix and folded in some cool whip.  We had lost some of our pineapple flavor so then we pureed some pineapple and folded that in, bam, it was back!  Then we made a butter cream frosting and added coconut extract to it.  It was good but decided that next time we would use some coconut milk instead to get a creamier frosting.  We finished it off with some toasted coconut and a slice of pineapple that had been soaked in rum.

For the Jello, I diced some strawberries and soaked them in rum (one of my fav's can you tell?) Then I made some blue jello, substituted the cold water for chilled rum (of course).  I used a turkey baster to fill just past the top of the strawberries with the jello mixture and let set.  After they were set we used the baster to fill the cups the rest of the way.  When all set I inserted mini Swedish Fish so they looked like the were swimming in the cup.  The strawberries were my coral reef.  Needless to say they were a hit!

Last Tuesday's Soups and Sauces I have to say I learned a valuable lesson.  Well two.  We spent the day on soups.  We made Shrimp Bisque, French Onion, Potato and Leek, and Split Pea.  I made the potato and leek and the split pea.  And this is where the lesson began...don't add spices in at the end of your soup.  I learned there is a window that food can take in flavor and once the window is closed the flavor just sits.  My split pea was doing fine until the end.  I make split pea fairly often at home but did something different this time (still not sure why but I did).  I had added in some chipotle into my soup as it was cooking to get some smoky flavor in it but then gave it a small last dose at the end and ruined it.  It didn't get the chance to blend into my soup. As Chef said, it tasted like dirt.  Earthy.  Not the flavor I was going for needless to say.  After some time of beating myself up about it I realized I learned a very valuable lesson, it wasn't so much not to troll the spice rack so much as it was that I was there to LEARN and not do my own thing.  It is a hard lesson when you are use to cooking in your own kitchen and not in someone else's.  Now I am grateful to my mistake.  It is one I won't make (hopefully) again.   Thank you Chef for teaching me rule's # 10 ( taste everything, twice) and 15, we don't say #15, but for those of you who read and aren't in culinary school, it starts with an H and rhymes with bumble.

Baking Basics has been pretty basic.  I am a baker so a lot so far has been familiar to me, cookies, muffins, and pies.  Last week I got to make ice cream, cinnamon, and it was really good.  Wish I had the machine to make it at home.  This Friday is my midterm, a drop cookie, sugar or chocolate chip, a muffin, not sure which kind yet, and a tart made with sweet pastry dough and pastry filling.  I am planning on bringing my own pan and fruit to top it.  I am also going to practice making the glaze to go over my fruit to make it sparkle.  We didn't learn the glaze in class but the recipe is in my book so I am going to do it.  It is the midterm after all, so why not try my best to knock it out.  I am making it on Wed at home and will let you know how it goes.

Thanks for reading and be sure to become a "follower" so you don't miss an installment!

The Second Quarter Begins!

So it is a little after midnight and I can't sleep.  I have two assumptions as to why, one being my mind can't rest the other being my snoring love of my life (love you dear!).  So I am hoping that getting some thoughts (and a shopping list for tomorrow) down may help my problem.

The second quarter of school has begun and I am taking Baking Basics, Soups and Sauces and as a Gen Ed class Human Relations.  All classes that I really enjoy going to after only two weeks.  I have only had two classes of my Culinary ones and already feel like I have learned a lot.  I have spent most of my life in kitchens of some sort and have always felt pretty comfortable in them. Most of the things I made would come out pretty good but I never really understood why a recipe works, I guess for baking anyway, how the magic happens.  Class number one of Baking taught me what I never fully understood, why baking soda or baking powder was used in some recipes but not in others.  We did not make anything that first day but a big mess.  It was like being in 6th grade science again.  We used different ingredients to see how they reacted to each other, baking soda and powder in both hot and then cold water, buttermilk, lemon juice.  It taught me that that is the difference between a bread and a quick bread.  The powders and sodas when mixed with other ingredients makes the fizzing or bubbling that gives volume to your baked goods.  These do not contain yeast to give you that rise.  For me it was an Ah-ha moment.  We also learned about weighing our ingredients to make them more exact.  A cup of water and a cup of flour do not weigh the same.  All of our baking recipes at school are measured in ounces.  That was a big change for me since most of my books at home are in standard measurement.

By class number two we were baking.  We started pretty easy, one muffin recipe one cookie.  I made Morning Glory muffins that had a lot of great stuff in it.  Coconut, walnuts, shredded carrots, and shredded apples (really looked like applesauce).  The only spice added was cinnamon.  I really liked them and made them again at home on Saturday and they were a big hit.  Next time I will sneak in some wheat germ and flax seed to get more nutrients in them.  The kids will never be the wiser.  The cookies I made were Sugar Cookies.  I hadn't ever really made them so I chose them.  My dough at the first go came out a little dry.  Added a little water and we were in business.  The only thing that struck me a little weird was there was nutmeg in them that made them taste more like a Snickerdoodle.  Anyway, coming out of the oven they had good shape, not burned and were stamped with the approval of Chef that they could be sold pile not the trash pile.  This week we are moving on to pies.  Yummy...

Now on to Soups and Sauces.  For me this class is one of my electives.  I took this one purely for my own personal benefit.  I make a lot of soups at home and have always wanted to learn more about sauces.  I am honest when I say I feel more comfortable in the bakery than I do in this kitchen.  Class number one we focused on stocks, and not the ones from the Ameritrade baby.  I didn't really know the difference between a stock and a broth.  A broth is seasoned to be eaten by itself, a stock is not.  A stock is made from simmering down bones to extract some of the flavor and gelatin from the bones.  The gelatin helps to give the stock some texture and silkiness to it. A mirepoix is added later and in the last 30 minutes of simmering some herbs.  The most important part of stock making is skimming the top when you are simmering the bones.  This helps to remove the unwanted impurities that are in the bones and leaves you with a near clear stock.  In the end you strain it all and have (hopefully) something better than you can buy in the store.  A broth has more meat in it as well as being seasoned with salt.  These two reasons is why it can be eaten as a soup.  There is more flavor to it.  Both are great to use, they key is knowing your ingredients that you will be in your dish and deciding if you need the extra flavor from a broth of if you just want the foundation from a stock to help make your other ingredients shine.

Class number two was on sauces, learning the five mother sauces, and focusing on the white sauce.  Here we made a few things.  The first a Be'chamel, this is made by starting with a roux.  The roux can be used in other sauces too, depending on the color of the sauce you just cook it a little longer.  It is a mixture of butter and flour.  The flour, as it cooks, will start to get a nice nutty smell to it.  It almost reminds me of a Shortbread cookie.  When you begin to smell it you know that it is done.  Then to make it into a sauce you add in milk or cream.  This makes a great cheese sauce, after you have the milk in and the roux blended add cheese in and then season with salt and pepper.  It is considered a "mother sauce" because it is the root of many other sauces.  I can't wait to play with this one and see what I can come up with.  Next we made a Mushroom Veloute'. I am seeing more and more that I should have taken French as my Humanities over Comparative Religion.  The Veloute' is also a mother sauce.  It has some of the same principals as the Be'chamel but here we made a clear soup base with stock, sherry, and some onions that had been sweat.  Blended mushrooms with a cup of the soup and then added it to the soup mixture.  Finishing with some cream, straining, and then letting it reduce.  The reduction was the part I didn't do long enough and mine was more like cream of mushroom soup than a sauce.  We will just put that in the compartment labled "lessons learned".  Finally, the last thing we made was a cheese souffle'.  I was a little nervous about making this dish because I had never tried one before but knew that they can be a little temperamental.  Again, we made our Be'chamel as our base and then added some shredded Gruyere cheese to it and spiced it with some salt, pepper, nutmeg and paprika as a garnish.  We baked them in little individual portioned ramekins.  Rubbed the inside down with a good amount of butter and then shook some planko breadcrumbs on the butter to cover it.  Filled 3/4ths of the way and baked at 375 for about 15 minutes.  Boy were my partner and I lucky that Chef just happened to be walking buy as we were taking them out of the oven and they were nice and fluffy.  Seeing them come out right made my day!

All and all I am very excited to see what the next eight weeks of classes bring.  I am so ready to learn more and feel invigorated at having a passion again.  I am really excited to share what I am doing with you all.  I will have much more to share.  In some of my future blogs we will go for try number two (or is it three) of the Hollandaise sauce, we will bake some cupcake ideas I have been working on, we will throw in some jell-o shots (not a class assignment just for fun) and much much more!

If you read my blog please "follow" it for me, I'd really like to see who is reading it.  I also really enjoy getting your feedback!  Well I think I can finally go and try to get some sleep...so glad tomorrow is my day of no classes.  Tomorrow will be Tropical Cupcakes, Yellow cake with rum, filled with a pineapple cream filling, topped with a coconut butter cream frosting, toasted coconut and a wedge of rum soaked fresh pineapple.  Oh yeah, and Aquarium Jell-o shots.  If you are curious you will just have to read my next post and I promise, I will post pictures!

End of one quarter, beginning of another!

Hello all, I know long time no post.  Let me take the time to catch up a little bit.  My first quarter has ended and it ended great!  I finished with all A's in all four of my classes.  I learned so much in this short period of time.  I am so much more cautious of my temperatures of food and on getting everything ready to go before I get started.  Habits I will keep up for as long as I own a kitchen.

My practice salmon at home.

Our final in my Foundations class was making a Salmon Nicoisse Salad.  I know you are thinking, a salad, but this us no ordinary salad.  It has many components to it.  It is warm and cold at the same time.  You have to wash and dry your greens, make your vinaigrette, cook and blanch your green beans, parboil you potato and hard boil your egg, cook and season your salmon, then cook your scallions with the potato. The salad should be cold but your salmon and potato's should be warm.  The real test is about the timing.  It was basically a medley of all the skills we have learned.  I did well and was very proud of myself.

Now that finals are over, DJ and I went on our cruise that he had won on the radio.  Our destination, Grand Turk Island!  We were on a chartered cruise with the band 311!  Talk about a great and crazy time!  Cruise food was pretty good.  I was surprised at how well the food was cooked and by the choices that were available.  Having a lot of it being buffet style I was a little afraid that it was going to be like going to The Golden Corral but it was anything but.  Had lobster tails that were cooked perfectly!  DJ was happy to get salmon at almost every meal.

Conch Chowder

DJ's grouper sandwich

DJ with our beers!

On our day off the boat and on the island I had to try some true Caribbean food from a place that was off the beaten path.  So we ended up at a little place off the beach.  We sampled some of the local brew, pretty good for not seeing any wheat or hops being grown anywhere around, and some conch.  We tried conch fritters as an appetizer, and some conch chowder, or chowdah as we would say in Boston.  I had as my main dish she cracked conch and DJ had a grouper sandwich.  All was soooooooo good!  The view was amazing, the breeze was nice and the food was delicious!  Too bad I found out too late that I have an allergy to it like I do with the scallops that I love.  That was a bummer but at least I got to try ( and momentarily) enjoy something I had never tried before.

My Cracked Conch

Later that night we tried out the one of the fine dining dining rooms on the boat.  I was super excited that the book in our cabin said there was a Master Chef that ran the kitchen.  There are not too many of those around.  I was a little disappointed at what we got.  DJ's salmon (yes he has a love of the fish) was over cooked and really dry, and my Baked Alaska was a little on the plain side.  My short ribs were cooked pretty well.  Most dishes looked pretty good but all in all it was a little less than I had expected.  I guess I have to keep in mind that it is being mass produced on a boat.  

Caprese Salad

My short ribs

DJ's Salmon (nothing on here looks great) Bummer.

My Baked Alaska, the top looks really pretty but that was the best thing about it.

So now that we are caught up the new quarter has begun.  I am taking the Baking Basic's class and one on Soups and Sauces.  I am really excited about both of these classes.  So far I have had one class of both of these.  The first day of baking we toured the kitchen and learned where everything was located and how to work some of the equipment.  We also did some experiments on how ingredients react with each other, like baking soda, water, lemon juice, etc so we can learn some of those basics.  We also felt different flours and learned about how they best serve their purpose. 

 

In Soups and Sauces, we made our own stock's and learned how important a good stock is.  We made a chicken stock and started making a veal stock.  All the stock that is made is then transfered throughout the school and is used other classes or the production kitchen.  Nothing is wasted.  We also made a chicken broth and then produced a chicken soup out of it.  The fun thing was choosing what starch to put in it.  My partner and I choose to make Gnocchi, the Italian potato dumplings.  I thought they were so yummy and can't wait to make them at home.  

Tomorrow it is back to Baking Basics where I will me making a Morning Glory Muffin and Sugar Cookies.  The muffin has many ingredients in it like shaved coconut, and sounded really good.  I think I will try them out today so I am better prepared for tomorrow. 

Until next time...

It's Superbowl time!

The Superbowl was just a few days ago and even though DJ and I's team, the Philadelphia Eagles didn't make it to the game we still watched it.  We had been invited to one of DJ's coworker's for the game and I brought one of my favorite game day recipe's.  It comes from the All The Best cookbook from The Pampered Chef.  The bread is 2 Pillsbury French bread dough packages put together and made in a circle.  I brushed it with some garlic infused oil, egg wash and then sprinkled with some Italian seasoning.  I used my bread knife and cut some slits in the top to add some texture.  Bake at 350 for 30 min.  Let cook completely then sliced through it to make 2 halves.

My secret weapon in making it so good is I get some submarine sandwich oil and brush it on both the top slice and bottom slice of my bread.  It has great flavor!  I then layered some ham, salami and some sharp cheddar cheese slices.  The some lettuce, tomato, red onion and an orange bell pepper.  Lastly, I salted the tomato's with some salt and pepper.  It looks pretty and can feed about 12 people,  and it is way cheaper to make than ordering from Subway!

The recipe for Beef Bourguignon

For the Stew

6 ounces bacon, solid chunk
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 lbs lean stewing beef, cut into 2-inch cubes
1 carrot, peeled and sliced
1 onion, peeled and sliced
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper, freshly ground
2 tablespoons flour
3 cups red wine (a full bodied wine like Bordeaux or Burgundy or Chianti)
2 -3 cups beef stock (Simple Beef stock is posted on the site, unsalted and defatted)
1 tablespoon tomato paste
2 garlic cloves, mashed (you may choose to add more)
1 sprig thyme (or 1/2 teaspoon dred thyme)
1 bay leaf, preferably fresh

For the braised onions
18 -24 white pearl onions, peeled
1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup beef stock
salt & fresh ground pepper
1 bay leaf
1 sprig thyme
2 sprigs parsley

For the Sauteed Mushrooms
1 lb mushroom, quartered
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
Change Measurements: US | Metric
Directions:
Prep Time: 1 hr
Total Time: 5 hrs
1 First prepare the bacon: cut off the rind and reserve.
2 Cut the bacon into lardons about 1/4" thick and 1 1/2" long.
3 Simmer the rind and the lardons for ten minutes in 1 1/2 quarts of water.
4 Drain and dry the lardons and rind and reserve.
5 Pre-heat the oven to 450°F.
6 Put the tablespoon of olive oil in a large (9" - 10" wide, 3" deep) fireproof casserole and warm over moderate heat.
7 Saute the lardons for 2 to 3 minutes to brown lightly.
8 Remove to a side dish with a slotted spoon.
9 Dry off the pieces of beef and saute them, a few at a time in the hot oil/bacon fat until nicely browned on all sides.
10 Once browned, remove to the side plate with the bacon.
11 In the same oil/fat, saute the onion and the carrot until softened.
12 Pour off the fat and return the lardons and the beef to the casserole with the carrots and onion.
13 Toss the contents of the casserole with the salt and pepper and sprinkle with the flour.
14 Set the uncovered casserole in the oven for four minutes.
15 Toss the contents of the casserole again and return to the hot oven for 4 more minutes.
16 Now, lower the heat to 325°F and remove the casserole from the oven.
17 Add the wine and enough stock so that the meat is barely covered.
18 Add the tomato paste, garlic and herbs and the bacon rind.
19 Bring to a simmer on the top of the stove.
20 Cover and place in the oven, adjusting the heat so that the liquid simmers very slowly for three to four hours.
21 The meat is done when a fork pierces it easily.
22 While the meat is cooking, prepare the onions and mushrooms and set them aside till needed.
23 For the onion, if using frozen, make sure they are defrosted and drained.
24 Heat the butter and oil in a large skillet and add the onions to the skillet.
25 Saute over medium heat for about ten minutes, rolling the onions about so they brown as evenly as possible, without breaking apart.
26 Pour in the stock, season to taste, add the herbs, and cover.
27 Simmer over low heat for about 40 to 50 minutes until the onions are perfectly tender but retain their shape and the liquid has mostly evaporated.
28 Remove the herbs and set the onions aside.
29 For the mushrooms, heat the butter and oil over high heat in a large skillet.
30 As soon as the foam begins to subside add the mushrooms and toss and shake the pan for about five minutes.
31 As soon as they have browned lightly, remove from heat.
32 To Finish the Stew:.
33 When the meat is tender, remover the casserole from the oven and empty its contents into a sieve set over a saucepan.
34 Wash out the casserole and return the beef and bacon to it (discarding the bits of carrot and onion and herbs which remain in the sieve).
35 Distribute the mushrooms and onions over the meat.
36 Skim the fat off the sauce and simmer it for a minute or two, skimming off any additional fat which rises to the surface.
37 You should be left with about 2 1/2 cups of sauce thick enough to coat a spoon lightly.
38 If the sauce is too thick, add a few tablespoons of stock.
39 If the sauce is too thin, boil it down to reduce to the right consistency.
40 Taste for seasoning.
41 Pour the sauce over the meat and vegetables.
42 If you are serving immediately, place the covered casserole over medium low heat and simmer 2 to 3 minutes.
43 Serve in the casserole or on a warm platter surrounded by noodles, potatoes or rice and garnished with fresh parsley.
44 If serving later or the next day, allow the casserole to cool and place cold, covered casserole in the refrigerator.
45 20 minutes prior to serving, place over medium low heat and simmer very slowly for ten minutes, occasionally basting the meat and vegetables with the sauce.

Julie, Julia and Alexis

This weekend I discovered a new favorite food, Beef Bourginon.  It is a French style beef stew with many steps, but so worth the effort.  A warning to anyone that makes it, set aside a whole day because you will need it.

I started my Saturday at 10 AM making this dish,  It was ready to be served at 5 PM.  Now to make this one I bought myself a new present,  A dutch oven.  I did so some shopping around to find one that was in my budget and was the size I wanted.  I ended up getting Martha Stewart's 7 Quart for $60.  It is made of cast iron so it is heavy.  If you are wondering why it is so different than some normal cookware it is because it can be used on the stove top as well as in the oven.  You don't have to worry about you handles not being oven safe or your lids not being able to go in the oven either.  It is made to keep your moisture in the pot to help cook and flavor your food.

I am not going to go into all the steps in the process of making this dish, I have the recipe listed below, but I will go through what I learned while making it.

The beef you want to use is an inexpensive cut , like a stew beef, we are cooking low and slow so it will tenderize the meat while it cooks.  It is cooked in a 2 step process, first seared in a pan then braised in the pot.  You can sear your meat in the pot by putting some oil in it and letting it heat up.  It is pretty important to dry off your meat with a paper towel before you put it in your pan.  It will stick to the pot better and get a good sear in it.  Now contrary to popular belief, searing meat does not lock in it's juices,  it helps to put a good carmelization on it and add good flavor and color to it.  Resist the urge to move it around.  You want it to stick to the pan for a little bit, if you move it you will disrupt the browning.  You also want the suc's to form on the bottom of the pot.  That is the brown that sticks on the pot itself (called fonds when referring to your veggies like the mirepoix) , that is loaded with flavor and is meant to go in gravy's and sauce's. After your meat is cooked and taken out you can add some water or broth to the bottom of the pan go loosen them from the bottom.

This dish is also made with a red wine.  I choose a Merlot, an inexpensive one. You could also use a chianti or a burgundy.  It just needs to be a good dry red.  I'll tell you it smelled so good simmering in the pot.

Remember I said this dish is meant to cook LOW and SLOW so you do not need to open the lid up and stir it around.  Just let it go.  Your meat will not stick but if you stir it too much you will start to take apart your meat cubes and you want them to keep their shape.  At the end of the 4 hour simmer it will be time to strain out your juices from the pot (keep them!) and take out your meat and put in a bowl.  You can discard the mirepoix that is in that mixture (carrots and onions).  You will then put the juices back in the pot to begin the reduction stage,  this is where your juices will cook down and get thicker to make a sauce.

Me and some of my guests, the Lindblom's.

This dish can be served over a pasta like egg noodles or mashed potatoes.  I made garlic ones for my dinner. I also had a good loaf of crusty French bread on hand to soaking up the gravy, it was way too good to wash down the sink.  Unfortunately, I forgot to take pictures of this dish, I had guests over to share the meal with and was more worried about getting the food out than snapping a picture of it.  I will tell you though that every one left full and happy, and I am already craving it again.

Pasta! Pasta! Pasta!

Ciao' Bella's and Bello's!

This is the Pasta Post!  Not long ago in class, about 2 weeks ago, we had our pasta, this carb-lovin' girls dream day.  I was amazed at how easy (and better tasting!) it is to make your own pasta.  I guarantee that everyone has the ingredients in their kitchens right now to whip some up.  I will advise though, you will want to get a pasta machine or if you have a Kitchen Aid mixer the attachments they have to go with it.  You will want the roller as well as some cutters.  I have a strong appreciation for my attachments after having rolled my own dough.

My first ravioli!

So after Pasta day, we had a homework assignment to make some of our own pasta and bring it in to class with a sauce of our choosing.  I chose to make a butternut/ricotta cheese/curry ravioli with a sage and brown butter sauce.  Knowing my children, I also made a sausage/sage/ricotta cheese filled ravioli for dinner as well.  All were made with love, 3 hours of love to be exact.  See I convinced DJ to order me the attachments as soon as class was over that week because I was so excited from making them in class and really had hoped that they would be there by the following Wednesday so I could use them for my homework.  Great plan in theory.  The didn't arrive.  So I borrowed a rolling pin from my neighbor (thanks Karen!) and got to work.

The eggs in the well.

To get started the first thing I did was make my dough.  3 cups of flour ( I used Semolina) 4 eggs, a 1TBSP olive oil and about 4 OZ of water on standby.  See, I told you that you would have it all in your house.  Pour flour into the bowl and push it out to the sides of the bowl so you have a well in the middle, the well is where the eggs and olive oil go.  Take a fork and mix the eggs with the oil like you would for scrambled eggs.  Gradually the flour will start to get pulled in.  Keep going till the dough is completely mixed.  Now it may start to get dry so this is where your standby of water comes in.  You want to the dough to be moist but not too moist.  All the flour should get absorbed in.  Should feel like Playdough when you are done.  Wrap in plastic wrap and rest in the fridge for an hour.

Your dough ready for it's rest.

After resting is over you are ready to start rolling it out.  You want a well floured mat or counter top to work on.  Keep a reserve of flour handy because you will use it to keep your dough from sticking.  I pull off a chunk, about a 1/2 C worths to work with.  If you take too much it will be hard to roll out really thin.

Feeding the dough through the roller with my attachments.

Now for those of you that may not remember what I look like, I am 4'11''.  Not exactly gifted in the height department.  So to roll my dough I had to drag a chair, and sit on my counter top to get enough leverage to roll out the dough.  The down side to being inexperienced is I could not quite get it rolled as thin as I would have liked.  But all in all they were pretty good.  Another thing I learned was to do an egg wash between my filling so it will act as a glue to keep them sealed together.

Some cut ravioli's.

It does take longer to cut out the ravioli's when you have rolled it yourself because you have less area space that is even.  When I did it with my attachments it came out in a nice long and even strip and I could get 10 cut at a time making 2 rows.  Rolling it came out in a circle like a pie crust and I couldn't get a lot of even spacing.

Thinning the dough.

Cutting the fettuccine.

When you are done cutting out some pasta make sure you cover and flour the surface they are on before you drop them in the pot.  You don't want them to stick to the surface or dry out from the air contact.  To cook them you want to bring some very salted (salty like the sea as Chef says) water to a nice rolling simmer, not a heavy boil.  Fresh pasta does not take long to cook. The Fettuccine I made only took 2 minutes.  The ravioli's only about 8 to cook.  If you make the ravioli's at home you can find so many different filling's online,  I looked at a bunch and then just kind of took elements from ones I liked and made my own.

As my luck would go, that Thursday when I came home from class, my box was out side my door with my attachments in it...new toys to play with...