Month: January 2020

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Butternut Squash and Goat Cheese Ravioli

Butternut Squash and Goat Cheese Ravioli with Browned Butter + Oregano Bread Crumbs

Here’s another outstanding dish from 5th Annual Hunt Family Christmas Cook-Off 2019. It was prepared by Team Cutie Booties (Libby & Nathan Boot). These Raviolis were very delicious and are now a family favorite.

Ingredients:

Butternut Squash Ravioli

  • 1 medium butternut squash peeled, seeded + cubed (about 4 cups)
  • 1 tablespoon olive
  • salt + pepper to taste
  • 5 ounces drunken goat cheese or fresh goat cheese crumbled*
  • 2 ounces gorgonzola cheese crumbled*
  • 1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan
  • 1 egg
  • 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
  • 1 pound fresh pasta dough

Browned Butter Oregano Bread Crumbs

  • 3 cups day old sourdough bread finely torn or pulsed to chunky crumbs in a food processor
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon fresh chopped oregano
  • salt + pepper toast
  • 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 1/2 cup fresh oregano
  • 2 ounces prosciutto finely diced

Preparations:

Butternut Squash Ravioli

  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
  2. Peel the squash and cut into cubes and placing them on a baking sheet. Coat them with olive oil, salt & pepper. Roast the squash at 400 degrees for 45 minutes until tender. Allow to cool for 15 minutes or so.
    • Transfer the squash to a food processor and add the goat cheese, parmesan cheese, egg and nutmeg. Puree until smooth. Taste and season with salt and pepper.
  3. Roll your pasta dough into lasagna sheets. Heavily flour your ravioli mold or counter. (Use lots of flour to avoid sticking) Lay one sheet of pasta on the mold, making sure the entire mold is covered. take a tablespoon of the butternut squash filling and place it into each well. Spritz the pasta sheet with a little water or use your fingers and dab some water along all of the ravioli edges. Lay the second sheet on top and run a rolling pin over to seal. Turn the mold over to release the ravioli. They will not be fully separated. Use a pizza cutter or sharp knife to cut them fully apart. Lay the ravioli on a parchment lined baking sheet and continue making ravioli until you’ve used all the cheese filling. Make sure to cover the ravioli with a damp towel as you work. At this point you can freeze the ravioli for later if desired, or continue on with the recipe.

Browned Butter Oregano Bread Crumbs

  1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Boil the ravioli for 1-2 minutes or until they float
  2. Place the butter, remaining 1/2 cup oregano leaves and prosciutto in the skillet and cook over medium heat until the butter is browned and the prosciutto crisp. Remove from the heat.
  3. Carefully remove the ravioli from the water and gently stir the ravioli into the butter sauce. Divide the ravioli among plates and top with the breadcrumbs.

What can we say, all of our kids learned how to cook well. Stay tuned next time for another outstanding dish from the 5th Annual Hunt Family Christmas Cook-Off 2019.

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Philly Cheese Steak Pierogi

Another amazing dish from the 5th Annual Hunt Family Christmas Cook-Off 2019 was prepared by Team Eastown Hunts (Thom & Erica Hunt). These tasty little pockets were a hit with everyone.

Ingredients:

  • 2-1/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for dusting
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more as needed
  • 1 large egg, beaten
  • 1 cup sour cream, plus more for serving
  • 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened, divided
  • 1 large yellow onion, thinly sliced
  • 3 tablespoons canola or vegetable oil, divided, plus more as needed
  • 10 ounces thinly sliced steak, such as ribeye or top round (see note)
  • Freshly ground black pepper
  • 1-1/2 cups shredded provolone cheese
  • 1 cup shredded low-moisture mozzarella cheese
  • 1 tbsp. maple syrup
  • Chopped flat-leaf parsley, to garnish
    • Marinade for steak
      • 2 tbsp. Dijon mustard
      • 2 tbsp. balsamic vinegar
      • 2 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
      • 1 tsp. salt
      • 1/2 tsp. EACH garlic powder, onion powder, dried thyme, dried parsley
      • 1/4 tsp. EACH pepper, red pepper flakes
    • Dipping Sauce
      • Remove 1 tbsp. of the marinade and add to a small bowl with 1/2 cup mayonnaise to make “Flavored Mayonnaise”. Add hot sauce to mayonnaise if desired and store in the refrigerator.

Preparation:

  1. Dough Part 1
    • In a large bowl, whisk together flour and 1 teaspoon salt. Add egg, 1 cup sour cream, and 4 tablespoons softened butter. Stir until well combined and the dough pulls away from the bowl. If dough is too dry, add one tablespoon of water at a time until it comes together. Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or up to 48 hours.
  2. Caramelized Onions
    • Meanwhile, heat 1 tablespoon oil in a medium skillet over medium heat until shimmering. Add sliced onion and season with salt and pepper and cook until caramelized (~30-45min, add sugar or balsamic vinegar if desired) Roughly chop half the onion and transfer to a large bowl; set the other half of onions aside.
  3. Steak
    • Add 1 tablespoon oil to the skillet and increase heat to high. Season steak with salt and pepper and, working in batches, sauté, stirring, until just cooked though, about 1 minute per batch; add more oil to pan if needed. Remove from heat and roughly chop. Add chopped steak to the chopped caramelized onions and toss in both shredded cheeses. Mix to evenly distribute and set aside to cool.
  4. Dough Part 2
    • Remove the dough from the refrigerator and turn out onto a lightly floured work surface. Roll the dough out to a sheet about 1/16 inch thick. Using a 3-inch circular cookie cutter or the top of a glass, cut the dough into circles. Roll the excess dough into a new dough ball and wrap with plastic wrap; let rest for 5 minutes, then roll out and repeat. Discard any remaining dough scraps.
  5. Assembly
    • Place two teaspoons of filling in the center of each dough round. Working one at a time, use a wet finger to moisten the edge of each round with water, then fold into a semi-circle around the filling. Gently pinch edge together to seal, then press with tines of fork to make pleated edge. At this point, the pierogi can be frozen and saved for later use, if desired (to freeze, arrange pierogi on parchment-lined baking sheets and freeze, then transfer to zipper-lock bags and return to freezer until ready to use).
  6. Bring a large pot of salted water to a gentle boil and add fresh or frozen pierogi in small batches. Boil until they float to the top and are cooked through, about 3 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and let drain in a colander. Repeat until all of the pierogi have been boiled.
  7. Heat the remaining 1 tablespoon oil and 2 tablespoons butter to a nonstick skillet over medium heat until butter is melted. Add 1 tbsp. of maple syrup to skillet. Working in batches, sauté pierogi until crisp and browned on each side, about 6 minutes per batch. In the last few minutes of cooking the last batch, add the reserved onions to the pan to heat through.
  8. Transfer pierogi to a plate, top with the warmed onions and garnish with parsley. Serve with sour cream or flavored mayo.
Philly Cheese Steak Pierogi

That’s it for this delicious dish, stay tuned next time for another outstanding dish from the 5th Annual Hunt Family Christmas Cook-Off 2019.