Homemade Cheese Tortellini with Pesto Hollandaise Sauce

I have learned by now that watching Chopped at 6 in the morning leads to a full day of plotting what I'm going to make for dinner. To be honest, for the life of me I can't even remember what gave me the original spark but by 6:30 this morning and had settled on the fact that I was going to make homemade cheese tortellini and grilled salmon both with a pesto hollandaise sauce. So the journey ensued.

This is the second time I've made fresh pasta and I have to say its really fairly easy. Granted I have a secret weapon that makes it a little easier for me. Before I was born my parents were given a pasta maker, which rolls the dough thinner and thinner and if I wanted to has a setting to cut it into one of two different spaghetti thicknesses. I have actually had this in my possession for years, but never got up the guts to try it. The idea of making your own pasta sounds so laborious and I was so scared I was going to mess it up. Finally a few weeks ago I decided I was going to try it. I bought some semolina flour and found that it was shockingly easy. I'm sure similar results could be obtained with a rolling pin and a little more diligence than what was require from the pasta maker, but I promise you, its worth it!

I was cooking for 3-4, but I like to have leftovers so I made a little extra. In a food processor combine 2 1/4 cup semolina flour and 3 eggs. If when you are done blending it it is still a little stiff and dry add the tiniest amount of water. You are looking for it to be no longer crumbly when you fold it and just the slightest bit sticky (too sticky and you won't be able to work with it). Roll the dough out in sheets. As thin as you feel comfortable with because remember it will expand when you cook it so if you start fairly thick it will end up being chewier once its cooked. Use a glass or a round cookie cutter to cut the dough into circles.

In a bowl mix about (I guesstimated this so thats why I say "about") 1 cup ricotta cheese, 1/4-1/2 cup cream cheese (I used the whipped kind because I wanted to keep them on the lighter and fluffier side) and 1/4 cup shredded mozzarella. Mix them thoroughly together. Depending on the size of your circles put 1-2 tsb of filling in a line in the middle of each circle, leaving room around the edges. Have a cup of water handy because you need to wet all around the edge of each circle. Once wetted slightly fold the circles in half, pinching the two edges together. Place your pinkie finger in the middle of the pillow you have just created and fold the corners around your finger and pinch them together. Set each one aside in a way that will not leave them touching each other.

Note! If your pasta at any point while you are trying to fold it has dried out and is trying to crack while you are trying to fold it, moisten towels and leave them over your pasta for about 15 min to soften them up.

You can leave these like this for a bit while you get the rest of the meal going. Get your salmon fillets out and lay them on a plate and sprinkle olive oil over them and give them a change to absorb a little bit of it while you make your sauce.

For the sauce first you want to melt 1/2 cup butter. Leave it to the side to cool a little because you don't want it curdling your eggs. In a blender mix 3 egg yolks, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp dry mustard and 1 tbs lemon juice. Once the butter is cooled and while it is blending slowly drizzle in the butter. The sauce will thicken up and you have a traditional hollandaise base. Chop up about 2 cups of basil and throw in the blender along with 1/4 cup grated Parmesan and 1/4 cup pine nuts. Blend away until it is all thoroughly chopped and mixed. It is supposed to be a thick sauce, but if it is too thick for your liking melt some more butter, LET IT COOL, and add more.

Start a pot of water going and sprinkle in a little bit of salt. If you ever wondered why recipes say to do this its not just for the flavor. It also raises the boiling temperature so by the time it boils and you're ready to use the water it is at a hotter temperature. At the same time while you're starting that start up your grill. Keep in mind that once you add the pasta it will only take a few minutes. Fresh pasta does NOT take as long as dried pasta.

Grill the salmon until you get nice char marks and it is cooked in the middle. Drop the tortellini in the water and boil for just a few minutes until it is at the texture you prefer. Plate the pasta and the salmon side by side and drizzle your sauce over both, dusting the pasta with a little more Parmesan. I also chopped up a little tomato on the side and tossed it with a sweet and sour poppy seed dressing that I had. I apologize that only have a picture of the pasta and not the salmon. It got eaten a little too quickly. :) I hope you all enjoy it as much as I do!

Baked-In-Apple Pies

I got the idea for these when I saw a picture of them a friend posted from pintrest. I thought it was a brilliant idea and one I had to make. Of course I didn't think to look at the recipe cause I knew I could wing it so they are my recipe, but someone else's brilliant initial idea.

Start by making the pie dough. Keep in mind this recipe made about 2/3 more than I needed but I figured its always good to have frozen pie dough ready, but feel free to cut it if you don't want extra.

Mix 3 cups flour and 3 tbs sugar. Cut in 1 cup of butter. After thoroughly mixed, slowly pour in 1/3 cup cold water. Put it on parchment paper and knead it into a solid mass. Wrap up and put it in the fridge while you prepare the apples.

Now I won't even try to pretend that emptying out theses apples wasn't a time consuming effort, thus why I only made six, but they were so cool looking I had to try it. You will notice the carnage from the apple massacre in the background of one of the photos. This is the technique that I used.

Cut off the tops of 6 green apples, just enough to remove most of the base of the stem. Use a small knife to go around and create the wall where you want it to be. Cut across the apple to create triangles which are easier to remove, making sure to cut around the core. After that, I used a combination of the knife and a grapefruit spoon to carve out the rest. You will accidentally poke thru once or twice but its not a big deal, they will just drip a little, but it won't change the taste or even the look much. Make sure you cut off as many usable bits from the core as you can. Put all of the usable pieces in a bowl. If them changing color bothers you toss them with the tiniest bit of lemon juice. I did but then stopped worrying about it because once they are coated they are brown anyways.

Once those are emptied take one more apple and peel and core it. Chop them into similarly sized pieces as the ones that came out of your other apples. Don't worry, no one thinks you were able to manage a consistent size, we are going for a smallish range. Mix all the apple pieces together with 1/2 cup white sugar, 1 cup brown sugar, about 1 tbs ground cinnamon and about 1-2 tbs of maple syrup. Mix together and fill the apples with the mixture, packing firm as tight as possible (you will regret missing any!) and having each apple slightly heaping is fine because the dough will hold it in.

Speaking of the dough, time to get it out of the fridge! Roll it out to about 1/4 inch thick. Cut in strips 1/2 inch wide and about 4-5 inch long. Weave 6 strips (3 one direction and 3 the other) into a latice work on your work surface and then transfer to the apple (trust me, its easier that way). Lightly press the ends onto the sides of the apple so it contours around the top of the apple. Bake them at 375 degrees for about 30-45 minutes, or until the crust is lightly brown. Serve and enjoy!!tec