Culinary Adventures with Camilla

The  Foodie Reads 2016 Challenge  is in full swing and the end of our first month is looming. I had never heard of this book, but it was mentioned during an Italian wine twitter chat; I had to get it.  Heat  by Bill Buford.* On the Page... This coming-of-age-in-the-kitchen is a hodgepodge of high-end restaurant gossip (Will Elisa and Gina have a kitchen cat-fight?), kitchen secrets (Though the short ribs at Babbo are billed as Brasato al Barolo , they are not actually braised in Barolo, but in a cheaper varietal Merlot.), and devoted love letter to the quickly disappearing tradition of homemade food. There's something for everyone. Like melodrama? You'll enjoy the cast of characters in the Babbo kitchen, especially the antics of Marco Pierre White. Like reinvention stories? Us 40 somethings can certainly understand the appeal of reflecting on life and career, not to mention the romance of actually changing course for a new career. Can you say 'mid life...

Last night at the artisan pasta class I'm taking we made three colors of dough and laminated them together . Then we cut the dough and made tortellini and ravioli. Filling Ingredients  from America's Test Kitchen 3/4 C frozen chopped spinach, defrosted and drained 2 T butter 1/2 small onion, minced (approximately 1/4 C) kosher salt 1 C ricotta cheese 3/4 C grated parmesan cheese 1 egg yolk Filling Procedure Heat butter in a small skillet. Add onions and cook until translucent, approximately 5 minutes. Stir in the spinach. Salt to taste and cook for another minute. Transfer spinach mixture to a medium mixing bowl. Stir in remaining ingredients. Adjust seasonings to preference. Set aside. Tortellini Procedure Roll the dough to a thinness of 5 of 6 on the pasta machine. Cut out circles and spray with lightly with water. Place a small portion - maybe 1/2 teaspoon if your circle is 2" in diameter - of the filling in the center of the c...