Butternut Squash Ravioli w/ Sage, Butter and Cinnamon Sauce

Yeah, that's right, I didn't stutter. hahaha

My first attempt at butternut squash ravioli and it left me so happy. Not perfect, so there is room to grow and really find out what would make it that much better, yet still so good. These ravioli's turned out so well on so many levels.

The ravioli itself, being the dough and size were perfect. The ratio of dough to filling was perfect. Both are important components in a ravioli, having to much dough masks the filling and to much filling ends up taking away the dough. The filling consisted of Cream, Nutmeg, Pecorino Cheese, and a little bit of onion. Then once boiled fried in a pan for a quick couple of minutes in a sage butter sauce and finally a little cinnamon cooked on them at the end. The result was perfect and couldn't allow any complaints.

Butternut Squash Soup

I have always been intimidated by butternut squash for some reason. I don't really know why, but I finally made my first attempt at it and it turned out to be great success. The soup at first taste was shocking. I wasn't sure if it was in a good way or bad, however by the end of the bowl I realized it was in a good way. The flavor profiles in this soup were just off the chart, it definitely didn't lack flavor. The combination of the Chicken Stock, Cream, Squash, Sage, Onion, Cinnamon and Nutmeg blended together so well that I had just never tasted anything like it. The part that sent it over the edge was a nice piece of toasted sourdough bread to go with it, perfect thing on a rainy day.

More about the flavors:

Creamy, but not from the cream, the consistency was very pleasant and not overwhelming like some cream soups can be. I think the chicken stock really helped balance this out. The soup was also did not just have one flavor, it seemed to be so many flavors that came together. I honestly could not point out where the new taste was coming from, even though I knew what was in the soup.

Taco Night

Taco's everyone loves em, who could hate em. But just like everything else I don't like to stick with a basic menu I try to add something extra to the menu. Tonight it was my chicken that was the above and beyond dish. The chicken thigh meat, which has so much more flavor then regular breast meat, was simmered in a tomato sauce. The sauce consisted of a great mole seasoning, garlic, tomato bouillon and Salt & Pepper. Then let simmer and even out into a great sauce that flavored the chicken well. The other items were pretty standard and typical of a taco night; two different meats, cheese, guacamole, salsa's, tomato, lettuce, onion, cilantro, fried tortillas, sour cream. The night went very well, and fortunately no mistakes were made.