Music Soothes the Savage Beast

I love piano music. Who doesn't? It can be light and fun, jazzy and upbeat, peaceful and calming. I've spent lots of time this past year at the hospital when my mother was critically ill. The last 2 days I was there again, my younger brother had surgery. It was the first time I had been back to the hospital since Mom passed. The beautiful piano music being played in the hospital's lobby made me wonder how many piano lessons this woman had taken. It was comforting to listen and watch her play and helped me through the day. Playing piano is a skill I don't have, and one my SIL wishes to have.

If you already play and want to jazz up your style, please take a look at these options for piano lessons. For your ease, there's a toll free number to help you with any questions you might have. You can take lessons on line! I love the idea of taking piano lessons, at a time convenient to me; and it's private! You improve your current skills, learn tricks of the trade with lessons on DVD too. Sheet music is available and printable in a wide variety of music styles. If you want to make your left hand come alive, improve your skills with cords, or jump from an intermediate player to an advance player this is for you. And, I've saved the best to last...there's a free trial. If playing more, improving your skills, or getting back to something you love was a New Years Resolution here's your chance. Music improves our lives in so many ways.

Dinner is served.

Homemade Butternut squash ravioli and my lemondrop martini. The lemondrop was my cocktail of choice before dinner while hubby's prefer's a dry gin martini with a twist. Making Martini's is fun; and I've been working to perfect my Lemondrop. Look how nicely my sugared rim turned out. Nice little ice crytals also in the froth. My best yet.

We had a nice bottle of wine (Gran Tarapaca Pinot Noir Reserve with the pasta dish. The wine is a full bodied (raspberry, cherry & plum) ruby wine from Chile. The pasta my first attempt at making homemade ravioli. A post or two back I mentioned my daughter and I made a ton of pasta. This was 1 of 4 types we made. Butternut Squash Ravioli stuffed with Mascarpone.

1. Cook the squash (slice it in half and cook in the microwave)
2. Cut squash in small pieces, add some liquid (we used juice from mandarin oranges) and make a puree in food processor/blender. We used processor, but I think blender would have worked better
3. Add flour 1/4th cup at a time and mix (regular wheat flour, whole wheat, and semolina). Mix with fork until you can't any longer, switch to mixing and kneading with your hands. This takes quite awhile. Using a whole squash made a very large amount of dough.
4. Refrigerate dough to rest it.
5. Add flour to prepare it for the rolling in pasta machine (I have a hand crank unit). Make long rectangles, as evenly as you can (I rolled several times on each setting 1-2-3 and stopped after rolling twice on 4)
6. Use Ravioli cutter to make squares (remember you need top and bottom). Add Mascarpone to center of one square. Dip your finger into bowl of water and run around edge of the square you've added filling to. Place 2nd square on top, pinching 4 edges. Arrange on counter, cookie sheet, or cloth to dry. Once partial dry, flip over and when you feel they're not going to stick together store in zip lock bag in freezer. Try to keep from breaking by laying flat.

**Remember cooking fresh pasta requires less cooking time than boxed or frozen pasta.
I served this was red and yellow peppers, onion, and small green beans. Mix those items and cook about 3 minutes in the microwave with a drizzle of olive oil. Cut up a dozen little smokies and cook 1 minute in microwave, then add smokies to veggies and cook one more minute. Depending on how much olive oil you used in the cooking process you may or may not need to drizzle a bit more on your pasta. Garnish with fresh peppercorn and grated Asiago Cheese and enjoy.

Christmas Pasta

Don't know if there really is such a thing as Christmas Pasta; but that's what I'm calling this. Above you see pretty green spinach pasta on the drying racks. My daughter and I made a ton of pasta. Really both of us worked on it for about 10 hours solid. We were sure tired at the end. This is just 1 of 4 types we made that day. You need frozen spinach, once it's thawed (which takes quite awhile), you squeeze out as much liquid as you can. Keep the liquid though for later. The spinach is your liquid source. Blend in with fork regular flour, whole wheat flour and semolina flour. I usually add about 1/4th cup at a time as it becomes quite difficult to mix. Once you can't mix with the fork any longer, dive in with your hands. Mix and need, over and over and over again. Keep adding flour as you go. Once you feel like you can't add anymore, cover tightly and put in the fridge for awhile. It let's it rest, and you too. Or would if we hadn't been moving right into another batch of something.
You may or may not need to add a little of liquid you squeezed out. Once you remove it from the fridge you'll need to add more flour as you prepare it for the roller in the pasta machine. I have one of those hand cranks ones. I run it through each number several times and usually stop on #4 for the weight of fettucini we like. Your pasta is cut so next you hang it on the rack to dry. I had 3 separate drying racks set up in the kitchen on this day. Whew! I don't totally dry it, but enough that it's not sticky any longer. Then I store in zip lock bags in the freezer. **When you cook fresh pasta you cook it less than boxed store bought.

The meal I've named Christmas Pasta is the homemade spinach fettucini topped with red and yellow peppers, purple onion, and small pieces of ham. The veggies and ham are warmed quickly in the microwave (3-4 minutes) with a drizzle of olive oil. Serve with a light Alfredo sauce and fresh ground pepper. Pretty and yummy!

Don't forget a nice bottle of wine and bread. No need really for a salad, got your veggies right with your pasta.