Easy Ravioli – the Secret is Wonton Wrappers

By Sandy Hu

Here’s a ravioli that even cooking newbies can make because it uses wonton wrappers instead of handmade ravioli dough. You cook up a simple pumpkin-walnut filling, spoon a tablespoon between two layers of wonton wrappers, and, using your fingertip, seal with water.

Cook up your plump pillows of dough in a pot of salted boiling water for two minutes and serve with a brown butter and walnut sauce. It’s that easy.

If you keep a package of wonton wrappers and a bagful of walnuts in your freezer, and a can of pumpkin in your pantry, this dish can be your go-to meal, anytime.

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Nicky’s Velvet Potatoes

By Andrew Hunter

Nicky was eating mashed potatoes before he cut his first tooth. He loved potatoes so much that we relied on them as a vehicle for his balanced nutrition.

We called him Picky Nicky in those days, which meant we needed to work really hard just to get him to open his mouth at the dinner table. Once we discovered potatoes, we began mixing in other goodies…mashed peas, carrots, broccoli, almost anything we ate got mixed into his. I’m sure he would have been mad if he knew, but what he didn’t know helped him.

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Short Ribs in a Slow Cooker

By Lori Powell

On Sundays, I like to roast a chicken, brisket or something that cooks for at least a couple of hours in the oven, perfuming the whole house. I make many a meal during the week from the leftovers.

One of my favorite appliances for the weekend is a slow cooker. It’s great for cheaper cuts of meat that require slow and low cooking.

So while at the green market on Saturday morning I stopped at Fleisher’s meat market and picked up four pieces of short ribs. Short ribs are sublime and result in meltingly tender nuggets of meat, due to all of the layers of fat. And then there is the added flavor from the bone.

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Turn Leftover Halloween Candy into Dinner

By Katie Barreira

In his stand-up comedy, Bill Cosby does a bit about the morning that his wife tasked him with feeding the children breakfast. His brood, seeing this changing of the guard as an opportunity, asks Dad for chocolate cake. Considering the request, Cosby ticks off the ingredients in chocolate cake…eggs, milk, wheat… “That’s nutrition!” he concludes.

And so, the giddy children sit down to a breakfast of chocolate cake. “And then,” says Cosby in his best ghost story voice, “she came downstairs.” You can guess who that she might be, and how thrilled she was to discover her little hens shoveling down dessert at 7 a.m.

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At Least, Eat your Egg!

By Sandy Hu

I’ve been crazy-busy recently, working nights and weekends to do my day job while getting ready for the Les Dames d’Escoffier annual conference starting this Thursday at the Ritz-Carlton, Buckhead in Atlanta. The end of the conference marks the end of my year as president.

LDEI is the only organization of its kind: a worldwide society of professional women of high achievement in the food, fine beverage and hospitality industries. The organization embraces all aspects of food professions – from chefs and restaurateurs to cookbook authors, food editors, culinary historians, vintners, bakers, farmers and more. Membership is by invitation.

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