Sweet Honey Ham Pizza with Fig Jam and Carmelized Shallots

Like many in the South, we had a delicious spiral-cut honey ham glazed in a honey mustard mixture for our Easter dinner.  I look forward to it every year, mainly because there are lots of leftovers and since Easter was at my house this year, those leftovers were mine all mine!  I did (begrudgingly) share with my husband this time around and with his love of all things pizza and my love of new recipes, we came up with a good use for the mounds of ham left in the fridge.  Honey ham pizza, who knew?!  I added a few other items that have become staples in my house because they are tasty and can help to create some pretty fantastic dishes:  fig spread and shallots.  I first had fig spread smeared over a hard, sharp Parmesan and served with wheat crackers.  It is perfectly sweet with a melt in your mouth texture which compliments lots of cheeses.  Shallots are a no-brainer.  They are a little milder than a regular onion and truthfully, I think I like them most for their compact size.  Usually one or two are the perfect amount for any dish which means no leftover, diced up, ready-to-dry out onion pieces to store.  But I digress...onto the pizza compilation!


Homemade pizza dough:

1 1/2 cups water (80°-90°)
1 1/2 tsp honey
2 tsp salt
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
4 cups bread flour
2 1/4 tbsp active yeast

Mix, knead and rise in a bread maker or add the above ingredients in a stand mixer with dough hook.  Mix until combined, cover with a damp towel in warm spot to rise.  Deflate dough and form into rounded disk.  Cut in 1/2 for two 12" pizzas.  To make a pizza round, form back into rounded disk on a floured surface.  Using fingertips. press edges out all the way around the outer edge, rotating the dough as you press out.  Push the center out and repeat pressing edges out until large enough to cover pizza stone or pan without going over.

Toppings:
extra virgin olive oil
3 tbsp fig spread
1 medium to large shallot, caramelized in olive oil and butter and deglazed with dry white wine (sauté until cooked out)
1/2-1 cup cubed honey ham
3/4 cup pizza cheese blend
2 tbsp freshly grated Parmesan

Transfer formed pizza round to stone or pizza pan.  Add 2 turns of extra virgin olive oil and smooth over entire dough surface, including crust.  Spread fig jam over pizza, add caramelized shallots, honey ham and cheese.  Bake at 400° for about 10 minutes until bubbly in the center.  I like to flip the broiler on at the end and get it nice an browned on top...but that's really up to you and your desire for under or over!

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Pumpkin Ravioli with Alfredo Sauce

Pumpkin Everywhere!   If you've never cooked with fresh pumpkin, it is time to try it.  I've seen an abundance of sugar pie pumpkins this year so I grabbed one and turned it into two successful recipes to date.  One of which was enjoyed for last night's supper club: Pumpkin Ravioli with Alfredo sauce. 

To start, you'll need to slice the pumpkin into manageable wedges.  Scrape out the pumpkin seeds and don't even think of tossing them, they make a delicious treat all on their own.  In an oven at 350°, roast the pumpkin wedges with a sprinkle of brown sugar for about 15-20 minutes or until brown and slightly caramelized on top. Let it cool so you can handle easily.

Here's the recipe for the ravioli filling:
2 cups pumpkin
1/4-1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup Panko breadcrumbs
1 egg (lightly beaten)
1/4 cup Pancetta diced & sautéed until browned
1/4 tsp cinnamon
Pinch of nutmeg
salt and pepper to taste

All ingredients go into a mixing bowl and are combined with a spoon or spatula until fully incorporated.

Now the fun part - stuffing the wrappers! Usually near the refrigerated soy products in your grocery store, you can find wonton wrappers.  I used the brand pictured below last night and they were just the right thickness.  On a clean surface, layout individual wonton wrappers in a row.  Scoop a small amount (about 1/2 tsp to full tsp), onto the center of each wrapper (a small cookie dough scoop works really well for this step).  Next, wet your pointer finger in a bit of water and trace you finger over the outer edge of the entire wrapper. Fold the wrapper over from corner to corner to form a triangle, the water will act as a glue. Push down slightly around the filling to try and remove as much air as possible and press the edges to form a seal.  Finally, bring the bottom two corners together to form an envelop shaped ravioli.  Transfer to a cookie sheet for holding.

Once all ravioli are stuffed (this recipe makes 48 ravioli with a little filling leftover), they can either be transferred to the freezer or cooked immediately in salted boiling water (ravioli will float when cooked through).  If freezing, freeze in a single layer on the cookie sheet so that the ravioli do not touch. This will prevent them from sticking together.  Once frozen, they can be transferred to a plastic ziploc for freezer storage.

Alfredo Sauce:
1/2 stick unsalted butter
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1 & 1/4 cups Parmesan-Reggiano
Salt & Pepper
Parsley to finish

In a medium sauce pan, melt butter over low to medium heat.  Add cream and combine with whisk.  Let simmer for about 3 minutes and add cheese, whisking to blend.  Keep temperature on low and when ready to serve, add salt and pepper to taste and chopped parsley. 

Unfortunately, my pictures were deleted but trust me when I say that this is a seasonal favorite that will be a big hit!

Homemade Ravioli…What what??

I having been itching to make homemade pasta for some time now but kept putting it off because I thought it would be too complicated.  Um, hello?  Can you say easy and scrumptious?  Fuhgettaboudit.

Tonight's dinner:  whole wheat ravioli stuffed with a blend of italian sausage, roasted asparagus and cheeses and topped with homemade marinara.

Pasta first:

In a food processor, blend 2 cups whole wheat flour and 2 cups white flour.  In a separate bowl, blend 6 eggs and 3 tbsp olive oil.  With the processor on, slowly pour in the egg mixture and process until a ball is formed.   Add a little bit of room temperature water if needed.  Once the dough ball is formed, transfer to a greased bowl and cover with a clean dishtowel.  Let rest for 30-60 minutes.

While the pasta dough is doin' its thing, get your filling going - my filling tonight was a mild italian sausage with cheese and roasted asparagus.  I started by sauteing one minced shallot in a little bit of olive oil and then added the italian sausage to brown (be sure not to overcook since it will be boiled with the pasta). I drained the sausage on a paper towel and then transferred to a mixing bowl, added about 5 ounces of marscapone cheese and 3 ounces shredded parmesan. I had leftover roasted asparagus so I chopped the stalks and added that in also.

Let the fun begin! To make the dough manageable, cut into quarters.  Dust your countertop with flour, grab your rolling-pin and have at it.  As Ina says, "Always keep the dough moving on your board."  I found out the hard way when I tried to move my first batch of cut ravioli and it wouldn't budge off of my counter.  Roll the dough out pretty thin but still thick enough to handle a stuffing.  To stuff the pasta, mound spoonfuls of the mixture onto the dough a few inches apart.  You can either then fold the dough over to seal or add a 2nd rolled out pasta sheet over the first.  Once covered, push down around each mound to remove as much air as possible.  I used a Pampered Chef sandwich cutter/sealer to make large ravioli but you can always cut each piece out and then use a fork to seal the edges.

Once you have formed your pasta, let it rest for about 10 minutes.  Bring water to a boil, salt it up and drop a few in at a time.  They only need about 4-6 minutes to cook depending on how thick you rolled out the dough.  The ravioli will start to float to the top when they are about ready.

Tonight's ravioli was topped with homemade marinara which is also as easy as 1-2-3:

1 diced shallot

2 cloves garlic minced

1 can San Marzano tomatoes

2 tbsp tomato paste

fresh herbs - thyme, oregano, parsley, basil

1 large bay leaf

red pepper flakes

s & p

Start by sweating out the onion and garlic in a sauce pan with a little extra virgin olive oil and over medium heat.  Add the can tomatoes, tomato paste, chopped herbs, red pepper flakes and season with s & p.  I use my Cuisinart hand blender to mash the tomatoes and blend everything right in the sauce pan.  Lower the heat and let the sauce simmer for at least 30 minutes with the bay leaf.  That's it!

The whole wheat pasta is very hardy with a slightly nutty flavor.  I reserved the other half of our dough to try a stuffing of sautéed mushrooms or roasted butternut squash...I think I'll be dreaming of stuffed pillows of pasta tonight!