Homemade Ricotta and Spinach Ravioli

Since I was a little kid I, pasta used to be my favorite dish: all different kinds; boxed pasta, tri-colored pasta, homemade pasta... I loved every kind and I still do. But my favorite is the homemade one. My grandmother used to prepare pasta in summer and dried it so that we could use it through autumn. I did not want to cook the pasta because I wanted the pasta to last forever since it was sooo delicious. 

A couple of months ago, I bought a pasta machine for a really good deal but unfortunately it doesn't work properly anymore. So, my father bought a pasta rolling set for my stand mixer which I have been loving it since the first time I used it. 

Today I am going to share a ravioli recipe that was inspired from a restaurant called "Carluccio's". Whenever I go there, I order the classic ravioli and I just love it. I wanted to try that at home for a while and this weekend was the perfect time. 

Ravioli is not hard to make but it takes some time. However as much as time and effort you put in, the dish will get more and more delicious. So, I highly recommend that you spare some time on weekend to cook some ravioli. Plus it is a great cause to get your friends and family in the kitchen and help you. They can easily cut the ravioli for you while you are working on other batches. 

I hope you'll enjoy these raviolis and I can guarantee that you will because mine were gone in 10 minutes. Here is the recipe: 

Gnocchi with Basil

I am a person who loves to cook and especially with fresh ingredients. But I am going to be honest. Not everyone has the time to make a dough, roll it then cut it, let it rest and then finally boil the pasta. I know that the taste of homemade pasta is much more delicious than the store-bought version. But who am I kidding. Sometimes you just have to prepare a dinner in 10 minutes. 

So, that is how I had my first gnocchi, it was store bought. 

Normally when I go to an Italian restaurant, I either order pizza or risotto. And if I like what I had, I try more interesting things when I go there the second time. But I've never had gnocchi in a restaurant. To be honest, I was not sure what it was. When I learned that gnocchi was a potato dumpling, it was unusual for me. I found potatoes and pasta dough a little bit odd because why add more carbs if you have enough in a bowl of pasta? 

But after a while I decided to cook myself some gnocchi. I was extremely curious. Even though the gnocchi was from a supermarket, they were amazing. When I took a bite, I was sure that it wasn't just a dumpling. The gnocchi was fluffy, smooth, creamy and delicious. And now gnocchi is one of my favorite Italian food. So, I decided to cook the homemade version for you. Hope you'll enjoy :)

H is for Homemade Pasta

I love pasta. It is one of my favorite dishes in this world.  I can eat it every single day. Not kidding, every single day. I think a good pasta is a little bit tender however soft enough so that you can enjoy that yummy bite. 

Even though the packed dry pasta is an easy choice you can also challenge yourself with this amazing  recipe for a homemade pasta. Believe me you will be satisfied by the result. It is definitely different than those in paper boxes. And I love the taste of a creamy homemade pasta. Plus it is definitely much more healthier than the ready pasta. 

Every summer we go to Çanakkale, where our summer house is, and we start cooking things for the winter. First we start of with tomato sauce and then we cook some jam and we finish off with some noodles or pasta. This year we prepared some noodles. As you can imagine they were gone by the beginning of December. So, I wanted to buy my own pasta machine because if I had one I could still have that amazing homemade pasta for lunch or dinner. 

I was walking in Kadıköy a while ago and I discovered a small shop. There were millions of stuff related with cooking there, anything you could imagine of; cookie cutters, rolling pins, whisks and many more. I was looking for a piping bag and I saw this amazing pasta machine. I was also searching for the prices for a pasta machine for a while, they were around 200-300 TL. But this one was just for 65 TL. I was shocked. I couldn't believe and since I wanted to buy it for a while I decided to buy. 

The first time I used the machine the result was okay. It was yummy but the dough that I used was very soft and it was hard to cut the pasta. That's why I changed the recipe and this was the result. I hope you'll like it. 

P.S.: If you do not have a pasta machine you can just use a rolling pin and a knife. 

Nom Nom Nom, My Guilty Pleasure: Mac n Cheese

Mac N' Cheese. 

Does it really need any more explanation? It is an all-time favorite. Cheese, Pasta and Deliciousness packed all together in one bowl. (Wow that sounded like a commercial)  I am obsessed with this meal as you can understand from my effort in describing which sounds like an advertisement. Whenever I want something creamy and whenever I want to have it for a meal, I cannot think anything rather than a plate of creamy Mac N' Cheese.

Mac N' Cheese is a classic American comfort food. To be honest Mac N' Cheese is not popular in Turkey. As you know we Turkish people love to eat meat. And we are not a fan of the Cheddar cheese. We like "white cheese" which is salted and kind of like feta. But the closest cheese to cheddar cheese is "kaşar (kashar) cheese". But no we don't use it in pasta. We eat cheese for breakfast not with pasta. Usually. That's why cheese and pasta are not very compatible in our culture. However I love it. 

As much as I love the easy Mac N' Cheese (you know the ones in the box), I prefer to cook my own. Not because it is very hard to find them here in Turkey (just kidding it is also a reason) but because it is much healthier to cook my own. I know that 5 minute pasta sounds tempting however when you cook your own it is definitely more fun than just stirring a mixture in a box or a can. I never ever buy things that I can cook myself at home. For example; chicken broth or soup or even frozen pizza. That's not my thing. I am the type that always prefers the homemade. Maybe that’s why I love cooking so much.