Four generations, ranging in age from 6 to 94, gather at Rosemarie Swindell’s home in Auburn every year after Thanksgiving to socialize, eat lunch and make ravioli from Swindell’s mother’s recipe.

Carmella (Dolly) Reno of Worcester, 94, always observed Christmas with Italian regional delicacies,according to her daughter. Ravioli is just one of the many recipes passed down through generations.

Swindell, her mother and Swindell’s daughter, Mary Beth Swindell Mullane of Suffield, Conn., and her daughter, Sophia Rose Mullane, spend the morning making ravioli, just as Reno has done since her family moved to the Grafton Hill area of Worcester in the late 1930s.

I was fortunate to be a guest in Swindell’s home for the annual ravioli ritual. It was a memorable day of holiday reminiscing about how food shapes special memories. A fantastic lunch included the homemade ravioli and a delicious chicken escarole soup. It was a party in itself.

The story of Dolly Reno’s ravioli begins with the pasta dough. The consistency can’t be too dry, she said. “Rolled out not too thin, not too thick.”

At times, Reno needs a little help with her reach across the large island in her daughter’s kitchen, but certainly not with her deft, confident cooking.

“I can’t move around too fast,” said Reno, “but I can still roll the dough for macaroni and ravioli. Sometimes when I’m out and I have what they call `homemade ravioli,’ I want to scream, `At what store did you buy this?’ There’s a big difference between homemade and the frozen stuff.”

One of Swindell’s most vivid childhood memories of Christmas is of her mother in the kitchen.

“Christmas morning, my father would take my two brothers and me to visit the family while my mother cooked and readied the house for guests later in the day,” said Swindell.

“We spent 15 to 20 minutes, maybe more, in every home we visited. We exchanged gifts, ate and talked. It was a long day, and if I recall, not too exciting for the kids. We wanted to be home with our toys.”

Her parents, both Italian, are from large families. Her father, the late Frank Reno, was one of 10 children. Her mother came from a family of 11.

While not everyone who is Italian celebrates the same way, or with the same dishes, each has its own recipes and rituals, said Swindell. The best known is the Feast of the Seven Fishes celebrated on Christmas Eve. The legendary repast is filled with seafood served in every style imaginable, said Swindell, who for the past 15 years has carried on the family tradition.

The selection of dishes that Swindell makes for Christmas Eve has not changed through the years. “There’s usually so much food you hardly can find room for a cookie for dessert,” she said.

Her Christmas entertaining always includes four of her father’s siblings, who are in their 80s and 90s.

“Growing up, we see our mothers, grandmothers and other relatives cook, but you really don’t think of how much work is involved,” said Swindell. “It hits you when you take over their jobs. Preparation, especially our Christmas Eve, is very time-consuming and a ton of work for the cook. I think time is one of the reasons why many people today prefer casual holiday meals with family and friends. Or, it could be that they just don’t have the energy.”

Swindell usually prepares some holiday food, such as long-simmering tomato sauce (gravy), sausage, meatballs and beef braciole, ahead of time.

Several weeks before Christmas, she heads out to her cousin’s home, where eight to 10 women make macaroni for Christmas Eve. “We freeze the macaroni, but we don’t tell my mother,” said Swindell.

Swindell and her husband, Harold, have been married 45 years. They now spend Christmas Day with their daughter, Mary Beth, and her husband, John, and their two children, Sophia Rose, 6, and Santo Rocco, 3.

The Swindells’ son, Sean P. Swindell, resides in Colorado Springs, Colo., with his wife, Jerri Lynn, and their two children, Nicholas, 13, and Hannah, 7.

“I think for a lot of us the holiday season is a time when we strive to recreate the traditions, the food and the family togetherness that we enjoyed in childhood,” said Swindell. “It doesn’t matter who you are, or what holiday you celebrate.”

Dolly Reno’s Ravioli

Dough

4 cups flour

2 eggs, beaten

1 teaspoon salt

Water, -1/2 cup or more if necessary

Filling, see recipe

Mound flour in the center of a large board. Make a well in the middle and add beaten eggs, salt and small amount of water. Begin to incorporate the flour, starting with the inner rim of the well. The dough will come together when half of the flour is incorporated. Keep working the dough until all the flour is incorporated.

The dough should be smooth. Divide dough into four equal pieces. Roll the dough, one part at a time, into a very large circle. Use a large work area because you want the circle to be at least 20 to 24 inches wide. With a pastry cutter, working across the circle, cut strips about 2-1/2 inches wide.

Place 1 rounded teaspoon of cooled filling, about 2 inches apart, onto half of the strip. Moisten the edges of the dough with water. Fold the other half of the dough up over filling. Cut between the rows of filling to form a 1-inch square of ravioli, pressing the edges with a fork to seal. Seal edges well. Repeat with remaining dough and filling. Check to make sure the edges are well-sealed before cooking.

Cook the ravioli in boiling water for 10 minutes. Ravioli will float to the top when cooked, so be careful not to overcrowd the pot. Lift the ravioli from the water with a large strainer or slotted spoon. Plate the pasta, top with your favorite gravy and grated cheese, if desired. Makes about 100 ravioli.

Note: The ravioli will be heavier than the ones you purchase in the supermarket. Also, making ravioli for some cooks can be an arduous process. But the taste is unbeatable.

Filling

1 pound ground pork, cooked and drained

2 pounds ricotta cheese

3 eggs

1 cup grated pecorino cheese

Fresh parsley, chopped, about -1/4 cup

Salt, to taste

In saute pan, cook ground pork. Drain and set aside to cool.

Mix ricotta cheese, salt, eggs, pecorino cheese, pork and parsley. Blend all ingredients.

There are many versions of the Italian dish braciole. Here’s an easy recipe that features flank steak. Several local cooks have made it with great results. The original recipe is from Giada De Laurentiis and the Food Network. Simple Tomato Sauce accompanies the dish, or you can use amarinara sauce. Simple Tomato Sauce can top ravioli or other pasta dishes.

Braciole

-1/2 cup dried Italian-style bread crumbs

1 garlic clove, minced

2/3 cup grated Pecorino Romano cheese

1/3 cup grated provolone cheese

2 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley leaves

4 tablespoons olive oil

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 1-1/2 pound flank steak

1 cup dry white wine

3-1/4 cups Simple Tomato Sauce, recipe follows

Blend the first five ingredients in bowl. Stir in 2 tablespoons of the oil. Season mixture with salt and pepper; set aside.

Lay the flank steak flat on work surface. Sprinkle bread crumb mixture evenly over the steak to cover the top evenly. Starting at one short end, roll up the steak as for a jelly roll to enclose the filling completely. Using butcher’s twine, tie the steak roll to secure. Sprinkle the meat with salt and pepper.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil in heavy large ovenproof skillet over medium heat. Add the braciole and cook until browned on all sides, about 8 minutes. Add the wine to the pan and bring to a boil. Stir in the tomato sauce. Cover partially with foil and bake until the meat is almost tender, turning the braciole and basting with the sauce every 30 minutes. After 1 hour, uncover and continue baking until the meat is tender, about 30 minutes longer. The total cooking time is about 1-1/2 hours.

Remove the braciole from the sauce. Using a large sharp knife, cut the braciole crosswise and diagonally into 1.2-inch thick slices. Transfer the slices to plates. Spoon sauce over and serve. Makes 4 servings.

Simple Tomato Sauce

-1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1 small onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1 stalk celery, chopped

1 carrot, chopped

2 (32-ounce) cans crushed tomatoes

4 to 6 basil leaves

2 dried bay leaves

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, optional

In large casserole pot, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic and saute until soft and translucent, about 2 minutes. Add celery and carrot and season with salt and pepper. Saute until all the vegetables are soft, about 5 minutes. Add tomatoes, basil and bay leaves and reduce

heat to low. Cover and simmer for 1 hour or until thick. Remove bay leaves and taste for seasoning. If sauce tastes too acidic, add unsalted butter, 1 tablespoon at a time, to round out the flavor.

Pour half the tomato sauce into the bowl of a food processor. Process until smooth. Continue with remaining tomato sauce.

If not using all the sauce, allow it to cool completely and pour 1 to 2 cup portions into freezer bags. Freeze for up to six months. Makes 6 cups.

ART: PHOTOS

CUTLINE: (1) Above, Carmella (Dolly) Reno presses together ravioli. Four generations gather to make the traditional holiday pasta. (2) Opposite page, Rosemarie Swindell, her daughter, Mary Beth Swindell Mullane, and granddaughter, Sophia Rose Mullane, make pasta dough. (3) Perfect pasta dough – not too thin, not too thick – is the secret to Dolly Reno’s ravioli. From left, Rosemarie Swindell, Sophia Rose Mullane and Mary Beth Swindell Mullane. (4) The finished product.

PHOTOG: PHOTOGRAPHY BY TOM RETTIG

Serving Per Recipe: 4Nutritional Info

In this article, you will find two garlic bread recipes: one using butter and another using olive oil.

Ingredients

Butter version:

• 1 baguette
• 5 cloves of garlic
• 7 oz (200g) butter
• 3 tbsp parsley, chopped
• Salt and pepper

Olive oil version:

• Bread stick (preferably French)
• Garlic cloves, at least 2 cloves or as many as desired
• Olive oil
• Garlic powder or paste

Steps

Garlic bread with butter

1. 

   Preheat the oven. Set the temperature of the oven to 175ºC (325ºF/ gas mark 3.5).

2. 

   Make the garlic butter. Spoon the butter into a small bowl.

   • 

     Place some of the garlic cloves into the crusher, squeeze the handle tightly down and scrape off the crushed garlic into the bowl. Continue this process until all the garlic has been crushed.

   • 

     Pour in the parsley. Season with salt and pepper and stir well.

3. 

   Slice and fill. Place the baguette onto the chopping board and cut across diagonally, into 2-3cm (3/4 inch to an inch) slices, without cutting completely through the bread.

   • 

     Create a gap between the slices.

   • 

     Add a dollop of the garlic butter, and smooth it down with the butter knife.

   • 

     Finally, spread any remaining butter over the top of the baguette.

4. 

   Wrap in foil. Unroll the aluminum foil and tear off a large enough piece to wrap the baguette. Place the garlic bread into the center of the foil.

   • 

     Wrap up the garlic bread. Seal the ends well.

5. 

   Bake. Place the baguette into the center of the oven and bake for ten minutes. Turn it over, bake for a further 10 minutes and remove it from the oven. Remove it after the time is up.

6. 

   Serve. Unwrap the garlic bread.

   • 

     Cut through into slices and serve.

Garlic bread with olive oil

1. Choose your preferred bread. French bread (the long loaf/baguette) works best but chunkier bread can also work provided it has enough soft surface.
2. Make the garlic and olive oil mixture. In a small bowl, mix crushed garlic with olive oil, and let it sit for a few minutes.
3. Cut the bread into slices without cutting right through. Use a brush to moisten the bread with the olive oil mixture.
4. Sprinkle on garlic powder. There should be about enough to lightly cover the entire surface, but not to the point where it falls off when you invert the bread.
5. Place the bread in a toaster oven or conventional oven on an ungreased cookie tray at 350ºF/180ºC. Bake or toast for about 10 minutes or until lightly browned.
6. 

   Serve. Unwrap the bread and serve with pasta or soup.

Variations

1. Consider varying the garlic and butter or olive oil mixes as follows:
   • Add fresh herbs to the mix. Chop the herbs finely. Or use dried herbal mixes to taste.
   • Sprinkle parmesan cheese over the garlic butter. This provides a more intense, cheesy flavor.
   • Use half butter/half olive oil in the second method above for a better toast-like result.
   • Try sprinkling on onion powder or chili powder for a new twist.
   • Sprinkle freshly cracked pepper over the top of the garlic butter or oil mix.
2. 

   Make a delicious bruschetta. Spread the olive oil and garlic mixture on bread, then top the slices with chopped onion and tomato. Add a few shavings of parmesan cheese if desired.

Video

Tips

• The olive oil version is ideal for people who cannot eat dairy; just be sure that the bread is dairy-free as well.
• If garlic cloves are unavailable, you can use just garlic powder.
• These recipes will serve 2 to 3 people. Double or triple the ingredients to serve more.

Warnings

• Take the usual precautions when using an oven to avoid burning yourself. Always unwrap the foil with care, as hot steam will escape and the bread inside will be very hot to touch initially.
• The baking pan will be very hot when you remove it, so place it on a heat-safe surface until it cools and use oven mitts to move it.
• Be aware that people may have garlic allergies or simply dislike it, so ensure you ask your guests before serving this at a dinner party. It’s a good idea to have plain bread or herb bread available as a stand-by for such guests.

Things You’ll Need

• 1 bowl
• 1 garlic crusher
• 1 butter knife
• 1 bread knife
• Cooking/pastry brush
• Aluminum foil
• 1 chopping board
• 1 spoon
• Baking pan/cookie sheet
• Oven mitts
• Serving plate or basket

Related wikiHows

• How to Easily Clean a Garlic Press
• How to Make Your Very Own Garlic Bagel Chips
• How to Make Garlic Hummus
• How to Roast Garlic
• How to Quickly Get Rid of Onion/garlic Bad Breath

Sources and Citations

• Source of butter recipe, Videojug, http://www.videojug.com/film/how-to-make-garlic-bread – shared with permission.

How to Make Bread Machine Pasta

Edited byMaluniu and 9 others

Most homemade pasta recipes involve mixing the pasta with your hands, which can be quite messy. If you have a bread machinelaying around, you can make it do most of the work for you!

 

 

 

EditIngredients

• 1 cup flour
• 1 large egg
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
• 1 to 2 tablespoons water

EditSteps

1. 1

   Put all of the ingredients into a bread machine. Start with 1 tablespoon of water and add more later if the consistency of the dough is too rough. You can set it on the dough setting but most breads start out kneading anyway and you will not run it for its full cycle.

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   • Optional: Use a flexible spatula and push the ingredients toward the propeller until it the flour becomes dough. Use caution as the machine can break a wooden spatula. This will help speed up the process of kneading the dough.
2. 2

   Add additional water, if needed, after about 5 minutes of mixing the pasta dough. Examine the dough and see if you need to add all or part of the remaining tablespoon of water. You’re looking for a clean, smooth ball of dough that looks like something you could work with your hands. If you put in too much of the remaining water, the dough will be too soft and will stick to the sides. If you have done this, try adding pinches of flour to rebuild the consistency until you get a ball again.
3. 3

   Allow between 10 and 20 minutes for the dough to be mixed. When the time is up, turn off the bread machine and unplug it. Take a sheet of plastic wrap and pick up the ball from the machine, wrapping it in the plastic. Your skin need not touch the dough. Set this wrapped dough aside to settle for 20 minutes.
4. 4
   

    Wait 20 minutes for the dough to rest.

   Wait 20 minutes for the dough to rest.
5. 5

   Open the plastic and work the dough with your hands. If it feels a little sticky, dip your hands or the dough into some flour and pat the dough until it’s no longer sticky. Break the dough into four or more smaller balls.
6. 6

   Cut the dough into strips or use a pasta maker. If you have a pasta maker you are ready to go. Run the dough through the rollers at the widest setting then work your way to the thinnest. Each setting will make your strip longer and wider. If the strips become too wide, fold them over and run through again. To save time you could use every other thickness setting as you work your way to the thinnest. If your goal is lasagna, don’t bother with the thinnest setting, it may be too thin.
7. 7

   Start cutting pasta strips. By the time you’ve made all the strips, the first strip should be dry enough to cut. The strip should not be sticky at all. If it is, it could cause problems with the cutter. As each strip is cut into noodles hang them to dry more.

   • If you don’t have a pasta maker flatten the balls of dough with a rolling pin then use a pizza cutter to cut into noodles. You can use this to make lasagna, ravioli or egg noodles should work and you can certainly experiment with twisting and folding your dough to invent your own noodle.
   • You can also Use a Paper Shredder as a Pasta Machine!
8. 8

   Cook the pasta or refrigerate the noodles shortly after making them. Standard pasta cooking directions apply to this dough. Boil for 3 to 5 minutes in slightly salted water.

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EditVideo

 

EditTips

• You can use all purpose flour and corn oil if you want. You can also use semolina flour and olive oil. Semolina is harder wheat and gives a nicer texture to the pasta.
• If you don’t have a bread machine, a food processor will also work fine. You can use the regular chopping blade if you don’t have a dough blade.

Ingredients

• 2 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
• 3/4 cup steak sauce
• 1 (12 ounce) package fusilli pasta
• 2 cubes chicken bouillon
• 1 Vidalia onion, diced
• 2 avocados – peeled, pitted and diced
• 1 cup halved cherry tomatoes
• 1 cup Ranch-style salad dressing

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/2409236

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/5687102

First of all, your attempt at Italian food will solely be pretty much as good as the pasta you use to make it with. When buying on your pasta be sure you are buying an excellent model that uses only high quality ingredients. As an example, if shopping for dried pasta it is best to solely purchase manufacturers that use just semolina flour. Some other type of dried pasta will taste like counterfeit Italian food. A great high quality pasta could have a tough surface. The feel of the pasta will determine if it is going to be able to maintain onto the sauce that it’s served with. Clean pasta is an instant indicator that you’re coping with an inferior brand. It is usually important that the pasta be dense and heavy for its size.

If the pasta is just too gentle it is going to disintegrate when it’s cooked. You want to make certain to keep away from the mass produced and low cost pasta; in any other case your Italian food won’t be satisfying. When shopping for recent pasta you wish to just remember to pay attention to the expiration date, not like dried pasta, recent pasta doesn’t have a long shelf life. Take a look at the pasta and if it looks cheap then it is. If it seems to be to have a good high quality colour and texture and is heavy, then that’s the pasta that gives you the very best tasting Italian food. The most effective guess when shopping for pasta is to see if there is a bakery that makes a speciality of Italian food. Many such bakeries make pasta contemporary day by day and the quality will far out do anything that you’ll discover at the store. One of the simplest ways to get genuine Italian meals is to get it from Italians.

Once you have purchased your pasta you might be midway to enjoying good Italian food. An important thing to remember when cooking pasta is to not overcook it. Mushy pasta is rarely good. For good tasting Italian meals you need the pasta to be tender, but firm to the teeth. Fresh pasta will take much less time to cook than dried pasta. You want to ensure that and use a large pot with an abundance of water. Bring the water to a boil and then liberally add salt. If you happen to do not salt the water then the pasta will taste bland in comparison with the sauce it’s served with. After you’ve got salted the water it’s time to add the pasta. When you have loads of water that is brought to a vigorous boil earlier than adding the pasta then you definitely shouldn’t have issues with the pasta sticking and it should cookdinner evenly. Good Italian food sauce makes use of the water that was used to boil the pasta, so be certain that to avoid wasting a cup of it so as to add to the sauce. Additionally, don’t ever rinse the pasta after you’ve got cooked it, in any other case you may be stripping away the flavour of your Italian food.

Hopefully these tips will assist you to make higher Italian food. If you have not tried getting ready Italian meals your self then give it a try beginning with probably the most elementary Italian food, pasta. Author Resource:- In case you desire more info in regard to diet for cholesterolswing by the author’s web site without delay. Article From Base Articles ]]> http://bestpastarecipes.com/?feed=rss2&p=17 0