Mushroom Walnut Ravioli

One of the things that’s really tough when it comes to city living is grocery shopping.

Whatever you buy you have to be able to carry home, because unlike the suburban dwellers, us city folk don’t have a car trunk to transport the cans of chick peas, boxes of pasta and gallons of milk.

This means a bit of strategizing goes into my grocery shopping ventures. I try not to buy milk and orange juice at the same time, or do a restock on canned goods when i need to buy eggs (can be utterly disastrous).

The other grocery conundrum is while there may be a fabulous deal on cereal or pancake mix, and while it is true that these things have a long shelf life and can be bought in large quantities, my itty bitty city kitchen cannot hold large quantities of anything.

So, what’s a city chef to do?

Well, I’ll tell you.

Start thinking about how you can buy just a few things and transform them into one or maybe even two fantastically flavorful meals. That’s exactly what this dinner is. Three ingredients (plus butter and olive oil, which I always have) that go a long way when it comes to flavor, won’t take up a lot of room and aren’t too heavy to carry home.

  • Ravioli
  • Mushrooms
  • Walnuts

Bring a pot of water to boil and cook your ravioli according to package instructions.

In a skillet, drop in sliced mushrooms, some butter and some olive oil (I never measure butter and oil, so use your best judgment)

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Cook until the mushrooms are browned.

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And then add in your chopped walnuts.

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Cook until the walnuts are warmed, stirring so they don’t brown.

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Drain your ravioli and top with the mushroom walnut mix. For extra decadence, you can add a sprinkling of parmesan cheese.

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Decadent, indulgent, and super easy.

Ravioli in Cream Sauce

 

 

If you are on a diet, avert your eyes.

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Anything that contains those three ingredients is going to be amazingly delicious and amazingly bad for you. But, it’s the holiday season. So I think it’s okay to indulge a little.

Or a lot.

When I was a kid and mom asked me what I wanted for my birthday dinner, I invariably requested tortellinis in the white sauce. As a child, that white sauce was magic. It was creamy and yummy and delicious.

As an adult, I still think it’s magic. But now, I know the magic words.

Butter, heavy cream and parmesan cheese.

This is a great quick sauce for those nights when you could use something fast, warm, comforting, and slightly naughty.

So, unleash your inner bad girl!

Start by melting a couple tablespoons of butter in  pan.

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Butter melting into a pool. Is there anything more decadent that could happen in a kitchen?

When the butter’s melted add in a couple of tablespoons of heavy cream and stir.

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Lower the heat and add a big handful of parmesan cheese and give the pepper mill a few big turns.

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Stir. I love the way a white sauce looks spotted with black pepper.

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As a child I loved this over tortellini. I’m using ravioli tonight, because that’s what I have. If you let the sauce thicken a touch more, this would be great over spaghetti, too.

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It’s good to be bad, no?