LUXOMME

  

RAVIOLI di RICOTTA

________________________

I like challenges. Things that I've never done before.

For me today, this was ravioli. 

If you ever drop by my place spontaneously and I offer to whip up a meal for you, 9/10 times it will be Italian food. It's something that I will always have supplies for in my pantry. It's quick, delicious and so versatile. 

Because my usual repertoire is limited to the simple manicotti, lasagna or the even less-fuss spaghetti, I decided to expand myself and venture out into the world of ravioli, which I knew would be a challenge and a half. 

They look unassuming enough, tender pockets of pasta stuffed with the the yummiest of fillings. Mushroom and spinach, basil and tomato feta, if you can name it, you can probably stuff it!

The problem with ravioli is that as simple as it appears, there's actually a lot of technique involved. Firstly, the pasta must be rolled out to the perfect thickness - not too thin, not too thick. Enough that it'll hold the filling together, but not so much that you feel like you're biting into a perogie. Secondly, the seal is important, you want a firm seal that is even around the filling. And lastly, you want to cook your ravioli just so that it's perfectly al dente. 

Since this was my first time making ravioli, I decided to keep it simple. A honey ricotta filling with basil, tossed in a browned butter butternut squash sauce. 

Although it took me an entire 5 hours to make, because clearly I have nothing else to do with my time these days, it was completely worth it. Canoe's Lobster Agnolotti is a tough one to beat, but these turned out better than I expected. More importantly, going through the process was a really good experience and a fun hands on project. 

My pasta sheets were a little thicker than I would have liked, mainly because I hand rolled each one, but I will toot my own horn and say the filling was excellent and the sauce was surperb - would definitely recommend!

At the end of the night, my dinner guests left tummies filled and very satisfied. Good conversation, good company and good food.

If you want to try this out yourself, I've left the recipe down below.

Invest in a pasta roller though, if you don't want sore arms like me.

naomi

___

Naomi's Ravioli di Ricotta

Stuffing

2 cups ricotta

1/2 cup fresh Parmesan

1/4 cup fresh shredded basil

2 tbsp honey

2 Eggs

pinch of salt and pepper

Pasta Sheet

4 cups all purpose flour

3 Eggs

Olive oil

Browned Butter Sauce

1.5 cups cubed butternut squash

1/4 cup butter

sprinkle of fresh sage and parmesan shavings to finish 

KINTON RAMEN

___

This is a Summer post because I'm trying to cling on to the last bits of sunshine before Fall comes and then goes full Winter. 

The only thing I really like cold in life are my noodles. It's almost as if I have an invisible radar for them that inevitably lands me in a restaurant with a bowl of chilled noodles in front of me. My favorites in no particular order are zaru udon, zaru soba, jjolmyeon, naengmyun and of course, ramen. 

Derek and I stumbled into this restaurant on a particular hot day as we were strolling along Queen St. W in Toronto. We had plans to go for kbbq instead at midnight for the night owl special, but feeling famished at around 5, which is usually when we eat dinner, we decided to make a pit stop at Kinton for something small to tide us over until the evening. 

Then we ended up with a huge basket of kaarage (Japanese fried chicken), a huge glass of beer (for him), and the most generous bowl of chilled noodles I had ever laid my eyes on.

It came with a side of dipping sauce and some grated daikon radish, sliced green onions and a quail egg. The instructions that came with the order said to mix the vegetables with the egg and then combine it into the sauce before taking bite sized portions of noodles and lightly dipping it into the mixture. 

After some deliberation about whether or not to include the raw egg, we finally dug in. The noodles were cooked perfectly al dente and chilled but not too cold. The seaweed imparted a different dimension of flavor and the aroma of roasted sesame seeds finished off the perfect bite. 

The chicken kaarage was okay too. 

I'm not a fan of Kinton's hot ramen options, but they definitely know how to do a cold noodle, perfect for a hot Summer day. Do note that Kinton has multiple locations and each one has their own specialty menu items dependent on location and season, so not everything may be available all the time, but there's always something worth trying.

And yes - we included the raw egg. 

How could you not.

naomi

___

For more reviews and information about Kinton Ramen, please visit the following link;

 

CANOE

____________

I still vividly remember the first time I stepped foot into Canoe.

I had just finished my second year of University at Queen's and my girlfriend and I had spent the entire morning at Yorkdale window shopping. Exhausted, we decided to stop for some late lunch and both of us had had heard about this restaurant on the 54th floor of the TD tower on our radar, so we dragged out tired selves all the way over and I vaguely remember one of us being in uggs and the other wearing flip flops, but we felt so grown up and fancy (and clearly out of place) amongst the suits and pearls. 

Fast forward 4 years later, Canoe still holds a special place in my heart as one of my first fine-dining experiences, and I've since graduated from foam flip flops to plastic ones.

Some things never change.

My friend's from Winnipeg had just landed the night before, so some unpretentious fine-dining is an easy start to the day, but we definitely did a bit of pre-fooding at Beavertails down by the waterfront - which deserves a post of its own.

Canoe is a great way to show off the city because it not only showcases the best and freshest Ontario has to offer in terms of ingredients, but it also had the most breathtaking view of the CN tower, which was perfect because I had no intention of actually taking them up the CN tower (gotta fit that tourist sightseeing in somewhere). Often times though these gimmicky places don't have the greatest food, but Canoe completely shatters that stereotype.

They had flown in just in time for Summerlicious and it was too tempting not to take advantage of their menu. As always, Canoe exceeded expectations not just in the food served but also in service and atmosphere.

For those of you who aren't familiar with Summerlicious, it's a city wide restaurant event where eaters can go around to try different tasting menus at a set price. Some sets will be more expensive than others, depending on which restaurant you choose, but universally they will usually be cheaper than going to the restaurant any other day and ordering three courses on the menu.

The girls and I each chose different apps, entrees and desserts for each course, just so we could taste a bit of everything.

Not only were the portions generous, the flavor combinations were so unique that it felt like pure umami in the mouth. Think smoked trout paired with bitter nori.

My three favorite courses were the cured rainbow trout, haiwa gwaii albacore tuna, and lemon tart. Protip: If you make reservation early enough, you can request certain off the menu items that they will re-create for you depending on the availability. These three items are worth the pre-book and their guest relations manager Chloe is an absolute gem.

The full Summerlicious 2017 menu can be found here for Canoe.

Canoe outdoes itself again.


naomi