1 Grilled Chicken Ravioli au Gratin with Bacon

Okay.  YUM.  I was so, so excited to try this last ravioli idea out.  The method is like a traditional gratin, but using this delicious grilled chicken & herb ravioli (again, compliments of Pasta Prima.)

Ingredients:

1 package of Grilled Chicken & Mozzarella Ravioli , uncooked
1 cup shredded Swiss cheese
1 cup heavy cream
4-5 strips of cooked and chopped crispy bacon
salt & pepper
soft butter

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 F.  Butter an oven and stove top-safe au gratin or baking dish.

Next, layer the ravioli pieces evenly in the bottom of the dish, and sprinkle with fresh cracked pepper and sea salt.

Sprinkle chopped bacon on top of the ravioli.

Spread shredded Swiss on top of the bacon.

Repeat with additional ravioli, if desired, topping with more salt, pepper, bacon and cheese.  After topping with the last bit of cheese, slowly add the cream over the top.  You may or may not need the whole cup, just so it comes about halfway up the dish.

Set the entire dish over a medium-low flame on the stove, and bring to just barely a bubble.  As soon as you see that, take it off and pop it in the hot oven.

Bake for about 35-45 minutes or until the top is golden brown and bubbling gently.  If it bubbles more than gently, turn down the heat so that the sauce doesn't break.

Voila!

Creamy, cheesy yumminess!  Serve and top with a bit of parsley or thyme on top.  The melted Swiss top is crunchy and amazing just by itself.  I'd love to try this method out with other ravioli fillings too, like spinach.  Easy and delicious, comfort food at its finest.

0 Ham, Swiss & Chive Braid (and Iceland pictures)

Today for lunch I made a really simple dish that was just minutes to put together.  If I had had some spinach or broccoli, I would have also added some.

Ingredients:

sheet of croissant dough or puff pastry
2 Tbls snipped chives
1/4 cup cubed baked ham
handful shredded Swiss cheese
pepper to taste

Pre-heat oven to 375.

Take a sheet of croissant dough and lay it out on your baking sheet.  Going down the long side, make some perpendicular cuts for the "braids" all the way down, but leave a solid portion in the center so that your filling can be spooned on top.  Oh if there ever was a post that needed the step-by-step photos...sorry guys!

Toss the filling ingredients lightly (I just did this with my fingers right on the chopping board) and spoon it into the center of the dough.  Start at one end and "braid" the cut pieces by alternating one side to the other, slightly overlapping.

Bake for about 12-13 minutes at 375 or until the top is nice and golden brown.  (Please excuse the scuzzy-looking pan...I call it patina!)

Okay, now for some pictures from our short stay in Iceland.  We had a marvelous 8-hour tour of the Golden Circle with GTI Tours.  Amazing, that's all I can say.  See for yourself.

Running up an extinct volcano for a rock specimen for her rock collection.

Cracks in the continental plates.  We stood on three different continental plates that day.

Sampling the glacier water.

Yes, the water really WAS this color of blue.  Like nothing I'd ever seen before.

In front of a huge waterfall.  (The rainbow is 100% real.)

Icelandic ponies.

Quaint old church.

You may be wondering if we ate there.  Why yes, we did!  However, the food was terrible, and even though I took some pictures, I won't post them.  We should have just eaten the Icelandic specialty, which is lamb (also whale, but my conscience would never let me try it.)  We instead had Italian (I was out-voted.)  Not good, but we didn't visit Iceland for the food. ;)

3 French Cooking Day

Another busy and fun cooking weekend!  I had my girlfriends over Friday for a French cooking day.  We became Julia Child acolytes and made her boeuf bourguignon, (which I just can't get enough practice at) gratin Jurassien (baked scalloped potatoes with Swiss cheese.  To.Die.For.  I may or may not have had 1/4 of it all by myself...) and tarte Tatin with organic apples and pears (which my brother-in-law made for us since he is the fabulous baker of the family.)  What an amazing dinner with the best of friends and family.

The Boeuf.

The Gratin.

The Tarte.

The Delicious.

I encourage you to give one or more of these a try - there is something here for everyone. The boeuf and the gratin are gluten-free (omit the flour in the boeuf or use a substitute), the gratin and tarte are vegetarian, and all of them are unbelievably delicious, and I guarantee you'll have a happy family around the dinner table.  Even better because almost all my ingredients are locally sourced, from the grass-fed beef and bacon I picked up from my local butcher shop, to the organic fruits, vegetables and herbs from my CSA.  Support local and whole foods!

Bon Appetit!