I started the night before. Actually, I made the food plan on Wednesday. Listing what exactly was on the menu, items to purchase, approximate cost, and serving utensils needed. Friday at around 3, after my meetings were done and I could concentrate, I began making the ravioli. I started by roasting the sweet potatoes, and while roasting, I made the pasta. Now cooking ravioli for 30 is a big task. I will not lie to you. I had to start with some math. I used Marcella Hazan's Essentials of Italian Cooking cookbook, which is a wonderful resource if you like authentic Italian food. Her recipe for sweet potato ravioli says it feeds six. So I multiplied all of the ingredients by five. I used 9.5 lbs. of sweet potatoes, and a total of 15 eggs for the pasta. I refrigerated the pasta dough while I made the rest of the filling.
Because several of the attendees were either unknown to me, or known vegetarians, I left the procuitto out of out recipe. They were still amazing. I also slightly altered the recipe by adding a bit more ameretti cookies (I added an additional 5, so one more than called for in the recipe. Other than that, this recipe is not my doing, it is the mighty Hazan's. In the end, this recipe made 240 ravioli, which was plenty for 30 hungry adults with 2 servings to have for another time. So yes, an average person ate 8 of these ravioli.
Lucky for me, I had help in this endeavor. By about 6, I had the pasta dough and filling made, had done a preliminary clean up, and had started the custard for a lovely egg nog tiramisu trifle (recipe adapted from Epicurious.com). This is when help rushed in. My dear friend Jan saved the day. For the next 4 hours, we rolled out dough and stuffed the pasta. One of us worked the roller, while the other, filled.
The question was, "how do we keep the ravioli from sticking?" I had had a disaster with this before, so was prepared. Here's what I did. I put parchment down on 2 large cookie sheets and prepared a place in my basement freezer large enough to hold them completely flat. Upon the parchment, I placed a good amount of semolina flour. We put one layer of ravioli on a cookie sheet and placed that sheet immediately in the freezer while working on filling the next sheet pan. When the second pan was done, we would replace it with the first, put down more parchment and semolina, and make another layer. By the time each layer was done, the one in the freezer was frozen enough not to smash with the weight of the new layer. It worked out perfectly! I was able to take them from the freezer just before cooking the next day. Not one was smashed or stuck. Brilliant! (not me, the idea.).
With the filling for the tiramisu done, and ravioli completed, the evening finally came to rest around 2 am. Yes, that's 11 hours of work, 4 of which was done with another set of able hands. But, most of the work was done, leaving only final work on the day of the party. Knowing I had my friend Greg coming in, a presentation on campus to do, and a lunch with another friend, I knew I would not have a lot of time on Saturday, so in the morning, I finished the tiramisu (except the artistic flourish Peter would accomplish just before the party), made the salad dressing, browned the butter and sage, and finished prepping the bread (yes, the bread that failed).
For this dinner, I made what I call my "auspicious salad of five" (auspicious due to odd number of ingredients, 5, well, because it has five main ingredients). When I plate this salad, I do everything in fives. For this crowd, I just made a huge bowl, using 1.5 lb. mixed baby greens, 2 c. toasted pecans, 4 thinly sliced red pears, 1/2 large red onion, sliced paper thin, and 1/2 lb. Italian Gorgonzola (which I actually kept on the side given the number of children present). I tossed this salad with a simple lemon vinegrette, salt and pepper. I also attempted, but failed to make ciabatta (don't quite know what happened, but it was just not right, so I sent a friend out to buy some bread--failures happen). The dessert was a beautiful tiramisu topped with a gorgeous work of bittersweet chocolate art, thanks to my friend Peter.
All that was left was to finish the salad, put out appetizers (I made crostini with goat cheese and an orange-scented tapenade, and also had mahon (a lovely Spanish cheese) and served that along side a bowl of my red pepper habenero jelly), baked the bread (or failed to--it never rose nor browned), set the water (2 large canning pots) to boil, and warm the brown butter sage sauce. You may not want to do this for 30, but for 6? Easy. I encourage you to try it. Everyone loved the dinner, and I think you will too. The ravioli are delicate, slightly sweet, and definitely savory, with a hint of richness without being cloying.
Pasta Dough (enough for about 50 ravioli, serving approximately 6--but really, if you are going through all this trouble, at least double the recipe and make enough to freeze on a wax papered sheet pan before removing to a plastic zip top bag)
3 large eggs
1 T. milk
approximately 1 2/3 cups unbleached flour
Directions:
If using a stand mixer: place the eggs and milk in the mixer with the paddle attachment. Turn to #2 and mix to break eggs (may need to help by breaking yolks with a fork). Add the flour little by little until you have a dough ball that does not stick to the sides or bottom of the bowl. Replace the paddle with the dough hook. Knead on #2 for about 2 minutes. NOTE: If you are multiplying this recipe it is important that you do so in batches. Not even my stand mixer, which is the largest Kitchen Aid makes for home use, has the torque to pull off a larger batch without overworking your mixer. I ruined my mother's 1960's Kitchen Aid by doing this, so trust me here. Wrap your dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate until you are ready to use it. If you are not going to use it within a few hours, expect that the dough will turn an ugly, but edible grey.
Filling:
1 3/4 pounds oranged fleshed sweet potatoes
3 amaretti cookies
1 egg yolk
3 T. prosciutto, finely chopped (optional)
1 1/2 cups freshly grated parmesano reggiano
3 T. parsley, chopped very finely
1/8-1/4 t. freshly ground nutmeg (please don't ever use the sawdust you buy pre-grated)
salt (to taste)
black pepper (to taste)
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Pierce the potatoes a few times. Bake them in the middle of the oven for 20 minutes. Turn the oven down to 400 degrees and continue to cook until they are very tender when pierced. Turn off the oven, remove the potatoes and split in half lengthwise. Return the potatoes to the now off oven, cut side up leaving the door slightly ajar. Remove after 10 minutes when the tops have slightly dried out.
Crush the amaretti cookies to a powder using a food processor, a bag and rolling pin, or a mortar and pestle. Peel the potatoes and puree them with a food processor, food mill, or ricer. Add the cookies, egg yolk, procuitto, parmesan, parsley, nutmeg, salt and pepper. Taste and adjust seasoning.
Directions for Ravioli:
If you have rollers for your stand mixer, as I fortunately do, use them here. If you have a hand crank machine, you'll want a friend to help you crank as you feed the dough into the rollers. Start the machine on the widest setting (this means the rollers are as far apart as they go). For me, this is #1. Make a pile of flour on your countertop for dipping your dough to keep it from sticking to the rollers. Cut your dough into about 2 inch pieces (you should do this one at a time, not all at once so that the remaining dough does not dry out). Flatten the piece of dough and push it into a bed of flour that you have on your countertop. (This is going to get messy, but that's half the fun.) Feed your dough into the rollers with one hand while the machine is running. Don't worry..... Don't worry. Catch it with your other hand as it exits the rollers.
Fold the pressed pasta sheet into thirds, like an envelope. Rotate it so that the edge goes into the machine first. Run it through again on #1 (or, the widest setting). Do this until the dough is smooth. If it gets sticky, dip it in the flour. If it tears, don't panic, just press it together, dip it in flour, and start again. It's forgiving, remember?
For me, and for this batch of dough, I did this 7 times for each piece. Then, adjust your rollers to the next thinner setting (#2). Flour the flattened but somewhat thick dough. Run it through the machine once. Do not fold. Repeat this process for #3, 4, and finally 5. I like my raviolis to not be too thick, so I go to #5 or 6. Some recipes go even thinner, but I find that the filling part gets wrinkly when I do this.
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| This is Jan with a wonderful sheet of just rolled out pasta |
Now, as you roll your dough more and more thinly, it will get longer and longer. You'll need to just trust me. Catch it as it exits the machine.
When you've run it through on #5 or 6 (depending on your thickness preference), place it on a well floured flat surface. Now, here's the best part. You'll need your filling, a teaspoon, a pastry brush, a bowl of water, and a pastry or pizza cutter. Place large marble sized mounds of filling (about 3/4 t.) 3/4 inches from the edge of the pasta sheet that is facing you, running lenghwise, with 1/2 inches in between mounds. Next, brush a line of water (you don't need much) above and below the filling mounds, almost touching them. Then brush a bit of water in a line between each ravioli. Next, carefully fold the dough over the mounds, matching edges to edges. Now, here's the tricky part. Don't fear it, just roll with it. You'll get the hang of it, I promise. Starting near the center of the sets of mounds, take your fingers and press down at the seam, then cup your hand around the mound, pressing out the air as you press the dough firmly down to make the sheets adhere to each other.
Then move out from the center doing the same. Try not to get any wrinkles, but honestly, they are inevitable, particularly at first. Don't get discouraged if this happens. They will still taste great. Next use your pizza cutter to trim the bottom and to cut them apart from one another. 
Now you have some options. You can stick those cookie sheets on a freezing cold porch to freeze them (which works well in a blizzard), or just into the freezer if yours is not packed like mine. You can then put them into bags and you can have amazing ravioli anytime. Or, you can cook them. To cook them, boil a large pot of water. When it comes ot the boil, add a lot of salt so that it tastes like sea water. Go ahead, taste it. This will bring the water off the full rolling boil, which is good. Carefully add your ravioli (depending on the pot, I wouldn't do more than 30 at a time). Reduce your heat if the water starts to boil rapidly. Gently boil the ravioli, (don't freak out if a few break--sometimes they do.) stirring every minute or so, until they are tender, about 5 minutes (taste one, or a corner, to see if they are done to al dente.)
Brown Butter Sage Sauce:
5 T. good quality unsalted butter
10-12 whole sage leaves
freshly grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese
Directions:
Put the butter in a small skillet and turn to medium heat. When the butter foam subsides, and the butter's color is a gold but not yet brown, add the sage leaves. Cook for a few seconds, turning the leaves over once. Cook until the butter is a rich golden brown on the bottom and the leaves are crisp. Pour over your cooked ravioli and enjoy! Serve with freshly grated cheese if desired (oh, trust me, you'll desire it!)
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| These are the frozen ravioli just prior to dropping into boiling water |
