Oven Roasted Tuscan Frites

"In a dark time, the eye begins to see." (Theodore Roethke) As each day goes by, my perspective on what really matters to me is slowly beginning to shift. Kindness is one of those things that has always mattered to me. The genuine, unselfish kind. Doing something for someone else just because it makes you feel good or brings your heart pure joy. Small or large, the size of the kindness doesn't matter. Knowing you may have brought a smile to a friend's or stranger's face does. Lately, everyday around here my heart feels an even greater need to do some random act of kindness. Having moments of experiencing pure joy help to make it a little easier to cope with all of the uncertainty before us. Although I will admit there have been days when I have felt so overwhelmed with the gravity of this new normal, the thought of doing even the smallest of kindnesses seems to be mentally and physically challenging. On those days it makes my heart happy just to hear of others showing genuine kindness. Like the guy who offered to pay for the gas of my nephew's girlfriend just because he wanted to thank her for being a health care worker (she happened to be wearing her hospital clothing at the gas station). Or like the woman who brought her friend all of the ingredients to make Irish Soda Bread so she could continue her tradition of making it for St. Patrick's Day. Just hearing those stories of random acts of kindness not only reaffirmed my hope for humanity, they almost made me weep. In all of this reflection, I realized my concept of kindness has shifted even further. For example, when a kindness comes with strings attached, with an agenda, or the expectation of a favor in return, well, let's just say (or maybe we agree to disagree) in this 'new normal' world, those aren't kindnesses at all. They are something completely different. Not a bad different, just different, but not to be confused with kindness or a generous heart. I can't really explain why all of this matters to me, but staying mindful of all of this just feels really important to me, especially now. However, what really matters even more to me is the need for us to keep looking for, finding, doing, and acknowledging kindnesses so we can create an even better culture, better world. One overflowing with genuine kindnesses.

And how about living in a world where french fries are not only addictively scrumptious, but healthy too? Are you thinking that healthy and french fries don't belong in the same sentence? You might be right. But what if you put oven roasted fries or frites and healthy together in the same sentence? Maybe we could all agree these words really can belong together!

What if I told you these Oven Roasted Tuscan Frites have so much flavor, you may never want to eat another 'fried' french fry again? Well I am going to tell you they do! Between the olive oil, herbs, garlic, and a little bit of Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, they are mouthwatering, deeply flavorful delicious. 

All you need to make these Oven Roasted Tuscan Frites are some Idaho russet potatoes, olive oil, fresh rosemary, fresh sage, garlic, paprika, a small amount of butter, some Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, kosher salt, and flaky sea salt. And to serve them all you need is some ketchup, garlic aoili, and/or mayonnaise. 

The keys to making crispy oven roasted frites are (1) cutting the potatoes into 1/4" matchsticks and (2) roasting them at a high (425 degrees F) temperature. 

Tossing the potatoes in olive oil adds flavors, gives color, and prevents sticking. Once tossed in olive oil, the potatoes are then tossed with the paprika and kosher salt. The fresh rosemary, fresh sage, and smashed garlic cloves get tossed in just before the pan goes into the preheated 425 degree (F) oven. After roasting the potatoes for 15-20 minutes, the potatoes are flipped and roasted for another 20 minutes. But they aren't done yet.

The roasted potatoes are tossed with softened room temperature butter along with some finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese and returned back to the oven for only 5 more minutes. Sprinkle with some flaky sea salt and get ready to be dipping your Oven Roasted Tuscan Frites into your favorite condiment! Or just eat them plain!

These frites are herby, salty, crispy, and tender! Everything a frite is supposed to be! 

This is a two condiment household. After discovering how delicious a warm frite dipped in a garlic aioli was, I permanently and without regret gave up dipping them in ketchup. However, someone else here is a ketchup monster and would think it sacrilegious if frites (or fries) weren't served with it.

I could literally gush over these Oven Roasted Tuscan Frites endlessly. But I will try to show some restraint and not describe them with every possible adjective. You are just going to have to make them! Serve them on a brown paper bag or parchment paper lined platter (or room temperature baking sheet) and watch them be disappear! Serving these Oven Roasted Tuscan Frites to your family (and someday your friends when we are no longer social distancing) will bring them a whole new level of pure, simple joy!

Recipe
Oven Roasted Tuscan Frites (inspired by the Oven Roasted Tuscan Fries recipe from Half Baked Harvest)
Serves 2-4

Ingredients
2 large Idaho russet potatoes, unpeeled, cut into 1/4" thick matchsticks
3-4 Tablespoons olive oil
3-4 sprigs of fresh rosemary
12-14 fresh sage leaves
5-6 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed
1/2 teaspoon Hungarian Paprika
Kosher salt
2 Tablespoons unsalted butter, very room temperature
3 generous Tablespoons grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
Flaky sea salt
Ketchup and/or Garlic Aoili for dipping

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees (F).
2. Place the potatoes on a large rimmed baking sheet. First toss with the olive oil, paprika, and generous pinch of kosher salt. Then toss with the rosemary, sage leaves and smashed garlic cloves. Spread the potatoes evenly on the pan, being careful to not overcrowd them.
3. Place the baking sheet in the oven and bake for 15-20 minutes.
4. Flip the potatoes and bake for another 20 minutes.
5. Toss the potatoes with the butter and grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese. Return to the oven and bake for additional 5 minutes. Potatoes should be golden, tender, and crispy.
6. Remove from the oven and sprinkle with flaky sea salt.
7. Serve immediately with ketchup, garlic aioli or mayonnaise, and some additional flaky sea salt.

Notes: (1) You can easily double this recipe. If you do, use two baking rimmed baking pans. (2) I like serving the Oven Roasted Tuscan Frites on a large piece of crumbled parchment paper. You could also serve them on a brown paper bag! (3) I removed the skins from the smashed garlic cloves, but you could leave them on.

Maple Pecan Baked Blueberry Oatmeal

While the rest of the world was out shopping for necessities like toilet paper and disinfectant wipes, I was out shopping for these necessities: unsalted butter, eggs, flour, and oatmeal. Clearly my priorities in this new normal life were not the same as everyone else's. That shouldn't surprise anyone who knows me well. Some might argue otherwise, but I think this time I got my priorities straight this time. Because, if there is a return to bartering (and most likely there will be), it's quite possible that some freshly baked homemade confections, especially ones made with chocolate, would have a pretty high trading value. But even in a bartering free world, homemade cookies and all other forms of home made deliciousness have the power to make any bad day turn into a good one. Seriously, there is nothing like a homemade cookie or a slice of homemade anything to take the edge off of being quarantined. I have a feeling if I need some toilet paper, I will be able to easily find it.

But we can't live on cookies, cakes, pies, or any other kind of homemade sweets forever. Well, a few outliers out there might be able to. So much has changed in the last couple of weeks it's likely that some of the hard and fast food rules some of us may have followed will be thrown out the window. The lines of distinction between what's a breakfast, lunch or dinner meal will be permanently blurred and forever altered. For those of us who had previously enjoyed pancakes or an egg dish for dinner, we now will have others thinking we were wise beyond our years. And for those who viewed oatmeal as only having a place at the breakfast table, well let's just say I have a feeling they might let up just a bit on their position. Especially once they taste this Maple Pecan Baked Blueberry Oatmeal. The only dilemma I would have serving it for dinner would be choosing the wine to pair it with! Because honestly I could eat this oatmeal anytime of the day. 

While talking with one of my good friends over the weekend she shared she had made a baked blueberry oatmeal dish over the weekend. Because I trust her palate, I knew I needed the recipe. But there was something a little familiar about a baked blueberry oatmeal. As it turns out the recipe she shared with me was very similar to the one I had posted to the blog three years ago. However, there were some subtle differences. I couldn't help but wonder which version might be the better one. But because I can't leave well enough alone, I made some small changes to her recipe. 

I am probably a little biased (no, that's no possible), but this Maple Pecan Baked Blueberry Oatmeal recipe I believe is a strong contender for the best baked oatmeal on the planet. 

As luck (or rather preparedness) would have it, I had all of the ingredients needed to make the Maple Pecan Baked Blueberry Oatmeal. And the amount of butter called for didn't even make a dent in my butter stash! There were some fresh blueberries in the refrigerator and some of last summer's bounty in the freezer. I have already made a note to myself to buy more blueberries this summer as I clearly didn't hoard enough of them.

The Maple Pecan Baked Blueberry Oatmeal is essentially made of three layers and a finishing touch. Blueberries on the bottom, a middle layer of the oatmeal, nuts, and spices, and the custard mixture on top. A few extra blueberries, some of the chopped toasted pecans, and a sprinkling of demerara sugar are the finishing touches made to the oatmeal before it goes into a preheated 375 degree (F) oven.

I used a combination of whole milk and heavy whipping cream to make the custard mixture, but you could easily use only whole milk. I am big believer in where there is fat there is great flavor, but you could even use a skim milk or even an almond milk if you are looking to reduce the amount of fat in your life. And if you don't have demerara sugar, then use some light brown sugar or a combination of light brown sugar and some Turbinado sugar. Just know this baked oatmeal needs that small amount of sugar.

Baking time for the Maple Pecan Baked Blueberry Oatmeal will range from 40 to 50 minutes (mine was 45 minutes). When it comes out of the oven, it is drizzled with a little melted butter. 

Oatmeal never tasted so good! Packed with maple syrup, fruit, nuts, and spices makes this baked oatmeal even more wholesome, nutritious, healthy, and nourishing. It is also incredibly hearty. I drizzled some heavy cream over it but you could serve it without it (but I am pushing for the addition of the cream) or with some yogurt. This is definitely a craveworthy oatmeal dish. I will go out on a very short limb and say non-oatmeal lovers will be swayed into becoming oatmeal lovers in just one bite. While most will make the Maple Pecan Baked Blueberry Oatmeal for breakfast, some of us will be making it for dinner too! Or at least eating any leftovers for dinner. And yes, this dish is definitely a contender for the best baked oatmeal on the planet!

If there is at least one silver lining in these unprecedented, unsettling times, it's the return to simple, yet still beautiful and delicious, food. Stay safe and healthy my friends.

Recipe
Maple Pecan Baked Blueberry Oatmeal
Serves 6-8

Ingredients
2/3 cups (2 1/2 ounces/72 g) pecans, toasted and coarsely chopped and divided
2 cups (7 ounces/196 g) old-fashioned oatmeal (do not use quick cooking oats)
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cups whole milk
1/4 cup heavy whipping cream (see notes)
1/3 cup pure maple syrup
3 Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, and divided
12 ounces (339 g) fresh or frozen blueberries, divided
2 Tablespoons Demerara sugar

Optional: Heavy cream or plain yogurt for serving

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees (F). Lightly butter an 8" x 10" or 9" square pan with butter. Set aside.
2. In a medium sized bowl, mix together the oatmeal, 3/4's of the pecans, cinnamon, nutmeg, kosher salt, and baking powder. Stir to combine. Set aside.
3. In another medium sized bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, heavy cream, maple syrup, and 1 1/2 Tablespoons of melted butter until blended.
4. Place 3/4 of the blueberries on the bottom of the baking dish.
5. Top with the oatmeal mixture.
6. Pour the egg/milk mixture over the top. Press the mixture down lightly using a large spoon to push down the liquid ingredients and to ensure all of the oats are covered.
7. Top with the reserved blueberries, pecans, and 2 Tablespoons of the Demerara sugar.
8. Bake for 40 to 50 minutes or until the top is golden and is slightly firm to the touch.
9. Remove from the oven and drizzle with the remaining 1 1/2 Tablespoons of melted butter.
10. Serve with a side pitcher of heavy cream and/or a side of a bowl of plain yogurt. 

Notes: (1) Instead of using 1 1/2 cups of milk and 1/4 cup of heavy whipping cream, you can use 1 3/4 cup of milk. (2) To toast the pecans, preheat oven to 350 degrees (F). Lay pecan flat on a small baking tray. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until lightly browned and fragrant. (3) Instead of Demerara sugar you can use light brown sugar or a combination of light brown sugar and Turbinado sugar. (4) Leftovers keep well tightly covered in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Reheat in the microwave before serving. 

No Knead Rustic Artisan Bread

Funny how life causes or rather I should say forces you to revisit some of your life decisions. The important ones as well as the seemingly less significant ones. As much as the current pandemic is causing so many of us angst, it seems to be responsible for jolting us into seeing things a bit differently. Sometimes it means taking a second look at a decision we once made, sometimes it means taking a leap of faith, sometimes it means to finally stop procrastinating on a promise we made to ourselves, and sometimes it means overcoming our (rational and irrational) fears. Like you, I am having some really good days and some challenging days. But for as long as I possibly can, I am going to choose to believe we will collectively and individually be better when we settle in to yet another new normal. That may sound a little too Pollyanna and possibly a bit surreal given all the unknowns before us, but the world we are living in feels terribly surreal at the moment. At least it does for me.

Stress and angst are not new to my life. I have just tried to find things to help me cope with them. Thankfully running returned back to my life five years ago, yoga came into for the first time only two years ago, but baking and cooking have always helped to keep to me grounded. Although I consider myself a pretty good baker, I have kept myself distanced from bread baking. While I have dabbled in it every now and then, I generally steer away from bread recipes involving yeast. Although with a few exceptions. I have wanted little to nothing to do with it. Not just because my bread needs could be met shopping at the grocery store, but because I convinced myself it would be a new source of stress. In other words, I had long ago resigned myself to believing that bread baking wasn't in my wheelhouse. However, the events of the past week compelled me to rethink this. Maybe learning how to bake bread wasn't something to be feared but something to be embraced. And maybe M. F. K. Fischer, the preeminent food writer, was even wiser than I thought, when she said "The smell of good bread baking, like the sound of lightly flowing water, is indescribable in its evocation of innocence and delight." I realize I had been looking at bread baking all wrong. I had seen it as difficult, complex, and riddled with risks. When instead I should have been looking at it as one of those often under appreciated simple things having the power to bring great joy to one's spirit and soul.

This shift in thinking about bread baking happened almost instantly this week. I didn't spend very much time belaboring the decision or revisiting all my old reasons why bread baking wasn't for me. I just said 'yes, let's do this'. So finally after all of these years of bread baking avoidance (or distancing I should say), I have come to the realize bread baking needs to be in my life. But I am going to take it a little slow and start simple.  My entry into the bread making world would be this beautiful, delicious, yet simple to make No Knead Rustic Artisan Bread.

The recipe is inspired by the one Jim Lahey, extraordinary bread maker at Sullivan's Bakery in New York City. But it was heavily influenced by Aysegul, my food blogging friend at foolproofliving, and LeAnne, a bread making influence at lionsbread. Both of these women made some ingredient and technique nuances to Jim Lahey's original recipe that were worth following. The No Knead Rustic Artisan Bread has minimal ingredients. Only four. Bread flour, dry active yeast, kosher salt, and lukewarm water. 

After the dry ingredients are mixed together in a large bowl, the lukewarm water (80 - 90 degrees) is added in. The entire mixture is stirred with a wooden spoon until it comes together into a sticky dough. Mine was sticky using the ingredient measurements listed below, but if yours isn't, add in one tablespoon of lukewarm water at a time in order to achieve the sticky consistency. Think slow and easy when mixing. Then cover the bowl with a towel and put in the warmest draft-free place in your house for 18-24 hours. Before placing the towel on the bowl you can first cover the bowl with plastic wrap (I didn't do this, but it is an another option.)

The 18-24 hour wait for the bread to rise may be a test in patience, but definitely worth the reward. 

To bake the bread you will need at least a medium sized cast iron pan, one having a lid, as the bread bakes in a 450 degree (F) oven. Cast iron not only is able to withstand that heat, it is a great heat conductor as well.

In Jim Lahey's recipe, the bread is given a second rise before it's baked in the oven. I gave it only a 20 minute rise (setting my bread board on top of the warm stove) and it came out perfectly. 

Before the dough goes into the cast iron pan, two things need to happen. First, you need to let the pan and lid preheat in the 450 degree oven for 20 minutes. Second, you need to take sharp knife and score the top of the bread. This isn't a really deep cut, only a surface cut. Scoring the bread helps some of the steam release during the baking process.

The bread bakes for 25 minutes in the oven in the pan with the lid on. After that time, the lid is removed and the bread continues to bake for an additional 20-25 minutes or until the bread crust is deeply golden brown. To achieve an even crispier crust, remove the parchment paper holding the bread loaf from the pan, return it to the oven, and continue baking with the oven door ajar for an additional 10 minutes. I was a bit nervous about this technique so I only let it bake for another 5 minutes. Next time I will take a deep breath and let it sit in the slightly open oven for the full 10 minutes.

After removing the bread from the oven, let it sit on a cooling rack for an hour before you slice it.

And just look at that gorgeous texture! All of those air pockets were made possible in large part because the air bubbles in the dough weren't popped by kneading. No only does a no knead bread save you an upper arm workout, it gives you a sinfully beautiful bakery and texture to your bread.

The best way to slice this crusty, earthy bread is to first cut it down the center and then cut perpendicular slices. Cutting it this way ensures each piece is enveloped on three sides by it's incredibly delicious crust. 

Make this No Knead Rustic Artisan Bread and I promise you will never ever want to buy this kind of loaf from the store again. If there was ever a time to return back to a simpler time, this would be it. And a loaf of homemade bread on one's table is just one of the ways to remind us simpler pleasures may be the best ones of all. Happy no knead bread baking! 

Recipe
No Knead Artisan Bread (recipe and directions inspired from multiple sources)
Makes 1 loaf

Ingredients
3 cups (360 g) bread flour, plus a little more for dusting the counter
1/4 teaspoon active dry yeast
2 teaspoons Kosher salt
1 1/3 cups (332 ml) lukewarm water (temperature should be between 100-110 degrees F)

Directions
1. In a large bowl, combine the flour, kosher salt, and yeast. Pour in the lukewarm water and use a wooden spoon to mix until the dough is blended, sticky, and a little shaggy. Note: If your dough isn't sticky, add in water 1 Tablespoon at a time.
2. Cover the bowl with a kitchen towel (and plastic wrap if you wish). Place the bowl in a warm draft free place in your house and let it rest for 18-24 hours. It should have doubled in size and the surface should be dotted with air bubbles.
3. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees (F). Place your cast iron pan (preferably a Dutch oven) and it's lid in the oven for at least 20 minutes.
4. Generously flour a work surface and very gently slide the dough out of the bowl on the floured surface. Use a rubber spatula around the bowl to release the sticky dough while trying to avoid disturbing the air bubbles as much as possible.
5. Lightly sprinkle the top of the dough. Then gently fold each side into the center of the dough. Carefully flip the dough over so the folds are facing down. Lightly dust your hands with flour and shape the dough into a ball by pulling it toward you a few times. Whatever you do, do not knead this dough.
6. Place the dough, seam side down, onto a sheet a parchment paper. Use a sharp knife to make a slash in the top of the bread. Place the parchment paper on bread board or flat pan. Let the dough sit, covered with a kitchen towel, on top of the stove for 20 minutes. OR alternately cover the dough with a kitchen towel and let it rise for an additional 1-2 hours until it doubles in size.
7. Carefully remove the cast iron pan from the oven. Gently lower the piece of parchment paper holding the dough into the pan. Cover the pan with the lid, return to the oven, and bake for 25 minutes. 
8. Remove the lid from the pan and continue baking the bread for an additional 20-25 minutes or until the crust is deeply golden brown.
9. For an even crispier crust, remove the parchment paper holding the bread from the pan. Return it back to the oven, keeping the oven door slightly ajar, for an additional 5-10 minutes. Remove from oven and place the bread on a cooling rack.
10. Let the bread cool for forty five minutes to one hour before slicing using a serrated knife. 
11. To cut the bread, slice down the center, then make perpendicular slices.
12. Store any uneaten bread in a paper bag. 

Notes: (1) I used King Arthur's Unbleached Bread Flour. (2) If you buy the packaged yeast, place package with the leftover yeast in a ziplock bag and store in the refrigerator to keep it fresh. (3) If you want a herbed version of the No Knead Rustic Artisan Bread, add 2 teaspoons of fresh chopped rosemary into the dry ingredients before adding the lukewarm water. (4) Lastly, I used a large sized versus a medium sized cast iron Dutch Oven and my bread baked up beautifully.

Main Dish Comfort Food Recipes Round-Up

As many of you know, this blog has been part salvation, part passion, part inspiration, part creative outlet, and more than a part source of joy. For the past several days I have been seriously mulling over how it might be able to sustain all of those things in the weeks and months ahead. I am not ready to abandon it, yet I am not certain this is the time to be sharing new recipes, especially some laden with hard to find ingredients. As I take stock of the hundreds of recipes shared over the past seven years, there are a multitude of semi-homemade ones as well as ones yielding large quantities (to freeze or to share). More than likely a new recipe will pop up in the weeks ahead, but for a not yet determined time period I thought I would put repost some of my favorite delicious, nourishing, satisfying main dish recipes. Because I am working, as are many of you, to remain optimistic, these recipes are ones with ingredients we will continue to find. Yes, I genuinely believe this. More importantly, I believe the farmers in this country will again become our heroes.

Some of the eight recipes linked below are recently shared ones. Others are from the earliest days of the blog (oh my photography back then, yikes!), including one of my very first posts Pancakes for Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner.  The recipe for the Blueberry Dutch Baby with Blueberry Sauce and Almonds can be made with sautéed apples, served with some jam or lemon curd, or simply sprinkled with confectionary sugar. Bringing Dutch Baby to the table will not only absolutely bring joy, it is incredibly economical to make. Some of us grew up having 'breakfast for dinner' and that is a history definitely worth repeating! Included in this first Main Dish Comfort Food Recipes are some vegetarian as well as non-vegetarian options. Some are even Whole 30 Compliant or can be adapted to be. Like the French Onion Soup. Even without the bread and cheese this is one incredibly flavorful soup. Unlike my niece, who is the Whole 30 expert in the family, I have alot of work to do in order to wrap my head around completely understanding the do's and don'ts.

As I put together this post I have a big pot of A Bolognese to Warm Your Soul simmering on the stovetop. Almost of it will be packaged up and put in the freezer as I know there may be days ahead when my optimism level dips or my creative juices flow at a snail's pace. Having a ready made meal in the freezer should or rather will help restore my soul to a good place. So as you look at some of these recipes, think about freezing some of them too! You never know when one of your frozen meals will be needed to brighten someone's day!

A Bolognese to Warm Your Soul 

Hearty Ham and Bean Soup

Blueberry Dutch Baby with Blueberry Sauce and Almonds

Pancakes for Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner 

French Onion Soup

Meatloaf

Linguine al Limone

Tomato Basil Soup with Grilled Cheese Fingers

Notes: (1) I absolutely love my pancake recipe. But truth be told sometimes I will make a packaged pancake mix, you know the 'complete' ones where you only add water. But instead of water I always use buttermilk (in the same liquid quantity recommended) and they are insanely delicious. 

Mushroom Ravioli Al Forno

Is there any better way to connect with others than around some delicious, beautiful food? The older I get the more I prefer the more leisurely, intimate home cooked versus restaurant meal with friends. Not that I still don't enjoy going out. I do. But I just love entertaining at home more. Whether it's just an informal gathering involving wine and cheese or a slightly more formal three-course meal, I love bringing people together around food. Almost everything I learned about entertaining came from observing others, watching those very, very early Martha Stewart specials, pouring over Ina Garten's cookbooks, or reading a ridiculously high number of food magazines. My food entertaining formative years occurred well before the internet, cable television, and social media were created. To this day I still primarily blame Martha Stewart for my obsession with collecting sets of dishes/silverware as well as my attention to detail when setting a table. There are a handful of other people in my life who, unbeknownst to them, have also been given the honor of going on that blame list. Although it really should be renamed the give credit to list. 

If there was ever a dish destined to create a memorable meal at home it would be this Mushroom Ravioli Al Forno. Because if someone around the table wanted to lick their plate, they could do so in the company of friends. No judgement. Maybe a lifetime of 'remember when' teasing will ensue. But no one will call them out on a lapse in their social etiquette. While I am not encouraging plate licking behavior, the al forno sauce would push some to completely forget their table manners.

Forgive my redundancy but this is yet another one of those incredibly easy, simple dishes to make. Yet, this Mushroom Ravioli Al Forno gets really marks for looking and tasting like it came from a four or five star restaurant. It's the picture of beautiful deliciousness.

If I first made this dish thirty years ago, I would have had to make my own homemade mushroom ravioli. Which would have made it one of those time and labor intensive dishes. But with the availability of high quality fresh pasta available in many grocery or speciality Italian food stores these days, it is one the least time consuming, easiest recipes to make. It's company dinner, dinner date dinner, friends gathering dinner perfect. And, if by chance you have friends who don't eat red sauce but like pasta, this is the dish you want to serve them.

There are only two components to the Mushroom Ravioli Al Forno: the al forno sauce and the mushroom ravioli. When a recipe has a limited number of ingredients, quality always matters. And in this sauce, the cheese is what matters most. If you have followed me for awhile you know I am huge fan of freshly grated parmesan cheese. More specifically, freshly grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese. Yes, it's a little more expensive than other parmesan cheeses, but when you take into account the flavor it imparts nothing else compares to it. Nothing. This sauce calls for 5 to 6 generous finely grated Tablespoons of the parmigiano-reggiano cheese (I use this microplane grater.).The consistency of the finished sauce is similar to melted ice cream. Not too runny, not to thick, just ambrosial.

With the availability of fresh pasta, you no longer have to (unless of course you want to) make your own ravioli. Most fresh ravioli cooks in about four minutes. If you can't find fresh ravioli, look for frozen mushroom ravioli instead. But try finding it from an Italian food store known for its' pasta.

The cooked ravioli is tossed in the al forno sauce before it is transferred to a serving platter. Tossing the ravioli before plating helps to ensure each ravioli is coated in the luscious sauce.

The finishing touches to the Mushroom Ravioli Al Forno are more grated parmigiano-reggiano and some fresh thyme leaves. And that's it! In less than 20 minutes you have a main dish to end all main dishes. Serve with some fresh bread (you are not going to leave any of that sauce behind on your plate), a salad, maybe some grilled chicken or steak, but definitely a great bottle of chardonnay. 

Setting a beautiful table is akin to greeting your guests a warm, two-armed hug. Your table settings don't need to be fancy and you definitely don't have to spend a fortune to create them. Plain white plates, some cloth napkins, and freshly picked or bought flowers are all you need to create a most inviting table (see notes).

Having eaten my fair share of pasta in Italian restaurants, I would honestly say this may be the BEST Mushroom Ravioli Al Forno I have ever tasted. It is a throw down worthy dish. More importantly, it makes for an incredibly satisfying, impressive homemade meal. For a memorable date-night in, hands down this dish will set the tone (in the best of ways) for the rest of the evening. Or invite your favorite friends over to show them just how much they matter to you. 

Recipe
Mushroom Ravioli Al Forno
Serves 4-6

Ingredients
1 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream
2 sprigs of fresh thyme, plus more for finishing
Pinch of nutmeg
Generous pinch of kosher salt
5-6 generous Tablespoons parmigiano-reggiano, finely grated, plus more for finishing
20 ounces (566 g) fresh (or frozen) mushroom ravioli, cooked according to package directions (See Notes)

Directions
1. In a heavy bottomed saucepan, heat oil. Add minced garlic and sauté for one minute.
2. Add in the cream, nutmeg, salt, and fresh thyme. Stir and bring to a boil. Continue to cook for another 30-40 seconds, stirring constantly.
3. Turn heat down to low, add in the freshly grated cheese. Stir until sauce has thickened. Note: It should be able to coat the back of a spoon.
4. Add in the cooked mushroom ravioli. Stir until ravioli is coated.
5. Transfer the mixture to a large serving platter. Sprinkle with leaves of fresh thyme and some freshly grated parmigiano-reggiano. Serve immediately.

Notes: (1) I used two 10 ounce packages of the mushroom ravioli (Giovanni Rana brand) found in the refrigerator section of the many grocery stores. If you increase the amount of ravioli used, adjust the amount of sauce accordingly. (2) If you use frozen mushroom ravioli, cook according to package directions. (3) Trader Joe's is a great place to get some beautiful flowers at a great price. (4) My favorite white plates are the Pantry Dinnerware Collection from Williams-Sonoma. They are reasonably priced, durable and create a beautiful table. (5) Cloth napkins are another one of my weaknesses. Look for them on sale or at outlet stores.

Dairy Cows, Door County, Wisconsin (February, 2020)