Sweet Italian Ravioli

^{This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #SendHallmark #CollectiveBias}

The holidays stir up a world of beautiful memories. Today we pay tribute to those memories as we create new ones with these homemade sweet Italian Ravioli.

'Special' is a word attached so often to such a wide variety of subjects that it has lost almost any trace of an actual meaning. In most cases it finds itself synonymous with 'unique,' others times it finds itself romanticized, used to describe something such as a 'pleasantly memorable evening,' or something 'of value' in a larger group such as 'diamond in the ruff.' To say the word is an umbrella phrase would be a vast understatement.

Yet, this vague definition has hardly stopped us from deciding that certain occasions, almost by the mere fact of their existence, need to be special, that they need to be remembered fondly almost as a matter of ritual. After all, there's a reason why a drab weeknight dinner is both forgivable and ultimately forgettable, while a drab Christmas affair, on the other hand, well, that's another matter entirely.

Strangely enough, far from radical deviance, a form of 'ritual routine' is one of the most common ways to make an event memorable - tradition. Whether it's 'chestnuts roasting on an open fire,' hanging oversized socks from banisters and then filling with them with handfuls of palm size gifts, or dragging trees into the living room to be strung with electric lights, these seasonal 'routines' are meant to make the moments special, and embed them pleasantly in our memories.

While my family has certainly been known for leaving Christmas trees up well past their welcome, and blowing fuses due to an excess of lights, our favorite holiday traditions, as one might expect, usually take a more culinary route. For example, for the past several years, we've been making batches of homemade ravioli for Christmas Day and New Year's. I don't quite remember how we got started on that, but it is now a tradition, and now it is part of what makes the days special for us, since it gets us all in the kitchen at once, which is always fun, and always memorable, and the meal afterwards never disappoints.

It was while shopping for ingredients for our ravioli at my local Walmart that's when I happened across the Hallmark Ornaments & Greeting Cards display. I quickly picked up a little something for my family from their Christmas shop. Maybe it was my lingering over the Christmas ornaments, or maybe my subconscious was waxing nostalgic. No matter, I decided then and there that we would not be waiting to make ravioli.

Why wait? I figured.

To start things off, you're going to sift two cups of flour into a pile on your countertop and make a well in the center of it, as shown below. In the well, place the egg yolks and olive oil, and then add three tablespoons of water and begin working the flour until you have a stiff dough. Feel free to add a little more warm water as you go if needed. You know you're done when you have a smooth, elastic dough. Once that's done, cover it and let it rest for about fifteen minutes.

For the filling, I like to add in a few rustic, seasonal flavors, especially cinnamon, nutmeg, and orange zest, in addition to what I have outlined below for mixing the filling.

Once the dough has rested, roll it out as thinly as possible, and begin cutting the dough into circles. To cut the raviolis themselves, I like to use a large, metal mayonnaise cover to 'stamp' out the circles from the dough to ensure a nice, uniform cut. Once that's done, portion about three-quarters of a teaspoon into one circle, and then cover with another of the circles, and seal the edges with a fork as shown below. Once that's done, simmer them for about ten minutes, top with the sauce recipe below, and you're done.

Print

It was a perfect end to our evening, and my kids absolutely loved the ornaments, which will make perfect additions to our tree, which is sure to overstay its seasonal welcome.

What are some of the ways to make the holiday season special? What are some of your family's traditions? We would love to hear from you.

Enjoy with Love!