See Recipe Below for Barbara Britton’s Sausage and Egg Casserole Featured Author Barbara Britton lives in Southeast Wisconsin and loves the snow—when it accumulates under three inches. Barb writes romantic adventures for teens and adults in the Christian Fiction and Mainstream markets. She is published …
I love Italian food, and one of my favorite dishes to serve is spaghetti with red sauce. This Slow-Cooked Spaghetti Sauce is perfect for days when you don’t have time to make the sauce on the stove. Or the meatballs. Just brown the sausage and …
As you may know already, I enjoy making Italian food. Homemade Toasted Ravioli is a new recipe I made after tasting my first in St. Louis, Missouri at Anthoninos Taverna. Tender pasta wrapped around a filling of beef, pork, herbs, and cheese, then fried to a crispy crumb. So good!
If you’re not already aware, St. Louis is where Toasted Ravioli originated. It was created and made popular by two different restaurants. Mama Campisi’s (now called Mama’s on the Hill) and Charlie Gitto’s. Both restaurants are located in an Italian section of St. Louis called “The Hill”. Oh, and by the way, the ravioli is not toasted. It’s deep fried. and oh, so yummy!
Bailey, my niece who lives in St. Louis, offered us a tour of The Hill when we were there. We visited St. Ambrose Church, a soap factory, and a few of the markets including Volpi Foods, a store that had the most amazing collection of cured meats. I have to admit, I went a little crazy at DiGregorio’s, an Italian market that had a wonderful inventory of Italian foods, wines, and so much more! It was wonderful. In fact, that’s where I purchased my little ravioli stamps that I use in this recipe! There were many shops that we didn’t have time to browse, but I intend to see more on our next visit!
Anyway, it was a very fun day for me. This toasted ravioli recipe is absolutely delicious and brings back all of those lovely memories for me. Make some for your family, and if you ever have the opportunity, I encourage you to visit shops on The Hill!
Pasta Dough:
Ravioli Filling:
Coating:
To prepare the pasta, in a large shallow bowl, sift together the flours and salt. Make a well in the center and add the eggs and olive oil, whisking to combine. (Most of the online videos I watched on making pasta placed all of this on a floured surface rather than in a shallow bowl. I prefer working in the bowl, but it’s your choice.)
Using a fork or your fingers, begin to incorporate the flour into the egg mixture and knead until all of the liquid is absorbed by the flour, 4-5 minutes. Roll the dough into a ball and cover with plastic wrap. Allow to set for 30-40 minutes.
Meanwhile, prepare the filling. In a large skillet, brown the hamburger and sausage. Drain off any excess grease.
In a food processor, combine the cooked and drained beef and sausage. Add the cheese and process for 30-60 seconds. Add the egg, garlic, parsley, salt, pepper, and nutmeg and pulse several times until finely mixed together. Place the filling in a bowl and cover and refrigerate until ready to use.
To assemble the ravioli, divide the pasta dough into two pieces and roll out with a pasta roller to a thickness of 1/8″.
Lay out one sheet of dough on a lightly floured surface. Distribute spoonfuls of filling on the bottom sheet of dough, about 2 inches apart. Brush around the filling with some egg wash. Carefully lay a second sheet of dough on top and press the edges together with your fingertips.
Use a round or square ravioli cutter to make the ravioli pieces, pinching the edges shut to ensure closure. Repeat until dough and filling has been used up. Place prepared ravioli on a sheet pan lined with waxed paper.
In a large Dutch oven, pour enough peanut oil to cover ravioli, about 1/3 full. Heat over medium heat until deep-frying thermometer reached 350 degrees F.
In a shallow bowl, whisk together the eggs and cream.
Place breadcrumbs and Parmesan in another shallow bowl and stir to combine.
Dredge the ravioli in the egg mixture, followed by the breadcrumb mixture to coat.
Working in batches of 3-4, carefully drop the ravioli into the hot oil and fry until golden brown, 2-3 minutes, bringing oil back up to temperature between batches.
Place on wire racks to drain and keep warm by covering with aluminum foil. Serve with your favorite Marinara sauce and freshly grated Parmesan. This recipe makes 20-24 ravioli.
Serve with your favorite Chianti or Sangiovese wine.
See more Italian Recipes Here. See more Appetizers Here.
Here’s my take on Chicago-Style Stuffed pizza, a wonderful dish we ate at a family-owned pizzeria in Gunnison, Colorado called Mario’s Pizza. The trick here is lots of layers, and lots of cheese! This pizza takes a lot of ingredients and some effort, but the …
This Crock Pot Breakfast Casserole is a recipe I experimented with until I got it just right.
This Easy Thanksgiving Dressing is one I’ve tweaked based on my mother-in-law’s holiday recipe. Savory dressing with sausage, sweetened with dried apricots, with the crunch of pine nuts.
(Recipe modified with new pictures on 12/15/21)
I always enjoy her dish so much, but my husband doesn’t care for dressing or stuffing. Because of that I came up with my own “easy” version. It’s not as good as the original from scratch homemade dish, but it’s a close second. And in my situation, I’ll take that.
I’ve noticed that some stuffing mixes offer seasoning packets, while others do not. If the latter is the case, simply ignore the addition of the seasoning ingredient. I like to use the combination of turkey and cornbread stuffing mixes, but you could also use chicken, sage, or even sourdough.
As for brands, I’ve used Stove Top (which is always good), as well as store brand versions. Personally, I’d look for sales, and if you can purchase Stove Top Stuffing Mix or Pepperidge Farm on a good sale, I’d go for that.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Gather your ingredients so that you have everything close at hand on the counter or table. Coat inside of baking dish with cooking spray. Using a knife and cutting board, chop dried apricots. Set aside until ready to use.
Brown the bulk pork sausage in a medium skillet and set aside.
As mentioned before on this recipe site, I like to use a lower % fat sausage such as Oldham’s Country Sausage which comes in at 16% or William’s Country Sausage at 11%. The taste of either of these bulk pork sausages is good and there is very little fat that needs to be drained, if any.
In a large saucepan, combine seasoning packets with water and butter. Add in chopped apricots. Bring mixture to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes, covered.
Remove from heat. Mix in bread crumbs, browned sausage, and pine nuts. Stir to moisten. Cover and let stand an additional 5 minutes.
If desired, you may substitute slivered almonds for the pine nuts.
Fluff with fork and spoon dressing into the prepared baking dish. Place in preheated oven for 10-15 minutes to crisp up the dressing. Cover until ready to serve.
This recipe will serve 10-12 people. Serve with your next turkey dinner, or try making Molasses-Brined Roasted Chicken with Vegetables and use this dressing as a bed for the chicken.
See more Side Dishes Here. Browse more Holiday Recipes Here.
