Fried Stuffed pumpkin flowers

One of the many joys of having a garden is finding innovative ways to use everything that is growing. My pumpkin plant has been prolific, spreading it's tentacles like a giant octopus. One of the byproducts of the pumpkin (or any of the squash family) are the yellow flowers which may or may not bloom into the eventual pumpkin. How to use the flowers??? I had seen squash flowers fried before, so I thought I would give it a try with my own recipe using the pumpkin flowers.

First pick the flowers that have already bloomed and begun to close. Clip them leaving a small stem. This morning I was only able to harvest 8 of them. They tend to be "buggy" since insects burrow inside to reach the goodies. Shake them gently to get rid of the bugs before brining them inside the house.

Next, using small scissors, clip and remove the stamen. Then rinse under gently running water inside and out. The flowers are very delicate and easy to rip, so be careful. Lay them on a paper towel to air dry. You can choose to blot them dry, but they're easily damaged drying them that way.

While waiting for the flowers to dry, you can make the filling:

Filling Ingredients:

1 cup whole ricotta
2 strips of bacon fried and finely chopped
2 TBS finely chopped chives
1 TBS meyer lemon syrup (honey can be substituted)-Optional.
pinch of salt
pinch of pepper

Mix the ingredients and as always taste and 

adjust the ratio of ingredients to your liking.

Place the stuffing in a pastry bag. I always have a supply of these disposable pastry bags on hand. They're  easy to use and no washing is required. Place a clip on the end to prevent the filling from leaking and put in the fridge. All of the above steps can be done ahead of time, but the remainder of the cooking should be done just before serving.

When ready to cook and serve, fill each floret with some of the ricotta stuffing. Take care not to overfill. Twist the petals shut to seal the filling. Set aside.

Batter Ingredients:

1/2 cup flour (I used rice flower but regular white flour is fine)
ginger ale
pich salt

I made the batter in a bowl by adding the ginger ale to the flour until I had a batter with a nice consistency. Not too "goopey" and not too runny.

Oil:
grape seed oil (or any high temp oil for frying)

In a pan I heated the oil (about 1" deep") until it was 360 degrees. Use a candy thermometer. I then dredged each floret through the batter, shook off the excess, and placed in the pan. Fry  each side until golden and then place on  a paper towel to absorb the oil. Only fry a few pieces at a time because if you place too many in the pan at the same time, the oil temp will drop too much.

How to add sweetness to food

It seems a simple enough question with a simple enough answer- when food needs to be sweetened, just add sugar.???  Well, maybe that would solve the problem, but there are numerous other ways to accomplish this and, at the same time, also adding flavor complexity to the dish . Many times we need to add sweetness to a dish such as a sauce or a vinaigrette that is too acidic, or a sausage or meat that is too spicy, or simply a dish that needs a sweetness to fully develop its taste and create a more balanced flavor. One obvious method is to take advantage of the natural sugars in the ingredients such as in onions, carrots, prunes, etc... Another way is to introduce sugar through the use of other "vehicles": My secret weapon is an arsenal of flavored syrups.

I have several "go-to" syrups that I use in virtually all of my dishes. The advantage of using syrups over sugar is the added complexity of flavors that a particular syrup brings to the dish. My favorite is pomegranate syrup. Another is the meyer lemon syrup. I use the two in every vinaigrette to counter the acidity of the vinegar and to add a subtle flavored sweetness to the dressing. I like to use syrup in my braising liquid when braising meat. I use it in marinades. I use it in my smoothies. Sometimes, I hide a small dollops of syrup under the dish when plating to add some "hidden" flavor. Somtimes I use syrup as a plate garnish. The list is endless.

Pomegranate grenadine syrup, meyer lemon syrup, 

sangiovese pomegranate reduction, 

red wine orange reduction, and Lavender honey glaze

You don't have to buy syrups, you can also make your own. Whenever I have leftover wine (not that often!), I like to reduce it down to make syrup and store it in small squirt bottles. It's very simple to add flavors to your syrup. Pictured above is one of my homemade syrups: orange wine syrup which I made with a leftover orange a little past its prime. I simply put some orange slices and rind in the wine during the reduction. After some time, I strained all the solids out, and continued reducing the liquid until it reached the desired consistency.

Whenever a savory recipe calls for a sweet ingredient, I immediately think of how I can modify it with a flavored syrup to boost flavors. A great place to find unique syrups are specialty food stores. Give it a try and experiment for yourself to discover that one unique secret ingredient in your pantry!

Private Lunch at the Winery

Today's event at the winery was a private lunch for a group of 40. As a part-time cook, I just show up and jump in to the fray whenever and where ever the Chef needs me. My duties today were to prep and set up the chilled almond garlic soup which was the starter, assist in portioning 40 quail which were later fried as a play on KFC for the entree, other component prep work, help with plating all the courses, and more intensive work sectioning 15 ducks for some duck confit after the lunch event.

My last work day at the winery had been a frustrating one. On that day I had messed around with 300 eggs trying to get a soft boil, peel, and then flour, egg, and bread for frying. It was tedious and took 6 hours because the eggs were not cooperating. I had questioned whether I was actually learning anything at this job which in hindsight was just a product of a very frustrated mind.

Today was much more fulfilling and educational. It's always satisfying to pull together in the kitchen to accomplish an event. The chilled soup was really cool because it has no liquid base other than water. It was really delicious and flavorful. The second course was ahi tuna, topped with a fried egg stacked on romesco sauce and surrounded by various vegetables. It was a clean presentation. The quail entree (not pictured) was deep fried and served with some corn/mushrooms, smashed potatoes and some gravey. This course was a play on "down home" cooking using more sophisticated ingredients. It came out very nice. Finally, we ended the lunch with a cheese plate.

No Mortadella. Sorry!

Well, I apologize for failing my first month at charcutepalooza. I just never got around to making my mortadella. I have spent the last few weeks preparing for the installation and replacing all of my kitchen appliances, as well as, flying my airline schedule. I just could not find the time to give the July challenge of making emulsified sausage its due effort. So, rather than a half-hearted effort, I decided to skip it. Now on to the new challenge for the month of August. This month's challenge (if you didn't guess form the picture above) is all about terrines. This comes at a good time because I'm eager to use my recently bought Le Creuset terrine mold pictured above. Stay tuned.

The Microplane Grater

The classic image of the waiter at tableside grating cheese is what comes to mind when I hear the words microplane grater, but there are more uses for this finessed kitchen tool. The microplaner comes in many shapes and sizes each designed for a different application. The narrow shape of some microplanes allow the shavings to be more accurately directed to its target. Some planers are wider for larger volume or grating larger ingredients. Some have a fine mesh grating surface designed to create a finer powdered product and some have wider slits designed to create elongated shavings. Here are some ideas on how you might use the microplaer.

A common use is for zesting citrus. It creates fine lemon/lime/orange shavings. The larger slitted planer can be used to create citrus rinds for drink garnish as an example.

 

A classic french use for the microplaner is for grating nutmeg. A pinch of nutmeg can be created by rubbing a nutmeg acorn against the grater a few times. The same can be done with cinnamon. Use the microplane to add a touch of cinnamon to a cappuccino or to top a dessert.

Another great use is to create delicate chocolate shavings for garnish. I like making an espresso panna cotta served in martini glasses. The chocolate shavings are a perfect touch to add refinement to the presentation

Zesting garlic is another use for the microplane. It allows for the super fine shaving of garlic that create subtle flavor without a noticeable

texture or mouthfeel.


As you can see, there are lots of uses for the microplaner. It's a simple, yet versatile tool that is a nice addition to any cook's toolbox.

A Cook's Garden

In a perfect world every cook/chef should have his/her own garden. It's been years since I planted a garden. I have delayed, procrastinated, and at times been unable to plant a garden. I finally decided that another year lost would be simply unacceptable. I finally put in a garden this year. There is nothing more satisfying and calming as walking through my little patch each morning, inspecting, picking, and taking in the aromas of my own vegetables and herbs. As a cook, it's really gratifying to be able to select flavors from my own garden.

I am fortunate to have some space to plant a garden with decent variety, but you really don't need much space to plant herbs, or a tomato for example. In fact, you only need a couple of pots to plant your favorite herbs. I have always been irked when a recipe required me to buy a whole bunch of an herb for only 1 TBS. The waste! With a garden, I have the luxury to pick only what's needed.

Here, I have planted marjoram, oregano, spearmint, savory, basil, and cilantro all in the same pot.

If you cook, I really encourage you to plant a small garden or a minimum of a few pots outside your window filled with herbs. Basil, parsley, mint, and thyme are examples of herbs that are really simple to grow and require minimum care. You won't regret it.

Mortadella

The Charcutepalooza challenge this month is to make emulsified sausage. In short, this is the type of sausage that has a smooth paste texture like a hot dog. I did some research on the subject and have decided to make mortadella. Mortadella is an Italian sausage that hails from bologna. We have all seen it in the deli (I took the picture above from google image search.) In it's most traditional form it has a cross-section that shows a pinkish color, dotted with fat and pistachios. However, variations of the traditional can be made by replacing the pistachios with olives, or not using either. The meat is pork shoulder mixed with fat. I'll write more about the process when I make it in the upcoming week. Any suggestions are welcome!

Charcutepalooza

I recently following a "movement" called Charcutepalooza. It's a celebration of sorts. A celebration of curing, salting, and smoking meat. It's about reconnecting with how our ancestors approached meat before refrigeration. It's also a means to pass on the humane treatment of animals by learning to maximize the use of the animal to prevent a wasteful death, learning techniques of enhancing flavors, and generally reacquainting ourselves with a lost art. The group is comprised of food bloggers who are given a monthly challenge to prepare something using the above techniques and then writing about it by the 15th of the following month. As it turns out, I recently wrote about making sausage and curing duck to make duck prosciutto which coincidentally were two of the past challenges. The challenges are posted on Mrs Wheelbarrows Kitchen.
   
I invite you to join in or follow along and make any comments or suggestion to enhance my challenges. July's challenge is sausage emulsification which is the process that transforms a sausage into a smooth textured sausage as in a hot dog or bratwurst. I have never done this process, so it'll be fun for me to learn a new technique.

Le Cordon Bleu London

I was in London last week, so naturally I decided to pay a visit to the London campus of Le Cordon Bleu. Similar to the Paris school, it is located on a narrow side street in a humble non-descript building. It looked even smaller than the Paris LCB if that's possible. For some reason I  had expected this school to be bigger. Upon entering I went to the receptionsist to ask a few questions. I told her that I had attended LCB in Paris, and asked if it was possible for me to either tour the school or, even better, sit in on a demo. She wasn't impressed with my alumni status. In fact, she was kind of a snotty young girl with an attitude and seemed to be annoyed that I was bothering her. Not that I expected the red carpet, but come on! At least be a little polite.

I asked about the number of kitchens. Three plus a pastry kitchen and a boulangerie. One of the demo rooms was visible directly from the reception office. It was packed with students and looked very cramped. Not sure why LCB does not invest in more spacious facilities.

The receptionist did give me the card for the sales and marketing administrator to make my special request. They do provide tours, but they must be arranged in advance. However, unlike the Paris LCB where anyone can pay to sit in on a demo, the London campus does not allow it. I'm coming back next week, maybe I'll try again. It would be nice to see one of their Intermediate demos to compare the quality and style of instruction with that of the Paris school.

Making Sausage Part II

 It was time to revisit sausage making since the last batch I wrote about a few months ago. There are many things I learned from my last experience that would hopefully make this a better sausage making experience. Here are a few problems/errors I had encountered the last time:

-I did not use an ice bath while working with the meat
-Sinew had caused binding with the grinding blade and dye
-the plastic pusher introduced air into the grinding chamber and caused some headaches mostly during the stuffing phase
-the meat mix was dry because I had not used any fat other than the natural fat within the pork shoulder
-my sausage girth was not consistently the same diameter
-During the stuffing, I allowed the sausage to just feed on to the counter top which created some mess and didn't keep the meat cold.
-I was not very thrilled with the spice blend I used the last time.

So, with all of this in mind, I decided to make another batch.

I began the night before by placing all of the grinder parts, and my mixing bowl in the freezer. Keeping everything cold allows for the meat to be ground more easily and more importantly prevent harmful bacteria from forming.

I started by ordering 5 Lbs. of pork shoulder and 1 Lb. of fat back.
I made my own spice blend consisting of the following:

ground fennel seeds
ground black pepper
ground dry onions
garlic powder
ground dried serrano peppers
paprika
dried parsley
dried Oregano
dried basil
sugar
salt

I adjusted the ratio of the above to match with the quantity of meat and what I thought would be a nice balance. I mixed all of the spices in 1/2 cup of white wine and 1/2 cup red wine vinegar.

The following day I ground the meat and fat back together. I allowed the ground meat to fall into a bowl sitting in an ice bath to keep the meat cold. Ground meat is the most susceptible form of meat to bacteria if allowed to warm. I stopped several times during the process to clean out the sinew. Next, I mixed the spice blend and the meat by hand. I did this quickly to prevent my hands from making the meat warm. I placed the meat in the fridge and allowed to sit overnight to allow the spices to meld with the meat.

I cleaned all of the grinder parts and placed back in the freezer for the stuffing phase the following day.

Next day, I made a "test" burger and was very happy with the flavors, so no seasoning adjustment was necessary. I began the prep for stuffing. I assembled the grinder with the sausage stuffer nozzle. I placed a pan in an ice bath below the grinder to catch the sausage. I used speed 2 on the grinder to keep things moving slowly so I could control the girth of the sausage and manage the prevention of air into the grinder more easily. This worked. I kept the meat supply constant. This is crucial to prevent air from getting into the chamber. The process went very smoothly. The entire process seemed more efficient, smoother, and cleaner. 

Cauliflower Couscous Salad

I made this salad for friends a few days ago. It was a big hit. It's beautiful, elegant, and tasty. It's a prefect little meal for a vegetarian, or a nice starter for a summer lunch. The white ingredient on the bottom is the real show stopper. It's cauliflower disguised to appear like couscous. Simple in appearance, but labor intensive; however, I think it's worth the effort.

Here is how I made it:

Ingredients for 6 servings:

18 leaves Bok Choy
12 small carrots
3 turnips
18 arugual leaves
12 cherry tomatoes
12 asparagus sticks
1 head of cauliflower

Olive Oil
your own vinaigrette (I made it with champagne vinegar, white wine vinegar, dijon mustard, meyer lemon syrup, garlic confit, and olive oil)
Finely chopped herbs (I used chives, parsley, and mint)

Directions:

The next steps can be done a few hours before service.

1. prep the vegetables by trimming bok choy, trim asparagus by cutting the inedible part of the stems, cut turnips in 1/4's and then shape them (Turning), trim carrots and cut lengthwise into 2 or 4 pieces depending on the thickness of the carrots.
2. Bring a pot of salted water to boil. This will be used to blanch the above vegetables.
3. prepare a bowl of ice water
4. Blanch each of the vegetables separately in their like groups just until they are cooked but still firm and barely crunchy. Immediately remove from the hot water and place in ice water to stop the cooking and to retain the vibrant color of the vegetables. Begin with the turnips, then the greens, then the carrots to prevent color contamination.Leave in the water only until they are cooled, then remove and place in a tupperware lined with moist paper towels to keep the vegetables moist. Don't leave in the ice bath too long as this will result in loss of flavor and  nutrients of the vegetable. Place in the fridge until ready for plating.
5. For the cauliflower couscous, remove the florets from the stems. Place in a cuisinart and pulsate until finely chopped similar in size to grains of couscous.
6. Bring to boil just enough salted water to cover the couscous. Drop the couscous in the water and cook for 1 minute. Strain with a fine mesh strainer and then immediately dip the strainer in the ice bath to cool the couscous. Once cooled, empty the strainer on a cutting board and use paper towels to blot ALL of the moisture out of the cauliflower. Next, place the cauliflower in a bowl, add olive oil, some chopped herbs, and s&p. Taste as you do this until you arrive at a balanced taste.
7. Using a ring mold, and your salad plates, pre-form the cauliflower couscous on each of the plates and place in the fridge. You could do this during service, but I find it easier to do ahead.
8. Cut cherry tomatoes into 1/4's and cover, but keep at room temp.
9. Make your vinaigrette

At Service:

1. place all of the vegetables (the bok choy, carrots, turnips, asparagus, arugula, and tomatoes) in a bowl, add the vinaigrette, chopped herbs, and S&P. Taste to make sure it tastes the way you like it.
2. Build a stack of the vegetables on top of the couscous. I like to place the vegetables individually to equally portion the ingredients and to construct a visually appealing stack.
3. Using a spoon, drizzle the plate ,in a circle, around the salad.

Enjoy!

Mandoline

You may wonder how some ingredients are cut so precisely at a restaurant. Sometimes it's the result of the cook's superior knife skills, but most likely it's the product of a mandoline. It's construction is simple with a blade and an adjustable ramp which changes the thickness of the cut. Using a mandoline assures straight , symmetrical cuts of equal thickness. It's prefect for quickly slicing humble ingredients like a potato, or carrot, but it can also be used to create more elegant results. Here are a few examples of how I use the mandoline in my kitchen:

I like using the mandoline to create ultra thin sliced products which add a delicate elegance to a dish. One of my favorite examples is to create radish discs for use as a garnish. I usually slice a few radishes and then store them in water. They can be used to add elegance to  a dish or salad.

The mandoline is ideal for thinly slicing onions. I like to slice

red onions, add red wine vinegar and sugar to create pickled red onions. They can be stored for months and used for all sorts of garnishes such as salad toppings, plate garnishing, and addition to any appetizer plate.

Candied Lemon wedges

I use the mandoline to disguise the oft disliked Brussels sprouts into something more desirable. I find that most people seem to dislike the whole sprout, so I shred them using the mandoline. A simple preparation is to saute the shredded sprouts in butter, add some crushed toasted walnuts, a few drops of lemon juice, and salt/pepper. Voila! A simple side dish, and no one will guess that it's made with brussels sprouts. Below I used the sprouts as a garnish for the hangar steak.

Wood Fired Pizza Oven

It was "Passport Weekend" in the wine country. An event that allows guests to purchase a ticket and roam between participating wineries. The event showcased wines with appropriate food pairings. The Chef chose to cook pizzas for our event. It was a warm summer day....perfect for a wood burning pizza oven on the back deck of the winey, with a sweeping view of Napa valley.

The Chef loves using the wood fired pizza oven to create not only pizzas, but rustic Italian dishes. However, today was all about pizza. We were a team of 4 plus the dishwasher who also helped when it was busy (our pizza team pictured above). The dough and the mise en place for the pizzas had been prepped the day before, leaving only assemblage and cooking for today.

Here are some interesting facts about the oven. This particular brand costs about $15,000. There is a specific method of building a wood pile to start the fire inside the oven. Once started, the wood is moved around the oven to heat all sides of the interior, and then eventually moved off to one side. With the wood on one side, the flames actually arc from one side to the other around the interior of the ceiling.
The temperatures reach between 700-1000 Deg. F. The stone "floor" of the interior is then wiped clean with a wet towel, and you are good to go. The efficiency and heat generation is fantastic. It only takes a few minutes to cook a pizza in the oven.

We made 4 hot pizzas and one cold flat bread pizza:

1. Basic tomato sauce, pepperoni and mozzarella

2. Roasted garlic paste, braised chanterelle, black trumpet mushroom, and 5 mixed cheese

3. Herbed ricotta, asparagus, pancetta, and mozzarella (pictured above)

4. Gluten free dough version
5. Vegetarian pizza
6. Flat bread, topped with herbed creme fraiche, smoked salmon, hard boiled quail eggs, pickled red onion slices, and tarragon.


We made over 200 pizzas in 5 hours. It was a great venue being outdoors, working in a beautiful environment, surrounded by some very happy people. I never worked in a pizza place as a kid, so it was nice to work with dough and the oven.

We received positive comments all day regarding the flavor of the dough. The Chef has kept a "mother dough" alive for 5 years. This is the source of all the dough made at the winery thus preserving that taste character that makes it uniquely flavorful. 

Butchering a pig

I went to the winery for 2 days of work. A private lunch and a private dinner were on the agenda but the real surprise was the delivery of a pig. I didn't plan on this, but my timing couldn't have been better. The Chef revealed the delivery to me after a couple of hours of prep for the dinner event. I said "this will be a great experience to watch you butcher the pig", to which he replied "You're not watching, you'll be helping me"! Awesome. There were 4 of us there to dismantle the pig for its various uses. This was no ordinary hog, it was a "mangalista" breed pictured above. It's a unique pig because of its fur and the 4" of fat underlying the skin. It's origin is from Hungary and the Balkans where it was bred for its large amount of lard. Through the years, it's popularity waned to give way to less fatty hogs until recently when there has been a resurgence of demand for the breed. A local farmer breeds them for high profile restaurants like the French Laundry.

It was delivered to us with the head removed and the carcass sawed in half lengthwise.

We went to work as soon as it arrived. The first task was to remove all of the meat along the inner halves of the body and remove the legs with the shoulders intact.

Then we separated the meat, fat, skin, and the bones. The fat was placed in large roasting plans and placed in the oven to be rendered. 

Next, I got to debone 2 of the legs, remove the skin, then cut the fat/meat into 1"-2" pieces. This was to be eventually made into salami. My boning knife really got a workout on this one. The next day, I ground all of this leg meat, made a spice blend, and then combined the two with a mixer.

The remaining 2 legs were kept whole to be cured for proscuitto. The Chef had me make a roux with equal portions of rendered fat and flour. This was a technique I had not seen. The roux was used to seal the exposed portions of the leg meat for the curing process.

Also, the next day, I cooked all of the bones and attached meat in the rendered fat. Once cooked, I removed all of the meat which will be used for carnitas.

The head was cooked in water all day. When removed, all of the flesh had fallen off the skull. The meat will be used to make ndjua.

The fat back and spice mix were combined for curing to make lardo.

The skin was cut into strips for making pork rinds.

Every part of the pig was used. It was a great experience to see the process. Seeing the animal from start to finish makes one appreciate and respect it. You want to waste nothing so that the animal's death is purposeful and meaningful. Another great learning session at the winery.

Ring Molds

We "eat" with our eyes just as much as with our sense of taste. The anticipation of how the food will taste is piqued with visual beauty. Some dishes such as stews are meant to be served with a rustic appearance, but some dishes, no matter how humble, can become elegant and desirable with the use of ring molds. Ring molds come in many shapes and sizes and are inexpensive. I have a set of square ones, a set of circular ones with serrates edges, and 2 circular ones that I use most frequently. You can

buy them at most kitchen stores and are usually found in the bakeware section. Below are a few examples of how I have used my ring molds to elevate my dishes to the next level:

Agnolotti

I have been knee-deep in checklists, procedures, and system diagrams as I have been training on the Boeing-777 in Dallas (Cooking Hiatus). Fortunately, I have been able to come home for short breaks every week during this 6 week training program. California and my kitchen are both welcome sights during these breaks. My hectic studies, and my training location have left little time or opportunity for good food, so I have been VERY eager to cook when returning home.

Last week, I wanted to spend one of those quality days in my kitchen with no people or distractions. I decided to make agnolotti stuffed with sausage served with tomato sauce. Agnolotti is a style of ravioli that hails from the Piedmont region of Italy. It's not the traditional ravioli that comes to mind when one hears the word "ravioli". I first saw it made during my Internship at the restaurant and was immediately enamored with the technique of making this beautiful pasta. The agnolotti can be filled with any type of filling in the same way as traditional ravioli. In this particular instance, I chose to stuff it with a mixture I made with my homemade sausage as the base. I will just share the technique for making the pasta and the agnolotti and leave the stuffing and sauce up to you to match your own creative desires.

I started by making pasta dough. I love using ratios to avoid referring to recipes whenever the opportunity lends itself. Here is a simple ratio whenever you want to make pasta for any use:

100 g flour
1 egg
pinch of salt

It's that simple! I like to make pasta by using my hands rather than the mixer. It's just a personal preference because it allows me to know the exact state of the dough (too dry, lumpy, too moist) and what it requires to make it perfect. I also like to pretend that I am some old Italian dude making it the traditional way by spreading the mixture on my counter instead of mixing the dough in a bowl.

I make the traditional "well" with the flour and then add the eggs in the middle. Initially, I stir the egg with a spatula by making circles in the center of the "well", and slowly expand the circles larger and larger to slowly incorporate the flour into the egg. Once all of the egg and flour are mixed, I place the spatula aside and start working the dough with my hands. Initially, it may be lumpy as shown below:

But the goal is to work the dough until it's nice and smooth like below. If the dough is too dry, add just a touch of water. If it's too moist slowly add four to absorb the excess moisture. After making pasta a few times, you'll learn how to judge the perfect balance of flour and moisture.

Next, I allow the dough to rest covered for 20-30 minutes. I then roll it out into large thin sheets using a pasta roller shown above. The technique is to begin with the lowest setting (1) and gradually roll the strips of pasta thinner and thinner until you reach the desired thickness. I usually take it all the way to setting 9. A good rule of thumb is a thickness that allows you to see your hand through the pasta when you place your hand underneath the sheet.

Now you're ready to construct your agnolotti. You would need to make your filling ahead of time because this is the time that you would need it. In my case, I made my sausage filling beforehand and placed it in   a pastry bag ready to be piped. Rather than a longwinded explanation, we all know that a picture (or video) is worth a thousand words. I found a great U-tube video that perfectly demonstrates how agnolotti is made. Notice the rather ho-hum, bored looking wife in the background!

How to Make Agnolotti - YouTube

Here's my finished product:

To cook, simply bring to boil a pot of water and salt, and drop the agnolotti into the water. They will rise to the top when cooked. It should take only 1-3 minutes if you cook right away, and not much longer if you store before cooking. I like to store the agnolotti uncovered in the fridge on a parchment-lined cookie sheet, and dusted with flour so they do not stick. Enjoy!