I like doing surf-n-turf on Christmas Eve. Lobster seemed like the thing to do … but since we were making Beef Wellington (heavy portion), lobster tail seemed like it would be too much. Eric suggested lobster ravioli — this provides both seafood and a side dish, so it filled the bill!

Baked Lobster Ravioli in Lemon Butter Limoncello Cream Sauce

RAVIOLI:

• 1 pkg won ton wrappers
• 1 lb lobster tail meat 2 cups cooked/diced or 4 small tails
• 1 large shallot, finely diced
• 1 tsp lemon juice or limoncello
• 1/4 cup ricotta
• 2 Tbsp Asiago cheese
• 1 Tbsp mascarpone cheese
• 2 tsp chopped parsley
• 1/2 cup melted butter

LEMON BUTTER LIMONCELLO CREAM SAUCE:

• 4 Tbsp limoncello (can substitute lemon juice)
• 2 Tbsp lemon juice
• 1 stick of salted butter (1/2 cup) cut into 1/2″ cubes
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• garnish: finely chopped parsley

FILLING:

Boil the lobster: If the lobster tails are frozen, thaw them overnight in the refrigerator. To cook small 8 oz tails, bring 6 cups salted water to boiling in a 3-quart saucepan. Add the lobster tails. Simmer, uncovered, for 8 to 10 minutes or until shells turn bright red, the meat is not translucent, and the tails will curve. For larger or smaller tails, adjust the cooking time as needed. Drain in a colander, cool, remove the meat from the shells (discard), and dice into 1/2″ pieces.

Instead of dicing the lobster, I used a food processor to shred it. This only took a few pulses — be careful, it’s easy to make paste.

In a medium saute pan, heat olive oil and saute the diced shallot for two minutes. Add the lobster and parsley, and stir until mixed for 2 more minutes, let cool down.

Add the lobster meat mixture into a bowl, add lemon juice (or limoncello), ricotta, Asiago cheese, and mascarpone. Mix until combined.

RAVIOLI:

Take 1 wonton wrapper, place on a board and fill with 1 tsp of the lobster filling. Don’t overfill your ravioli or they won’t seal, this will be plenty once you press the air out and cut or fold.

Place another wonton wrapper on top, press down to push the air out, and cut with a ravioli (heart-shaped) cutter of your choice. Wonton ravioli can be cut into shapes: round, square, or heart using an inexpensive ravioli cutters, and the cutter will seal the edges.

If you don’t have a cutter, simply place the tsp of filling onto one wonton sheet, and fold into a triangle corner to corner, and press the air out, and press edges closed with your fingers. That’s it! Easy..

Place all filled ravioli onto a parchment lined tray, and brush with melted butter.

Bake Ravioli 400 F for 10 minutes. The edges of the ravioli will brown slightly and get a crispy edge. The baking adds amazing flavor!

SAUCE:

In a small pan, simmer the limoncello, lemon juice, and whisk in the cubed butter until well combined, then pour in heavy cream, whisk to mix and turn off heat.

Drizzle sauce over baked lobster ravioli, and garnish with finely chopped parsley and Parmesan cheese.

Tortellini in Garlic Cream Sauce

• 1 lb tortellini
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 Tbsp butter
• 5 cloves garlic, pressed or minced, or to taste
• 1 tsp Herbes de Provence
• 14 to 16 oz chicken stock
• 1/3 tsp seasoned salt
• 1/2 cup half-n-half or cream

Boil 4 quarts of water and cook tortellini according to package directions.

Meanwhile ….

Place oil and butter in large saucepan over medium heat. When butter sputters add garlic and reduce to low. Cook 3 minutes or until garlic is translucent. Add Herbes de Provence.

Increase heat to medium and add chicken stock and salt. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to low. Cook 10 minutes.

Add cream and simmer for 3 minutes. Add cooked tortellini and turn off heat. Stir to mix well. Serve.

Note: when referring to garlic “Or to taste” means add more.

Chicken Alfredo

16 oz egg noodles
3 Tbsp butter
4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, split horizontally
3/4 cup white wine
3/4 cup ricotta
3/4 cup plain yogurt
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
4 cloves garlic, pressed
salt & ground black pepper

Cook the noodles according to package directions. Drain, put back into cooking pot and add butter. Stir to melt butter and coat noodles. Cover to keep warm.

While pasta is cooking, season the chicken breasts and poach in wine, about 5 minutes. Cook until just done, don’t over cook. Remove from pan and keep warm. When cooled enough to handle, slice into bite-sized pieces.

Reduce wine in pan until nearly dry. Add ricotta, yogurt, Parmesan, and garlic. Stir over low heat until well mixed, seasoning with salt & pepper. Add chicken and sauce to pasta, folding well to mix.

Note: I seasoned the chicken with Seasoned Salt. Makes a nice flavor addition. Sauce is not smooth like a sour cream based sauce, but the flavor is good.

Little German Noodle Dumplings

(Spätzle)

• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• dash of ground black pepper
• 2 quarts water (see note)
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 Tbsp butter or margarine, melted

Mix eggs, milk, flour, 1/2 tsp salt, and pepper (batter will be thick). Heat water and 1 tsp salt to boiling in Dutch oven. Press batter through colander (preferably one with large holes), a few tablespoons at a time, into boiling water. Stir once or twice to prevent sticking.

Cook until dumplings rise to surface and are tender, about 5 minutes; drain. Pour butter over dumplings. Makes 4 to 6 servings. Note: Spätzle can also be cooked in beef or chicken broth.

This one was a mixture of homemade and kluge. The pasta was made from scratch, and we have pictures to prove it! The Red Pepper Sauce was made from roasted red bell peppers, pureéd, and thinned with something no one can remember. The Pesto Sauce was made with commercial pesto, thinned with olive oil. We piped it on the pasta making cute patterns.

Homemade Pasta

• 1 cup flour
• 1 egg
• 1/2 tsp salt (or substitute 1 Tbsp olive oil)
• additional flour for kneading & rolling

Place flour on working surface. Shape into a mound and make a well in the center. Add salt & egg to well. Supporting the outside of the well with one hand, use a fork to rapidly mix egg with a circular motion, drawing flour from the inside of the well. When dough forms a solid mass, shape into a ball. Remove all caked flour/egg from hands & working surface. Lightly flour hands and working surface with all purpose flour and knead until dough is smooth and elastic. Add more flour at this point if dough is moist or sticky. If dough is too dry, dampen hands and continue kneading. Shape into a ball and cover bowl. Let rest 15 minutes. Shape into noodles by hand or use a pasta machine.

Pasta Verde: Add 1/4 cup of minced, cooked spinach (drained & squeezed dry) when mixing in egg. Additional flour (1/4 to 1/2 cup) may be needed if dough is too sticky.

Pasta Rossa: Add 1/4 cup pureed canned beets (or beet baby food) when mixing in egg. Adjust flour as necessary.