First play with my new Christmas toy

I got a very lovely ravioli maker for Christmas and hadn't actually made any with it yet, so I dug it out of the cupboard this week in an attempt to make pea and mint ravioli. As usual, I took the fly by the seat of my pants attitude to a recipe and had a crack at just making it up myself and it worked....sort of.



I used a basic pasta dough recipe from Jamie Oliver's Italy. The end result was nice but the filling wasn't thick enough and I eventually had to put an egg into it so at least when the pasta was cooked, the filling wasn't runny. I didn't want to blitz cooked garden peas so I blended still frozen ones meaning that they eventually thawed and made the filling distinctly sloppy......stupid!

It also took much fiddling around with the pasta maker and the ravioli tray until I really got the hang of turning out a presentable set of ravioli. 



I won't share the recipe for the filling just yet as it needs to be perfected but you can see what the ravioli turn out like when using the tray. Getting one of these ravioli trays is really worth it, as when you get the hang of it you will never have a burst rav again.

To buy or not to buy, Christmas gifts for foodies.

December has arrived, hurrah! The first door of the advent calender has been opened, D-list celebrities are scraped off the bottom of the barrel and ushered onto a platform to turn on disappointing Christmas lights and significant others are reluctantly dragged round department stores in order to find the perfect gift for their nearest and dearest.

It seems to get harder every year to think of presents for relatives or maybe I just have no imagination. So if you're like me and struggling to think of things for your foodie friends and relatives and don't know where to start, here is a list if the things I would love to receive and things I would hold onto for a few days and then stick on ebay. 



1. Top of most cooks wish list is the Kitchenaid stand mixer. A beautifully crafted, retro-modern piece of machinery that makes light work of kneading dough, beating cake mixtures and whisking egg whites. Plus once you have the machine, there are about a hundred attachments you can buy as Christmas presents for years to come that will do practically any food related task besides the washing-up. This mixer is the classic, credit crunch busting version that comes in at £196.66 from Amazon, nearly £150 cheaper than the Artisan version. 



2. For all those Italian food lovers Imperia do a pasta making set that should be enough to sate any pasta enthusiasts desires. I already have the actual pasta maker but have requested the ravioli tray for Christmas.



3. One good knife is all you need. Health and safety is very important but I assure you that a good sharp knife is far less dangerous than those blunt excuses for cutting implements that you used to have to use in home economics lessons, where you had to put your full body weight through it just to slice a tomato. You can pay the earth for some makes of knife but a good reasonably priced, dependable knife is one from Global. The 20cm cooks knife is perfect for everyday use and retails at £50 from Amazon. This may seem pricey, but if you look after it well and keep it sharp, it should last a lifetime.



4. For a cheaper stocking filler try a microplane grater. They are seriously sharp and make short work of cheese and zest. Once you have one or more of these babies you will never look back.



5. If all else fails get them food. A food and drink hamper is always likely to be well received. There are hundreds of places to get them but this one looks rather nice.

Well that about rounds up the most wanted gift ideas, but before you rush out to the shops wait for my next list summarising the truly rubbish gifts you should steer clear of whilst trying to fight your way through the hoards of shoppers this Christmas. Until then, happy shopping.