Pumpkin Ravioli

Ingredients:
8 Tbs unsalted butter
1 can pumpkin puree
2 cups heavy cream
1 bay leaf
2 Tbs fresh sage, minced plus extra leaves for sauce
2 tsp fresh thyme
2 eggs, beaten
salt and pepper
6 sheets of fresh pasta or wonton wrappers
1 egg, beaten for egg was
1/4 cup flour for dusting
2 cups Vegetable stock
2 shallots or 1 small onion.

Directions:
1. Heat a medium saucepan over low heat and add 4 tbsp of butter. When butter is foamy, add pumpkin and add half of heavy cream and half the herbs, cook over low heat for approximately 30 minutes , or until puree is thick and the liquid has evaporated. Stir occasionally.
2. Whisk in the beaten eggs. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Set aside to cool. (I put it in the fridge)
3. Lay out 3 sheets of pasta. Using a pastry bag or teaspoon, place 8 equal mounds of pumpkin puree on each sheet dough, about 2 inches apart. Brush around each mound with egg wash. Cover mounded dough sheets with second of pasta and press around mounds to seal the dough. Using a 2-inch cookie cutter, cut out the ravioli. Dust a with flour and place the ravioli on it.
4. If you don't have time or not brave enough for fresh pasta, like me, purchase some wonton wrappers. Place a small dollop of the pumpkin mixture, wet edges and seal with a fork.
5. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil while you make the sauce.
6. To prepare the sauce, in a medium saucepan, add in the stock and shallots/onions and bring to a boil to reduce to 1/2 cup. Add remaining heavy cream and reduce by half.
7. Over low heat, whisk in remaining 4 tbsp butter, a little at a time. Strain the sauce into a clean saucepan and add remaining sage and thyme. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
8. Add ravioli to rapidly boiling water and cook for 4 to 5 minutes for fresh pasta or 2-3 minutes for wonton ravioli. Remove with a slotted spoon. Add ravioli to the sauce and bring just to a boil. Correct the seasonings.

Note: I didn't have unsalted butter so the salted butter did make this a little saucy. Also, I could have used a fresh pumpkin if I had the time. Also this made a lot more filling than I anticipated and ended up freezing some of it so I did not have 300 raviolis. The wontons were good but had the consistency of, well, wontons and not really pasta ravioli. With that being said, it was delicious. I ended up putting some extra leaves of whole sage in the sauce and that also was a nice touch. I am going to see if I can make it with fresh pasta next time...in my free time.

Curry Roasted Butternut Squash Soup

Ingredients
1 butternut squash, halved and seeded (3-4 lbs)
2 large onions, peeled and quartered
1 medium head garlic
2 cans vegetable broth or more depending on the consistency you want
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon brown sugar
1 teaspoon mild curry powder
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
salt and pepper to taste
1 cup plain yogurt

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or aluminum foil.
2. Place squash halves and onion onto the prepared baking sheet. Wrap garlic in foil and set with other vegetables. Brush with olive oil and dash of salt and pepper.
3. Roast in the center of the oven for about 60 minutes, until the squash is tender. Remove from oven and set aside until cool enough to handle.
4. Squeeze garlic cloves out of their skin like paste into a food processor. Scrape the flesh from the squash and place into the food processor along with the roasted onion. Puree until smooth. Add vegetable broth as necessary.
5. Transfer the pureed mixture to a stockpot and stir in any additional vegetable broth depending on how thick/thin you would like the soup. Season with the bay leaf, brown sugar, curry powder, oregano, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt and pepper to taste.
6. Bring to a boil and simmer gently for 10 minutes.
7. Remove from heat and stir in yogurt.
8. Remove bay leaf and serve hot.

Note: I didn't have a whole head of garlic so I just added some minced garlic to the food processor with the squash and onions. I also was having trouble making it smooth in the food processor so I used a blender and added cream instead of yogurt. I think I will try yogurt next time. What I did find with the cream is that it dulled the spices so I had to add more spices. Of course if you don't like curry, you don't have to add it in the first place.