Homemade Ravioli

            Recently, I have had an unusual amount of time on my hands. As a result, a lot of that time has been spent in the kitchen. I was flipping through a book called “The Geometry Of Pasta” and got a wild hair. I decided to make homemade ravioli.

            I allotted myself much of the afternoon and decided that I would make the pasta and three kinds of fillings for the ravioli. 1) Hot Italian sausage, crushed red pepper and ricotta cheese 2) Caprese like ravioli with roasted tomatoes and mozzarella 3) Tomato and basil goat cheese with spinach and scallions. The first task… roast the tomatoes.

            A small disclaimer: I very much dislike raw tomatoes. I know, I know. It may be borderline blasphemy. Any other way, shape or form and I enjoy them. But raw? No. So I roasted them. To be honest, afterwards I ate them like candy. Was it because of the seasoning or the sweetness that was acquired through roasting? I don’t know. They were tasty.

            While the tomatoes were roasting, I started to make the pasta. As the pasta dough chilled, I mixed the internal ingredients. I tried to determine what sauces would go best with each. Number 1, a light red sauce. Number 2, reduced balsamic and olive oil. Number 3… whatever you want to put on number 3. Making the internal ingredients was simple. Making pasta was simple. Rolling it out, without a pasta roller was another story. Sweat. Soreness. Long stoy short, I need to invest in a pasta roller.

            Just after I cooked one of each of the raviolis, and gave them a taste test, the power went out. A little bit of lightening hit and then some thunder. No Oklahoma tornado. No East Coast hurricane. Only a sprinkling of rain. Seriously?

            I lit a candle…

            While it was a unique experience trying to prepare a future meal by candlelight, I threw in the towel after I finished 1 of 3 batches of ravioli. I could feel flour handprints around the house. On the candle. On my phone. On my computer and camera. Luckily flour handprints can be cleaned in daylight. And luckily ravioli can be frozen.

Steamed Mussels

        More often than not, seafood in Oklahoma is either frozen or fried. I enjoy fresh seafood thoroughly, but I realize that having it shipped to land locked states in the center of the country sometimes makes it iffy at best. Fast-forward to the East. This Okie is borderline excited about seafood.

        Elizabeth and I have been talking about shellfish for some time. Wait, rewind…

   

       Liz is the primary reason that I moved 1,200 miles from Oklahoma City to North Carolina. Needless to say, she is a special woman.  She is known on the blog of Jeremy and Kathleen. She has been featured on Apartment Therapy. And she is the Senior Art Director of her advertising agency. Long story short, she is a jewel.

       OK SO GOOD. Elizabeth and I have been talking about shellfish for some time. I did some research, and Liz brought home some ingredients. It must be noted, that the look on her face when she walked in the door was priceless. She was excited about the great day she had had, yet creeping into that look on her face was the fact that she had 2 pounds of live, moving mussels in her hand. Where is my camera when I need it? And then... we steamed some mussels.

      

             
            This is this point where I would like to act like an awesome foodie and give you, in detail, the delicious recipe. Unfortunately, that is not going to be the case. Butter in the pot. Check. Sauté some garlic and shallots. Check. Add chardonnay to the mix. Check. Umm... I guess we add the mussels now? Yes. I was blown away by how simple yet delicious this dish was. It may just be an Oklahoma boy getting acclimated to his new environment, but let me tell you, this environment tastes good.

               Up until this point, I have been a stickler for making sure all images on this blog were mine. To be honest though, Liz’s pictures completely set the scene (and looking at them make me want to eat this meal again). All of the images in this post are hers. And I’ll be the first to say that she takes some sexy food pictures. 

            
              Who knew that some butter, garlic, shallots, white wine and some mussels could make for one amazing meal? Oh, and toast some crusty bread while you are at it. You are welcome.

Fullsteam Brewery

            
             In my humble opinion, COOP Ale Works is a high point in the limited selection of Oklahoma craft beers. On COOP cans you can find an inconspicuous note that reads OK+COOP=AWESOME. I would tend to agree.
 
             Well before I departed OKC, through the magic of the internet and word of mouth, I had heard about Fullsteam Brewery in Durham, NC. As a result, visiting Fullsteam was on the short list of things to do when I first moved to Durham. I was very much looking forward to seeing what was behind the heavy red, sliding door marked with a large, inverted F.

             Stepping through the threshold of the heavy, sliding door I imagined seating to accommodate the crowd of people that overflowed onto the front patio. I was pleasantly surprised to see a ping-pong tournament taking place on two tables. Making the way through the tournament spectators, another room opened up with seating, a stage for performances and a jukebox filled with great music. Half of the music listed was local. To be honest, we played Warpaint just because we could. The back wall was all glass, giving a full view into the room where the magic happens. The large stainless steel brewing equipment almost joins you in having a drink.  

             In the bar area, large chalkboards hang on the brick wall, listing the selections for the day. Southern Lager, Rocket Science IPA and Carver Sweet Potato are reliable fixtures. Fullsteam’s mission is to  “…create a distinctly Southern beer style that celebrates the culinary and agricultural heritage of the South.” Seasonally, Fullsteam offers Summer Basil and Hogwash Hickory-Smoked Porter, in addition to others. You can't go wrong with any of them.

             I have only been able to call Durham home for a short period of time. Nonetheless, I still seem to appreciate something different every time I visit Fullsteam. They feature community foraged beer, utilizing foraged fruits. Pears. Persimmons. For crying out loud, they have basil and tomatoes growing in the alley. If you are hungry at Fullsteam, you have options. Local cheese. Local tamales. Local cookies. The list goes on, yet remains local. One of my favorite food offerings (possibly because for me it is a bit nostalgic) is not necessarily local. “A tribute to the Southern tradition of a RC Cola and a Moon Pie.” Fullsteam carries Moon Pies to accompany their Working Man’s Lunch beer. A new Southern tradition I say. Eat a Moon Pie and feel like a kid again (at least that is what I feel like when I eat a Moon Pie)… Albeit a kid with an adult beverage.

             Fullsteam doesn’t just stay behind the heavy red, sliding door. As well as engaging the community with foraged concoctions, they also partner with community restaurants to create “Beer Dinners”, pairing the proper plate with the proper portion of local beer.

             Initially, I was a little disappointed to leave COOP behind in OKC... Even going as far as bringing some East with me. The disappointment has definitely been replaced by the excitement and pride that I can exhibit in my new hometown brewery, Fullsteam. Cheers.
 

Duquesne Incline

            There is a picture floating around somewhere of a very young boy relieving himself at the base of the Duquesne Incline. 26 years later that boy has rode again. Also, the City of Pittsburgh has placed port-a-potties at the base of the incline.

            The Duquesne Incline is an inclined plane railroad, located in Pittsburgh's South Side neighborhood, that scales Mt. Washington. Completed in 1877, the incline is 800 feet long and covers 400 feet of elevation. It rises above Pittsburgh's central business district to view a triangular tract carved by the confluence of three rivers. The Allegheny and Monongahela rivers come together to form the Ohio River. From an elevated view the rivers combine to form a picturesque view of downtown Pittsburgh. It is a view that a young boy would not forget... and even come back to see as a man. 

Primanti Bros.

            The story, dating back to 1933, goes a little something like this: Truckers delivered their goods to downtown Pittsburgh in the middle of the night. Having to get back on the road quickly, Primanti's designed a sandwich to be eaten with one hand, while the driver drove the truck with the other. A convenient meal to be eaten on the road. By combining the sandwich as well as the sides, between two slices of fresh Italian bread, a Pittsburgh staple was born. 

            I had eaten a Primanti sandwich years ago at a Pirates baseball game, but have always wanted to visit one of their restaurant locations. The location I wanted to visit was in Oakland, near the University of Pittsburgh. Primanti's second location. It did not disappoint. The unassuming interior was welcoming as we obeyed a sign to seat ourselves. Greeted by a young waiter wearing Steeler's apparel, he wrote nothing down as if he was making sure we would get back quickly to our haul with a full meal in hand, nearly 80 years later.

 

            I felt it only fitting to order a Yuengling from the oldest brewery in America, located in Pottsville, Pennsylvania. Upon the waiter's recommendation, I ordered the capicola sandwich. Similar to proscuitto, as can possibly be seen beneath the fries and slaw in the left and right images below, it made for an amazing indulgence. The middle image below… well, that is a three cheese Primanti sandwich. Yes, a cheese sandwich from Primani Bros. If you ever happen to be in Pittsburgh, do yourself a favor and enjoy.