Teaching Michael Mondays (12/28) -- Launch

I have three siblings: two older sisters and a younger brother, Michael. Michael is a recent graduate from Worcester Polytechnic Institute and has recently moved to his own apartment in CT... and has since been having issues cooking for himself.

To illustrate, Michael attempted to make himself a tuna melt for dinner a few weeks ago. However, he didn't have cheese..so Michael decided to top off the tuna with a fried egg (because one animal byproduct is completely interchangeable from another... right?) For the first egg, Michael didn't use any oil at all; for the second, he used too much.

His recent difficulties have prompted the launch of this mini-series: "Teaching Michael Mondays" in which I will provide readers who, like Michael, may be new to cooking, with easy recipes and tips. I have no doubt that I will also be regaling everyone with Michael's kitchen mishaps.... because what are older sisters for?

The Homemade Pasta Experiment

I've wanted to make fresh pasta for awhile. In honor of the Cutthroat Kitchen Superstar Sabotage finale (airing tonight), I attempted to make ravioli tonight with neither a pasta maker nor a rolling point.

Yep, things got interesting. Luckily for you, I live-snapchatted the whole thing! 

Pictures below, compliments of my excellent sous chef, Trevor.

To explain the process, the dough was flour, salt and eggs. I mixed it and rolled it out flat with a bottle of barbecue sauce. I cut out circles, put ricotta in the center, and sealed the raviolis with egg wash. In the spirit of full disclosure, I gave up after 25 raviolis, and made the rest into linguini. Then cooked the pasta in small batches in boiling water and topped with a creamy tomato sauce that I whipped up.

I think the experiment was a mixed success. The flavor of the pasta was good, but the whole process was very labor intensive and took about two hours.  It was also difficult to gauge done-ness on the ravioli.

Next time, I think I'll be investing in a rolling pin or a pasta roller (maybe both) and I'll stick to noodles rather than filled ravioli.