Corin is obsessed with bubbles, walking the dog and helping his Dad with yard work. Babysitting sure has changed from a year ago!
The day started with trains, trucks and coloring.
Then there were hugs for Danny.
Walking the dog
Picking dandelion flowers
Walking Joey with Yeh Yeh
Playing with Yun Yun’s new bubble machine, a birthday present from Corin
Riding his bike
Yeh Yeh riding Corin’s bike
A little gardening
Raking the lawn
And of course, sweeping the yard.
Alisha’s shower was timed close to Mom’s birthday, so we had a little celebration with dim sum and cake. Corin is the entertainment when we all get together, and he certainly does not disappoint!
Hello?
Joey, it’s for you!
Happy Birthday Yun Yun! I made you a cake!
Mmm, cake!
After a good nap, it was time to hit the park.
I am honored to be a bridesmaid for one of my very good friends, Alisha. She is marrying a wonderful man this summer, so we threw her a bridal shower at the lovely home of her aunt and uncle in El Dorado Hills. Here I am with the lovely bride. I promise to take more pics at the wedding!
Lori and I took a pasta making class at the ICE. I’ve taken a few classes there in the past and had a great time. It’s hands-on, so you do all the prep and cooking, with the guidance of a chef instructor. At the end, you sit down and enjoy the fruits of your labor. I spent the better part of my Saturday mixing eggs and flour, cutting onions for onion confit, grinding basil and garlic for pesto, and rolling out our pasta dough to make fettuccine and ravioli. I can’t wait to show off my new skills to my family!
My ball of pasta dough, two eggs mixed and kneaded with just under 200 grams of white wheat flour.
Lotsa pasta balls
Twelve cups of thinly sliced onions…
Cooks down to this!
Add white wine, chopped parsley and grated Parmigiano-Reggiano to onion confit
Mashed, roasted butternut squash, straining in cheese cloth
Mix with rosemary, thyme and sage
Add freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
Brown butter sauce
Boiled fresh peas
Cream sauce with peas, ham and onions
Browning duck necks and backs
Roasted duck parts
Meat for duck sauce
Mixed sausage for tortellini filling
Sauteed veggies for ragu bolognese
Making pesto in a mortar and pestle is a lot of manual labor. Thank goodness for food processors.
Add olive oil to the ground garlic, basil and pine nuts
Stir in Parmigiano-Reggiano and pecorino Romano cheeses
Fresh ricotta, egg, Parmigiano-Reggiano and parsley
Time to roll out my pasta!
Flat sheets of pasta for making stuffed pasta, like ravioli and tortellini. This is ricotta-stuffed ravioli.
Folded over and sealed with egg wash
Ravioli!
Wide cut paparadelle
Thinner cut fettuccine
Fettuccine with onion confit
Ricotta ravioli with pesto
Fettuccine with peas and ham
Tortellini with ragu bolognese
Butternut squash ravioli with sage brown butter
Paparadelle with duck sauce
Buon apetito!
(Thanks to Edward, Deirdre and Corin for an AWESOME Christmas present!)
