The Mall at Short Hills-store
On Sunday-August 7th, from 2-5 p.m. I held a cooking demonstration in the Williams-Sonoma, at The Mall at Short Hills, N.J.
This is the largest of their stores in the U.S. For those not familiar with this mall or store please click > http://ow.ly/61Lxu
The complete demonstration was on making ricotta cheese, and pasta dough from scratch. Then combining the two to make homemade ricotta ravioli.Using all the wonderful cooking and baking items sold in the store.
The KitchenAid mixer along with its pasta attachments were a big hit at this demonstration.
Homemade Pasta Dough
This is a an excellent dough for pasta; it is exceptional for all kinds of stuffed and rolled pastas.
Ingredients:
- 500 grams all-purpose flour
- 250 grams semolina flour
- 7 eggs
- 1 teaspoon salt
Procedure:
- Sift the two flours into the large bowl of a heavy-duty mixer, fitted with the dough hook.
- Whisk together eggs and salt in a separate bowl.
- Make well in the center of the flour, and pour the egg mixture in.
- Slowly, turn on mixer to incorporate the eggs and flour thoroughly. Knead dough until smooth, pale and elastic. Separate into two disks and wrap in plastic. Refrigerate to rest for at least 30 minutes.
Photo examples:
KitchenAid – pasta attachment set up
The set up for the “KitchenAid” along with its pasta attachments literally takes just a few minutes. It is extremely simple!
The dough, once the ingredients are mixed, should rest for at least one hour. If using right away cover with a plastic wrap and let rest on your work area. If using the next day , wrap and place in the refrigerator.
When ready to use, remove from the refrigerator at least one hour before stretching!
KitchenAid demo, Williams-Sonoma
It is important to take the cold chill from the dough. this will prevent it from being to brittle and keep it from tearing, and make it much easier to roll, stretch and work with.
The Roller attachment on these machines works extremely well. They are automatic, which enables you to be able to use both hands while feeding the dough through the rollers.
KitchenAid – pasta roller attachment
*Tip – Remember when rolling out a pasta ribbon to use the sides and back of your hands to handle the dough. Fingers and fingertips will poke unwanted holes and slow down your stretching process.
The machine rolls a beautiful pasta ribbon with no problem!
KitchenAid – pasta attachment demo
These ribbons of pasta can now be passed through the various KitchenAid pasta cutters. This demonstration I showcased the easy to use ravioli maker.
The best part is that the attachment rolls the exact width of pasta dough to match the exact width of the ravioli attachment which is the next step.
KitchenAid – ravioli attachment
This allows for no trimming and also allows for a quick transition to the actual making of the ravioli.
Ravioli making is a cinch with the KitchenAid pasta attachments. Purchase one and have some pasta making fun!
Homemade ricotta ravioli – KitchenAid
The next post will include the recipe on how to make “homemade ricotta” along with how to make the ricotta ravioli using the KitchenAid, ravioli attachment.
I highly suggest to anybody looking to make pasta at home to go to your local Williams-Sonoma store and purchase these items. They make the whole pasta making process extremely simple, and the clean up is a snap. >http://ow.ly/62oaX
Stay tuned more to come!