Recently I got together with my side of the family to make ravioli for our Annual Ravioli Night with The Cousins dinner. We incorporated this tradition a few years ago when a dear close cousin of mine past away. Her mother, (my aunt) and my mother, were not only sister in laws they were best friends. They would always cook together and be together during the holidays so all of us cousins wanted to do the same thing along with our own families. We use their cherished ravioli recipe that has been handed down to all of us.
Making ravioli for a crowd is probably not the smartest thing to do, you really have to be organized. We make and form the actual ravioli on trays which gives them a consistent look, size and seals them perfectly. I do this a couple of weeks ahead of time and then all get put into the freezer. I make all the dough and the fillings the night before we gather together so everything is ready to go, I use my trusty food processor method for the dough which always works perfectly and never fails me.
When morning comes around, all I have to do is take the dough out of the fridge and get to room temperature. Ten batches of dough yields 400 ravioli, I’m going to cut that down a bit for next year, we finally figured out the right amount to make so there will still be enough leftover for everyone to take a container home.
We set aside the whole day to make them, only stopping for lunch in between and a few coffee breaks, this year we made 200 meat and 200 cheese.
Once we get our mojo working properly the ravioli start coming together quickly. We all have our jobs, I usually do the rolling of all the dough with my pasta machine then after they’re formed I’ll get them into the freezer and then when frozen solid I’ll put them into freezer bags.
I did a blog post a while back on making ravioli for a crowd, here’s the link there’s some good tips on how to get it done efficiently.
One thing I didn’t want to do is have pots of water boiling on my stove with 30 people in my house, so the night before the actual party all that messy work is finished. I also make sure that days before my sauce is all pre-made and ready to go.
I boil each and every one of the ravioli the night before the party and place them single layer on commercial quality full size foil sheet pans that I get from a restaurant supply store, they work great plus it’s a throw away with no clean up!
After they cool down I cover the pans with heavy duty foil and keep them cold overnight. When it’s party time all I have to do is pop the whole pan in the oven at 350 degrees F. for 15 minutes, they get perfectly warmed and the pans are great for serving but more importantly there’s nothing major for me to do on party day with a house full of people.
No one sees the disaster on my stove from the night before with all the boiling going on, that’s a good thing! Believe it or not it gets all clean and shiny in time for the party!
Ravioli Night with The Cousins is now an annual event in my house, we do it a couple of weeks before Christmas and we all look forward to it every year!
Can you see why I love those big pans? I can get 60 to 70 ravioli single layer on one full sheet pan, they’re great for a big party.
We keep our menu simple, it’s basically the same every year, meat and cheese ravioli, a couple of different salads, good bread, my brothers famous sausage and peppers and chicken that he makes on a charcoal grill. There’s plenty of wine and tons of desserts.
Another tradition that is now added to our annual Ravioli Night with The Cousins is my daughters homemade limoncello, it’s the best and truly one of the highlights of the night, she makes it every year with much love and care and we all look forward to sipping it. We toast to those who aren’t with us any longer and to all our families here and now. The younger cousins kept doing multiple toasts throughout the night, it was so much fun! That’s my daughter, upper right hand corner picture, bottom center holding a glass. Thanks V!
It may seem like a lot of work to pull this all off but I can honestly say that it’s worth every bit, and besides we’re creating memories and traditions for a lifetime!
And last but not least I’ll leave you with a photo of our Christmas dinner as it might be something you would want to create for New Years Eve. Crab stuffed shrimp, I’ve made it before but this time I made a lemon aioli for dipping the shrimp, it added a ton of flavor and was a nice compliment. Corzetti pasta with pesto was on the side along with a salad, but the one thing I’m super excited about more than anything else is that I finally figured out how to make a proper lobster tail and how to get the meat out of the shell in one piece! I watched a You Tube about it and it all came out without a glitch, literally!
So if you’re staying home on New Years Eve and want to make a special elegant meal I would highly recommend this lobster tail and my crab stuffed shrimp along with a nice bottle of champagne to celebrate and bring in 2014! Salute!
Need a last minute gift idea? You can make these quick and very decadent little French confections called Mendiants.
Gather up some dried fruit and nuts, I’m sure you have some in your pantry or cabinets already, use whatever you like, you won’t need much just a handful of each. One other component I added was flaky sea salt, the salt complimented the chocolate so well and gave it a little crunch, I highly recommend using it.
Make sure you use premium dark chocolate and slowly simmer until melted over a double boiler. I bought a 1 pound bar and was able to make 42 mendiants out of it.
Some ideas for toppings are orange peel, apricots, cranberries, golden raisins, figs, coconut, pecans, pistachios, hazelnuts, walnuts, almonds and cashews to name a few. I did plump up my figs, cranberries and golden raisins by placing them in boiling water for 1 minute, make sure to dry them off.
A little goes a long way, you can quarter your figs and cut off small slices from your apricots, you don’t even need to add as much topping as I did.
When the holidays start approaching I always get the urge to make homemade pastas. I make ravioli each year but I also enjoy making some other out of the ordinary pastas, like corzetti.
I’ve only made corzetti a few times, once was with my girlfriends when I first got my new stamps, we spent the whole day together making garganelli and corzetti pasta, I did a post on it a couple of years ago 
You can order these heirloom quality crafted stamps from 
Making corzetti is a true labor of love but I can’t imagine a more beautiful pasta to serve for a very special occasion. I wouldn’t recommend making them for a crowd but for a smaller dinner party they are wonderful. They’re just so extraordinary your guests will surely be impressed!
After you get your dough together you’ll want to roll it out thin with a pasta machine. You cut the coin shape with one part of the stamp then flip it over and place the pasta disc on top and then pressing down using the part with the handle, each side will have a design embossed into the pasta, they’re amazing to look at!
I even got my granddaughter to help me make some, she caught on right away and did a great job!
You can freeze them individually which I do, single layer on a baking sheet and then when frozen I place them into freezer bags for later use.
When you’re ready to eat them place into salted boiling water, they will rise to the top and only take about 3 minutes to cook. Scoop out gently with a handheld spider strainer. Treat them with tender loving care.
Although the traditional way to eat corzetti is with a pesto of some sort, we love them just the same with marinara spooned all over the top.
And don’t forget to sprinkle generously with freshly grated romano or parmesan cheese, so, so delicious!
I had some leftover so I tossed them into a brown butter sauce with grated parmesan cheese and added sauteed kale and roasted butternut squash for a wonderful midweek dinner.
Here’s the more traditional way to serve corzetti, a pesto made with olive oil, parsley, basil, garlic, parmesan and walnuts, it’s so scrumptious and really highlights the design.
I’m Marie, a wife, mother, mother-in-law, and gramma of two beautiful girls. My passion is food, clear and simple but especially Italian food, hence the name of my blog, Proud Italian Cook. I want you to feel right at home here so grab a cup of coffee, I’ll get the pastries, take a look around and enjoy your visit! {
