It makes me so happy that Erika and I (aka Gina and Gina) made ravioli. Pasta has been on my list of 'things to make' since I landed in Italy 9 months ago. I even bought a very cool ravioli tray in December (it is a tray where you lay the pasta sheet on top, place filling in 'dips' in the mold, lay on the top pasta sheet and roll over with a wooden rolling pin---it cuts all the ravioli for you! And sadly, it has remained kitchen decor instead of kitchen tool.

So when Erika asked what I was interested in making, pasta! came out of my mouth without hesitation. She made the dough, we rolled it through a pasta roller (largest first, to smallest setting), and layered the pasta to make scrumptious walnut Gorgonzola ravioli.

Pasta Dough 100 gr flour '00' 1 egg pinch salt little olive oil

filling: 150 grams soft (about 2/3 cup) Gorgonzola 1/4 cup roughly chopped walnuts

Make dough by making a pile of flour, filling a middle hole with the egg, and pinches of salt and oil. Incorporate until blended. Erika used semolina flour to roll out and handle dough. We put one sheet down, placed dollops of the mix (blend cheese and walnuts) 3 inches apart, placed the other sheet on top and 'pressed' squares around each one. Then we pressed again, to make sure the filling didn't have air pockets (so the ravioli wouldn't open during its brief dive in boiling water). She layered them and set them on the counter; an hour later we dropped them into the boiling water... 3 minutes later we were ready to eat!

(She topped the ravioli with medium Pecorino cheese and a drizzle of olive oil). I am thinking coarsely ground pepper might be a nice touch. Now that ravioli has 'happened' in my life, I am jazzed about making my own. I plan to experiment with different fillings---and promise to post about the best of them!