In the past, we have had some extravagant date nights out on the town. With a love of fancy food and drinks and getting dressed up, it just makes sense to drive the 20 minutes to downtown Detroit and go all out. However, sometimes spending the night at home can be the perfect way to end a long week.
Additionally, Matt and I have recently started to get back on track health and weight-wise. While we thoroughly enjoy eating at fancy restaurants, we really enjoy the food: the food that is purely meant for enjoyment and satisfaction, not healthy living. So, we decided that our date night would encompass a lot of our new healthy living characteristics. Not only would we make our meal at home and control the amount of sugar and fat and calories, but we would exercise before and after.
Starting out the night, Matt worked on the Mustang he is rebuilding. We were productive and efficient, as I cleaned the kitchen to make cooking easier and for better pictures. The dough was ready, the kitchen was beautiful, and Matt was at a good stopping point; time to run. Now, at this point Matt has been running three days a week for the last two weeks... I ran once, on a treadmill, about three weeks ago... I thought my natural athleticism would allow me to keep up with him, it did not.
We ran for two miles, well he did ( I walked many times and tried not to pass out). Keep in mind we also have rough air quality due to the wildfires in Canada (or at least that is what I am using as my excuse to make me feel better.) However, we still needed to run to the store and pick up sauce because I forgot to grab it when I bought groceries earlier, so our warm down was an additional two mile walk, going to the store and back.
Back at home, it was time to cook. I got started on the dough and all the prep work while Matt showered after the run. The dough was easy enough to throw in the stand mixer with a dough hook. All the ingredients went right into the bowl, I turned it onto medium-low and was able to work on other things for about five minutes. Knowing that all fillings needed time to cool before stuffing the ravioli, I got to work on those. Cooking the Italian sausage for Matt's ravioli was the first step. Then I focused on chopping up onion and mushrooms and garlic for my filling. At this point the dough was ready to finish up with some hand-kneading. Once smooth, the dough was set aside to rest.
Matt was now out of the shower and available to help. He ran outside to our beautiful herb garden (that he designed and built by himself) to grab some fresh basil and sage.
If you have even the slightest green thumb and the space to grow herbs, add a small herb garden to your home. You have fresh, delicious herbs at your fingertips whenever you need them, they smell amazing, and you save money that you would otherwise spend each time a recipe calls for them.
Just look at the size of those basil leaves! We utilize our herbs in foods, drinks, and as mosquito repellent.
Making the fillings, especially the red wine mushroom filling, is my favorite part because you get to be creative with your flavors. I love mushrooms, I love red wine, I love the two together, so this was the perfect opportunity to make a new filling that emphasized the two perfectly. Matt on the other hand loves the classics, why mess with a good thing, so it was sausage and cheese all the way for him. There are a few things that he would change with his though, maybe adding some spice or red pepper flakes and definitely adding some garlic in while the sausage cooked. Overall adding the ricotta as a binder was the perfect solution for structural integrity.
Matt's turn to thrive! Taking the dough and separating it out perfectly made the process so smooth. It has been a while since our last at home pasta date night, but each time it goes better and better. One of the challenges of at home date night is the cooking together aspect: who cooks what, do we work together, do we tell each other what to do? At times the stress levels definitely rise, especially with two people who enjoy the process and feel strongly about it. However, with each cook we are more fluid in the kitchen and trust each other more. This time still had its moments, but the end product was so delicious it makes up for it.
Matt got the dough where it needed to be, though next time we will go a little thicker on the top layer so there will be less tearing in the dough. Then we worked together to get the filling spaced out and the dough sandwiched together. Once all the ravioli were formed and the water was boiling and ready, I took my leave to get a post run shower in and Matt took over finishing the cooking and plating.
And here is the finished product:
Find the recipe under the food section of my blog! Here it is as well:
Following our meal, we cleaned up but decided to splurge just a bit more and walk to the ice cream counter just down the road. Our walk added another two miles to our legs for the day, totaling six miles without all the extra steps that are normal in day to day life. After ice cream and our walk, we finished up the evening throwing it back to the early 2000s and playing some Halo on the XBOX 360. Date night at home is relaxing, comfortable, and can be curated to the couple. Find a recipe, invite a friend or a significant other, and make a meal at home that you can be proud to serve!
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