'tis the season for fantastic food

and can i say how much i absolutely love it when the best thing that i have eaten in recent memory is something that i actually made myself?
granted, that's not the biggest accomplishment ever. because i naturally will know what i expect to enjoy before choosing a recipe. but the recipe in question is particularly amazing. i have had it dog eared since my november issue of cooking light arrived in the mail. i got off work early today, i wasn't afraid of the grocery stores (as i have been for the past week or so), and i wanted to finally cook something for the first time a while. here's how it all went down.

pumpkin ravioli with gorgonzola sauce
adapted from cooking light magazine, november 2007

for the ravioli:

* 1.25 cups canned pumpkin
* 2 tablespoons panko bread crumbs
* 2 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese
* 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
* 1/2 teaspoon minced fresh sage
* 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
* 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
* 30 wonton wrappers (i could only find square)
* 1 tablespoon corn starch
* cooking spray

1) spoon pumpkin onto several layers of paper towels and spread to 1/4 inch thickness. cover with more paper towels and allow to sit for five minutes
2) scoop pumpkin into a bowl. mix with break crumbs, parmesan, salt, sage, pepper, and nutmeg
3) working with one wonton wrapper at a time, scoop a small amount of filling into the center. wet the edges and seal, crimping shut as best you can as you go. place each completed raviolo on a piece of foil sprinkled with corn starch. continue to fill wontons until all wrappers are used are all filling is gone (hopefully both with occur simultaneously)
4) fill a large dutch oven with water. bring water to a simmer. place half of the ravioli into the water and cook until they start to float (do not boil). remove with a slotted spoon and place on a plate. spray with cooking spray. cook remaining ravioli and follow the procedure, keeping all cooked ravioli warm as you go

for the sauce:

* 1 cup fat-free milk
* 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
* 1.5 tablespoon butter
* 1/2 cup crumbled gorgonzola
* 3 tablespoons chopped toasted hazelnuts

1) whisk together milk and flour in a saucepan
2) bring to a boil and cook for about a minute, stirring constantly
3) remove from heat. stir in butter until it is melted
4) stir in gorgonzola
5) place desired amount of ravioli into a bowl. spoon sauce on top. sprinkle on hazelnuts

with roasted asparagus on the side.

pellet helped a little tonight =)

to show what an actual bite looked like . . .

and, basically, wow. these were good. i've never been a huge fan of gorgonzola on its own (is anyone?). but i could tell that, with all of the different components to this dish, it was going to taste wonderful. even the wonton wrappers added a great doughy taste and texture to the meal that i wouldn't have really expected. the hazelnuts were a perfect topping-- the nuttiness took away a little bit of the gorgonzola's bite.
the only thing i believe i would do differently the next time i make this is add a bit more sage. even though the entire package was absolutely delectable, i think a tiny bit extra of that flavor would have made it just slightly more special.

again and again, yay for fall ingredients. and i hope everyone had a lovely thanksgivin