Friday, January 19, 2018

Cooking With Friends

A few of my Italian friends invited me to join them for morning of cooking one of the most popular Italian food items, cheese ravioli.  I joined Regina, Jean and Elaine in Elaine's beautiful home for a morning of laughs and some hard work.  Rolling out that dough is tiring!

I've cooked with Elaine before, but never with Jean and Regina.  Everyone contributed, and the result was over 175 beautiful cheese raviolis.  We froze them, then split them up and took them home for several future meals.

Elaine's neighbor Dan, was our help and inspiration.  It was his recipe that we used, and his advice that we took.  Midway into the making of the dough we decided to call him.  We were not sure the dough was the right consistency, so a few minutes later, he came to take a look.  He assured us we were doing a great job, told us a few stories about his Italian family, and left us to finish the job.  We used a 100 year old rolling pin from Ethel, Regina's mom.  The ravioli makers made the job easy.  All we had to do was put in the filling, put the top layer of dough on, and roll the ravioli tool.  Easy peasy.  In two hours we had 175 ravioli and had learned the process of making ravioli.  So much fun.

Cooking with friends or family is a wonderful activity.  We learned things about each other that we did not know, even though we've known each other for years.  Cooking together creates a bond.  I can't explain it.  We had an experience together that no one else can share or understand.  I've done some cooking with  my Mom,David and Phil in the past, and always come away with a special feeling.    During the course of  our cooking, everyone told stories and shared memories of their moms and cooking with them.

Next time you have the opportunity to share the kitchen with your child, grandchild or good friend, take it.  It will be rewarding beyond your wildest expectations.  Great bonding from your experience together, and some great food to enjoy at the end of the day.

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