Ravioli Goodness

So here it goes, my first blog post!

I started making this ravioli dish maybe a year and a half ago. It's a good comfort food dish for those cold winter days we have way too many of in Boston. I guess my inspiration came from a lot of my favorite things. . . cheese, spinach, garlic, CHEESE. . . you get the idea. I first cook a package of frozen chopped spinach in the microwave for a few minutes. Then, I heat some EVOO with maybe two tablespoons of butter in a large saute pan. Once the butter is melted and a little bubbly, I add about four cloves of chopped garlic and half a package of roughly chopped crimini mushrooms. Meanwhile, I have a large pot of water on the stove at a high temperature, awaiting the frozen Mamma Rosa ravioli (at least I think that's the brand -- two packages, in a white and red bag). After the mushrooms and garlic have been in the pan for a few minutes, I add a little salt and pepper, and let them cook a little longer. Next comes the spinach (squeeze that liquid out, please!) and a can of rinsed petite cut tomatoes. Yes, rinsed. I tried to add the whole can as is once and it had a funny taste. (As a side note, I think it's a good general rule to rinse ANYTHING that comes out of a can!) Add more salt and pepper to the pan. Once the veggies are cooked, add another two tablespoons of butter, and sprinkle maybe two tablespoons of flour on top. Stir and cook the flour for a couple minutes, then add 1 3/4 cups of whole milk. Bring this to a light boil, stirring often. This is a good time to add the ravioli to the pot of boiling water. Cook the ravioli according to the package -- six minutes I believe. Drain. Once the milk comes to a light boil, keep it at that temperature for a few minutes, or until it has thickened a bit. Turn the heat off, and add some freshly grated nutmeg and Parmesan cheese into the pan to taste -- I've never measured either of these, but for the cheese, I would guess about 1/3 or 1/2 cup. You'll likely need to add more salt and pepper at this point too. Toss the ravioli with the sauce, and enjoy!