Yogurt cheese, ravioli, and Cooking for One

I thought you'd like to see the yogurt cheese complete.  And the whey that came off it.  

You'll notice that it's about half and half solid to liquid.  The whey is great in soup, and can go in any color soup without changing its appearance. I have Indian friends who add honey or sugar to this cheese, for a dessert type food, and other hardy souls who salt it.

So the ravioli came to be.  This is fun to do.  You will notice that if you use wonton wrappers instead of going the long route of making your own pasta, they are a bit translucent.  They do seal nicely, though, so you don't get any separating in the boiling water.

The filling was hot Italian sausage, browned, mixed with an egg, a helping of yogurt cheese, and a big shake of shredded Parmigiano.  I added no seasoning at all, since the sausage had plenty, and the yogurt cheese was tangy, the Parmigiano salty enough. 

Full disclosure on the sausage: I forgot to get them out of the freezer early enough, and they were still partly frozen when I sauteed them. So the skin wouldn't come off as planned, and I had to scrape the meat from it.  However, it made some very nice cooked skin with a bit of meat, which is now in the freezer in the chicken bone bag, to use in a future soup as flavoring. And I still had plenty of the meat for the ravioli filling.

This batch of filling made just under two dozen ravioli, most of which are in the freezer for the next time Handsome Son comes to dine.

Egg wash around each wrapper edge to help it seal, then a spoonful of filling in each, press down all around the edges, then turn each one over and press down again.  These get dropped into boiling water, just a few at a time so as not to lose the boiling point, and when they come to the surface give them just a minute before lifting them out to drain.

Cook's privilege, the first few.  Good without any sauce or anything.

I got the Cooking for One book, and recommend it to people who love meat, and have a budget for the more exciting seafood.  I don't, so it might not fit my kitchen, though I may yet find something, and she has some great ideas about how to keep using the same base in interesting and different ways.  

That way you don't have to eat the same meal over and over, always a good point for a single diner. I also like her assumption that you can be a good guest and host to yourself, enjoy the process of both cooking and dining. So definitely take a look at this one.

And here's a little afternoon tea, fresh hot biscuit with yogurt cheese spread, to accompany my reading.