Serves 4

This is an easy way to make homemade ravioli. After you make the ravioli, but before you cook them, prepare your sauce and keep it warm.

Make Ahead: Up to 3 Months, make ravioli and place on a cookie sheet in a single layer, wrap with plastic and freeze overnight. Once ravioli is frozen transfer to a freezer plastic bag. When ready to cook place in your simmering water for 3-4 minutes, serve.

Ingredients

• ½ cup mascarpone
• ½ cup Parmesan cheese, finely shredded
• ½ cup gruyere, finely shredded
• pinch of salt and pepper
• 1 egg
• 1 package gyoza

Directions

1. In a small bowl mixing bowl, mix the cheeses, salt and pepper together.
2. In a small bowl, whisk together the egg and 1 Tablespoon water to make an egg wash.
3. Using a large cutting board, lay out 10 gyoza wrappers. Brush each wrapper with the egg wash and place a heaping tablespoon dollop of the cheese mixture in the middle of each wrapper. Place wrapper on top of each wrapper with cheese, press down around the cheese and seal to create a ravioli, making sure to push out all air bubbles. Cut with a ribbed heart cookie cutter and place on a tray in a single layer and cover with a damp towel. Repeat with remaining wrappers and cheese.
4. Fill a large pot ¾ full with water and bring to a simmer. Place ½ the ravioli in the water and cook for 2 minutes, with a slotted spoon scoop out ravioli and place into your warm sauce.

Sauce Suggestions

Marinara

Browned butter with sage, 1 stick of butter and 2 sage over medium heat until nutty smelling and browned, top with minced sage.

Pink Sauce, add ¼ cup cream to 4 cups marinara sauce.

Cream and crab sauce, in a medium sauce pan bring 1 cup heavy cream, 1 large smashed garlic clove and 2 large basil leaves to a simmer for 5 minutes, turn off heat, remove garlic and basil, stir in ¼ cup finely shredded Parmesan cheese and1 cup cooked Dungeness crab meat, finish with minced basil.

Makes about 20-24 slices

Make Ahead: Up to 2 days ahead, follow steps 2, 3 and 5. Keep the potatoes and the sauce fridge, take of the fridge about 30 minutes before you want to cook them. Finish the recipe by following steps 4, 6-8.

Ingredients

• 3 Yukon gold potatoes (approx 2#) , about the size of a baseball
• 1 Tablespoon butter
• 2 Tablespoons Dijon mustard
• 2 Tablespoon stone ground mustard
• ¼ cup honey
• ¼ teaspoon smoked paprika
• ½ teaspoon granulated garlic
• 1/2 -3/4 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 teaspoon brown sugar
• 3 Tablespoons olive oil
• 1 cup parmesan, grated

Directions

1. Pre-heat your oven to 550 degrees.
2. Wash the potatoes and pierce several times with a fork. Place in the microwave for 8-10 minutes or until tender to the touch, set aside.
3. While the potatoes cool, in a small sauce pot over medium heat melt the butter, stir in the mustards and honey, season with a pinch or two of salt. Bring to a simmer, stir and remove from the heat.
4. Once potatoes are cool, slice into ¼ inch thick even slices and place on a parchment or sil-pat lined baking sheet. (you may need to use 2 pans to bake them all at one time))
5. In a small bowl mix the paprika, garlic, salt and brown sugar together.
6. Sprinkle evenly over the sliced potatoes.
7. Drizzle olive oil evenly over the potatoes and top with parmesan.
8. Bake on the top rack of your oven for 7-9 minutes, or until golden. Serve warm or at room temperature with golden honey mustard dip.

Makes 36 Mini-Quiches
This is great on a brunch menu or accompanying an appetizer tray. You will need 3, 12 cup mini muffin tins or you can work in batches if you only have one.
How to Make Ahead: Up to 1 day ahead, follow steps 2-4, keep the egg mixture covered and wrap the puff pastry lined muffin tins with plastic, keep everything in the fridge.

Ingredients

• 4 eggs
• 1 Tablespoon mascarpone cheese
• 2 Tablespoons sour cream (light)
• 3 Tablespoons parmesan cheese
• 2 Tablespoons milk
• ¼ cup Pesto (recipe below)
• 1/3 cup cooked ground sausage, minced
• 3 sheets puff pastry, thawed, but chilled

Directions

1. Pre-heat your oven to 400.
2. In a medium mixing bowl whisk together all of the ingredients except the puff pastry. Set-aside.
3. Coat your mini muffin tin with non-stick spray
4. Lay the sheets of puff pastry out on a lightly floured board. Cut 9, 2 ¾ inch circles with a knife or cookie cutter out of each sheet of pastry. Push the circles in to the tin to create the shell of the quiche.
5. Fill each pastry shell ¾ full with the egg mixture. Bake for 10-12 minutes, serve warm.

Click here for my homemade Pesto Recipe or click here for the Make Ahead Meals Homemade Pesto video webisode and follow along with me in your kitchen.

Click here for Jill’s Parmesan Toast Points recipe.

Serves 8
I serve these as an appetizer at room temp or as a hot accompaniment to steak, chicken or hearty seafood dishes.
Make Ahead – Up to 1 day ahead, blanch and wrap asparagus with cheeses and asparagus (don’t bake), cover and keep in the fridge. Toast panko, keep in a plastic bag. Poach eggs, once the eggs are cooked keep covered in a wide bowl of cold water.

Ingredients

• 24 asparagus spears- washed and trimmed
• 24 slices, 12oz- prosciutto sliced thin
• 1/3 cup- cream cheese- at room temperature
• 1/3 +1/2 cup parmesan cheese- finely grated
• 2 teaspoons white vinegar
• 8 eggs
• 2 Tablespoons olive oil
• 1 cup panko breadcrumbs
• ¼ teaspoon thyme, dried.

Directions

1. Pre-heat oven to 425°.
2. Bring a large pot with 8 cups of water to a boil, blanch asparagus for 1 minute for thicker stalks and 30 seconds for thiner. Remove asparagus from pot and rinse under cold water until no longer warm. Drain and Set aside.
3. In a medium sauté pan over medium heat add olive oil, stir in panko and thyme. Toast for about 3-5 minutes, stirring often. Remove from the heat.
4. In a small bowl, mix cream cheese and 1/2 cup parmesan cheese together.
5. On 2 parchment or sil pat lined sheet pan lay prosciutto in 1 layer. Spread 1-2 tsp. of cheese mixture on top of every prosciutto slice. Place one asparagus on top of prosciutto, leaving the top 2 inches exposed and wrap prosciutto around the asparagus. Lay the wrapped asparagus 1 inch apart.
6. Pour 6 cups of water and vinegar into a medium (12”) sauté pan over medium/low heat. Heat until just before the water simmers. Fill a medium bowl with very warm water. Crack 3 eggs into separate small bowls and pour 1 down the side of the pan into the water repeat with 2 other eggs, around the pan. For over easy eggs cook for about 3 minutes or until the whites become opaque, remove from the pan with a slotted spoon and place in the bowl with warm water to keep the eggs warm while you poach the remaining eggs.
7. Sprinkle 1/2 cup of parmesan cheese over the top of all the prosciutto wrapped asparagus. Bake on the top rack for 4 minutes or until all the cheese has fully melted.
8. Lay asparagus on a platter or individual plates, scoop out the poached eggs with a slotted spoon and lay over three asparagus, repeat with remaining eggs and asparagus. Top with bread crumbs. Serve.

What is Blanching? Blanching is a way to cook vegetables in boiling water to have some tenderness but retain a slight crunch.

Serves 8
Make Ahead Tip: You can make the butter mixture up to 2 days ahead and then keep in the fridge, covered. The toast points can be sliced and baked 1 day ahead and kept unwrapped at room temp.
You can make the butter mixture in a food processor and you don’t need to chop the ingredients.
Follow along and make this recipe with Jill. Watch the Make Ahead Meals Webisode featuring this recipe.

Ingredients

• 12 baguette slices, 1/2 inch thick cut on the bias
• 3 Tablespoons butter, room temp
• 2 large basil leaves, minced
• 12 parsley leaves, minced
• 1 small garlic clove, minced
• 2 teaspoon olive oil
• pinch of salt
• 1 cup parmesan cheese, grated

Directions

1. Place a rack in the top 1/3rd of your oven and turn your oven on broil.
2. Place the baguette slices on a cookie sheet and place in the oven.
3. Toast on broil for 2-3 minutes or until lightly toasted, keeping a constant watch on them (they burn easily). Remove from the oven and set aside.
4. In a small bowl mix together the butter, basil, parsley, garlic, olive oil and salt.
5. Spread the butter mixture evenly over the toast points and top with about 1- 11/2 Tablespoons parmesan cheese.
6. Place the topped toast points back in the oven on broil for about 1 minute or until parmesan cheese is melted.

In this healthy version of the classic appetizer, we are using frozen spinach and frozen artichokes. Unless you harvest the spinach right out of your garden, frozen is a good way to go because spinach rapidly looses nutrients after it has been harvested. Frozen spinach is harvested and frozen right away, locking in the nutrients. Artichokes are best fresh, but very labor intensive, frozen is the next best thing.
Quick Tip: Assemble, but don’t bake. Keep in the fridge for a day and bake according to the recipe or wrap with plastic and foil and freeze for a few months. Bake from frozen in a 400° oven for about 1 hour covered, uncover and bake until bubbling.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup light mayo
• 1, 8 oz package 1/3 less fat cream cheese
• 1/2 cup mascarpone cheese
• 3/4 + 1/3 cup parmesan cheese
• 1/2 cup plain yogurt
• 1 teaspoon garlic, minced
• 1/4 teaspoon Tabasco
• pinch of salt and pepper
• 1 3/4 cup artichoke hearts, frozen and thawed, sliced in half
• 1/2 cup frozen spinach, thawed and water squeezed out
• 1/3 cup sun dried tomatoes, minced

Directions

1. Pre-heat your oven to 375°.
2. In a mixing bowl, combine mayo, cream cheese, mascarpone, 3/4 cup parmesan, sour cream, garlic, Tabasco, salt and pepper. Mix well.
3. Stir in the artichoke hearts, spinach and sun dried tomatoes.
4. Spread into a 2 quart baking dish. Sprinkle top with remaining 1/3 cup parmesan cheese. Bake for 30 minutes or until bubbling.
5. Serve with whole wheat crackers.

This recipe is perfect for a Thanksgiving menu or a quick meal a home. Make sure to taste your potatoes before you stuff them to make sure the texture and flavor is to your liking, if you have larger potatoes you might want to add a tablespoon more of butter or milk.
Quick Tip: Make the potatoes up to a day ahead, keep in the fridge and bake about 25 minutes before you want to serve.
Makes 10 potatoes

Ingredients

• 5 medium russet potatoes, washed
• 2 Tablespoons butter
• 1/4 cup mascarpone cheese
• 1/4 cup sour cream
• 2 Tablespoons milk
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup parmesan cheese
• 8 pieced bacon (or 1/4 cup bacon bits)

Directions

1. Pre-heat your oven to 400°.
2. With a fork prick each potato about 5 times, place on a cookie sheet. (If you have a sil-pat, lay that on your cookie sheet and bake the potatoes on it).
3. Place the potatoes in your hot oven and bake for about 40-60 minutes or until easily pierced with a fork.
4. Remove from the oven and slice each potato in half lengthwise.
5. In a mixing bowl or stand mixer, add butter, mascarpone, sour cream, milk and salt.
6. Once the potatoes are cool enough to handle, but still warm, scoop out the insides leaving the skin in tact, and place the insides in the mixing bowl with the other ingredients, reserving the skin.
7. Using a hand mixer or stand mixer with a whisk attachment, whisk together on high until well incorporated and most of the lumps are gone, about 1 minute. Turn off the mixer and stir in 1/4 cup of the parmesan cheese and all of the bacon.
8. With a large spoon scoop about 1/3 of a cup the whipped potatoes into each one of the skins. Sprinkle remaining parmesan cheese on top and bake at 375° for 7-10 minutes or until the cheese is melted and the potato is heated through.
9. If you want to make ahead and freeze: Follow the recipe, after the stuffed potatoes are baked, place in the fridge to cool. Once cool, place the potatoes in a freezer safe container or zip lock bag. Store in the freezer for up to 2 months.

To serve straight from the freezer: Preheat your oven to 400°. Place the potatoes in an oven safe dish and cover with foil. Bake for about 35 minutes, uncover and finish baking until cheese is melted and potatoes are hot, about 10 minutes. Serve.