The Cheetah Mobile and Tortelli de Zucca
Thursday, November 12th, 2009Project Initiation
Jean Steinmetz, PMP – my right hand, left hand, colleague extraordinaire who has been working with me since 1997, took the initiative to create a Cheetah Mobile out of the company mini-van. Now this is the main vehicle I drive when I find myself on the east coast, but when I’m gone, Jean gets to drive this moving billboard. Since I had a flight out in the early AM, Jean and her daughter (who was born the same year I started Cheetah Learning), came over for a sleep over to get the mini-van, bring me to the airport in the early am, and to make Tortelli de Zucca. I was able to use my new found pasta making skills from Italy and my fresh milled flour.
Project Plan
I had to pick up the pasta maker and the farm fresh eggs (a VERY IMPORTANT PART OF FRESH PASTA).
I had the fresh milled flour, the Parmagiano Reggiano cheese and the pastry bag.
Jean and her daughter brought the canned pumpkin (okay so we cheated on this).
We had to run out and get the Ricotta cheese and the almond biscotti cookies.
With all the ingredients- this is what we did to make 40 Tortelli de Zucca (ravioli with pumpkin filling).
Project Execution
Pasta – 2 cups of flour (fine grind), 3 to 4 eggs.
Put the flour in a pile on a clean counter. Make a well in the middle of the pile of pasta and put in 3 eggs. Combine with your hands. If the dough needs more moisture, add in a fourth egg yoke. Wrap the dough in saran wrap and let rest for 30 minutes.
Filling – Mix 8 oz of pumpkin with 8 oz of ricotta, 3 tbs freshly grated parmagianno reggiano cheese, a tsp pumpkin pie spice, and three crushed almond biscotti cookies. Let sit for 30 minutes.
Making the Tortelli’s
Divide the dough into thirds. With the first third, put it through the pasta maker, starting at the first setting and going to the thinnest setting (it will get very long).
Make the Tortelli’s – Using the Pastry bag, put a 1 – 2 tsp dollop of pumpkin filling on half of the dough – about 1 to 2 inches apart. Use the other half of the dough to cover the section of the dough with filling. Press the top dough into the bottom dough. Use a small wheeled cutter to break the tortelli’s into 2 – 3 inch squares.
Cooking the Tortelli’s – you want to boil the tortelli’s that you wish to eat. Freeze the rest. Drop the fresh tortelli’s into boiling water. Boil three to five minutes. Take out with a slotted spoon and drain.
Serving the Toretelli de Zucca – melt some butter in a fry pan. Place one layer of toretelli’s in the pan, coat with the butter, letting the outside get just a little bit crisp if desired. Put on plate, and sprinkle with freshly grated parmagiano reggiano chees.
Project Control
They came out GREAT – this is why I’m sharing the recipe with you.
Project Close Out
What a mess – thank god I have a cleaning lady and that we wore aprons.