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Now that you know how to make fresh pasta, here are some simple ways to up the ante and make fresh ravioli.

With thanks to my mother for playing cinematographer and to a yappy dog somewhere in the neighborhood for providing the soundtrack.
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In preparation for tomorrow’s post, here is my mother’s ravioli recipe. The name translates to “half moon,” because the finished ravioli look like little semi-circles.
Ingredients:
2 cups semolina flour
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 tbsp olive oil
¾ teasp salt
warm water
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2 cups part skim ricotta cheese, drained if necessary
1 egg, lightly beaten
leaves of 2 sprigs Italian parsley, chopped
1 cup shredded part skim [...]

If you’re looking for something fun to do with the kids this weekend, consider rolling up your sleeves to make some sustainable sushi at the Shedd Aquarium!
The hands-on class will take place on Sunday (May 31) from 4 to 6 p.m. All the fish served will have been caught and raised using sustainable techniques, [...]

Can’t wait for the next season of quickfires and eliminations? Fan of former contestants Radhika Desai and Antonia Lofaso?
Then you’re in luck! The Trib’s Stew Blog is reporting that the Top Chef tour truck will be rolling into Chicago this weekend. Bravo says the six shows have closed for pre-registration, but that [...]

I’m usually not a rib person. There’s something very primal about ripping meat off bones with one’s teeth, and I’m not really a fan of that.
But I will never, ever turn down a chance to eat at Wagner’s.
It’s a bar, in Porter, Indiana, a good 45 minutes from Michiana by car. You can’t [...]

In preparation for my how-to video, which will be posted in the next few days, here’s the recipe for my mother’s meatballs. Done right, they’re tender and savory.
Ingredients:
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 clove garlic
1 onion, chopped
1 2.5 kg jar Ragu Traditional tomato sauce (or your favorite sauce)
3-4 tablespoons Italian (flat leaf) parsley, chopped
2 slices sandwich [...]

You know that restaurant in your neighborhood? You’ve been there a few times, the food was fantastic, but for some reason you don’t go as often as you should. In Michiana, that restaurant is the Duneland Beach Inn.
As the name suggests, the restaurant is, in fact, part of a hotel. I have [...]

In my opinion, no Chicago restaurant has taken the place of Hong Min since the tragic fire years ago. For good Chinese food, my family either schleps out to Palos Hills, where the other Hong Min location remains open, or we go to Oriental Pearl in Michigan City, Indiana.
The first thing you’ll notice when [...]

Michael Pollan just finished speaking to a crowd so large it required two overflow rooms at the Harold Washington Library.
In a conversation with journalist Bill Kurtis, Pollan talked about how the food industry managed to change conversations about eating less unhealthy foods into eating more healthy foods in the 1970s. Pollan said it’s happening [...]