Christine Johnson-Duell
Claim to Foodie Fame: Journalist
Who first taught you how to cook or inspired in you a love of cooking?
The first thing I ever cooked: a fried egg, standing on a kitchen chair at the stove of my Sicilian great aunt Santa. I was probably four or five, and now, as a parent, I recognize that what she gave me was an opportunity to accomplish something I was proud of, which fed my self-esteem. I can trace my love of cooking right back to that stove (in her 1960s-era aquamarine Formica kitchen).
What is a favorite memory of cooking?
Making gingerbread houses at my mother-in-law's home one Christmas, as well as making them at an annual Kaspar's fundraising event benefitting Children's Hospital — and how those unforgiving parts can make a warm and quirky whole.
Share an example of one of your family food traditions.
Picking apples in New Hampshire on Columbus Day weekend and then taking orders from neighbors for holiday pie. It was a great way to earn money for Christmas gifts. Now, I donate Thanksgiving apple pie and pumpkin pie to my daughter's choir auction. My recipe for pie dough is Julia Child's lickety-split food processor dough; the secret ingredients to make it crispy and tender (Italian flour and lard from Vashon Island), apple pie (a variation on the Fannie Farmer classic), and pumpkin pie (Alice Waters' recipe in The Art of Simple Food).
How does your family honor food traditions in your household?
Preserving. I can plums, pears, applesauce, peaches, and several kinds of jam. We freeze tomatoes, berries, and jam. My husband made an apple cider press and we have an annual cider party with our neighbors.
Share a favorite family food story:
When I was in elementary school, my father taught Economics at English High School, an all-boys public high school in Boston. One December, he noticed that one boy, from an Italian family, was heavy-lidded and falling asleep in class. My dad was puzzled and finally asked the boy what was up. “Oh, Mr. Johnson, it’s the ravioli!” This only amplified my father’s puzzlement and the boy went on, “My grandmother made ravioli for Christmas and they are drying all over our house!” Still, the connection between ravioli and the boy’s sleepiness was unclear — until he said, “There are even ravioli on my bed!” So the boy had to sleep on the floor, where there were no ravioli.
The image of ravioli on every surface of a house shared by multiple generations has always been one I love, especially now that I have my own family. The prospect, though, of duplicating the ravioli project made me feel tired — and if I felt tired before making the ravioli, it was clearly insane to attempt it. Even if it would make us all feel warm and fuzzy. It just seemed like too much work.
Then, one Saturday morning in a cookware store, I saw a small and inexpensive ravioli mold. Instantly, I knew I could make ravioli AND keep the beds free of drying pasta. I bought the mold and went right to Pasta & Co to buy sheets of lasagna. I found a simple ravioli stuffing recipe and enlisted my daughter to help me make ravioli, which we had with a simple sauce and a salad for dinner. We had D’Ambrosio gelato for dessert and played a hand of Scopa, the Medieval Italian card game (available at Blue Highway Games on Queen Anne Avenue). Making ravioli was just as warm and fuzzy as I wanted it to be — and everyone got a good night’s sleep.
Christine Johnson-Duell's Ravioli with Homemade Sauce
Serves 4 to 6
Melt 1 tablespoon of butter with 1 tablespoon olive oil in a sauté pan that can later accommodate the ravioli. Add one finely chopped shallot and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Let the shallot become extremely soft. Peel and finely chop one large tomato and add to the pan. Add a little more salt.
While the tomato is cooking down, assemble the ravioli:
The filling:
Mix together:
1/2 cup chopped greens, dried very well (can be fresh parsley or spinach; cooked chard, beet greens, or kale — really dry)
1 1/2 cups ricotta (drained)
1 egg yolk
1/4 tsp freshly ground nutmeg
1 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
Salt to taste
To assemble the ravioli, using 12 sheets of lasagna from Pasta & Co. (or your own homemade):
Lay a sheet of lasagna over the ravioli mold. Use the cups to form gentle indentations in the dough. Dip a pastry brush in water and run it along the gridlines on the mold. This will help the pasta adhere. Place the stuffing in each ravioli indentation (don't overstuff). Place a second sheet of lasagna over the top. Using a rolling pin, roll across the top of the dough until the zigzag edges of the ravioli mold cuts through the pasta. Turn out onto a floured cloth. Continue until stuffing is gone. This makes about 70 ravioli, enough to feed 8-10 people (you can freeze the finished ravioli). Bring a pot of water to boil, add a generous amount of salt. Add the ravioli and cook 7-9 minutes. Keep the water at a gentle boil; a really rapid boil can cause the ravioli to leak.
Just before the ravioli is done, raise the heat under the sauce. If it seems a little dry, add some of the ravioli cooking water (not too much, just enough to loosen it). When it bubbles, turn off the heat, add 1/4 cup heavy cream and swirl the ravioli into it immediately. Take the pan off the heat and sprinkle with 2-3 tablespoons Parmigiano-Reggiano. Serve right away.
