Homemade Crab Ravioli with Creamy Tomato Basil Sauce

Summer is here!

I'm a huge fan of pasta, and thanks to my wonderful friends and family, my pantry is overflowing with awesome kitchen gadgets. The result of this? Let's make pasta from scratch and put all my new scrapers, mixers and boards to work. It's also hot in Dallas, Texas - and there is something wonderful about walking into the cold seafood department and seeing delicious crab meat on special. It just feels like summer - light and and airy. A pound for $11? Sign me up! For a summer pasta dish - a combination of crab, ricotta, lemon and a light but flavorful tomato sauce makes a fantastic lunch or dinner - if you are thinking to yourself - making the pasta is too much work - it's not - but try it with store bought refrigerated pasta sheets, and skip to that step. Just use a biscuit cutter to cut out  your rounds and you will have the same professional effect. The filling and sauce take about an hour of time! Super easy - and when you are done - you'll be on the porch with the best summer dinner on the block. You could do this with shrimp too! Get the scoop - after the jump.

Bistro Dinner - Herb Gnocchi, Pan Seared Red Snapper, and Flngerling Potatoes with Brown Butter Sauce

 Hello Gourmaybe readers - it's been a "while" and there are no excuses - except for -  I got married, went on a honeymoon to Chile (best trip ever) but have been neglecting my kitchen and my blog!  So now, it's time to get back to business with a meal that is just amazing and with a little extra prep work, can be a snap for a weekend or even a weeknight. To get blogging again in top form - I was inspired by Thomas Keller's Bouchon cookbook - a favorite of mine, and a wedding gift. If I had my way - I'd eat french food on a daily basis - what's not to love? Butter? Cheese? Chives? Eggs? I love them all and all at once. I ended up with a great hearty salad  - we don't eat "chick" salads in my house. A delicious pan seared red snapper was our protein, with sides of homemade gnocchi and potatoes all in a brown butter and parsley sauce. I did the gnocchi ahead, and prepped the potatoes, and the cooktime was literally 30 minutes when dinner rolled around. Here's how to do it! I have shortcuts, and easy explanations to take the mysteries out of the advanced french techniques. This is kind of a Meuniere scenario - but I feel that brown butter sounds easier. Get in le kitchen, after le jump!