Christina's Beet Ravioli with Poppyseed Butter

adapted from Bon Apetit

2 large red or golden beets (about 14 ounces)
1/2 cup fresh whole-milk ricotta cheese (1/2 homemade batch)
3/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons dried breadcrumbs (can also used seasoned or Italian), possibly more depending on consistency of beetss
1 1/4 pounds fresh egg pasta (or wonton wrappers or spring roll wrappers cut in fourths)
1/2 cup (1 stick) salted butter
1 tablespoon poppy seeds
Freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 400°F. Wrap beets individually in foil; place on baking sheet. Roast until tender when pierced with knife, about 1 hour. Open foil carefully (steam will escape). Cool. Peel beets; finely grate into medium bowl (or use a grater/shredder attachment on food processor--much faster! Add ricotta cheese and season with salt and pepper. Stir in breadcrumbs; I used an extra tablespoon of breadcrumbs since the filling still seemed watery to me.

Optional (if creating pasta dough from scratch): Roll Fresh Egg Pasta dough into sheets according to recipe. Place 1 dough sheet on work surface. Using 3-inch round biscuit cutter, cut sheet into 7 rounds. Transfer rounds to lightly floured baking sheet; cover with plastic wrap. Repeat with remaining dough for total of 56 rounds.
Sprinkle 2 smooth kitchen towels with flour. Place 8 pasta rounds on work surface, keeping remaining dough covered with plastic. Place small bowl of water next to work surface. Spoon 1 teaspoon beet filling onto half of each round (for spring roll wrappers cut in fourths, I used 1 1/2 - 2 teaspoons). Dip fingertip into water and dampen edge of 1 round. Fold dough over filling, pushing out as much air as possible and pressing edges firmly to seal. Transfer to prepared towels. Repeat with remaining rounds. DO AHEAD Can be prepared 1 week ahead. Transfer to rimmed baking sheet and place in freezer until frozen solid, about 6 hours. Transfer ravioli to resealable plastic bags.
Melt butter in large skillet over medium heat and stir in poppy seeds; keep warm. Working in batches, cook ravioli in large pot of boiling salted water until cooked through, stirring often, about 2 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer to skillet with melted butter; toss to coat. Divide ravioli among 8 plates; sprinkle with Parmesan.

Lorri's Pork Dumplings

1 lb ground pork
a few finely chopped spring onion
1 small finely chopped shallot
1-2 cloves of garlic (she used it from about 1 1/2 tsp from a jar)
2 inches ginger root, finely chopped
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 1/2 tsp corn starch
salt and pepper
1 package wonton/potsticker wrappers, square or round

Mix it all together and put in potsticker wrappers. Fold the wrappers and seal the edges tightly (you can use water but be careful b/c they are going into hot oil.) Deep fry. Serve as an appetizer or with rice. Delicious with soy sauce or Mae Plow's Sweet Chili Sauce.

*Okay really, I usually put a layer of oil in the pan and flip them. Sometimes I employ the two pan method: I let the potstickers fry in one pan and then I move them to a second hot pan where some of the oil can drain off. When she taught me, she just let the pork cook during the frying process. This can be tricky if your oil is too hot. Ocassionally I cook the pork mixture before I fill the potsticker wrappers.