Sunday Night: Ravioli and Greens

We had friends over last night and did an Italian theme. We had ravioli filled with wine-braised beef (from our cow), spinach sauteed with mushrooms, some bread, a big green salad, and oranges with cream cheese (from JPFF, but using grated orange zest whipped into the cream cheese and a splash of brandy in the sauce) for dessert. The ravioli and spinach were inventions.

To make the ravioli:
Brown 1 pound of seasoned stew meat in olive oil. Deglaze the pan with half a medium onion, diced small. Add back the beef, four cloves minced garlic, 1-2 tsp minced fresh rosemary, and enough red wine (I used Nerello del Bastardo) to cover the beef. Bring to a boil, cover, reduce the heat, and simmer until the meat starts to get tender (1.5-2 hours). Add some stock if the liquid starts to get too low. Remove the lid and let it keep simmering until most of the liquid is gone and the beef is really tender (like you can mash it to threads with a spoon). Adjust seasonings and allow the beef to cool.
Make fresh pasta using only semolina flour (this was trickier than using AP or bread flour, but I think it was really worth it) and roll it out to the second to last notch, then form the ravioli. Cover them with a towel and let them sit until ready to serve. Cook the ravioli in salted water for 5-10 minutes (I didn't time this, I ended up eyeballing it).
For a sauce I made a batch of Marcella Hazan's tomato sauce with butter.
I served the ravioli atop a bed of sauce, drizzled with a bit of olive oil and sprinkled with a mixture of grated lemon zest and minced parsley.

For the spinach:
Finely dice 3 strips of good bacon and let them render over medium heat (don't brown the bacon). Add a good cup of quartered cremini mushrooms and continue to cook until they've given up their moisture. Add a pound of baby spinach that's been washed and then wilted in the microwave. Mix well, adjust seasonings, and serve.

This was a very nice meal.