Ravioli in Rome

One of the fantastic perks I have had in my career is travel.  Now that I have my son, I'm a lot less excited about being away from him on business trips, but as long as he's with me I'd love to go, go, go.  Luckily, he's a pretty good little traveler.

Rome was one of my favorites.  In 2007, I went for a week with my regional marketing team for meetings and team building.  How lucky is that?  We stayed at a fantastic little hotel with a gorgeous pool within walking distance to Vatican City (http://grandhotelgianicolo.it/).  At the end of the week, I had a whole day all by myself after my colleagues had left, and I spent the morning at the pool, and the rest of the day exploring tiny cathedrals with priceless Raphaels inside.  It felt like home to me; I could go to Rome without a map and just wander.  It's a fantastic, mysterious, friendly, colorful, gorgeous city.

Our team-building activity was mid-week during our stay; all 20 of us from Beirut, Singapore, Rio, Geneva, Johannesburg, Paris, Rome, Atlanta, and London jumped on a charter bus and headed about 20 minutes outside of Rome to an adorable B&B (bed and breakfast) run by American transplant Wendy Holloway (http://flavorofitalybb.com/).  Everyone was issued an apron and assigned stations, and we learned how to make authentic Italian dishes from scratch.

My team's station was the lemon ravioli.  We learned how to firmly knead the dough until it was pliable and smooth, and took turns hand-cranking it through the pasta roller piece by piece, zesting the lemons into a creamy ricotta filling, and ladling warm lemon cream sauce over the top, and then sprinkling with fresh parsley.  Mamma mia, it was incredibly light and luscious, and I think I had three helpings when we sat down to eat it all.  This is what it looked like when it was assembled  (yes, red checkered tablecloth and all):

I'd love to make this again, but with a toddler at home, I'd have to take a day off work while the nanny is here to do it.  I'm not saying it's not worth it, but it sure is a lot of work.  Are you game to try it?  Let me know and I'll send you the recipe.  Straight from Rome.  Buon appetito.