Butternut Squash Ravioli with Dried Cranberries and Toasted Walnuts

Put a pot of water on to boil for your ravioli, and cook according to directions.

You absolutely must toast the walnuts. Frankly, if you are not going to toast them, you may as well not waste your money on them, imho. So there you go. Toast them up.

Meanwhile, melt the butter in a small saucepan, and let it get a little browned. It will be nice and nutty. Y.U.M. Then add your crushed garlic. (Please, do not buy the jars of minced garlic. Puh-lease. Okay, so there is rarely an occasion that I actually mince garlic, anyway. I almost always just crush it. It releases the flavor, it is beautiful, and my kids fight over the large chunks of garlic they find in our suppers. It reminds me of my family when I was growing up. Good times, yes they were.)

So anyway, crush up your garlic, add it to the melted butter, and then sauté it for a bit … not too long, like 30 seconds or so, because if you brown the garlic, it will turn bitter.

Then, add the cream, or half-and-half, or whatever. Go with what y’all like. Add a pinch of cayenne, to give it a smidge of zip, and the nutmeg, because, I’m just not even sure why. I like the name nutmeg. I like the taste of nutmeg. I like the smell of nutmeg. I just like it. It gives it a little something.

Let your sauce reduce a little. Please do not let it boil. Just let it simmer a bit.

Okeedokee. So then, once your ravioli are done, plate them, then pour the sauce over, and sprinkle on the toasted walnuts and the dried cranberries. However much of it you like.

Eat.

Seriously people, this was good. I could have eaten the entire thing, but I exercised self control. (I always got an “outstanding” mark for “exercises self control” in elementary school. Seems to be a problem for me now.)