Christmas Dinner! Sweet Potato Ravioli with Bechamel Sauce and Goat Cheese Pear Citrus Salad

Wow, even the name sounds delicious. Compared to the typical roast dinner and potatoes that our family has almost every time around Christmas without fail, it was a major success, and it didn't even take that long. If you are looking for a fresh, but very tasty and filling recipe that will wow your family, this is probably it.

So essentially, this recipe will consist of your ravioli and béchamel, the salad, and then a meat (we used chicken) of your choice. The meat isn't really the center point, so marinate it in some southern style barbeque fashion or perhaps even a Mediterranean rub, and grill it. The choice is yours, although I suggest the Southern BBQ.

Then, get about 3 large sweet potatoes (but if you are cooking for more people use more), skin them, and boil them (or microwave in water) until they are cooked and soft enough to be mashable.While this is boiling, sauté one full onion in a pan. Then, add butter, salt, pepper, rosemary, a few tablespoons of goat cheese, and the onion to the potato puree and mix well. Do all of this to taste! Nobody needs a strict recipe anyways! Just make it creamy and tasty.

Then, lay out individual squares of pasta dough or wonton wrappers, and put about a tablespoon of the potato puree in the center. Once you have a small army of half made ravioli, fill a cup with water, and dab the edges of each ravioli with water. Then, drape another square of pasta dough over top of the square, and press the sides down with a fork so it is tightly wrapped. You should now have uncooked ravioli. Boil them until they float or are done or set them aside based on when you want to cook them. For the béchamel sauce, use whatever recipe you want or can find online as I can't even remember what went into ours. Just a lot of butter... That's all I can recall, but it was good.

And now, the salad. Get however much arugula you want (lettuce is for the weak of spirit), and add a handsome amount of goat cheese, pistachios, and lots of diced pear. Then, prepare in a separate bowl your vinaigrette, consisting of balsamic vinegar, orange juice, and extra virgin olive oil (you want to be able to taste the sweetness of the orange, and what we ended up using was 60% OJ and 40% balsamic with a bit of oil). Add this to the salad just before serving, and make sure you made enough, just don't drown the salad. And...You're done! Enjoy!

 Wine optional but recommended. And isn't that plating amazing!?!

Brother Sister Chef Team!