Celebrating Hallowe’en – Westborough style!
October 31st 2016 was a fun and frightful fall day at Malvern Americas headquarters in Westborough, MA. While working hard is very important at Malvern, we also like to take some time out and enjoy Hallowe’en. A number of staff dressed up – we had Harley Quinn, a clown, and even an elephant join the festivities!
In addition to the costume competition, we also hosted a cooking/baking contest featuring pumpkins, and a pumpkin decorating contest! Everyone was able to enjoy the delicious food brought in, and view the beautiful pumpkin artwork. A big thank you to all of the participants and everyone that helped plan the festivities.
Below are some images from the day. Congratulations to all our winners!
Costume contest winners: Joint winners – Jennifer Goodwin & Brian Dutko.
Pumpkin decorating contest winner: Linda Bratica of PANalytical, one of our partner companies within the Spectris Group.
Pumpkin Dish Winner: Pumpkin Ravioli with Sage Butter made by Peter LaPuma. Delicious!
Due to high demand, we’ve included the recipe for this winning dish so that you too can make it at home:
Ingredients:
- 1-lb piece Cheese or Sugar Pie pumpkin, calabaza or butternut squash, seeds and strings removed
- 1 egg yolk, lightly beaten
- 2 Tbs. grated Parmigiano-Reggiano or Grana Padano cheese
- 1/4 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp. fine sea salt
- 1 to 2 Tbs. dried breadcrumbs
- 1 1/4 lb. Egg Pasta
- 5 Tbs. unsalted butter, clarified (see tip below)
- 12 large fresh sage leaves
- 2 Tbs. kosher salt
- Grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese for serving
Cooking Directions:
- To make the filling, preheat an oven to 400ºF.
- Prick the pumpkin with a fork before roasting to help evaporate the moisture. Place the pumpkin directly on the oven rack and roast until tender when pierced with the tip of a knife, normally about 45 to 50 minutes.
- When the pumpkin is cool enough to handle, scrape the flesh from the peel; transfer to a food processor and process until smooth.
- Transfer the pumpkin puree to a bowl. Add the egg yolk, cheese, nutmeg and sea salt. Mix well, adding the bread crumbs as needed to bind the ingredients into a cohesive mixture. Cover the filling and set aside.
- Using a pasta machine or a floured rolling pin, roll out the pasta dough 1/32-inch-thick, then fill and cut the ravioli.
- Pour the clarified butter into a small frying pan and place over a low heat. Add the sage leaves and heat until the butter is saturated with the flavor of the sage, which should take 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from the heat and cover to keep warm.
- In a large pot over a high heat, bring 5 quarts’ water to a rapid boil. Add the kosher salt, gently drop in half of the ravioli and cover the pot. When the water returns to a boil, uncover and cook, stirring gently occasionally and reducing the heat as needed to prevent the ravioli from knocking against one another and breaking. The total cooking time should be 3 to 5 minutes. To test if done, transfer a single ravioli to a cutting board and cut off a corner with a paring knife; if the pasta looks cooked through and the corner tastes tender, the pasta is done. Using a large slotted spoon, lift out the ravioli, allowing a little of the water to cling to them so they remain moist, and transfer to a warmed large, shallow serving bowl; cover the bowl to keep the ravioli warm. Repeat to cook the remaining ravioli.
- Drizzle the sage butter over the ravioli and serve immediately. Pass the cheese at the table. Serves 4.
Enjoy your meal!