The Traveling Epicurean

Favorite food recipes

GNOCCHI WORKSHOP at Two Blokes Brewing on March 11, 2025

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Click here to REGISTER NOW before it sells out! 

Tuesday March 11, 2025, 6-8 pm at TWO BLOKES BREWING

This hands-on gnocchi workshop with Chef Michel offers participants an immersive experience in the art of making traditional Italian gnocchi from scratch with a light and fluffy texture. It’s a relaxed setting at Two Blokes Brewing in Mt. Pleasant. This class is a complete meal from appetizer to dessert. Roasted pepper and sundried tomato dip w/fresh baked focaccia and a Caesar salad with homemade croutons to start. Let’s not forget the 4 complimentary gourmet sauces; mini ricotta meatballs in a tomato-basil sauce, fresh pesto, a vodka sauce and a cheese sauce to dress your homemade gnocchi. A decadent chocolate cake for dessert.

Ravioli Workshop at Two Blokes Brewing on Tuesday, January 7th!

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Ravioli Workshop at Two Blokes Brewing on Tuesday, January 7th!

This class SELLS OUT! Click here to reserve your tickets NOW!

Join Chef Michel for an Unforgettable Ravioli-Making Experience!

Looking for the perfect night out with your friends or an exciting date night? Discover the art of pasta in Chef Michel’s hands-on RAVIOLI-MAKING course. Learn to craft pasta sheets from scratch, fill them with your choice of pumpkin or classic ricotta and cook them to perfection, pairing them with a selection of complimentary sauces.

This immersive class includes a full dinner:

Starter: Housemade focaccia with a red pepper dip

Salad: A refreshing winter salad with tangerine dressing

Main Course: Your handmade ravioli accompanied by 4 delectable sauces

Dessert: A decadent chocolate cake to end the evening on a sweet note

*Perfect for food lovers of all levels, this class combines creativity, delicious flavors and an unforgettable dining experience.

 

Pasta Workshop with Chef Michel-May 14, 2024

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Homemade Pasta Workshop May 14th at Two Blokes Brewing with Chef Michel!

Join us at the Homemade Fettuccini Workshop!

Ready to roll up your sleeves and dive into the art of making fresh pasta from scratch? Look no further! At this hands-on workshop, you’ll learn how to create delicious fettuccini noodles right in the heart of Mount Pleasant, SC at Two Blokes Brewing. Chef Michel Vejar will guide you through the process, sharing tips and tricks along the way.

Whether you’re a pasta-making pro or a complete beginner, this event is perfect for anyone who loves good food and good company. Get ready to knead, roll, and cut your way to a plate of perfect homemade fettuccini. Don’t miss out on this fun and interactive culinary experience!

You’ll be having an entire meal at this workshop: bread and roasted red pepper dip appetizer, a fennel salad with tangerine dressing, 4 complimentary sauces to top your pasta and coconut cake for dessert.

Limited spots and only a few left! Click this link to REGISTER NOW!

Ravioli

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Ravioli 101

For your convenience you can now SHOP on this page for your cooking accessories and ingredients below the written recipe. I am a Amazon associate affiliate so all you have to do is click on each of the product photos and it will take you to purchase that product.

Here we are at Two Blokes Brewing in Mount Pleasant, SC learning to make homemade ravioli! There’s nothing more rewarding then making pasta from scratch, cooking it up fresh and then topping the raviolis with your favorite sauce. This was a very fun group that caught on quickly and truly appreciated learning the art of pasta making. Check out some of the Ravioli Workshop photos. The Ravioli recipe follows below.

Homemade Ravioli 101

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Ingredients for Pasta, NOTE: Click here to  purchase these flours on Amazon

  • 1 3/4 c. 00 Flour (Caputo Italian Flour) spoon the flour into the measuring cup
  • 1 1/2 c. Semola flour (Caputo Di Grano Duro) spoon the flour into the measuring cup
  • 4 whole eggs
  • 2 egg yolks
  • 1 tsp fine salt
  • 1 tbsp. water

Ingredients for Ricotta:

  • 16 0z. whole milk ricotta
  • 2 tbsp. fresh chopped basil
  • 1 whisked whole eggs
  • 1cup grated Reggiano Parmesan
  • pinch of salt & pepper
  • 1 cup canned pumpkin- OPTIONAL
  • 1 heaping tsp. freshly grated garlic- OPTIONAL

NOTE: One of my fave fillings is adding the 1 cup of pumpkin + 1 heaping tsp. grated garlic to the above ingredients

Directions:

  1. Add flours and salt to food processor, pulse to combine
  2. Add in all eggs and water, then pulse just until dough comes together, almost a ball
  3. NOTE: the dough ball should have a crumbly texture and not quite together, until you knead
  4. Empty out onto work surface and knead for 8 minutes using dough scrapper to gather little pieces
  5. Keep scrapping up the pieces while kneading, the flour is slowly absorbing the eggs & water so be patient here
  6. Shape into round disc and cover with saran wrap, let sit 30 minutes
  7. Uncover and cut into 6 pieces, 6 triangular shape pieces
  8. Take 1 piece at a time, flatten out towards edges and put thru #1 setting on Kitchen Aid pasta roller
  9. Tri-fold the dough and put thru on #1 setting
  10. Repeat trifold (letter fold) 2x more on #1 setting
  11. No more folding is needed at this point
  12. Add to #2-#4 settings putting thru 1x on each
  13. Also thru settings # 5 and #6 1x
  14. Begin to layer in between parchment paper so they don’t stick together
  15. Arrange long pieces of pasta on counter and add teaspoon size mounds of ricotta mixture 2” apart each way making 2 rows, 4-5 across and 2 down
  16. Using your finger dab a small amount of water around ricotta mounds to help seal the top sheet
  17. Gently lay 2nd top sheet over the ricotta mounds and starting in the middle smooth out the dough sheets
  18. You want to remove as much air as possible around the ricotta between the two layers of pasta
  19. Using your pasta wheel cut the desire shape ravioli around the sealed dough
  20. Repeat with the other pasta sheets until all your ravioli are cut
  21. Add the ravioli 8 at a time to salted boiling water for 2-3 minutes for all-dente pasta and serve with favorite sauce

 

Elegant, Large 13″ x 3″ Italian Certified PASTA BOWL

 

 

Set of 4 Bowls -Italian Certified

 

 

Gnocchi Workshop at Two Blokes Brewing

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Gnocchi Workshop at Two Blokes Brewing

My culinary workshops at Two Blokes Brewing in Mount Pleasant, SC are both educational and enjoyable in this relaxed atmosphere! At this particular March 28th workshop everyone learned how to make homemade potato gnocchi! The best part was cooking up what you made and smothering the freshly made gnocchi with prepared sauces at the chaffing stations.  The variety of sauces to choose from at this class consisted of tomato-basil sauce, vodka sauce and white wine and dry cream sherry cheese sauce. Also included, fresh baked rosemary focaccia for appetizer, a spring fennel & citrus salad with tangerine dressing and giant chocolate chip cookies for dessert. All of these recipes available on this website, click on the hyper link to go to the preferred recipe.

Here’s some pics from the very fun gnocchi workshop and a recipe link as well!

Click HERE for Potato Gnocchi Recipe:

Valentine’s Day Pasta Workshop at Two Blokes Brewing!

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Valentine’s Day Pasta workshop at Two Blokes Brewing on Tuesday, February 14, 2023!

We have your Valentines Day plans set at Two Blokes! Learn to make homemade pasta from Chef Michel Vejar with your special someone or some friends this Valentine’s Day!

The Workshop includes a class where you will learn everything you need to make pasta, then you will make your own for dinner! After you are finished, you will enjoy a full meal with the fruits of your labor. Michel will be providing everyone with a Caesar salad, tomato-basil or vodka sauce for the pasta & chocolate crackle cookies.

Get your tickets NOW before they sell out!

Sign up at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/valentines-day-couples-pasta-workshop-tickets-494186754887

Click here to go to recipe page for HOMEMADE PASTA

Pasta

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Homemade Pasta 101

For your convenience you can now SHOP on this page for your cooking accessories and ingredients below the written recipe. I am a Amazon associate affiliate so all you have to do is click on each of the product photos and it will take you to purchase that product.

There’s nothing like the tender yet slightly chewy feel and taste of homemade pasta. There are thousands of recipes out there to make homemade pasta. In my test kitchen this recipe is perfectly balanced for achieving the most important qualities in texture and taste for making homemade pasta.

My recipe combines both 00 flour and 00 semolina giving a better texture and mouth feel to your pasta. In our world of easy ordering on Amazon you can get the Caputo Brand in both “00 flour” and a very fine “Semolina Flour – Il Grano Turo” in 2.2 lb. bags delivered same day.

Rule of thumb is homemade pasta is always better the day its made with only a little drying out time, keep it covered with dish towel or saran. It does freeze beautifully, just layer it in between layers of parchment in fettuccine bundles in a hard container so it doesn’t get crushed when you move things around in your freezer. When ready to eat thaw in frig over night, run your fingers thru after they thaw to air out and keep covered until ready to boil or drop the pasta into salted boiling water immediately from frozen form.

Follow my step by step directions below and you’ll feel like a pro making your own homemade pasta. Don’t forget to try some of my sauces like Tomato Basil Sauce, Vodka Sauce, or my Pesto Sauce.

 

 

 

 

 

Ingredients:

  • 1 3/4 c. 00 Flour (Caputo Italian Flour) “spoon and measure”
  • 1 1/2 c. Semola flour (Caputo Di Grano Duro) “spoon and measure”
  • 1/4 c. Semolina Flour (Granule texture) ONLY to keep pasta separated while drying out. NOTE: this does NOT go into the dough mixture
  • 4 whole eggs
  • 2 egg yolks
  • 1 tsp fine salt
  • 1 tbsp. water

Directions:

  1. Add flours and salt to food processor, pulse to combine
  2. Add in all eggs and water, then pulse just until dough comes together, almost a ball
  3. Empty out onto work surface and knead for 10 minutes using dough scrapper to gather little pieces into the dough ball
  4. Shape into round disc and cover with saran wrap, let sit 30 minutes
  5. Uncover and cut into 6 pieces, 6 triangular shape pieces
  6. Take 1 piece at a time, flatten out and put thru #1 on Kitchen Aid pasta roller
  7. Fold in 1/2 and put thru at #1 again
  8. Next, make trifold (letter fold) and put thru #1 2x more for total of 4x in #1 setting
  9. No more folding is needed at this point
  10. Now put pasta sheets, WITHOUT folding,  setttings #2, #3 & #4 one time thru
  11. Then comtinue 1x on settings # 5 and #6
  12. Change out Pasta Roller for Fettucine or linguine rollers and gently feed flat past sheet thru the top of the roller catching molded strands as they come out the bottom
  13. Lay down cut pasta onto coarse Semolina to dry out for 15 minutes
  14. Repeat with the other pasta wedges until all your pasta is cut
  15. Add to salted boiling water for 2 minutes for all-dente pasta and serve with favorite sauce