Creamy, Cheesy, Tomato Goodness.

Apologies to my faithful readers for the long delay in writing up any new recipes or reviews.   For a long while I have put my very stress filled employment ahead of my personal medical needs.  After much thought, I finally left my work environment and put my health first; finally getting one procedure done and another is to follow.  Happily, I am doing well and to those who have given me their best wishes I say, "Thank you!!!".

Now lets get back to cooking up some comfort food!   One of my favorite creamy pasta sauces is Tomato Vodka Cream Sauce, but with a little tweaking, it can become a new sauce altogether. This sauce is also very easy and quick to make, and should be done by the time your pasta or gnocchi are cooked and ready to eat.

 

Creamy Four Cheese Tomato Sauce

Ingredients:

4 cups (32 oz) tomato puree
1 1/4 cups heavy cream
¼ cup each grated Asiago, Romano and Parmesan cheeses
½ cup ricotta cheese
1 tsp each garlic and onion powders
1 tsp Italian herb mixture, dried and crushed
1 lb hot, cooked pasta or gnocchi

Preparation:

In a large pan, on medium-high heat, mix puree and cream together and let cook until small bubbles begin to form around rim. Whisk in and continuing whisking until smooth, the four cheeses. Whisk in the powders and herb mixture; serve over hot pasta or gnocchi.

Makes 4 servings.

 

I prepared Pasta Prima's Lobster Ravioli and Gnocchi to see how this sauce measured up with both. The experiment was met with much praise from my taste buds, and my husband's as well. So there you go, a sauce that can go on two separate items and will please you as well whomever you're cooking for.

Mary Cokenour

Pasta Prima is Natural and Green.

Pasta Prima

Website: http://www.pastaprima.com/

While shopping at the Safeway in Cortez, Colorado, I came across one of those little refrigerated display cases. Inside were all kinds of cheeses, cured meats and fresh (not dried) pasta products; one being the Pasta Prima brand. Immediately the package of Lobster Ravioli caught my eye; the cost was $5.99 for 10 ravioli with a seasoning packet, so I decided to try it.

 

The ravioli are large and an orange color similar to that of a lobster; cooking them to package directions, the pasta was tender and quite delicious itself. Now according to the package, lobster is the first ingredient listed and you can see it minced up inside the filling; ricotta cheese, herbs and tomatoes (probably used for the pasta coloring) were also high up on the listing. I was very surprised to be able to taste the lobster itself, even though it was minced; there was a strong flavor, so you knew what it was called was what you were eating. The ricotta cheese was creamy; and the filling was just enough to keep the ravioli from splitting open, yet be satisfying to the mouth.

I've have tried other brands of fresh pasta, but the taste and presence of lobster was just not there; not so with Pasta Prima brand.  For the supermarket price, two people can enjoy a decadent meal without paying the cost of a fancy restaurant.   Gourmet filled ravioli can also be found with Spinach and Mozzarella or Grilled Chicken with Mozzarella fillings, and I'm looking forward to trying those out also.

Pasta Prima's products are 100% natural, no preservatives used; they also have a gluten free product.  The company prides itself on being green; using energy from renewable wind and solar sources.  If your supermarket carries this brand, try it; if not, ask the management to bring it in; the treat is worth the price.

Mary Cokenour