Hungry? Eat Some pillows.

“Behold! I am Cashios, god of cash back!  Can you tell me where to find gnocchi?”, he asks of the grocery store employee stocking shelves.  Alright, this may just be another, let’s dumb down viewers’ minds, commercial, but still, how many know what food item he is looking for?  I do, I do!

We are talking about Gnocchi (nok-ki); light, small dumplings made from semolina or wheat flour, potatoes or ricotta cheese.  Tracing back their history to ancient Roman times (no wonder the commercial actor was dressed as a Roman), gnocchi is a popular dish, not only in Italy, but in coastal Croatia as well. The making of it is similar to pasta making; simple ingredients of a "flour", whether a ground grain or potatoes, egg and salt. Some recipes can be quite inventive, inducing cheese, sweet potatoes, or a vegetable such as spinach into the mix.

If you are pasta making challenged like myself, there are many brands of gnocchi available on the market such as DaVinci, Colavita and Don Peppe. Sold in one-pound packets, prices can vary from $4 to $8 dollars, depending on the type of market purchased from.

Interested in the attempt to make your own, here is how.

 

 Gnocchi

 Ingredients:

2 lbs. potatoes (not baking potatoes)

1 and ½ cups flour plus additional for rolling

1 egg

1 tsp. salt

Preparation:

Boil the potatoes in hot salted water until fork tender. Let cool before removing skins; put through a ricer or grater into a large mixing bowl. Add 1 and ½ cups flour, egg and salt; knead together until a ball forms.

On a floured board, cut dough into 6 portions; roll out each portion to a ¾ inch diameter. Cut the rolls into one-inch pieces; use a fork to roll each piece.

The best way to prepare gnocchi is by finishing them off directly in the sauce being served with them. They will pick up all the flavors of the sauce, so you will not be overwhelmed with just a flour or potato flavor for the entire dish.

 

Wanting to make a fancy meal to impress your hunny, for Valentine’s Day, a birthday or anniversary?  How about gnocchi in a sauce of browned butter, white wine and shallots. Shallots are basically "onion candy"; a delicate scent and sweet taste that will make you smile with delight, not cry your eyes out in pain.

Browned Butter Sauce with White Wine and Shallots

Ingredients:

 

4 Tbsp. salted butter

2 large shallots, diced

¼ cup white wine

Freshly ground black pepper

Preparation:

In a large skillet, melt butter on medium heat; add shallots and stir occasionally to make sure butter and shallots are not sticking or burning. At same time, bring a large pot of water with salt to boil.

Remove skillet from stovetop and add wine; set skillet back on stove. Add gnocchi to boiling water; gnocchi will be ready when they float to the top; about 3-4 minutes. At the same time, the alcohol from the wine will burn off and the butter will begin turning brown. Strain the gnocchi well (water will dilute the sauce) and add directly to the skillet; let cook for 3 minutes, turning the gnocchi once in the sauce.

 

Plate and top with freshly ground black pepper.

Makes 4-6 servings.

Another sauce that is easy to make, and one to impress is one of my favorites, Tomato Vodka Cream Sauce.  I tweaked the original recipe by adding in four types of Italian cheese.  Again, this is a sauce that will be done by the time your pasta or gnocchi are cooked and ready to eat.

Creamy Four Cheese Tomato Vodka Sauce

Ingredients:

4 cups (32 oz.) tomato puree

1 and 1/4 cups heavy cream

½ cup vodka

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, cream and vodka together; 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.

This sauce is lovely over lobster, or shrimp, ravioli, so if available, make sure to purchase a package, and experiment for yourself.  My taste buds, and my hubby’s were definitely very, very happy.  

Mary Cokenour

Oh So Easy Shrimp, Veggies and Pasta.

The most difficult part about making a pasta recipe is choosing the pasta. Do you want tubular; long and thin; long, flat and thin; curly; wavy; a shape such as a bowtie or shell; yada, yada, yada? There are so many choices in the world of pasta and it basically depends on what shape you feel like looking at on your plate, and forking over into your mouth. For this recipe I chose pappardelle; a broad, flat, long pasta that is shaped into a "nest" when drying; once cooked though, it's snakes alive!

Shrimp and Vegetables over Pappardelle

Ingredients:

3 Tbsp olive oil

1 large zucchini, cubed
1 large yellow squash, cubed
1 medium onion, chopped
1 (8 oz) package Pappardelle
water to cook pasta
1 Tbsp minced garlic
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1 lb. large shrimp, shelled and deveined
2 cups tomato vodka cream sauce**

Preparation:

In a large skillet, heat oil on medium-high heat, sauté zucchini, yellow squash and onion till the edges just begin to brown.  While waiting to brown vegetables, heat water in a large pot and cook Pappardelle until al dente.

Add the garlic, salt, pepper and shrimp to the vegetables; mix. 

When the shrimp turns opaque, drain the pasta and place a serving on each plate.   Spoon sauce over the pasta and top with the shrimp and vegetable mixture.

 

 

Makes 6 servings.

** Recipe for Tomato Vodka Cream Sauce

Tomato Vodka Cream Sauce

Ingredients:

2 Tbsp butter

¼ cup diced onion
1 can (28 oz) crushed tomatoes
1 cup heavy cream
¼ cup vodka
1/8 tsp red pepper flakes
½ cup grated parmesan cheese
¼ cup grated Romano cheese

Preparation:

In a large skillet, medium-high heat, melt butter and sauté onion until translucent. Add tomatoes and cook until liquid reduces by half; stir frequently to keep from sticking or burning.

Add cream, vodka and pepper flakes; bring to a boil; reduce heat to low; add in cheeses and let cook 10 minutes to let sauce thicken.

Makes 4 cups.

Mary Cokenour


 

Move Over 007, it's Ravioli, Baked not Boiled.

There are those days when making a meal is the farthest thought from my mind. New ideas are hidden deeply, and I am in the mood for nothing special. I look in the pantry, refrigerator and freezer; hoping that something will jump out at me and scream, "Here I am! Eat me!!!" That finally happened when Buitoni's Shrimp and Lobster Ravioli peeked its green box out. Hello my little friend. One problem though is that I didn't want to use the packet of garlic butter sauce that came with it. Oh no, I didn't throw it away; that will be used for another recipe featuring rigatoni, chicken and a few vegetables. So what to do with it, and suddenly the ideas started to pop into my mind...diced tomatoes, but a creamy tomato sauce, not chunky; cheese, not as a garnish, but as a main ingredient.   Of course a plain cheese, meat filled, even chicken and cheese ravioli can be used with this recipe.   Lets see what I finally created, and it sure did taste good!  

Baked Ravioli

 

 

Ingredients:
 

1 (22 oz) box Buitoni Shrimp and Lobster Ravioli

3 cups tomato vodka cream sauce

1 cup diced tomatoes

1 cup shredded Romano cheese

2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese



Preparation:

Take the packet of garlic butter sauce from the Buitoni box, label and return to the freezer (save for another recipe).  Heat a large sauce pan of unsalted water on high heat; when boiling, cook the ravioli for only one minute before straining.  All ice has been removed and the ravioli is no longer sticking together; it will finish cooking in the sauce while baking.



Preheat oven to 375F; spray a 1 and 1/2 quart baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.  Begin the layering process by spreading one cup of sauce in the bottom of the dish. 








Spread out half the ravioli over the sauce.







Spread half the diced tomatoes over the ravioli.









Mix the Romano and mozzarella cheeses together; spread half the mixture over the tomatoes and ravioli.






Now repeat the layering of sauce, ravioli, tomatoes, cheese; finish off with the final cup of sauce.


 

 

Bake for 25 - 30 minutes; sauce will be bubbling and all the cheese melted.  The box of ravioli I used had 18 ravioli in them; during the baking process they expanded their bulk by half, so a serving of three was just right.  Therefore, this recipe made six servings.

The ravioli cooked up perfectly; the flavor of the sauce was infused into the pasta.  Tasting the seafood, pasta, cheese and tomatoes all together made me feel as if I was eating a decadent seafood parmigiana over pasta.  Sometimes, you have to think outside of the box, and not use everything inside it either.

Mary Cokenour



Buitoni - Savior of the Pasta Making Challenged.

Buitoni Pasta

Website: http://www.buitoni.com/

Hello, my name is Mary and I am pasta making challenged. Many times I have attempted to make fresh, homemade pasta; I even had an actual pasta making machine; and failed miserably time after time. I eventually sold the machine at a garage sale and I was very happy to see a stranger walk away with my nemesis.

Brands like Ronzoni, Barilla and San Giorgio offered me the dried variety which encompassed every shape and size imaginable; while Celentano and Rosetto provided ravioli and tortellini. Many other brands have surfaced throughout the years; trial and error has taught me which to remain loyal to, and which to avoid at all costs.

Then came the fresh pasta craze and everyone and their mother was putting out some sort or another. I tried many and am happy to say that I have found one brand that seems to remain in the lead; Buitoni. Now I have to admit, I will buy their fresh pastas, but when it comes to sauces I still make my own.  Sorry Buitoni, that's just the way I roll.

So lets talk about Buitoni's Cheese and Roasted Garlic Tortelloni. In case you didn't know, tortelloni is a larger version of tortellini. The 9 ounce package will give almost 3 cups of the cooked pasta; basically a meal for two including a salad; or a meal for one very hungry individual. The filling is a mixture of four cheeses: ricotta, mozzarella, parmesan and romano; with basil, roasted garlic and dried red bell pepper. I like serving either a simple homemade pasta sauce or a light tomato vodka cream sauce; Alfredo sauce does not go well with this pasta.

What I like about Buitoni is that I can buy their items on sale and they freeze very well.  With cooking, the pasta does not become gummy like some other frozen pasta brands might do.  They stay intact, so the fillings are not oozing out into the boiling water.

So, if you are pasta making challenged like me, but would like to have a meal of fresh pasta, try Buitoni.

Mary Cokenour

Negative Energy Recreation.

Interesting title? Does it mean to create, or bring back, negative energy? Nope, just the opposite. It means to take negative energy and change it into something positive.

So, yesterday I was having a rather stressful day, and I had a few choices on how to handle it. Wallow in it? Been there, done that; don't like it much. Clear my mind and meditate? Fat chance of that happening, since my brain refuses to shut up. Destroy something? That accomplishes nothing, and only causes more stress. Be creative? Eureka!!! Been there, done that, and it works. Whether it is through my poetry, photography or cooking; transforming negative energy into something creative and positive brings comfort,and reduces the stress.

A food that is high on the comfort food scale is pasta, and I had ravioli in the freezer. Ho hum, regular pasta sauce; just not in the mood for making it fresh, or defrosting a container from the freezer. Alfredo sauce wasn't going to give me the zing I needed to get out of my funk. Hmmm, always wanted to try and make homemade tomato vodka cream sauce. I have tried the jarred variety (ok, get over the shock now and move it along), and it was ok, but it still had that processed after taste.

Do you know how many recipes you can find on the internet for this sauce...hundreds! Printed a couple out, compared ingredients and cooking styles, raided the pantry, gave it my own twist and style; and my creation became alive, alive I tell you!!!

Ok, enough of the drama, and here's the recipe:

Tomato Vodka Cream Sauce

A light cream sauce which can be served over any type of tubular pasta (penne, ziti, rigatoni); long, flat pasta (fettuccine, linguine); or cheese filled pasta (ravioli, tortellini, tortelloni).

Ingredients:

2 Tbsp butter

¼ cup diced onion

1 can (28 oz) crushed tomatoes

1 cup heavy cream

¼ cup vodka

1/8 tsp red pepper flakes

½ cup grated parmesan cheese

¼ cup grated romano cheese

1 lb hot, cooked pasta

minced fresh parsley for garnish

Preparation:

In a large skillet, medium-high heat, melt butter and sauté onion until translucent.  Add tomatoes and cook until liquid reduces by half; stir frequently to keep from sticking or burning.

Add cream, vodka and pepper flakes; bring to a boil; reduce heat to low; add in cheeses and let cook 10 minutes to let sauce thicken.  Add in cooked pasta, toss to coat.  Serve and garnish with minced parsley.

Makes 4 servings.

Note:  a half lb. of medium shrimp can be added the last 5 minutes of the sauce being on low; or a ½ lb of grilled chicken slices.

Mary Cokenour