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Tag: Pasta

Mac & Cheese Nest with Bacon Jam

As a fun snack, I occasionally make spaghetti nests with meatballs. They are small, highly personalized little muffin sized spaghetti nests that are very tasty.

Held together with eggs, Parmesan cheese and a touch of cream, these spaghetti nests are very fun and tasty and maybe one day we will give you the recipe for them, and my super delicious meatballs.

This giant mac & cheese nest is loosely based on that. Pasta nests are a million times easier to make with long and thin pasta types like spaghetti, but because we were making mac & cheese, it made more sense to use small shells. I did this knowing it would be a lot harder for the pasta to bake together in a cohesive way.

My gamble paid off. Using a cheese sauce with three cheeses (mozzarella, cheddar and provolone), I patted an entire box of small shells into a springform pan. After baking it at 350F for 15 minutes, I added a bacon and caramelized onion jam to center, and baked it again for another 15 minutes.

You can use any pasta and any mac & cheese recipe to make your own nest, and you can put anything you want in the middle of the nest! You can even make mini versions. Just bake at 350F for 15-20 minutes and then let cool for another 10 out of the oven.

June 4, 2019
Cheese Bowls

To keep up with munchies week, we’re adding in these wonderful bowls made of cheese.

When you’re eating anything from pasta to salad, what would make it better? I bet you were just thinking: a BOWL MADE OF CHEESE. And you’d be right. These bowls are made out of shredded Parmesan cheese that are baked for a short amount of time in the oven and then molded to be in the shape of a bowl.

Sounds like a process, right? It’s actually really easy! I don’t even need to fill out a recipe post to let you know how to make these!

Step 1: Preheat your oven to 350F. While it’s heating up, prepare a baking sheet or two with parchment paper or silpats.

Step 2: Figure out which bowl you want your cheese bowl to look like. Flip that bowl upside down and made an outline around it with some of the cheese.

Step 3: lift the bowl and fill in the center with more cheese. There can be holes, but I wouldn’t recommend it.

Step 4: Bake the cheese for 5-10 minutes or until cheese has begun to brown a bit. Remove from the oven and let cool for two minutes.

Step 5: Using your bowl and a spatula, flip the cheese onto the bowl so it can set.

Step 6: Press the cheese down so it molds with the bowl. Blot off some of the grease with a paper towel. Let set for a minimum of 10 minutes.

Step 7: Remove the bowl from the mold, and fill with whatever you desire… or just eat the bowl. I don’t know your life.

April 18, 2019
Chicken Bacon Ranch Manicotti

Hopefully you’ve seen the video and you already know… IT’S MUNCHIES WEEK! Whether or not you take part in marijuana, these munchies are perfect for any stoner or really anyone who loves cheese and chocolate. Believe me when I say, a food high is definitely a thing.

We’re starting off our week of munchies with a whole mixture of food that is delicious when under the influence. Bacon, pasta, cheese and ranch dressing. Oh, and did I forget, the whole mess is topped off with crushed doritos.

While you can truly make this in any way you want, you can find my recipe for it here. I hope you enjoy munchies week!

April 15, 2019
Spicy Fusilli with Zucchini, Leeks and Tomatoes

Pasta, pasta, pastaaaaa. My favorite food. I am always looking for ways to spice it up (pun definitely intended).

This fusilli is super hot, because red pepper flakes. I actually used way more than I showed on the recipe, and it was HOT. But guess what, I love hot. I love spicy, and if i can mix that with my favorite food, plus my current favorite vegetable (zucchini), even better.

Get the recipe here.

March 19, 2019
Red Velvet Gnocchi: Cookbook Review

Zoe’s Take
3/10

I did NOT like these gnocchi at all. While the color was absolutely beautiful, they did not taste good at all. The texture was almost cake like, you could taste the semolina in the dough easily and they just didn’t have any flavor. I had to cover them in cheese in order to eat them. I definitely think that you should stick to regular gnocchi. Do NOT recommend.

Eric’s Take
3/10

This recipe is the perfect example of something that is great in theory, but not in practice. I agreed with Zoe on every point. The taste was overwhelming beet flavored. The texture was very odd, and they desperately needed a sauce, like a beurre blanc or even a gremolata. This would balance out the flavor and lift the overly earthy gnocchi. I’m willing to give the benefit of the doubt that I might not have made them correctly. But both Zoe and I had very similar outcomes. This is at least a problem with the instructions. My dough was very dry, but not knowing what to base it off of, I had to assume correct. Overall, there were too many issues and questions for us to give this more than a 3.

March 13, 2019
Simple Manicotti

We’ve definitely said it before…but we love pasta. This classic dish can sometimes seem daunting, but it’s really easy. While you can certainly make everything right before eating, we prefer making this dish ahead of time.

For our Ricotta Filling recipe click HERE.

For our Pasta Sauce recipe click HERE.

You can use all sorts of pasta for this recipe. There’s large and small manicotti, lasagna noodles, or even wonton wrappers. You could also make fresh dough. The preparation can vary depending on your choice. If you’re making the pasta to eat immediately be sure to follow the instructions on the box. Most will par-cook for about 8 minutes. For fresh pasta or wonton wrappers you don’t have to par-cook.

If you use lasagna noodles or wonton wrappers, place a line of ricotta at the end leaving 1/2 inch for sealing the side. This will make a tube shape. For Manicotti noodles or pasta already in a tube, carefully spoon in the filling. It may be easier to use a piping bag.

To save time during the week, you can pipe the filling into uncooked noodles. Place a little sauce to just cover the bottom of the pan. Lay out the filled noodles in one layer. Cover with sauce and some cheese. Cover and refrigerate. The sauce will moisten the noodles in the refrigerator overnight.

If you make our manicotti recipe be sure to let us know!

February 26, 2019
Livened Up Fettuccine Alfredo

I am a pastaholic. I could literally eat it every single day, for at least two meals of the day. Normally though, I wouldn’t order fettuccine Alfredo at a restaurant. Why? Because most Alfredo are made with cream and milk. Not only is that wayyyy too heavy, but I just don’t think it tastes nearly as good.

The best Alfredo in my opinion is made with butter and cheese, no cream required! My Fettuccine Alfredo is light and yet so creamy with just a touch of acidity from the lemon, a little bite from the pepper and some extra fiber and green from the peas. During the summer, I would use fresh sweet peas from the garden, but not in the winter when going outside is like… cold. Especially with the polar vortex going on.

Get the recipe here for something to keep you warm on these loooong cold nights.

February 7, 2019
Cacio e Pepe

Cacio e Pepe is a deliciously creamy and cheesy pasta dish from Roman cuisine that despite it’s rich creamy texture, involves no cream at all. The name literally means cheese and pepper, and the only ingredients are black pepper, pecorino romano cheese and pasta.

For my cacio e pepe, I toasted my black pepper in butter first to give the pepper a more extenuated flavor. Toasting spices is a well known method for bringing out even more flavor, and my cacio e pepe is very peppery.

And although it is never mentioned, you should ALWAYS salt your pasta water. Not just a little bit, at least several TBSP. This adds flavor and will definitely elevate the pasta dish you’re making.

Get the recipe here.

January 4, 2019
Farfalle with Spinach and Arugula Pesto, Pine Nuts, Prosciutto and Parmesan Cheese

As the cold weather descends upon us, warm dinners are the best remedy after a long day at work. Pasta is easy to boil, and quick to get ready. If you’re willing to make the pesto ahead of time, you can throw this dish together in a matter of minutes.

This dish is easy to make both vegetarian and vegan, by just removing the prosciutto, and for vegans, removing the cheese. It’s nice to have a dish in your recipe library that can please a variety of dietary needs without having to make any major changes. You can make the pesto without cheese as well if needed.

Find the recipe here!

November 19, 2018
#1: Squash Ravioli with Brown Butter, Caramelized Onions, Toasted Pumpkin Seeds Review

Zoe’s Take:

8/10

I really liked this ravioli. First off, I didn’t have to make pasta dough. The use of egg roll wrappers makes this recipe a lot easier for people who don’t necessarily know how to or have time to make pasta. The manchego cheese is what made the ravioli for me though. Butternut squash is good and all, but I love manchego cheese and it really helped the butternut squash become a fuller more nutty flavor. However, the real star of the show was the caramelized onions. Without them, the dish wouldn’t be as good in my opinion. I do think I would prefer that the ravioli be in pasta instead of egg roll wrappers however.

Eric’s Take

7.5/10

This was a great start to this cookbook review. This dish is very substantial. You only need a few ravioli to fill you up. The caramelized onion adds complexity to the otherwise fairly plain ravioli. The pumpkin seeds are more than just a garnish as they add texture to the dish. My only problem with the flavor of this recipe was that it was laking something to cut through the fattiness of all the butter. Brown butter is amazing, but on top of the buttery caramelized onions and ravioli filling, it was a lot. Some additional acidity may have been nice. I took liked the ease of the egg roll wrapper as a shortcut. However, if I were to make this recipe again I would probably make pasta dough. It’s relatively easy to make, and much easier to fill. The size of the ravioli in the recipe was also a problem for me. It was a good size, but very difficult to cut without a very small biscuit/cookie cutter, which most people don’t have.

November 7, 2018