This is probably the weirdest post I've written in a long time. Blame it on the worst flu/cold (and what IS the difference anyway?) I've had this season. So if I'm incoherent - that's why. But let me start earlier this week. I already knew I was going to do a
Donna Hay pasta dish for the
First Presto Pasta Night (
you can find out how to send me your pasta creation here) and I wanted it to be special. That said, I hadn't left the bed or the couch since Saturday and was beginning to panic. I saw two amazing looking dishes - ricotta & basil ravioli and crab, ricotta & rocket cannelloni and knew I wouldn't want to make the ravioli but would definitely want to combine the ingredients...crab, ricotta, lemon zest, basil leaves, garlic.....what could be better?
Okay, so first you must know that I've never made my own pasta and with all my
kitchen toys, I don't own a pasta maker. That said, I did see
Jamie Oliver on FoodTV not long ago using a wine bottle instead of a rolling pin or pasta maker, so I thought it would be easy enough. Of course, all that was before the two day migraine set in. So yesterday I went to one of my local favorite food shops -
Bruno's to see if they had any fresh pasta (it's not really cheating if you're sick, is it?) Anyway, they had tortellini and fettucini and ravioli...but no flat sheets of pasta for me to use as cannelloni. So I bought boxes of lasagna (maybe I could make my own rolls) and cannelloni (I could always just stuff them) and then I conked out completely.
Today, with a drippy nose and fortunately only my also sick Honey will be eating these with me , I decided to try my hand at making my own pasta. I know, I know - crazy day to try something so foreign to me, but I guess I was delirious. Big mistake -
one - the five minutes of kneading felt like an hour and
two - although it looked okay, in the baking, the pasta somehow was way too tough and way too thick. So I boiled up a couple of sheets of lasagna to make some "ravioli", mostly because the sheets were too narrow to turn into cannelloni. I lay a leaf of baby spinach and a spoonful of crab mixture on top, leaving lots of room around each, painted the edges with egg wash and lay another sheet of lasagna on top. Naturally I didn't pinch the pouches hard enough and the filling became one with the sauce. So all in all, I should have stuck with an old tried and true dish of fettucini with olive oil, garlic, lemon zest and basil chiffonade. The perfectly simple and simply delicious supper for sickies.
Recipes
Crab, Ricotta & Spinach Cannelloni
Fettucini with Olive Oil, Garlic & Basil
Remember, there are only 2 days to go until the Presto Pasta Night Round Up. So send me your favorite noodle dish - Phad Thai, Macaroni Salad, and Singapore Noodles are pasta too! Cold dishes, hot dishes, sweet, spicy, creamy...anything goes. All you have to do to join the fun can be found here.
Related links:
Food and Drink easy cooking pasta Food Blogging Event Presto Pasta Night
2 comments:
The best of my intentions fell by the wayside, and we didn't cook any pasta this week!
If you don't need something specifically made for this event, how about this: http://hrblogs.typepad.com/skat_and_the_food/2007/02/penne.html
At any rate, I'll be back onboard next week. Get better, sick folk!
S'kat, because who could possibly resist that delicious baked ziti, I added it to the roundup.
Thanks for sharing and I look forward to next week's entry.
The cold/flu is still killing me, but it's got to be over soon! Thanks for thinking of us.
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