How to make homemade manicotti On one of the first trips to my in-laws, before Lou and I were married, my mother-in-law-to-be Rita Cinquino served manicotti. I had never, ever tasted anything so good before. And as much as I loved my husband back then, I have to say the manicotti might have sealed the deal. It certainly was a major factor in my lifetime commitment to him. It’s a bit of an effort to make, but so worth it. Homemade Italian Manicotti Ingredients for the manicotti shells 1 cup flour 1 cup water 4 eggs Pinch of salt Directions With a mixer or whisk, mix the eggs and water. Ingredients for the manicotti filling 1 pound ricotta cheese 1/3 cup grated Romano cheese 1 egg A few sprigs chopped parsley Salt and pepper to taste Mix ingredients together in a bowl. You can also freeze the manicotti separately in plastic bags to cook later in the season.
Elle's New England Kitchen - Elles New England Kitchen - Lobster Egg... It’s that time again--#GoJunkFood! What is #GoJunkFood? It’s a little project that Chris at Blog Well Done and I launched a while back. Our latest installment features egg rolls. "We love egg rol...WAIT." My husband had been hearing talk of winter Maine lobsters being better than summer Maine lobsters. Oh, you might be wondering if we found a difference between the summer and winter lobsters? Egg rolls aren’t hard to make, just time consuming. Egg Roll Assembly 101 makes approx. 21 egg rolls 1/3 cup low sodium soy sauce 1 tsp diced fresh ginger 2 tbsp oyster sauce 2 tbsp agave or honey 2 tbsp rice vinegar 4 cloves garlic, minced 4 cups chopped fresh shitake mushrooms 4 green onions, sliced thinly 2 stalks celery, diced finely 1 1/2 cups grated carrots 2 cups julienned snow peas 1 cup chopped water chestnuts 5 cups chopped Chinese Cabbage 9 oz fresh lobster meat, cut in a small dice and set aside egg roll wrappers Blood Orange Dipping Sauce (See below)
Garlic Cheese Mini Biscuits - Red Lobster Knock-off Have I mentioned how addicted I am to Pinterest? Feel free to leave your Pinterest link in a comment so I can follow you-I'm twoofakind on there. Its opened my eyes to many new recipes including my family's new favorite side - Garlic Cheese Mini Puffs. Ingredients: 1 cup all-purpose flour 1 tablespoon sugar 2 teaspoons baking powder 1/4 teaspoon salt (*see recipe tips) 1/2 tablespoon garlic salt (*see recipe tips) 1/4 cup cold butter, cubed 1 cup grated cheddar cheese 1/2 cup milkDirections: Preheat oven to 400 degrees. These things are seriously awesome and so incredibly easy to make.
Soft Pretzel Bites - What Megans Making Soft Pretzel Bites I’ve seen some similar soft pretzel recipes in the blog world recently, and for good reason. These soft pretzel bites would make a great snack for the Superbowl! They’re also surprisingly easy to make. But for the Superbowl, I recommend these cute little bites – I’m sure everyone will love them! Soft Pretzel Bites Ingredients:1 1/2 cups warm water 2 tablespoons light brown sugar 1 package active dry yeast 3 ounces unsalted butter, melted 2 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt 4 1/2 to 5 cups all-purpose flour Vegetable oil 3 quarts water 3/4 cup baking soda 1 whole egg, beaten with 1 tablespoon cold water Coarse sea saltDirections:In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the water, sugar, yeast, and butter and mix with the dough hook until combined.
Broccoli Bites for Kids File this under the Onion Soup Mix Recipe category, though there is no Lipton onion soup mix in site. I may even serve these at my next dinner party, they were that good! While babysitting for my 6 year old picky eater niece, I had to come up with a good lunch that would be fun for the two of us to make together. She is not a big broccoli fan (or any vegetable fan), but I told her we would add melted gooey cheese and form the patties with our hands. She was sold. Please don't laugh when you read this recipe, it is terrific and easy. I made it my own by adding homemade breadcrumbs and fresh chopped steamed broccoli along with lowfat mozzarella cheese mixed with the cheddar. Broccoli Cheese Bites (adapted from My Tasty Treasures & WholeSomeBabyFood.com): 16 oz. package of frozen chopped broccoli, thawed and drained of liquid (I used fresh steamed broccoli) 1 1/2 cup of grated cheddar cheese 3 eggs salt & pepper 1 cup of seasoned Italian breadcrumbs Let cool and enjoy!
Mozzarella Stuffed Homemade Meatballs 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil 1 pound lean ground beef 1 large egg 1/2 cup finely chopped white onion 1/2 cup Panko bread crumbs 1/2 cup fresh grated parmesan cheese 1/4 cup milk 2 tablespoons minced garlic 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce 1 tablespoon yellow mustard 1 teaspoon hot sauce, like Tabasco 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 1/4 teaspoon garlic salt Ten 1-inch Mozzarella balls 1. 2. 3.
Irish Car Bomb Cupcakes Recipe As I mentioned on Friday, I have been doing some experimentation with the beer and chocolate combination. The Guinness-chocolate ice cream that I made totally kicked butt, so I couldn’t wait to see how I liked beer and chocolate in my cake. The answer? These cupcakes consist of a Guinness-chocolate cake base, which has a wonderful depth of flavor and is also supremely moist. While you can’t really taste the beer in the cupcakes (it serves as more of a flavor enhancer for the chocolate), you can definitely taste the alcohol in the filling and the frosting. I think I need to start converting more drinks into baked goods, this was too much fun (and way delicious!). Two year ago: Sour Cream Coffee CakeThree years ago: Pot Roast in the Crock Pot Yield: 24 cupcakesPrep Time: 40 minutesCook Time: 17 minutesTotal Time: 1 hour Guinness cupcakes with a Jameson whiskey ganache center and topped with a Baileys Irish Cream frosting.
Homemade Soft Pretzel Bites Homemade Soft Pretzel Bites On Fridays, I teach cooking classes to two kids in our neighborhood. They are pretty knowledgeable-so my job is easy:) I think it is fantastic that they want to learn how to cook at such a young age-they are in the 3rd and 4th grade. Since we don’t have any kiddos yet, I am glad I get to work with these kids. We have a great time in the kitchen. On Friday we made homemade soft pretzels,the traditional salty ones and cinnamon and sugar pretzels. For fun, we also made pretzel bites. everyone loved these. Is everyone ready for the big game? Buffalo Hot Wings-these are Josh’s all time favorite. My good friend Gaby, from What’s Gaby Cooking, made Pulled Pork Sliders for the big game. Homemade Soft Pretzel Bites Yield: A lot!
Flying Spaghetti Monsters* - Deep Fried...Something *OK, so they weren't really flying. Except when Isaac threw one after he decided he was done. But I digress...I first found this idea as just a picture on the internet. I'm sure the picture was from a recipe somewhere, but I didn't see the recipe. Flying Spaghetti Monsters Ingredients: 1/2 box of spaghetti1 package of sausages or hot dogsMarinara sauce (optional) Directions: Cut the sausages into quarters. Bring a pot of water to a boil and follow the cooking directions for the spaghetti.Drain and serve! Notes:We didn't have any marinara sauce, but they were still pretty good.
How to Make Marshmallow Fondant This time I decided to make it with those mini fruit flavored marshmallows. I had to sort them by colour first. I figured they would add a little bit of flavor to the fondant so I wouldn't have to add much flavoring oil. I use gel colours to dye my fondant but regular food colouring will work too. You won't be able to get really dark colours without making your fondant sticky, but for lighter colours you can just even it out with more icing sugar. I also had lemon oil and coconut flavoring on hand.. oh la la the value brand (which still works fine). Step One: Take a couple of handfuls of marshmallows and put them in a microwave safe bowl. I like to make smaller batches because its easier to add the colour to the melted marshmallow than it is to work the colour into the fondant later. Step Two: Stick the marshmallows in the microwave for ten seconds at a time until the are puffed up and easily stir into a goo with a wooden spoon. Step Three: Step Four: Fondant with the icing sugar kneaded in.
Penne a la Betsy! Ah, is there anything sweeter on earth than having your punk-arse little sister visit? Mine’s visiting this week, which means I’ve totally regressed back to childhood and the water’s great! We’ve sipped wine, laughed until we’ve experienced stress incontinence, and cooked until our fingers are pruney and falling off our hands. And our tummies are plump and full. Marlboro Man had to go out of town for a couple of days, so one of the things Betsy and I made was our favorite pasta dish of all time. Betsy graduated from college, lived in various big cities, and now resides in Austin, Texas with her tech-nerd husband, Matt, where she spends her days cooking all the food snob dishes I so unselfishly taught her to make so many years ago. Come along with Betsy and me as we make one of our favorites: Penne a la Betsy, as I like to call it. The Cast of Characters: Shrimp, Penne (or other short pasta), butter, olive oil, onion, garlic, tomato sauce, heavy cream, parsley, basil, salt, and pepper.
Romancing the Stove