Chicken Tortellini

Chicken Spinach Tortellini

So in the never-ending quest to learn how to make pasta properly (my pasta is consistently too wet) there comes a time to learn more shapes than ribbon and ravioli (two ribbons) So my first time making tortellini from scratch. Went smoother than expected....

Ingredients
-Fresh Pasta
-

Creation

So first the filling. I shredded chicken with spinach and wine. Made way to much... as usual.

Too much tasty.

Now its time for the pasta. Same as for making ravioli. Needs to be rolled out thinner than usual. Not sure if I got it thin enough.. however the process to for making then is amatuerly photographed as follows.

Step 1. Fill.

Step 2. Fold.

Step 3. Pinch

Step 4. Pinch again

Step 5. Admire

Now its time to make a sauce. Since my chicken was purposely made a little briney, I made the sauce with a tiny bit of chicken , cream and mozzarella.

Very creamy... couldn't be cause of the cream...

And that is that boil, toss... cook through... and serve. Now in hindsight using the filling as the sauce base will make the dish one-dimensional so next time I have a plan. 

Also don't forget if you make too much, either on purpose or accidentally, just freeze it. Fresh pasta stores well in freezer for a couple weeks... that way you can pop it out and make...

Red Lasagna

Lasagna made with Red Sauce

This is my first ever lasagna. I know right? It is about time and let me tell you.. definitely getting thrown in rotation. Red Sauce goes so well with it... I mean what doesn't it go with? (Chocochip Cookie Dough Omelet) and it has a few ingredients. But it is a bit time consuming...

Ingredients
-Basic Red Sauce
-Fresh Pasta
-Ricotta Cheese
-Parmesan

Creation

Only four ingredients? Well the Basic red Sauce was made with a bunch... Diced Tomatoes, Pork Sausage, Parsley, Onion, Garlic, Wine, Sugar, Vinegar. I think that it. Pretty much Red Sauce with the only veges being green and sweet onions. Pasta was just egg and flour. No oil this time. sadly I didn't take any pictures until after it was done.

Didn't know golden brown edges also referred to lasagna

However I make a two layer lasagna. Two layers of pasta that is. Take the casserole dish and a thin layer of the sauce goes down. Then a layer of fresh uncooked pasta. Just roll it and lay it. Next the sauce again topped with a bunch of ricotta cheese and Parmesan. Another layer of pasta topped with the remaining sauce and then Parm. 375 for like an hr or less.

I don't need those unnecessary layers here.

Now I heard lasagna always taste better the next day, but I just made this. So tasting will be done... and now my mouth is burnt. Note to readers: Do not take a lasagna that has been in the oven for an hr at 375, cut a slice and eat. Regret will be had.

Its all about the Ricotta cheese

The next day. The flavors melded a little more and the lasagna can hold its form better... but man was this...

Brisket's Red Sauce

Brisket's Red Sauce

If you haven't figured it out by now I like thick robust sauces. That are usually a mix of sweet and savory. Not to mention they are quite versatile and can be tailored to dishes... gotta love that.

Ingredients
-Pork
-Sauvignon Blanc
-Crushed Tomatoes
-Vinegar
-Brown Sugar
-Onion
-Veges

Creation

Simple to make easy to tailor. For thing to do is brown the meat. Sometimes I use pork sausage today just plain old ground pork.

Bland and grey looking... terrible. 

I didn't quite brown it, but when it was almost done I cranked up the heat and added all the veggies. 1 medium onion. 1 Carrot. 1 Celery stalk. 1 Leek. Little bit of Spinach and some Parsley. Yes it it be more vegetable than meat. But it will break down a little bit. When they sizzle add the wine... 1/2 cup or so.. maybe more...

Plus a 28oz can of crushed tomatoes

Now the simmering games begin. 30-45min. Then add the balsamic and sugar. I like it sweet so good 1/2cup packed.. I think. Probably more. Only a couple tablespoons of vinegar. I prefer Balsamic. Stir and then another 30-45min. In the meantime...

That's cut pretty thick... well its a thick sauce

And is about it. a hearty flavorful sauce with pasta that can stand up to it.

This didn't last very long.

Probably one of my favorite meals of all time.. and about that sauce. Can't wait to turn it into a lasagna.... I know right?!

Excuse me while I eat...

Chicken Pappardelle

Chicken Pappardelle with Leeks and Bacon

So I went to a nice Italian Restaurant and had an awesome Chicken Carbonara. So of course I would wake up the next day thinking I could do it better right? Well I did, but it kinda became this instead on a carbonara. It was still very good though. 

Ingredients
-Fresh Pasta
-Shredded Chicken
-Leeks
-Garlic
-Bacon
-White Wine
-Half 'n Half

Creation
First make the ribbon pasta. You can follow my own recipe or do your own. Not a big deal, but when you get to the stage where you let it rest is where all the cooking comes in.

Still one of the best smells ever.

Get the bacon nice and crispy and reserve all the rendered fat. Well you don't have to reserve it all, but I did. cause I didn't want to pour off such delicious stuff.

Bottom half of one leek plus about three? garlic cloves

Chop the veges and get them in the pot to saute quickly. Don't want to burn the garlic. That would be bad. Very bad. Plus there is more to come.

Now add the chicken. I just happened to have shredded chicken from the day before, which I made by boiling a chicken breast till it was done.. I guess. Only about 30min or something. Not sure. It was fully cooked. Then I took to forks and shredded it by pulling with the grain. That way you don't get chunks but shreds. Probably should have took pictures...

Very bright and green. Just wait till the red comes from the bacon

Yep, get all that in there and then add a dash of white wine. Wait for that to boil off and then add cream, salt and pepper to taste. Let that simmer while the pasta is made.

Cutting the pasta

Yep now time to roll out the pasta. Should have only taken about 30min to do everything else. Maybe and if you noticed that it seems that the ration of chicken to pasta is a little off... it is. There is a bunch more chicken if you followed the measurements I gave for the pasta.

Unroll it

 Unroll it and let it rest a tiny bit and then cook for about a min. Toss in the topping and done... and yes I do almost always toss pasta in sauce first.

And there you have it... Mmmm

Simple(ish).. but it taste very fresh and of course is..

Pasta Made By Hand

How I make Pasta by hand
(No machine or food processor)

First post of 2012! Finally! Now to get on to business. The art of making pasta at home is thought to be difficult. I know I thought it was, but now I can safely say it isn't nearly as hard nor does it need many hard to get ingredients. Everything you need should be in the pantry. So what do you need? Well my recipe is as follows...

Ingredients

- 1/2 cup flour 

- 1 egg

- tbsp of oil

- tsp of salt

Creation

 All-purpose flour... for now

I begin with a bowl. I know, everyone else uses the well method or a food processor, but they don't know how messy I am and washing an additional bowl ain't no thang. Plus I always seem to make pasta in black clothes... so yeah... Also this recipes makes for a single entree portion or two appetizers.  

 Lookin' good

Now it dumped on the cutting mat. This dough is going to need more flour, because for some odd reason I think it is easier to add flour than water when kneading. I don't know... I like to be different. Kneading is done   till the dough refuses to change shape and sticks to itself but nothing else.

 The crumbly mess has become smooooth

The dough must rest or rolling it out is going to be very difficult. This is about the time I think about what the pasta will be sauced with or filled with in this case. Today I had fresh spinach and parsley on hand, so chopped them up, wilted them in a pan with garlic and cream, then finish with Romano cheese. ...Or if i have all of that prepared I turn on the tv or listen to some music or maybe even wash dishes I don't need anymore like a good little chef...

 In order to roll out thin enough the dough must be cut in half so there are two sheets

Brisket Note: The pasta must be really thin. So thin that can see through it a bit. If I moved the pasta to cover the little blue logo on the cutting mat it I would be able to make it out slightly.

I ended with only enough for four large ravioli. So the rest goes to ribbon pasta. I know to use more spinach next time. Oh well. My homemade rolling pin looks so good. Had to throw that in somehow, cause there is always that inner joy that comes with making something at home.... like pasta....

 Fresh ravioli and tagliatelle

After fresh pasta is made its best to either cook immediately or freeze for later use. The tagliatelle will be frozen in this case. That will be a nice little midday lunch someday. When cooking fresh pasta a rule of thumb is it is done when they float, which is quite fast actually. Less than a minute for thin ribbon pastas. I have over cooked many pastas... many pastas.

Spinach Ravioli with a White Wine Cream Sauce

And that is that finished simple sauce with white wine and cream. Now relish in the glory of your homemade meal. So now what? Well the sky is the limit. You can do pretty much anything...

...like a faux carbonara...

...or a light tomato cream sauce. 

No those did not come from the that little bit of leftover pasta, just in case you were wondering I managed to make it multiply with magic. Though that would be quite awesome. Of course those dishes will be coming up soon and it goes without saying that this is...

Beef Ravioli

Beef Ravioli

Yes, follows the theme of homemade pasta. Probably gonna make December the month of Pasta. Yeah that sounds good. 

Ingredients
-Beef
-Homemade Pasta
-Celery
-Onion
-Bechamel

Creation

I remember the first time I made pasta. Attempted to make ravioli. Didn't know the ratios or anything. Was totally dry in the middle. Yeah. Now I know you are supposed to boil them and then add to sauce... who knew?

Being that pasta is one of my favorite things ever being able to make it at home sure does change things.

The stuffing is beef and cheese. Needed a lot more cheese (not a beef lover) but it was and is...

Making Pasta

Making Pasta at Home

This is like a teaser for a later date where I outline the whole process. There aren't many steps and as you can see the pasta above is a little thick. That will all change when I get my first pasta machine. 

Ingredients
-Flour
-Eggs

Creation

And this is what happens when you have way too much meat.. but it was good and because it had homemade pasta it was an...

Shrimp Fettuce

Shrimp Fettuce

First off, there is no spelling error. Fettuce is a wider form of the oh-so-popular fettuccine, and yes they were made by hand. I tried a couple years back, didn't have a clue what I was doing. Working with pictures in a book. Terrible. So now I see the book again and decide its time. Took three tries though.. imagine the realization when when I realized I was working with medium eggs instead of large.

Ingredients
-Flour
-Eggs
-Shrimp
-Onion
-Basil
-Heavy Cream

Creation

Homemade pasta?! No way. Actually much simpler than even I thought and I use the "well" method. Pretty simple.. quite messy, but being covered in flour makes you look like more of a chef right?

The shrimp are just cooked with a cream sauce. No wine or vinegar. I know right. Focus was on the pasta which makes this...