Cookaholics Bulletin Board

I like to do the same-I just get tired of not seeing people because they're worried that I'll think they can't cook, when all I care about is the invitation.

I'm certainly not on a par with either one of you, or many on this board, but I can put on a pretty nice dinner. It's the same thing. 'Oh, I could never do anything as fancy as you.' I always want to point out that Miss Manners says you don't have to, you just need to reciprocate. I would never criticize anyone's cooking or efforts at hospitality.

Oh, I know! A friend of ours always brought along a bottle of Thousand Island dressing,no matter who was cooking or what the menu was.

I'm still experimenting with quick-ish/easy cleanup "weeknight" meals, so made Sass's "Chicken Cacciatore" with the pasta option. This is a pressure cooker deal.

I am not impressed. It wasn't bad, but it had that kind of 'good' cafeteria flavour. The tomato sauce did not taste like tomatoes, it was 'red sauce'. The chicken provided meat, but didn't have a lot of flavour. Overall, very ... inoffensive. Won't be making it again.

I made another recipe of hers -- black beans with softened tortilla chips -- on saturday night. I did a little steak (1/2 of a small strip of each of us, sous-vide and seared) just to round out it out for a saturday night. I used chipolte in adobo instead of the chili powder. That recipe was quite excellent, IMO, and less prep then the cacciatore (but longer cook time)

Because I am still on a "ravioli kick" I served friends (last night) a better version of the roasted butternut squash ravioli than the first one I made and then I did a 3 cheese filled ravioli (no recipe, just a mix of ricotta, fresh mozerella, parm, an egg and parsley.) The squash one had the traditional sage butter sauce and for the cheese one, I used Marcella Hazan's Summer Sauce, that I made this summer and froze in small serving sizes. It was perfect, if I do say so myself.
ilene

Yesterday lunch consisted of a bowl of soup and dinner was cake scraps and spoonsful of frosting. (Tonight I'll post pictures of my b-day cake. It didn't turn out as purdy as I'd like, darnit.)

I think I will eat something healthier tonight.

I made turkey panninis on the George Forman grill. It was clean out the fridge day. The side was a mixture of chopped up red pepper, celery, and cilantro with a vinagrette.

Spoonfuls of frosting and cake scraps? MMmmmm. Hopefully it was washed down with something yummy.

I've been curious about ravioli for a while. What do you use to cut them out? Like, the wheel, a form, etc...

Paul
I use a form....if I could figure out to insert a link, I would show you a pic (yes, I am technologically challenged). This form is metal and makes 12 ravioli at a time. I take a sheet of pasta from the roller and lay in on the form (which has holes for each ravioli), fill each one, lay another sheet on top and then use a roller pin to help seal them (after putting water around heach one). The form has ragged edges around each ravioli, so it will cut with a couple of rolls of the pin. I have considered getting a single cutter....you lay down a sheet of pasta, put your filling at intervals, cover with another sheet, then just cut and seal with a cutter (kind of like a cookie cutter) which does one at a time. I am thinking of getting that device because I have broken some of the others when getting them out of the form.

ilene

I have something like Ilene except it is plastic and the top is curved so, instead of the rolling pin, you rock the top back and forth a few times to cut through and seal the dough. It is also fun to make giant raviolis using cookie cutters... hearts for Valentine's Day perhaps?

Mary