YumSugar

Fast & Easy Dinner: Baked Ravioli

partysugar — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 06:50:01 -0700

While there are some pastas, like macaroni and rigatoni, that are commonly used to make baked casserole-style dishes, other types, for example ravioli, are often overlooked.

This recipe thinks outside the baking dish by tossing store-bought ravioli with a quick homemade marinara sauce and lots of grated cheese.

The resulting meal is a crunchy, chewy, comforting mess of pasta that's sure to please the children in your life. For a balanced dinner, serve mixed greens on the side. Get the creative recipe when you read more.

Baked Ravioli
From Martha Stewart

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
Coarse salt and ground pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons dried thyme, or oregano
1 can (28 ounces) whole tomatoes
1 can (28 ounces) crushed tomatoes
2 pounds store-bought ravioli
1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and garlic, and season with salt and pepper; cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes.
Add thyme and tomatoes. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer, breaking up tomatoes with spoon, until sauce is thickened and reduced to about 5 1/2 cups, 20 to 25 minutes.
Meanwhile, cook ravioli in a large pot of boiling salted water just until they float to the top (pasta will continue to cook in oven). Drain pasta; return to pot.

Toss sauce with pasta. Pour pasta into a large gratin dish or 9-by-13-inch baking dish, and sprinkle with cheeses. Bake until golden, 20 to 25 minutes. Cool slightly before serving.

Serves 4-6.

Print recipe with images | without images

What Would You Make?

partysugar — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 01:01:19 -0800

Here's the scenario: you are at home and hungry. You have to cook up something scrumptious for you and your boyfriend/girlfriend/ spouse/child/friend, but the ingredients you have on hand are limited.

You have a bunch of fragrant basil, creamy goat cheese, and marinara sauce. Using these products, along with whatever you currently have on hand in your cupboard and refrigerator, what would you make?

To see what I would make, read more.

I would start by finely chopping the basil. Next I would stir it into the marinara sauce.
I would fill an oven-proof appetizer dish with the sauce and plop a large chunk of goat cheese in the middle.
I would bake in the oven for 20 minutes until the cheese is melted and the sauce is bubbling.
Meanwhile I would use whatever bread I have on hand - this week I have regular white sandwich bread - to make croutons. I would do this by cutting it into large one inch crustless cubes and crisping it up in the oven while the cheese and sauce bake.
Finally, I would serve the cheese marinara dip with the croutons and skewers for dipping.

Source and Source

The Basics: Marinara Sauce

partysugar — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 10:38:38 -0700

When it comes to cooking, there are many basic recipes that are like building blocks. Take a simple vinaigrette, for example: once you know the most common ratio of oil to vinegar, you can easily change and enhance the flavor by adding herbs, garlic, finely grated cheese, mustard, honey, citrus, or whatever ingredients entice your tastebuds. Our new regular feature, The Basics, highlights these important recipes. We're taking you back to the basics by providing foundation recipes that you can build upon.To kick of the series, I've made homemade marinara sauce. While you can find this staple in every grocery store, it's far more delicious if you take the time to make your own. The recipe is uncomplicated and alterable. It's an effortless tomato sauce that can be tossed with pasta, turned into a dip, or spread on a pizza dough. To look at the recipe and see suggestions on how to transform it into a more complex sauce, read more.

Marinara Sauce
From Giada De Laurentiis

Ingredients

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
1 celery stalk, finely chopped
1 carrots, peeled and finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 (32-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
1 dried bay leaf

Directions

In a large pot, heat the oil over a medium-high flame. Add the onions and garlic and saute until the onions are translucent, about 10 minutes.
Add the celery, carrots, and 1/2 teaspoon each of salt and pepper. Saute until all the vegetables are soft, about 10 minutes.
Add the tomatoes and bay leaves, and simmer uncovered over low heat until the sauce thickens, about 1 hour.
Remove and discard the bay leaves. Season the sauce with more salt and pepper, to taste. The sauce can be made 1 day ahead. Cool, then cover and refrigerate. Rewarm over medium heat before using.

Makes about 4 cups.

Variations
To make a spicy tomato sauce, stir in red pepper flakes and ancho chile powder (or chopped chipotle in adobe) when you add the tomatoes.

To make a rich bolognese-style sauce, deglaze the vegetables with red wine. Pour in milk when you add the tomatoes.

To make a tangy puttanesca-inspired sauce, saute anchovy fillets with the vegetables. Add capers, black olives, and fresh oregano when you add the tomatoes.

Print recipe with images | without images

View 13 Photos ›

Marinara Sauce

partysugar — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 10:09:59 -0700

View Slideshow ›

Would You Eat This Wise Guy Burger?

YumSugar — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 05:50:04 -0700

If the world's largest burger wasn't too much for you, maybe you can appreciate the newest addition to the burgerverse. Grub Street reports that casual chain Red Robin has created a breakthrough called the Wise Guy Burger, which consists of a burger patty, marinara sauce, pepperoni slices, peppers, tomatoes, and yes, mozzarella sticks. Although they say it "just seems wrong" to go there, as a lover of The Palin sandwich at Ike's, I must respectfully disagree. Is it something you'd try?

Source

Taste Test: Domino's Bread Bowl Pastas

YumSugar — Thu, 07 May 2009 14:00:53 -0700

The world of fast food is certainly quick paced, so the second Domino's begun advertising five flavors of pasta housed in a bread bowl, it seemed everybody was buzzing about it. When Party and I first got word of these monsters, we were simultaneously shocked (who came up with the concept?), appalled, and eager to try them. Yesterday turned out to be the Domino's day of reckoning - to find out how the bowls stood up to their shock value, read more.

It's hard to fathom why Domino's rolled out this concept of carbs inside more carbs, but the fact that competitor Pizza Hut has already racked up more than $500 million in sales of its Tuscani Pastas and lasagna, puts things more into perspective. However, as soon as we opened the delivery, we were faced with many unanswered questions: How many people was each bread bowl supposed to feed? Was the dish designed to be eaten like a pizza, or were we supposed to eat the pasta first, then the bowl?

Pasta Primavera: This bread bowl was filled with pasta, baby spinach, diced tomatoes, mushrooms, onions, and a goopy, oily Alfredo sauce. While the sole vegetarian option was filled with vegetables, I questioned whether the dish contained any protein.

Chicken Carbonara: Although this tasted somewhat like carbonara, it was covered with similar globs of white sauce.

Three Cheese Mac-N-Cheese: This was our least favorite. We love macaroni and cheese, but the flavors of the dish - bland, artificial nacho cheese, subpar penne, and a yeasty bread bowl - just did not seem to meld at all.

Italian Sausage Marinara: If we had to choose a best of the tasting, it would have been the Italian Sausage Marinara, which was rather reminiscent of regular pizza delivery with breadsticks. But then again, why not just order pizza and breadsticks?

Chicken Alfredo: All of the bowls were loaded with sodium (I drank water for hours afterward), but the Chicken Alfredo was swimming in a sauce that was over-the-top salty, to the point of being unpleasant to eat.

Unsurprisingly, the Pasta Primavera, Chicken Carbonara, and Chicken Alfredo flavors - which possess the same mysterious creamy white sauce - all taste remarkably similar. The bread bowl itself, which tastes a lot like Domino's breadsticks, was satisfying, but overall, unless we were starving and had no other options, or were carbo loading for a marathon the next day, we wouldn't eat this again.

Have you tried any of the Bread Bowl Pastas? If so, what was your assessment of them?

View 7 Photos ›

Reader Recipe: Chicken Parmesan

YumSugar — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 15:00:28 -0700

Whenever I'm in the mood for bold, robust flavors, my go-to meal is chicken Parmesan. Not only do I get to enjoy the savory richness of marinara sauce with Italian herbs, but I dream of warm, melted cheese and tender, succulent cutlets. My newest obsession is a version of the dish that TeamSugar member My Opinion came up with. While chicken Parmesan's already affordable to make, her version, which incorporates a quick homemade marinara sauce, is even more budget-friendly. By omitting the breadcrumbs, she also makes it healthier! Enjoy this protein-rich meal on a dime when you read more.

Submitted by TeamSugar member My Opinion

Tomato Sauce recipe For the Chicken Parmesan
Mine with helpful hints from Food Network.

This sauce turned out so perfect!!! I didn't crush roma tomatoes or anything... You can, but why? I just used a couple of 32 oz cans of crushed tomatoes, but they have to be the "Italian flavored" or the whole thing will be screwed up.

Ingredients

1. 2 32-ounce cans of Italian flavored crushed tomatoes.
2. 1/2 cup of extra virgin olive oil.
3. 1 small to medium onion chopped well.
4. 2 cloves of garlic chopped well.
5. 1 stalk of celery, chopped really well.
6. 1 normal sized carrot (or 3 or 4 of those cute little baby carrots in a bag) either shredded or chopped well.
7. 4 to 6 basil leaves. Roll them up and finely chop them.
8. Sea salt and pepper
9. 2 dry bay leaves.
10. 4 TBSP of UNsalted butter.

Directions
Pic of the ingredients:
I mostly use a good name brand of food but some things, to me and my cooking experience, taste better as the store brand like the Winn Dixie Italian flavored crushed tomatoes are the best, and the bay leaves.

1. Heat the olive oil over med/high heat (mostly medium) and toss in the chopped onions for 1 minute then add the garlic to it for additional 2 minutes until the onions are translucent.

2. Now add the celery, carrots, salt and pepper. Saute them until they are all soft. (about 5 minutes)

3. Add the 2 cans of crushed tomatoes, basil and bay leaves and simmer for an hour.
One of my bay leaves is pushed down into the sauce...
4. After an hour, don't forget to remove the bay leaves! Taste the sauce and use your own judgment as to how many TBSP of the unsalted butter you will use. It depends on the acidity of the sauce so only put in 1 TBSP at a time tasting after each has dissolved. I used 3 and it was perfect!

Print recipe with images | without images

Chicken Parmesan
Mine and helpful tips from the Food Network.

I made this without using bread crumbs and it was so much better IMO! I also did not use the traditional "spaghetti" because these noodles are so delicious!

Ingredients

1. 8 chicken breast cutlets
2. 3 TBSP of Olive Oil (I used extra virgin)
3. 1 teaspoon of Rosemary
4. 1 teaspoon of Italian Parsley (it's got to be chopped really well or the flavor is too strong on this bite or that bite....you can use regular parsley)
5. 1 teaspoon of Thyme (chopped really well!!)
6. salt and pepper
7. Shredded mozzarella
8. Fresh Parmesan. Kraft makes it easy. You can purchase the huge chunk of Parmesan with the built in shredder at the grocery store for like 5 or $6.
9. 8 pieces of cut up unsalted butter. (like 8 TBSP)
10. 2 cups of Tomato sauce (I'll post up that recipe as well) or just use marinara.

Directions
Here's a pic of the ingredients since I didn't have that option in the 'ingredients section.'
I know we all know what these ingredients are but everyone loves pics....

Preheat the oven to 450'

1.Stir the olive oil and all of the herbs including a dash of salt (remember you will be salting the breasts) and pepper in a bowl together and set aside.

2. Sprinkle a little bit of salt directly onto the chicken breasts, but don't go crazy! Let them set for 15 minutes.
3. Brush both sides of all chicken breasts with the oil and herbs mixture.

4. Heat a large skillet on med/high heat.
5. Add chicken. 2 minutes per side. No longer than that.
Seriously just 2 minutes no matter how tempting it is to fully cook them!
Seriously just 2 minutes no matter how tempting it is to fully cook them!
6. Remove from heat.
7. Spread some sauce in a large baking dish, (about 1/2 cup)
8. Place chicken breast in the dish and put more sauce around and on them.
9. Add 1 piece of unsalted butter on each breast.
10. Add 1 TBSP of mozzarella on each breast.
11. Grate your fresh Parmesan on top of each breast.

Bake for about 3 or 4 minutes. The cutlets are usually kind of thin so use your own judgment there but normally it only takes about 3 to 4 minutes in baking due to the few minutes of searing beforehand.

This will serve 8 people, or 4 really hungry people.

I seriously recommend using my Tomato Sauce recipe. I'll post it as well.

Here are the noodles I use. They're perfect for this dish!!

Print recipe with images | without images

Taste Test: Pizza Hut's Tuscani Pastas

YumSugar — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 11:15:08 -0800

Earlier this year, Pizza Hut played a trick on the country by claiming it had changed its name to Pasta Hut. Although the name change turned out to be an advertising prank, the pizza delivery chain did roll out a new line of Tuscani Pastas ($12.99). After trying out Domino's new line of subs, I decided that to be fair, I'd give Pizza Hut's pastas a try, too. To find out how the chain's new offerings tasted, read more.

Much like we felt Domino's subs tasted like pizza, PartySugar and I thought Pizza Hut's pastas actually looked like pizza. I did a double take on the Meaty Marinara, as it looked like a standard cheese pizza!

Meaty Marinara: This pasta arrived with slightly burnt edges, and was the least appetizing to look at. Thank goodness its name includes the word "meat," since the dish actually looks like it's vegetarian: The pasta, marinara, and meat are on underneath a thick layer of melted mozzarella. The sauce tasted more like pizza sauce than pasta sauce, but this option, with its tomato base, seemed the healthiest of the three.

Creamy Chicken Alfredo: Although the chicken strips were tender and meaty, this was my least favorite of the pastas. The congealed Alfredo sauce was representative of why I usually hesitate to order Alfredo.

Premium Bacon Mac 'N Cheese: This was the best of the pastas, with its smooth, creamy Velveeta-like texture and crisp and meaty bits of smoky bacon.

Beware that these pastas are certainly not light. After tasting a sample of each, I felt satisfied for hours. Later, I had a few more bites of each, and I felt thirsty, bloated, and a little sick. However, if you're already inclined to order delivery from Pizza Hut, there's no harm in ordering a pasta instead - my vote goes to the Premium Bacon Mac 'N Cheese (2 a.m. after a night on the town, anyone?). Have you been tried out Pizza Hut's pastas? If so, I'd love to hear your thoughts.

View 3 Photos ›

Taste Test: Pizza Hut's Tuscani Lasagna

YumSugar — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 09:00:32 -0800

At the Food Fete that Party and I attended a few weeks ago, we ran into some representatives from Pizza Hut, who revealed that the fast food chain would be introducing yet another pasta to its delivery lineup: lasagna. After the intriguing taste test results of our Pizza Hut pastas, I was looking forward to giving the lasagna ($14.99) a try. It's impossible to go too wrong with any dish made of pasta, tomato sauce, and melted cheese. To check out more pictures and find out what I thought, read more.

Pizza Hut's Tuscani lasagna is made with three cheeses - ricotta, Parmesan, and Romano - as well as a meat sauce, so it's not an option for vegetarians. Upon first glance, it looked like a dead ringer for the meat marinara pasta I'd tried last month - that is to say, not so appealing. The tray was also a behemoth. The lasagna claims to feed a family of four, but I'd say that, considering it weighs in at over three pounds, it could easily feed a couple more mouths.

With a firm, chewy bite and a nice ratio of meat, cheese, pasta, and sauce, the lasagna was actually enjoyable. Both of us went back for seconds. We were, however, shocked by how sweet the dish was: the marinara was decidedly sweet, and the rest of the recipe compensated for this by being incredibly salty.

My advice to the Pizza Hut kitchen would be to cut back on both the sugar and the salt. If you're a big lasagna fan, don't want to bother with reheating and cooking, and can handle a bit of overseasoning, I'd say this could be the match for you.

Have you tried this dish yet? What did you think of it?

View 6 Photos ›

Fast & Easy Dinner: Open-Faced Grilled Eggplant Sandwiches

partysugar — Thu, 21 May 2009 07:50:57 -0700

Get excited for Summer's bounty of produce with this quick vegetarian recipe. It's a fresh take on classic eggplant Parmesan. Instead of breading the thick-cut eggplant steaks, the bread (preferably country style) acts as a base for the open-faced sandwich. Tomato slices stand in for the traditional marinara sauce.

The entire dish is topped with melted mozzarella cheese and a chiffonade of basil. This crowd-pleasing meal is sure to become one of your staples this season, so get the recipe and read more.

Open-Face Grilled Eggplant Sandwiches
From Food & Wine

Ingredients

Eight 1/2-inch-thick slices of peasant bread
Extra-virgin olive oil, for brushing
One 1 1/4-pound eggplant, sliced crosswise 1 inch thick
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 plum tomatoes, sliced crosswise 1/4 inch thick
1/2 pound buffalo mozzarella, sliced 1/4 inch thick
8 large basil leaves, torn
Coarse sea salt

Directions

Light a grill. Brush the bread on both sides with olive oil and grill over high heat until crisp on the outside but still soft inside, about 30 seconds per side. Transfer to a platter.
Brush the eggplant slices with olive oil and season generously with salt and pepper. Grill over moderate heat until charred on the bottom, about 5 minutes. Turn and grill until tender, about 3 minutes longer.
Top the eggplant with the tomato, mozzarella and basil. Cover the grill and cook until the cheese melts, 2 minutes. Transfer the eggplant to the bread, sprinkle with sea salt and serve.

Serves 4.

Print recipe with images | without images