Sometimes it’s hard to remember what I did yesterday, much less what recipes I used. Luckily, the Husband helped me remember, so I could share them with you. We ate a lot of leftovers, due to long work days and mismatched schedules this week.
We joke that we saw each other more when we were dating than after being married. I had taken a break during grad school to get married and then went right back to two jobs and school. Between the two, I was working 12 hour days. Lots of crockpot dinners and unexpected menu changes were had in those days. Now after changing jobs to what is my dream job, I ended up taking a second job until my dream job starts paying my dream salary. So we’re back to mismatched schedules and long nights. Hopefully it won’t be too much longer until I am working more regular hours.
You didn’t come here to read sappy thoughts about missing my husband though, so back to the recipes.
We had spaghetti and lasagna leftovers a bunch this week to use them up.
1- Creamy Chicken Ravioli from Good Eating Pasta: Your Complete Guide to Cooking Perfect Pasta Every Time. Section: Filled and Baked.
Modifications: I used dried herbs. I’ve been having trouble finding fresh. Not surprising, since it’s winter. I also didn’t let them rest for as long as it said to let them rest. It didn’t seem to make a difference in the final product. They were delicious. I used the pasta dough recipe I’ve used before from Luca Manfe’s cookbook My Italian Kitchen. I like this pasta dough recipe because I can use my mixer for it.
I do need to keep working on my ravioli cutting skills. They were a bit uneven. None of them exploded in the pasta water though, so it was a success. These were delicious. The Husband would like this recipe to go on a regular rotation. I am getting more comfortable with making pasta, so it might happen.
2- Dumplings from a family recipe. I was going to make them from the same cookbook as the Scallion pancakes, but my recipe seemed more exciting. This is actually from my side of the family. The Husband’s side has one too, but they use pork. We have discovered that ground chicken instead of pork works well. Pork and I are not friends. I also don’t have a recipe. This is one that we got from my uncle’s wife and she just gave us ingredients on a list. Now we just make them by smell and look. It’s very hard to think about measurements. Someday maybe I will try to figure out actual measurements for it.
3- Scallion Pancakes from The Food of China by Deh-Ta Hsiung and Nina Simonds. Section: Appetizers
Modifications: I didn’t let the first batch rest as long as they were supposed to and I think they didn’t stretch out as much as they should have. The recipe calls for three rest periods of 20 minutes after each step, raising the dough, after coiling, and again after rolling the circles. I did not read the recipe all the way through and missed the second and third rest. Since both the Husband and I were considering eating the cookbook as it was 9 pm with no dinner yet, I decided to make the first few without it. I have been wanting to try this recipe for quite some time, but just never was brave enough to tackle it.
They were delicious and cooked quickly. If I was making this for a crowd, I would definitely be able to fit the rising in, but would have to start it really early.
4- Shrimp Parchment Packets from Food Network Magazine. Jan/Feb 2015, v. 8, N. 1.
Modifications: I left out the clam juice. I forgot to write it down, so when we got to the store, I couldn’t remember if I needed it for this recipe or not. The look on the Husband’s face when I said I might need it was absolutely hysterical. I don’t know if he was trying to figure out how they got juice out of a clam or what, but it was funny.
I also used dried herbs instead of fresh. I would like to try this again when we have fresh from the garden herbs, as I think it would better. Also forgot salt and pepper. It was good. Too much lemon for the Husband. We had it over rice. I had olive oil asparagus as well.
While waiting in the ridiculously long line at the store to check out, we started looking at pasta attachments for the Kitchenaid and discovered that there is a pasta press that has shaped pastas, like macaroni and rotini. I did get excited about it, but told the Husband that I didn’t think I was ready for that much pasta responsibility. His response? “Think of the pastabilities.” I may have snorted loudly enough in line that the people behind us went to a different register.
Food puns are just one of the reasons I love him. So with that thought, I’ve got to go plan my next meals and crafty things. Hopefully there will be more food puns in my future.
