Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Everyday Italian

College Student Style.

I am completely and utterly obssessed with the Food Network and two its "celebrity chefs:" Giada De Laurentiis and Paula Deen. This week's posts will higlight home-made takes on De Laurentiis' and Deen's niches of the cooking world.

As I aspire to, one day, become a chef. I like trying out these recipes that are on De Laurentiis' show "Everyday Italian" and see just how easy they are. Or in some cases, how much pain-staking detail is required.

My roommates and I attempted to make "Ravioli Caprese." Or as we liked to call it, "rotisserie chicken and ricotta cheese heaven."

The ravioli filling was uber-simple to make. Mostly because the ingredients were already made. In De Laurentiis' recipe you buy a rotisserie from your local grocery store, nothing fancy like bourbon honey (We got ours at Giant for a reasonable $7.00).

Mix shredded rotisserie chicken and about a cup of ricotta (I recommend Sargento's brand, it works best). Why rotisserie chicken, you ask? Because of the way it is cooked -- the meat is mouth-wateringly tender.

(photo: Raviolis in infant stage)

Finally, the dough. Easy enough. Take 2 cups of all-purpose flour and mix with 1 cup SCALDING hot water. The combo makes a flaky dough that's easy to roll out and the best part is there's no waiting. Mix the dough and get to filling your pastries.

The only negative part to this recipe is cutting the actual ravi's. De Laurentiis had this nifty ravioli cutter that popped out cutesy perfect squares of goodness. Ours were more hectagon since we used a pizza cutter and fork.

All in all, this recipe is good but several hands are needed to make the preparation speedy. It's perfect for a dinner requiring a semi-effort, but if you're looking for some super quick eats check out Thursday's post for a Paula Deen recipe trial.


photo credit: Maxim Magazine, Lauren Jost

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