Sunday is kind of a do-nothing day
in the Hawthorne Household.
We don't want to go anywhere.
We don't particularly want to do anything.
It's a day of rest and relaxation.
After a luxurious breakfast of Eggs Benedict,
our thoughts turned toward ...
... what else ...
our next meal.
And a show of hands, please,
of those who actually made
Eggs Hawthorne for breakfast this morning.
Today, I'm orienting towards
homemade pasta.
It's a fun and relaxing process
and homemade pasta is nothing like store-bought.
Trust me on this.
I can make lasagna easily enough,
but I didn't want a conventional lasagna.
I wanted lasagna with a twist.
I'm making Lasagna Roll Ups.
I know a lot of food bloggers
wrap up their recipes in neat little packages
so you can see it all in front of you
and know what to do, step by step.
But life isn't like that.
Life is a process
as is cooking,
and I show you that process.
It's not all separate simple packages.
You have to integrate.
First, I'm starting on my pasta.
Make a well in the flour
and carefully mix in the first egg
with your fingers.
Use a pastry scraper to build up the wall of flour
while incorporating the egg.
Form into a ball, cover,
and let rest a few minutes
while you prepare the tomato sauce.
You see?
Cooking is not separate packages of recipes.
This is as far as I could go with the pasta dough.
It needs to rest.
I must pursue another avenue.
And that avenue would be the sauce.
It's all in the integration and timing.
You have to plan and anticipate.
I have some lovely afternoon light
shining on my onion, peppers, and garlic.
And that little red pepper which looks like a jalapeno
is a sweet, not hot, pepper.
They come in an assortment
of different colors -
green, yellow, orange, and red.
And they're miniature peppers. - a perfect size for us.
I'm trying to germinate seeds now.
Now here's an example of how
a "recipe in the box" doesn't tell you
what to do.
Right now,
I'm making a tomato sauce for my lasagna rolls.
I want garlic toast to go with this meal.
So I added extra butter and parsley and garlic
in the pan for the sauce.
Each toast is different.
Some have more parsley.
Some more butter.
Some more garlic.
These went into my toaster oven
at 200 degrees until comfy-toasty.
Your call.
After the garlic toast is taken care of ...
... I'm back with the sauce for the lasagna.
Add the chopped peppers and onions to the
butter/garlic/parsley mix.
I liked both pictures of the tomatoes
going into the pan.
I especially liked the
yin/yang of the red and green.
I think I'll have to look into feng shui food.
Back to the sauce!
Lower heat
and barely simmer.
Change gears.
Get outside your recipe box.
Think quick!
What do you do next
while the tomato sauce is simmering?
Why, you divide your pasta dough
into fourths and ball 'em.
Plug a thumb print.
Fill with ELBOO.
Manipulate the dough some more.
Then flatten to ready for the pasta maker.
This is the first pass through my pasta maker.
Setting #1
I have 7 settings.
I never get past #5.
I know my limits.
But I'm always pushing my limits.
I start at #1 and pass my pasta through
several times,
alternating the ends.
Then I narrow it to #2
and pass the pasta through,
back and forth.
I get to #3.
Alternate several times.
You may need to dust with flour.
Feel free.
Work with the pasta.
I dared to go to #4 setting.
Smooth sailing.
I achieved setting #5.
After 3 or 4 passes
at this setting,
I had a nice pasta.
I stopped short of setting #6.
No can do ...
... yet.
Time to go back to your sauce.
Add a small can of tomato sauce to your
tomato sauce.
In another universe ...
... start the hamburger meat.
Mr. Hawthorne wants beef
in his sauce.
Season with freshly ground salt and pepper,
onion powder, granulated garlic, and oregano.
Looking good counter top.
The short pasta sheet
has only gone through setting #1.
The other three sheets made it to setting #5.
Now, I'm starting on my filling
for my lasagna roll ups.
I have ricotta cheese, cottage cheese,
mozzarella cheese,
and Il Villagio Parmesan which I particularly like.
I get it at Harris Teeter.
Here's a suggestion for you:
Buy several different types of Parmesan cheeses.
Taste test.
Pick your favorite.
Then buy several more types to compare to your favorite.
Parmesan cheeses vary dramatically,
so please compare and contrast.
This is totally on the fly
so that's why I don't have
neat little recipe boxes of "do this,"
"now do this,"
"do that."
Cooking is not all separate individual steps like that.
A cook must multitask (I hate that word.),
integrate, and anticipate.
It's a process.
And I show you how I
coordinate the process.
If you think you need some more garlic,
by all means add some.
If you want more cheeses, do that.
Or more basil.
If you wanted minced onion,
then add some.
Fresh parsley would be nice touch.
Make the filling yours.
Add a layer of sauce over the first of the roll ups.
Mr. Hawthorne thought this looked like fun
and wanted to get in on the action.
Bake at 350 degrees for about 40-45 minutes,
until it's heated through and the cheeses are nicely browned.
That does indeed look delicious, Rosie.
ReplyDeleteI love making my own tomato sauce. The jarred sauces just can't touch the stuff. Guess I'll have to take the plunge and try my hand at making pasta even though I don't have a pasta machine.
Rosie, what does it sound like when your pasta dough screams? Mine just sort of schlumps......
ReplyDeleteAll right, Marion.
ReplyDeleteYou damn well know what screaming dough sounds like.
I can't stand that word either--Multitasking. But your lasanga looks out of this world! Do you ever submit any of your photos to TasteSpotting or Photograzing?
ReplyDelete