Operation Clean Freezer: Fried Ravioli: Round 2

My friend, Mindy (by the way, forgot to tell you that your new tattoos ROCK!) asked me about my past fried ravioli technique and wanted to know if it had to be the fresh type pasta. I would have to say yes it does, but you don't have to use the refrigerated or thawed kind as I did in the previous post last year. I did a test tonight on cooking up some frozen ravioli that I had hibernating in the freezer. It was a package of Portobello ravioli with two cheeses that I bought from Costco.

Look closely and you can see the frost on the inside of the package. That is one of the downfalls of being "single" and shopping at a bulk place. Too much food and it ends up drying out and mummifying in the freezer, but no worries. Frying covers up many sins and makes loads of things taste yummy regardless of condition.

Deep Fried Frozen Ravioli

Frozen jumbo ravioli, any flavor your wee heart desires (you can use small ones too if you'd like, just be sure you don't burn)
Oil for frying

Heat up enough oil in a pan with a thermometer or use a fancy pants submersion deep fryer that keeps a constant temperature and has a basket that lifts out. I have both but I'm only frying for just me. I don't pull out the big guns unless I have an Army to feed mounds of fried stuff to (I have made massive amounts of Lumpia that I did indeed feed to an Army and will post that sometime soon). Heat the oil (whatever the amount) to around 350° F. Be careful not to get it too hot as you want to heat the frozen middles without making the outside look like Kingsford charcoal briquettes.

Once the oil comes to temperature fry frozen ravioli in small batches using a slotted spoon to place into the hot oil. BE VERY CAREFUL when frying frozen stuff as there may be ice crystals and we all know that hot oil and water do not mix! You may want to use a spatter screen or it may be good to use your fancy pants submersion fryer. Just use caution and this is something you don't want your kids or someone who isn't very handy in the kitchen to do.

Try to keep the oil temperature constant by turning up the fire a little higher to compensate for the cold stuff and turning it down once it's recovered to the approximate temperature needed to make your ravioli golden, brown, and delicious on the outside and nice and gooey hotness on the inside.

Try this the next time you want to use up some leftovers or too much left in the freezer from those jumbo packs we Americans love to buy at giant warehouses!

You could fry up some cold ravioli that you had even cooked too. You know, the dry kind that has been cooked. However, I'll have to try that out in my trusty test kitchen and let you know how that tastes.

If you use a pretty hearty ravioli like a meat with a thick pasta, serve up with your favorite marinara. Because the flavor of these were pretty delicate I just scarfed them down plain. But you know what would have been really good if I hadn't been so greedy and wanted instant gratification? Perhaps dip these in a light vinegar and oil dressing or a bottled Italian dressing cut with a teeny bit of water. I just put fresh black pepper on them and *POOF!* Hey, where did all my fried ravioli go??

Give this a try, Mindy and I hope you enjoy!

Operation Clean Fridge: Fried Ravioli

I took out a package of chicken and mozzarella ravioli from the freezer but the package was so big that I could only eat a little bit of it. I put the rest of it into a zip-lock bag and nearly forgot about it in the fridge. Until tonight.

I have a jar of frying oil in the fridge and I tapped into that and put it into a small pan. I only needed less than two inches of oil to fry since there wasn't a lot to cook. I only cooked two at a time too because the pan was so small and the ravioli had a tendency to stick together if they were too crowded. It's really very simple and you fry the uncooked (don't boil it) ravioli. A person could deep fry tortellini too. That would be delicious! Now remember that this really only works with the "fresh" type stuffed pasta. It's like a wonton.

The finished dish was yummy! I had this for dinner tonight with a dish of pasta sauce on the side. A salad would have been good with this but I haven't had salad since Dale left. He makes the best dressing! I miss him!

Operation Clean Freezer: Hot Wings

This is my first attempt at making hot wings. I know! It's about time right? My sister, Dori is really good at making "wings" and they are really tasty, and well, she does live in Texas so her secret is to fry them in oil and then toss them in sauce.

Since my home is not the colossal sized house that she and her family enjoy, frying food in her nice deep fryer and in all that space isn't so bad, but I don't want my place to smell like a fried chicken shack for days. So, I am going to bake them. Plus baking is a bit healthier or at least I would like to think so!

So I thawed some frozen chicken wings from the freezer and patted them dry with paper towels. I think this is one of the most crucial things when you're going to make wings. You want any excess moisture to be gone and this goes for baking as well as frying. Especially when frying because the excess water can be explosive when it mixes with the hot oil.

So I arranged them on a pan and then sprinkled both sides with this great local seasoning called Schultz's Gourmet Premium Seasoning and Rub. I bought this at Costco and it's a local company. They make a hot sauce that rocks beyond belief. That's what inspired me to make hot wings in the first place. This seasoning is going to be good because the salt in it will help pull out some moisture from the skin and make it somewhat crispy. I hope!

After laying out all of seasoned wings I threw the pan in a 400 degree F oven and baked them for about 30 minutes and then I carefully poured off any juice from the pan making sure not to tip it too much and toss any wings into the sink! Then back in the oven they went.

After another 15 minutes of cooking I then turned them over, gave a few of the wings a light sprinkle of the seasoning (some of the seasoning went with the juice), and reset the timer for another 15 minutes (or until meat is done and the juices are running clear. The skin should be golden, brown, and delicious. I turned them again in between this cooking period so they weren't sticking to the foil.

These wings would be good just as they are since the seasoning is so good, but I tossed mine with the special hot sauce as well. I'm not a fan of dipping my hot wings in bleu cheese or ranch dressing so none for me. All I need is a good cold beer (sad, none in the house so a Coke will have to do) and a good warm cloth to clean up my fingers and lips in between feasting.

Gotta Love Fried Mac & Cheese!

I'm glad I like leftovers. In fact I love leftovers. Some things just seem to taste better the second (or third and even fourth) time around. Mac & Cheese is wonderful fried. You can either cut it up like I did this one or mix it with an egg and some crumbs (crackers or bread or whatever you have on hand) and throw in some onion or spices and then fry it up in a big non-stick skillet with some butter or oil. Butter is best. Flip it over like a frittata. Be careful not to flip it onto the floor!

I cut a nice healthy (the size of the portion, not the ingredients) piece and then continued to slice that up. Then I heated up some butter in a nice hot skillet and carefully slipped in the sliced mac & cheese.







Let the slices get nice and brown and crunchy (this may take about 3-4 minutes, but be careful not to burn it) and then carefully flip over. You can see the middle piece kind of fell apart, but did that stop me from devouring it? I think not. After all it is what is in the inside that counts and not the outside right?

I served my fried mac & cheese with a veggie burger on white potato bread no less. Go figure! Good thing I went to the gym this morning! Try this out and you will soon find that you will love leftovers too! Mac & cheese leftovers anyway!

The the white things in the little bowl are some super thin sliced onions that I pickled in a little cider vinegar (water and sugar) and left in the fridge overnight. That's a very Minnesotan thing...only minus the cucumbers. Ew. As for the rest of the leftover mac & cheese? I cut them into four remaining squares and froze them. I tell you it is a damned good thing that I love leftovers!

Great Party Food

My friend, John invited me to join some of our other friends at a house party. I was in the middle of building my huge bookshelf and thought it would be good to take some time out for myself and some fun. What to bring? I had this old William-Sonoma catalog that I had been meaning to throw out, but only after I wrote down the recipes. There were so many good ones in that issue and I had tried several. This one was one I wanted to try.

The picture above should have mixed greens on the top with goat cheese and oil and balsamic vinegar dressing. I prepped everything when I got to Scott and Renee's. Sorry, I didn't bring my camera! It's actually very pretty and everybody loved them and they tasted sublime. They are very easy and look impressive.

Onion Tarts With Mixed Greens
Serves 8

Savory Tart Dough

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp sugar
12 Tbs unsalted butter, cut into 1/2 inch cubes (1 1/2 sticks)
6 to 7 Tbs ice water

In a bowl, whisk together the flour, salt and sugar. Using a pastry blender or 2 knives, cut in the butter until pea-size crumbs form. Add the water 1 Tbs. at a time and mix with your hands, adding more water as needed until the dough comes together. It should be moist but not sticky.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface, divide into 2 balls and shape each into a 5-inch disk. Cover separately with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

On a lightly floured surface, roll out each dough disk into a 12-inch round about 1/8 inch thick. Using a small knife, trim the uneven edges.

Transfer each round to a parchment-lined baking sheet and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. Use as directed in your tart recipe. Makes enough dough for two 10-inch tarts.





Onion Mixture

2 rolled-out rounds savory tart dough, each 12 inches in diameter
5 Tbs olive oil
4 yellow onions, thinly sliced
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 tsp minced fresh thyme
2 Tbs minced fresh flat-leaf parsley
4 tsp balsamic vinegar
1 egg, lightly beaten
4 oz. mixed salad greens (I used an herbal mix, it was delicious)
2 oz. goat cheese, crumbled

Place the dough rounds on separate parchment-lined baking sheets and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Position a rack in the lower third of an oven and preheat to 400°F.

In a sauté pan over medium-high heat, warm 3 Tbs. of the olive oil. Add the onions, salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until caramelized, 15 to 20 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute more. Add the thyme, parsley and 2 tsp. of the vinegar and cook, stirring occasionally, until most of the liquid has evaporated, about 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and let cool to room temperature.

Spread half of the onion mixture on each dough round, leaving a 1-inch border. Fold the dough up and pinch together at 2-inch intervals. Lightly brush the top of the dough with the beaten egg. Bake the tarts until the crusts are golden, 30 to 35 minutes. Transfer the baking sheets to wire racks and let the tarts cool for 10 minutes.

In a bowl, whisk together the remaining 2 tsp. vinegar, the remaining 2 Tbs. olive oil, salt and pepper to form a vinaigrette. Toss half of the vinaigrette with the salad greens, then place the remaining vinaigrette in an oil mister. Top the tarts with the salad, dividing evenly, and sprinkle with the cheese. Mist the salads with the remaining vinaigrette. Serve immediately.