Manicotti

When I have a coupon or see Ricotta Cheese on sale, I always buy it. Then, I need to do something with it before it goes bad. Making homemade Manicotti is relatively simple but everyone will think you spent a lot of time and effort. It is broken down to the crepes, ricotta cheese and wrapping it up with tomato sauce. This was the first meal I made for my wife and the rest was history.

For the crepes, mix in a blender 4 eggs, 1 cup of milk and a little oil. Then add 1 cup of flour. Blend and set in the refrigerator for one hour. To make the crepes, heat and spray oil a small sauce pan. Pour a little of the crepe mixture and coat the bottom. Remember, these are thin crepes, not thick pancakes. Cook on one side then flip, it should only take about a minute for each crepe. To flip, I just grab an edge and turn the crepe over. Now the ricotta cheese needs to be jacked up with one egg, parsley, Romano or Parmesan cheese, garlic, salt and pepper. I usually use about a cup of cheese for 32 ounces of ricotta, tablespoon of parsley, and the rest of the ingredients based on taste. Then take a completed crepe and spoon some of the ricotta filling into the center and roll to form a log.

Place the filled crepes into a baking dish dish in which the bottom has been covered with tomato sauce. Then cover all the filled crepes with sauce so no parts are exposed. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes.

Pesto Sauce

Pesto is that green stuff that us Italians like to use when we get a hold of some fresh basil and we do not have any tomato sauce/gravy around to put on our pasta. (Maybe in another post I will discuss the proper terminology of "tomato sauce" or "tomato gravy.") In reality we always have some tomato sauce or gravy around either in the refrigerator or in the freezer. Pesto is a sauce that adds that great basil aroma and flavor to any pasta dish or seafood. It is also used as one of the three spreads for Bruchetta. We even use it on hamburgers and it is delicious. For the consistency of this sauce, I like using a thin paste for pasta and a thicker paste for Bruchetta or to top fish such as swordfish or tuna. The Basil can be bought at any super market, but I like to get it at the local produce stores (the ones that only take cash) because they are fresher and inexpensive.

Pesto can be made quick and easy with the following basic ingredients: Fresh Basil, Olive Oil, Pine Nuts (Walnuts can be used because they are cheaper), Garlic, Romano or Parmesan Cheese, Salt and Pepper.


Wash the Basil and discard the stems and place the leaves into a blender. Add a little bit of Oil and start to pulse and mash the leaves. Continue to drizzle the Oil while the blender is running to achieve the consistency that you desire. More Oil for a thinner sauce and less Oil for a thicker paste. Then add the about 1 tsp of fresh chopped garlic, 1/4 tsp of salt and a 1/8 teaspoon of pepper. Once these ingredients are blended well, the cheese can be added. The amount of Cheese and Oil that is needed is based on the amount of Basil that you are using. For about 2 cups of Basil leaves, I usually use about one cup of Cheese. Thus, a 2 to 1 ratio. To me there is no exact measurement, therefore taste testing is a must if you need to add more of the listed ingredients.

This is the consistency I prefer for pasta.

Max likes his Pesto Sauce with Rotini Pasta, the cork screw type.