Friday, March 16, 2012

La Cena di Mario e Pamela and Freeform Friday


Sometimes It Pays To Take a Lunch Break

On Wednesday when I was eating lunch, I had the TV tuned to The Chew.  It was Mario Batali's (love him) turn in the kitchen and he was preparing a baked tortellini with asparagus and spring onion. I knew right then and there that I was going to make it for dinner. This is an easy to remember, easy to make recipe.


* 5 tablespoon Butter (I used two in the sauce and one to grease the pan)


  • 1/4 cup Flour



  • 3 cup Milk



  • 2 teaspoon Salt, dash of crushed black pepper



  • 1/2 teaspoon Nutmeg (freshly grated)



  • 1 cup Marzolino Cheese, grated (I'd never heard of Marzolino, but according to Mario it's the first sheep or goat's milk cheese of the Spring season. I substituted one cup of feta, and being the cheese lover I am, I threw in another cup of sharp cheddar too.)



  • 2 packages Store-bought Tortellini (Mario said you could substitute ravioli which I did....I used 3 packages of frozen rav)



  • Parmigiano Reggiano (to garnish)



  • 1/2 cup Blanched Asparagus, shaved  (I used more like a cup + of aspargus and didn't feel the need to blanche)



  • 1/4 cup spring onions (thinly sliced)



  • Olive Oil




  • If you know how to make a bechamel/basellma sauce (which now you do), this is an easy, quick recipe to prepare. You could subsitute other vegetables if you're not keen on asparagus, like zuchini perhaps.  The ooey-gooey goodness of the baked raviloli, and the crunchiness of the fresh veg on top made this dish a little different and delightful. It was so good, we leftovers last night.


    Thank you Mario for making my life a little easier this week.

    Freeform Friday

    In honor of the Italian 'la cena' or dinner theme we have going, here's a great tune from one of mine and Gar's favorites.....Rosemary Clooney. This one really makes me think of my godfather Bo for obvious reasons. It's been just a month since we lost him, and we really miss him big time. Salute Boski! Click here if you're reading by mail.



    Hope you have a fantastic Friday and a Happy St. Patrick's Day which we are sure to celebrate in style as we usually do. Got any plans for the 'wearing of the green'?

    Ciao for now,




    PS- did you miss the shop and blog link up yesterday? Be sure to link up!

    5 comments:

    1. Yum! And I've got a bunch of asparagus in the fridge right now. Maybe I will just have to try this over the weekend!

      ReplyDelete
    2. SO GOOD! I totally watch The Chew too:)

      ReplyDelete
      Replies
      1. well, i have to admit, i usually watch somethng on hgtv when i stop for lunch. but in between commercials switch around. it was worth watching the chew that day. easy to remember recipe! i do love mario. LOVED the pbs show with him, gwyneth, mark bittman from ny times and a spanish actress who's name i can never remember. on the road in spain.........great food show.

        Delete
    3. This sounds delicious! Asparagus season just started for us here...maybe we can actually get some this week, if I can get to the Farmer's Market before they sell out!

      ReplyDelete
      Replies
      1. said to gar this week, maybe we should try planting asparagus again. no luck the first time. but it might be worth another try as it's a perennial!

        Delete

    You comments make my day. Thanks for taking the time to visit Mercantile Muse and for commenting. I really appreciate it. ~Pam

    Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...