This class will teach you how to make an Italian-American classic dish, Manicotti.  This is
my all-time favorite, then comes good cheese Ravioli, then Lasagne, then cavatelli...Truly,
there are none (pastas) that I don't like..but Manicotti, special place in my heart.  When these
were being made at home growing up, my anticipation was through the roof.  They always
were reserved for a special Holiday, or a celebration.  I had the craving on Saturday night, but
we had already eaten.  So, around 10pm, I went into the kitchen, and started making them
for Sundays' dinner.  Crazy?  Maybe.  So worth the effort...as with all good things, patience
and some hard work (not really that hard, you're not installing new kitchen cabinets here)
will reward you and your family or friends with a spectacular feast...Southern Italian style.

     Make the sauce first.  You can make your favorite or usual sauce ( for the love of all that
is good in the world, don't use jarred sauce, you can make it yourself...)  Saturday, as with
most meals I make, I opened the fridge and saw I had a nice piece of Pancetta. Pancetta is
an Italian form of bacon, cured, but not smoked.  You CANNOT use smoked bacon in a
recipe that calls for pancetta.  The flavor is not the same and you will alter the end result.
If Pancetta is unavailable, don't panic.  Every supermarket is carrying it now, but, if you
happen to live in an area where it is unavailable, then use salt pork.  Dice about 1 cup of
the pancetta and saute' it in a large pot with some fruity olive oil.  Let this saute' for about 8
minutes.  Add 1 large or 2 small onions, finely diced.  Let this simmer in the oil for about 
20  minutes.  Purpose, to sweeten the onions and let the pancetta flavor meld with it.  Really
crucial step in creating this particular sauce.  If you are using the salt pork, after the onions
have started cooking, about 5 minutes, add a splash of wine and a good grinding of black
pepper...this will make the salt pork take on the flavors of the pancetta...it works..

Now add two cans of San Marzano Tomatoes that you have crushed with your hands.
A couple of torn basil leaves, taste for seasoning, and let this cook for at least 1 hour.
You will be very happy with the flavor the concentrated onions and pancetta give the
sauce.

See that bright, sunny red color??  It comes from San Marzanos and not overcooking the sauce. 

While the sauce is cooking you can make the manicotti.  The Battaglia-Scaramuzzi family recipe
(that would be my Mom's way of making them) is the crepe style Manicotti.  I find the manicotti
made with macaroni (pasta dough) whether it be fresh or dried, very foreign.  I think cannelloni
which are quite similar, are made with a fresh pasta dough.  I also don't like the Olive Garden
mentality of taking a dish and embellishing it with extraneous ingredients.  Manicotti should be
stuffed with ricotta, mozzarella, pecorino romano, black pepper, and fresh parsley, with an egg to
help bind the filling.  Served with a tasty sauce..always tomato, please, never with Vodka sauce,
garnished with shrimp.  Why the tirade?  The latest Olive Garden disaster pairs a ricotta stuffed
manicotti with a cream ( OMG) sauce and shrimp....what?  I'm just sayin.... ok, let's start making
the shells.  1 1/2 cups sifted flour (sifting to make a silkier textured finished product), 3 well
beaten eggs, 1 tsp. olive oil, pinch of salt, 2 cups of milk. Somehow this always changes when
making it.  It should be the consistency of a loose pancake batter, hovering between thin and
not so thin. 

beat the eggs till frothy

that's the consistency you are looking for. 

In a non stick small omelette pan, rub it down with some olive oil.
Place it over medium heat for 5 minutes.  Now ladle in a thin layer
of the crepe batter smoothing it out with the bottom of the ladle.


thin, but not transparent, cook for 2 minutes on each side, and con-
tinue until all batter is used up.  Should yield you 20 or so manicotti
shells.  Keep stacking them on a plate, and move them to the side.
Let them cool down for about 1/2 hour.  Now, in a large bown, add
1/2lb. small diced mozzarella, 2 tsp. freshly minced flat leaf parsley.
1 beaten egg, 1 cup pecorino romano, lots of fresh ground black
pepper, 1 1/2 lbs. good ricotta..Polly-O good supermarket brand, if
at all possible, the fresh ricotta at an Italian Store, or Salumeria
makes for a heavenly manicotti, fresh ricotta just can't be beat.


Now, in a baking pan, add some sauce to the bottom.  Start rolling
up the manicotti, placing about 3 tbs. of filling down the center of
the crepe.  Roll it up and place into pan. DO NOT STACK THEM!!
One layer only.


Just a suggestion...(not really), use Polly-O whole milk mozzarella
for this, not a fresh mozzarella..there is too much liquid in the fresh
and it will make the filling watery.  Top the finished tray with the
sauce and add some grated pecorino.

pre-heat oven to 375 degrees. cover the tray with foil and bake for
1 hour.  Let the manicotti sit for a good 5-10 minutes before serving.

The foil prevents the heat from drying out  and scorching the top.  Too
much cooking of tomato, and it gets bitter. Figure at least 2 manicotti
per person when serving, so, make enough. This is an easy recipe
to double.
Without over the top techniques here, for those of you who want to
wow your family and friends with a homemade pasta dish, this is
just the one to try.  You can make the shells and sauce a day or two
before you are going to serve them.  You can even roll and stuff them,
but you must cook them less than 24 hours after you have done
that...just tightly cover them and refrigerate.  Serve with a meat ball, or
Sausage, or not....They can be a great starter to an Italian meal,
making one per person the serving size..or they can be the entree.
Cannelloni I like with a veal and spinach stuffing, asiago cheese,
onion, garlic, carrot, celery..oops, that's  another recipe.  Sorry.  Once
I get started, I just want to keep going... For those of you who are
going to try this, drop me a comment!!