Baked Manicotti from Cook's Illustrated

It's a fact.  I love pasta.  Even more, I love baked and cheese filled pasta.  When I saw the recipe for Baked Manicotti from Cook's Illustrated, I wanted to give it a whirl.  You can find the recipe here if you are a paying member of the site.  But you can also sign up for a 2 week trial of the site.  I find their site to be very helpful with loads of cooking instructions including video, recipes, equipment and product reviews.

The first step is to make the sauce using canned, diced tomatoes, garlic, seasonings and olive oil.  The sauce is very watery, which I was concerned about.

The next step is to take the no-bake lasagna noodles (Cook's Illustrated prefers Barilla) and soak them in boiling water for 5 minutes.  After the noodles have soaked, lay them individually on paper towels.  Then you can begin to fill them. 

The filling is made up of eggs, ricotta, parmesan cheese, mozzarella cheese and more seasonings. 

Spread about a 1/4 cup of the cheese mixture onto the lasagna noodle leaving about a half inch at the top.

Then, roll it up tight!

Place the rolled up manicotti into a 13x9" pan that has some of the sauce mixture on the bottom.

Once you've rolled them all, pour the rest of the sauce mixture over the top, making sure to completely cover the manicotti.  Cover with foil, and bake in a 375 degree oven for 40 minutes.  Then take the foil off, top with more cheese and broil until bubbly and browned on top.

And remember how I was worried about the sauce being too watery?  Well, thanks to the magic of the no-bake noodles, the water is absorbed making a perfectly al dente noodle!

This makes a ton of manicotti.  We had 2 dinners and I had 2 lunches out of 1 batch!  I think these would freeze nicely for a make ahead meal.

My Husband's Favorite Dish

Ming Tsai's Crazy Noodles.  I think we eat this dish at least once a month.  It's sweet and spicy.  You can control the heat in the dish with different types of chili sauce.  I also like to add additional shallots, basil and scallions.  This dish is simple to make.

Slice your scallions real thin.

Make your sauce - fresh lime juice, sugar, fish sauce and Sambal.  I use a different chili sauce every time I make this dish.  I used traditional spicy Sambal this time.  I also added some lime zest to the sauce.

Check out this basil!  I harvested it from my Aerogarden!

Chop the scallions

Stop and give some love to your favorite kitty who is always in the kitchen whenever you're trying to cook.

Cook your shallots over high heat until they start to brown.

Add the ground chicken and cook until no longer pink.  Next time, I may try tofu instead of chicken.  I think it'll be tasty in this dish.

Add the cooked rice noodles.

Add your sauce and stir it to mix thoroughly and add your scallions and basil.

Serve with some basil garnish and a lime wedge.

Ming Tsai's Crazy Noodles

8 ounces transparent rice noodles (rice sticks)
2 tablespoons Thai fish sauce (nam pla)
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 teaspoon sugar
1 tablespoon Traditional Spicy Sambal or store-bought sambal (you can find this in most grocery stores.  You can use any spicy chili garlic sauce)
3 tablespoons grapeseed or canola oil
3 shallots, sliced 1⁄8 inch thick (I like to use 4)
1 pound ground chicken
1⁄2 cup scallions, green and white parts, sliced 1⁄8 inch thick
1⁄4 cup Thai or sweet basil leaves cut into 1⁄8-inch ribbons
1 lime, quartered, for garnish
4 sprigs of Thai or sweet basil for garnish

1. Cook noodles according to package. Drain and set aside.
2. Meanwhile, in a small bowl combine the fish sauce, lime juice, sugar, and sambal, and stir until the sugar is dissolved.
3. Heat a wok or large, heavy sauté pan over high heat. Add the oil and swirl to coat the pan. Add the shallots and stir-fry until brown, about 1 minute. Add the chicken and stir-fry, breaking up the meat, until cooked through, about 3 minutes. Add the noodles and sauce mixture and heat through, stirring. Add the scallions and basil ribbons and toss well. Garnish with the lime wedges and basil sprigs and serve

And if you live in the Boston area, visit Ming Tsai's restaurant, Blue Ginger!