Cocktail Party Pasta Suggestions?!
I'm thinking I can make sauce, put in a crock pot on the counter on low/warm.
Then, I can make some fresh ravioli (with home made ricotta cheese and butternut squash), freeze them, leave a pot of water boiling on the stove and cook them in batches of 10-12 and put fresh ones out every 30 minutes or so. I don't want the whole batch to sit in a crock pot the whole evening so this is my plan.
Any other suggestions? Was thinking of a Lasagna with fresh pasta (yes, I make my own) but I don't have a warming plate or chaffing dish (yeah, I can buy one).
Maybe combine the 2 and do a baked ravioli dish...
Thanks for your suggestions
Answers:
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Something I've done with a good deal of success is cheese tortellini served with a marinara dipping sauce.
I've done it two different ways: Cooked tortellini in the slower cooker with the marinara and has a passed dish (cooked tortellini in a bowl [with olive oil to prevent sticking]) and a smaller bowl (both on a napkin-lined platter to prevent slippage) and bamboo skewers.
I've done the ravioli before too, but that definitely requires plates and forks and the like.
Tom's tortellini with dipping sauce sounds good. Lasagna might work and actually, it is supposed to be served closer to room temperature than really hot. I've made a cold tortellini salad. Cooked cheese tortellini, artichoke hearts, olives, sun-dried tomatoes, salami or pepperoni cut into sticks, roasted red peppers, fresh mozzarella bocconcini and a good homemade balsamic vinaigrette added just before serving.
try walmart shrimp dip
If you want to serve something else instead of having just plain pasta dishes...try this one: you can make your own Cavatelli easy: and eggplant is in this recipe
Ingredients for 4-6 servings Cavatelli alla Norma
* 1 pound cavatelli
* Coarse salt and ground pepper
* 4 tablespoons olive oil
* 4 garlic cloves, crushed and sliced
* 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
* 1 large eggplant, cut into 3/4-inch chunks
* 1 large can of crushed San Marzano tomatoes
* 1/2 cup torn fresh basil, plus more for garnish
* 3/4 cup chopped smoked mozzarella
* 2 tbsps of pecorino romano, grated (optional)
Preparation
Salt eggplant and let drain.
Cook pasta in a large pot of salted water until al dente. Drain pasta; return to pot.
Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and crushed red pepper; cook for a few minutes.
Add eggplant to skillet and cook until eggplant is golden and begins to release juices, about 5 minutes. Remove eggplant with slotted spoon and place on paper towel.
Add can of tomatoes and cook, stirring, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add half of basil, let simmer for 15 minutes.
Toss sauce and basil with pasta. Top each serving with smoked mozzarella and garnish with more basil.
(For those of you who want to learn how easy it is to make homemade cavatelli...here's a video with the recipes ---the other recipe for roasted cauliflower and bacon is good, too!):
http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/41309942/n…
