After two so-so dinners I thought it’d be great to have my sister-in-law and her husband over for dinner to try out three new recipes. If I’m being honest, the manicotti served six and I really didn’t want to adjust the recipe and I thought these two would be good test subjects. Honesty is the best policy. Besides, I couldn’t have three dinners in a row be so-so, could I?
Appetizer: Artichoke Nibblers
The number one reason I chose this recipe is because of the use of a 10” cast iron skillet. I cannot lie. Reason number two was the use of artichokes. Reason number three quickly became the use of two cups of shredded cheese (thank you Eric for your arm). I served it with a thin salt & pepper cracker. Absolutely delicious. It tastes best warm, but really room temp wasn’t bad either.
Things I learned from this recipe:
I will never feel hesitant about making someone’s “all-time favorite recipe”. A reader of Sunset originally submitted this recipe in 1971 and the magazine decided to re-print it in their "Best of" January 2014 issue.
Would I make this again?:
Definitely.
The recipe
Dinner: Creamy Spinach-Ricotta Manicotti
I’m pretty sure we never ate manicotti growing up. I’m positive I’ve never made it myself, and I’m almost positive I’ve never eaten it at a restaurant. Strange? No time like the present to try the recipe. This very simple looking dish required many pots – something I’m not a huge fan of but decided to put it in my “to make” pile of recipes. I’ve also had no experience using ricotta cheese and found the texture quite interesting. The recipe says the hands-on time is an hour and it definitely felt like it. I was busy the entire hour doing something, but I didn’t really mind. Bottom line, this is what I like about cooking. There is a task. There are steps. Those steps lead to a result. I like instructions and I like being told exactly what to do. I like the reward of taking this beautiful cooked dish out of the oven and eating it. While this dish wasn’t anything special, I liked it. The ricotta and spinach where indeed creamy and the shells where nice. I have a feeling my white sauce from step three wasn’t quite spot on but I don’t think it made a huge difference in the overall effect of the dish. Everyone seemed to enjoy the taste.
Things I learned from this recipe:
Read through recipe instructions ahead of time. No matter how many times I remember to do this it seems like I skim over them instead of actually reading them word-for-word. In this instance I forgot to add the garlic and oregano in their respective steps. I ended up throwing the oregano on top before putting t in the oven, but the garlic was a lost cause.
Would I make this again?:
Probably, but it’s way too much effort for two people.
The recipe
Dessert: Molten-chocolate Mousse Cups
I was drawn to this recipe because I could make 12 at a time and freeze them. I have almost zero positive experience baking and thought this would be a good first step. I was right. It was fascinating watching butter and chocolate melt in a pot over a pot. Eric was fascinated by the use of one cup of sugar. “What is that? Sugar?!” He grew up not eating refined sugar. Everyone seemed to enjoy this little cup of chocolate. My initial reaction after the first bite was “eh, it’s okay.” While I think I may have cooked it a minute or two longer than necessary (it wasn’t as oozy in the middle as I would’ve liked), I’m still sticking with it’s just okay. I was left feeling like it was missing a flavor even though I love chocolate. The consensus on the missing ingredient was vanilla ice cream.
Things I learned from this recipe:
Try cooking on the low end of the recommend time.
Serve with vanilla ice cream.
Would I make this again?:
Maybe...I will definitely be eating the eight additional ones in the freezer, but after that I’m hoping to have found something even better.