The Italian Dish - Comments

jimmye comments on Upcoming Pasta Making Class

jimmye — Sun, 12 Feb 2012 16:29:19 +0000

An online class would be awesome! Please consider this option for those of us who live too far away....

Margo comments on How to Make Homemade Ricotta Cheese

Margo — Sat, 11 Feb 2012 19:50:49 +0000

I love fresh ricotta! Can't get enough of it! I use buttermilk (kefir) method. I just introduse buttermilk to whole milk and let it culture. It usually takes overnight. Then just pour cultured milk in a stainless still pot and set it over low heat stirring the milk occasionally. I don't babysit my milk, if the heat is low. But if you want to speed up the process just use medium heat. Soon enough you will see curds separating from the whey. Do not bring to boil!!!! Or above 160F. It will make your cheese dry and grainy just like store bought (unless you like it that way). When I see curds forming I just scoop some with a spoon and try it. It suppose to be creame, but have some texture to it. When it ready just strain it through cheese cloth. Leftover whey is great for making pancakes (use it instead of milk), baking and makes wonderful skin toner!

[Elaine] comments on Strawberry Cheesecake Parfaits

[Elaine] — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 20:20:51 +0000

From The Italian Dish:

Jennifer: You can make the fillings the day before and then assemble them the day of.

[Elaine] comments on For Valentine's Day - Beet Pasta Ravioli with Goat Cheese, Hazelnuts, Chives

[Elaine] — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 20:10:04 +0000

From The Italian Dish;

Francesca: You did the right thing - just add more flour until you get the right consistency of dough. There are many variables between the eggs and the beets to know the exact quantities. As for storing the tagliolini, it depends on how long you want to store it. if it's just overnight, I would refrigerate it. The problem with letting pasta dry out completely, is it gets brittle. So if you store it after it has dried, be careful that it doesn't break. You can also freeze the pasta.

Claire comments on Amazing Artisan Bread for 40 Cents a Loaf - No Kneading, No Fussing, No Kidding

Claire — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 10:25:33 +0000

Has any body tried this method with sourdough?
Elaine, I understand what you mean about it taking on a sourdough flavour, but where I live we can't buy instant yeast, so I always make sourdough (which I love).
I usually make the sourdough recipe from Breadtopia (another great site) but feel sure this could be adapted to sourdough too.
I'd love to hear anyone's thoughts.
Thanks for a really great blog, I really enjoy it!

Francesca comments on For Valentine's Day - Beet Pasta Ravioli with Goat Cheese, Hazelnuts, Chives

Francesca — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 05:42:32 +0000

I couldn't wait for Valentine's Day and made the ravioli tonight. My husband loved them.
I ran into a problem, though. My food processor (just a few months old and very good) choked on the dough and in the end I had to get the dough out and finish by hand while it was still super-sticky. At that point I despaired, but it all worked out (though the clean-up was atrocious).
I ended up using a lot more flour than you did — maybe my beets were bigger than yours or had more water content?
Regardless, the ravioli were awesome and I had leftover pasta strips so I cut some tagliolini that I'm drying overnight. I froze the extra ravioli, but I figure that tagliolini can simply be dried and stored in airtight containers. What would you do?
Thanks for the great recipe. :)

Process of grief comments on Sausage and Bean Soup with Pasta

Process of grief — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 01:36:49 +0000

Hello.....nice post but the blog is loading very slowly.

Erin comments on Make Your Own Vanilla Extract

Erin — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 23:17:32 +0000

I just adore you for sharing the recipe for the vanilla. Thank you Thank you!

Jennifer Trim comments on Strawberry Cheesecake Parfaits

Jennifer Trim — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 16:42:19 +0000

How far in advance can I make these strawberry parfaits?

Julie comments on For Valentine's Day - Beet Pasta Ravioli with Goat Cheese, Hazelnuts, Chives

Julie — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 05:02:11 +0000

This beautiful ravioli has been dancing in my head since I read your post on Monday morning. Beets and goat cheese... divine. Graciously vegetarian. The color and presentation... so very lovely. I am by nature one to tinker, but I wouldn't change a letter of this recipe. Bravo!