Homemade Cavatelli

homemade cavatelli dough recipe


This homemade cavatelli pasta recipe has been in our family for years; I swear every time we make them they get better.

The homemade cavatelli dough is really easy to make and we enjoy spending a little extra time to have something homemade.

If you like pasta you're going to love cavatelli. There is always something special about fresh homemade pasta.

You may not know what cavatelli are. So let me explain right from Wikipedia. Cavatelli is a type of pasta. The most common meaning is small pasta shells that look like miniature hot dog buns.

homemade cavatelli recipe ingredients


Homemade Cavatelli Recipe Ingredients:

Ricotta Cheese
All-Purpose Flour
Salt
Egg

You can use the whole ricotta cheese but we prefer to use the part skim.

Mixing in the kitchenaid stand mixer

Here is the Recipe for homemade cavatelli:

2 1/2 to 3-Cups of flour
1-pound of ricotta cheese (You buy ricotta in 15 oz. containers) this is okay
1-Egg
1-Tsp of salt

Combine all ingredients in the bowl, set your KitchenAid on the lowest speed and let it work until the dough binds together.

You'll probably have to take it out of the bowl and work it with your hands until it's smooth.
If you don't have a KitchenAid stand mixer that's okay.

You really don't need one. You just have to mix the dough with your hands. Just work the dough until it all comes together and it's smooth and forms a ball. Don't forget to wash your hands first!



Here you see the dough formed into a ball.
This recipe yields 2 lbs. and we call this one batch of cavatelli. I don't know why but that's what we call it.

Place the dough under a bowl


Now cover this with a bowl and let it rest for about 1/2 hour. While you’re waiting you could mix up the second batch.

The dough rolled into 1/2 inch logs


Now you'll want to spread some flour out onto a cutting board or your counter. Form the dough into one large log, as you see in the picture.

Then cut 1/2" slices which you will then roll into smaller 1/2" logs. Roll them in the flour because you don't want the dough to be wet.

As you can see in the picture here, I have made three batches. We like to make cavatelli for some family events.

Cranking out the cavatelli


Attach the cavatelli machine to your counter. Cover a cookie sheet with wax paper and spread some flour over it.

Start feeding the logs and crank out those little beauties onto a floured cookie sheet.
Keep adding some flour to the rollers of the machine so they don't stick.

 If adding flour doesn't prevent them from sticking, just let the logs set a while, as they are too wet.

Pictured here is our grandson Bobby cranking out the cavatelli. He was 7 years old in this picture and he is the greatest helper.

My grandmother used to make these without a machine; she would cut the logs and sort of flip them with two fingers. I never could master that so I opted for the machine, it is much faster.

cavatelli on the cookie sheet


This is what they look like ready to go in the freezer. Now just place the pan in the freezer for about 30 to 45 minutes they will be frozen.

cavatelli in the freezer bag

Fill up your freezer bag, and now you can have homemade pasta whenever you want to.

A Bakers Basket

A Bakers Basket


I would like to talk about Gift Baskets; my daughter recently went to a local school play at Southwestern Central in Western New York.

She won this beautiful gift basket, and when I saw it I just knew that had to write about it.  On the tag, they call this a Cupcake basket, but I call it A Bakers Basket. I don’t know who made this basket because I would love to give them credit. This is just such a unique gift basket.

I have a passion for gift baskets, as I made and sold them when I was out of work. I thought what a great idea if you have somebody in your family or a good friend that just loves to bake.

Gift Baskets are so versatile, and really not difficult to make at all, you can create a themed basket for any occasion. All you need to do is buy the products and supplies and you’ll be off and be creating a wonderful gift.



Bakset tag with all of the baking supplies listed
This is the tag that was on the outside of this beautiful gift basket listing all of the contents. 

If you're not sure of how to make a gift basket the following video will help you get started. Making gift baskets is creative, fun and not hard to do at all.

 So what are you waiting for? Be creative, have some fun, and make somebody happy with your beautiful creation.

As always Thanks so much for stopping by

So many options for gift basket supplies. Here are just a few.

The Classic Reuben Sandwich

Ruben Sandwich on a plate


This Reuben sandwich served with a salad and some fruit makes a great lunch or dinner. I call this classic because it was made with Corned Beef, Swiss cheese, Sauerkraut, and creamy Thousand Island dressing,

My daughter made these and served them with a nice salad, some grapes and strawberries. Well I ate the Reuben and a few grapes, the kids had Mac and Cheese and fruit. The Reuben is not difficult to make, and you can serve it cold or toasted, we made ours toasted, that’s the way I like it.

This is what you need:

  • 6 or 8 slices of Corned Beef
  • 6 Slices of Swiss Cheese
  • 1 bag of sauerkraut
  • 1 bottle of thousand island dressing
  • 6 slices of marble rye bread
  • Some butter
Here is all you need to do:

  1. Brown the sauerkraut in a skillet
  2. Heat up your griddle to medium heat, butter one side of a slice of bread and place it butter side down on the griddle.
  3. Now begin to build your sandwich, place 1 or 2 slices of cheese, and then the slices of corned beef, now heap on the sauerkraut.
  4. Butter another slice of bread and place it on top, now all you need to do is grill your sandwich to perfection.
  5. Now open it up and pour on the dressing and serve. This was enough to make 3 delicious sandwiches.

 As always thanks so much for stopping by and I hope you enjoy it!


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How to make Homemade Pizza

Homemade Pizza right out of the oven


This mouth-watering homemade pizza recipe is handed down from my grandmother. My grandma Liz made the best pizza in the world. Whose grandmother didn't?

When I was a kid and knew she was making pizza I would make a dash for her house, which was easy because she only lived two blocks away.

Oh, the wonderful smell and the anticipation of waiting for it to come out of the oven. This is my recipe for homemade pizza; it's probably not as good as my grandmother's but close and besides it's homemade what more could you ask for?

Here is what you need to make the dough:

· 2 pkg. active dry yeast
· 2-1/4 cups of warm water, not too hot
· 1 tsp salt
· 3 tbsp of Crisco or oil
· 5 to 6 cups of all-purpose flour

This is how you make the dough:
  1. In a measuring cup, add the yeast to the warm water and let it stand.
  2. In a large bowl or your KitchenAid mixing bowl, add the flour, Crisco or oil, salt.
  3. By now the yeast should have mostly dissolved in the water. So pour it into the bowl with the flour.
  4. Mix by hand, or set your KitchenAid mixer on the low setting using the dough hook
  5. Mix until the dough is smooth, and let the dough rise for one hour
This will yield about 3 pizzas 12” to 14” depending if you like thick crust or thin. I like thin crust.

Mixing the dough in my kitchenaid stand mixer
Mixing the dough in my KitchenAid


Now we can make the sauce:

· 2 Can (28Oz.) of crushed tomatoes
· 2 or 3 tbsp of light olive oil or vegetable oil
· 1 glove of garlic Finley chopped (you can also add garlic powder)
· 1 Tsp. of oregano or Italian Seasoning
· 1 Tsp. salt - a little pepper

I like to cook my sauce first. Pour the tomatoes into a 1-quart pot, add all of the ingredients. Stir and bring to a boil, not a roaring boil, as soon as you see it start to bubble turn off the burner.

Pizza sauce cooking on the stove
My pizza sauce on the stove


Preheat your oven the 450 degrees, spread the dough in your pizza pan, add your sauce, and sprinkle some Italian seasoning and Romano cheese. I bake two pizzas at a time for about 20 minutes, one pizza on the middle rack and one on top. After 9 or 10 minutes switch the racks.

Now you'll notice that I don't have any other topping on my pizza because this is the way my grandmother made it and I like it this way. 

The greatest thing about pizza is that there are so many toppings. Here are some that I do like to add sometimes:

Pepperoni, Mushrooms, Italian Pork Sausage, Anchovies (not my favorite), Green Peppers, Hot Peppers, Mozzarella Cheese. To add your toppings shorten your bake time by about 2 minutes, take them out and add your favorite topping, and put them back in the oven for 2 minutes.

As always Thank you for stopping by, and I hope you enjoyed my recipe.


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