Food...I have been cooking this morning and....everything is good!

[Lazarus]

Hi..

I should have put OT in the subject line but forgot! Sorry.

I was looking for the lazy cooking with Cat thread but, it has thousands of posts...(not thousands but it was in the hundreds).

So, tomorrow my friends and I will select an opera to watch on her tv. She has a subscription to The metropolitan and there are hundreds of performances to choose from. So, we make a day of it and have food too.
For tomorrow’s event I made:
1. An old fashioned egg custard pudding. It set up correctly and has the most delicate flavor which I will top with a thin apricot glaze.
2. A salad of our own Persian cucumbers (sweet, seedless, crisp and organic), blueberries, feta cheese and our own sungold tomatoes. White balsamic vinegarette. Scrumptious.
3. Ricotta balls topped with a roasted tomato sauce. The balls came out very light and are incredibly tasty. I baked them. I did combine the thinking in 2 different recipes and it came out so good that it will now be a go-to recipe. It is delicate and unique. I only hope they do not fall apart when I heat them up in the sauce tomorrow.

Gosh, this feels so good. I was thinking clearly and everything is interesting and good tasting. Tomorrow will be my triumph over MS day!

[stillstANNding]

I am willing to listen to opera for a taste of that food. As I have aged, almost 68, I did acquire a taste for classical music and jazz. Life beyond the Beatles. No ear for opera-yet.

ANN

[Lazarus]

I am willing to listen to opera for a taste of that food. As I have aged, almost 68, I did acquire a taste for classical music and jazz. Life beyond the Beatles. No ear for opera-yet.

ANN

Now that I am older I think it is the best to listen to opera the way Shakespeare’s plays were viewed in their original time. People walked around and talked. We used to watch the operas in a formal way. Now we eat, listen and talk and laugh and move around. And we enjoy the music so very much.

[Sunshine]

This sounds like an exciting food adventure!

[Virginia]

May I please place my order for the cucumber salad. You can beam it to me. Sounds so very good and refreshing.

[agate]

I'd put up with opera for the salad alone though the other items sound tasty too.

[Howie]

You ladies are taking a chance. You had better let me,the official food taster, try a little bit of everything to make sure it's up to our standards.

[Catdancer]

I'd love the recipe for the ricotta balls. :) (I could do a joke here.. "Ricotta balls?? I didn't know ricottas HAD balls!!" but I won't go there...)

[Lazarus]

I'd love the recipe for the ricotta balls. :) (I could do a joke here.. "Ricotta balls?? I didn't know ricottas HAD balls!!" but I won't go there...)

I just got home. Great, long day. I will come back tomorrow. I had two recipes and used elements of both. Great. Even warmed up or room temp. Only takes 20 minutes to bake. Super easy..sort of...
Good night.
Linda

[Lazarus]

CatDancer,
As promised. This is the basic recipe I used for ricotta balls. One cookbook suggested sautéing them in butter and the one I have here suggested simmering them in tomato sauce. The balls are so delicate in flavor that I would bake them as in the recipe and then splash a very light tomato sauce on them. Or prepare an olive oil and herb dressing to sprinkle on them. Tomato sauce is too heavy for them. AAND, they tasted great just plain and at room temp.

They are really easy.
Ricotta Balls

2 cups (500 gr tub) of strained ricotta cheese ( I did not strain it but used whole milk which was on the dry side)
2 eggs
1/3 cup of shredded parmesan cheese
1/2 cup of fine bread crumbs
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp cracked pepper
First, preheat the oven to 350F/180C/Gas Mark. To being preparing the ricotta ball mixture, combine the ingredients above into a mixing bowl. Using your mixer (or good old-fashioned elbow-grease!) mix the ingredients thoroughly. After mixing roll the ricotta balls by hand using an ice cream scoop or soup spoon to size each ball evenly. Don’t make them too big! Place each ball on a lightly oiled or non-stick baking sheet and bake them for 20 minutes while the tomato sauce continue to simmer. When they’re done, take them out of the oven and let them cool for a few minutes. On a dinner plate or in a shallow dish serve 1/2 – 1 cup of tomato sauce and place 4 or more ricotta balls on top of the sauce, sprinkle with a light dusting of oregano. Serve with a side of pasta or vegetables and enjoy!

Ricotta Balls with Tomato Sauce Tavola Mediterranea

In our home, we accompany this dish with Spaghetti all’Olio e Aglio or Sauteed Cicoria Greens. Another option

[Catdancer]

Those sound delicious! I could see them set atop fettucini noodles that have been "dressed" with basil pesto. Or they individually dipped into basil pesto. I think the light tomato sauce you mentioned would be perfect. maybe one made with vodka.

I'm surprised they don't "melt" as cheese will do in an oven. At any rate...I've got all the ingredients already except for the ricotta. Next grocery run for sure, then I'm gonna make these...

[Lazarus]

Those sound delicious! I could see them set atop fettucini noodles that have been "dressed" with basil pesto. Or they individually dipped into basil pesto. I think the light tomato sauce you mentioned would be perfect. maybe one made with vodka.

I'm surprised they don't "melt" as cheese will do in an oven. At any rate...I've got all the ingredients already except for the ricotta. Next grocery run for sure, then I'm gonna make these...

I mixed it all with my hands. I used flour on the board as I kneaded into a very soft dough. Made the balls the size and shape of walnuts. I just ate a leftover one...straight out of the frig....yum. There was not enough cheese to melt or ooze out...the pesto idea is perfect. Thanks!

[Lazarus]

I mixed it all with my hands. I used flour on the board as I kneaded into a very soft dough. Made the balls the size and shape of walnuts. I just ate a leftover one...straight out of the frig....yum. There was not enough cheese to melt or ooze out...the pesto idea is perfect. Thanks!

Went to bed last night and immediately remembered that I wanted to add one more detail! But, I fell asleep so, here a I am now.

Once I had mixed up the ricotta with other ingredients I put the dish in the refrigerator for an hour. That helped to firm up the very soft mixture. When I started making the balls I did put oil on my hands so I could handle it easily. This was no problem at all and by the end I was using a big tablespoon to do it in seconds.

Also, one of the recipes said to add a quarter cup of flour to the mix. I did that but it was still too soft to work so I used the bread crumbs as in the recipe I posted here. I thought adding more flour would make them heavy.

And I grated the cheese on an old box grater. So it was shredded and packed but probably a different measure than if I had grated it to be small like sugar. It was a perfect amount.

[Catdancer]

Thanks for the added tips. I haven't tried this yet, but I would have grated the parmesan on a box grater, too, as I don't have any of that processed parmesan that is fine ground.

[Howie]

I use the grated parmesan that's like it's done with a box grater, that's about 1/2 to 3/4 inch strips, and is in a re-sealable bag. Sam loves it too.