Fried Ravioli

With this low-fat nonsense, one of the things I've been doing is making some of our favorite bar foods at home, baked rather than fried, with good fats instead of 'wtf is THAT' fats. This is one of the bigtime hits.


1 package fresh ravioli
1 tbsp finely grated parmesan cheese
1/2c bread crumbs
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp dried basil
1/4 tsp dried marjoram
1/2 tbsp olive oil
pinch of salt
1 egg white
1 tbsp skim milk
1 tbsp half & half
marinara sauce for dipping

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. If you're using store bought ravioli like I did, because I'm far too lazy to make my own, make sure they're not stuck together. I prep my cookie sheet now too, by putting down a sheet of foil, because scrubbing off bits of breadcrumb is not my idea of an awesome saturday night.

On a plate, mix together the herbs, the breadcrumbs and the parmesan cheese. If you'd like, you can use 'Italian' store bought bread crumbs and forget the herbs. Mix in the olive oil thoroughly.

Mix together the salt, egg white, skim milk & 1/2 + 1/2 in a shallow bowl. At this point, you should have a sort of assembly line set up... ravioli container -> egg -> breadcrumb mixture -> cookie sheet. Dip the ravioli in the egg & lift it out onto the breadcrumb with one hand, then use the other hand to press breadcrumbs into both sides, shake off the excess, and lift it out onto the cookie sheet, one by one, until as many as you can stuff onto that sheet are on there. I don't space them out very far... they expand upward when they cook, when the filling heats up.

Bake for 10-15 minutes until they're super crispy and the filling is cooked through... this may vary depending on the size and filling of the ravioli you use. I don't flip them, because I'm way lazy, but if you want yours to be super zomg pretty you may want to flip after 5 minutes or so. Serve with marinara sauce.

Picky Husband Info: This recipe is a bit different than most 'fried' ravioli recipes, and it's all because of him and his silly heart. Psh. If you'd prefer, you can use more cheese and a whole egg, with just a 'splash' of dairy.

Verdict: "Holy crap is that good. ...holy CRAP is that good!!"

Babaganoush

Dactyl always laughs whenever I mention babaganoush, and then asks me what the hell it is, anyway. Well, here's what it is.

1 eggplant
1 lemon
some plain yogurt
olive oil
salt + pepper
1 clove garlic

Cut the eggplant in half. Drizzle with olive oil on an oiled cookie sheet. Roast the eggplant cut side up in the oven at 425 until it starts to wilt and the cut side starts to brown... start checking after 20 mins or so. Let cool.

Throw the garlic, about a tablespoon of olive oil, juice of half the lemon, 3 tablespoons of yogurt, about a tablespoon of salt and a few grinds of black pepper into a food processor. Remove the eggplant from its skin. It's easiest to do this with your fingers, although it'll make you feel very primal, as the cooled cooked eggplant is kind of slimy and primordial. Put that in the food processor and grind it all up. Add more olive oil or yogurt to change the texture.

This is tasty with warm pita bread.

Picky Husband Substitutions: I tried to peel off as many eggplant seeds as I could, not realizing that I was, yanno, putting it in the food processor and it wouldn't really matter.

The Verdict: 2 bites, and that was it. Oh well.