Two great tastes that taste great together!

Well, not really. I tried two recipes for dinner tonight; one appetizer and one entree. I made toasted ravioli and Swedish meatballs, which may seem like an odd combination. One's Italian and one is Swedish. However, the oven temps matched, so I went for it. So without further ado, my latest attempts at cooking.

Toasted Ravioli

1 c. milk
1 lg. egg, lightly beaten
2 c. dry Italian seasoned bread crumbs
1 pkg. meat ravioli
2 qt. vegetable oil for frying
grated Parmesan cheese
fresh tomato sauce

Combine milk and egg in a bowl, making an egg wash. Place bread crumbs in separate bowl. Dip frozen ravioli in milk wash and coat with bread crumbs. Place in hot oil Fry ravioli until golden brown. Place on drain board. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and serve immediately with tomato sauce.

I followed the recipe except that I baked my ravs, not fried them. I am really, really afraid of frying things in oil and I have never done it. So, I attempted to bake them. I baked them for 20 minutes at 400 degrees. I think I am going to lower the oven temp and let them bake more slowly next time, so they won't be puffed up and slightly dry. I did serve them with sauce, so that hid the dryness, but I ate some w/out sauce and it was noticeable. If you have any suggestions on baking or you want to laugh at me for being afraid of hot oil, leave me a comment. (Recipe source: Just Like A Bun in the Oven - Recipes for Bringing William Home)


Easy Swedish Meatballs


1-1/2 lb. ground beef
1 pkg. (6 oz.) STOVE TOP Stuffing Mix for Pork
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 small onion, finely chopped
1-1/4 cups water
1 jar (12 oz.) beef gravy
1/2 cup BREAKSTONE'S or KNUDSEN Sour Cream


PREHEAT oven to 400°F. Mix meat, stuffing mix, eggs, onion and water until well blended. Shape into 32 meatballs, each about 1 inch in diameter. Place half of the meatballs in single layer in each of 2 foil-lined 13x9-inch baking pans.
BAKE 20 min. or until cooked through.
MIX beef gravy and sour cream in large saucepan. Add meatballs; mix lightly. Cook on low heat 5 min. or until sauce is heated through, stirring occasionally.

Sorry for the product placement, but I got this recipe from Kraft Foods and I C&P'd it from their site. The meatballs were really moist and delicious. I'd never put stuffing in them before, but I liked it. The only thing I didn't like was that I had enough gravy for the meatballs, but hardly any for the noodles. I think if I double the gravy and sour cream, it will be a perfect amount. Not enough to be swimming in gravy, but enough to lightly cover the noodles.

Some more s'mores?

Ah, summer. We wait and long for it from September to May. I believe it was Walt Whitman who said the most beautiful words in the English language were "summer afternoon." Along with baseball, swimming and grass mowing, comes that other seasonal pasttime - cookouts. Many come complete with a bonfire. And where there's a bonfire, there are S'mores. No bonfire at your summer celebration? Try one of these tasty renditions:

S'Mores Dessert Squares

Prep Time:30 min
Total Time:3 hr 31 min
Makes:24 servings, 1 square each
64 NILLA Wafers, divided
5 Tbsp. butter, melted
3 Tbsp. sugar
3-1/4 cups cold milk, divided
1 pkg. (4-serving size) JELL-O Chocolate Instant Pudding
2 pkg. (4-serving size each) JELL-O White Chocolate Flavor Instant Pudding & Pie Filling
1-1/2 cups thawed COOL WHIP Whipped Topping
1-1/2 cups JET-PUFFED Miniature Marshmallows
1/2 square BAKER'S Semi-Sweet Chocolate, grated


PREHEAT oven to 350°F. Finely crush 40 of the wafers; place in medium bowl. Add butter and sugar; mix until well blended. Press firmly onto bottom of 13x9-inch baking pan. Bake 8 min. or until lightly browned; set aside.
POUR 1-1/4 cups of the milk into medium bowl. Add dry chocolate pudding mix. Beat with wire whisk 2 min. or until well blended. Spread over crust; top with remaining 24 wafers. Pour remaining 2 cups milk into large bowl. Add dry white chocolate pudding mixes. Beat with wire whisk 2 min. or until well blended. Gently stir in whipped topping. Spread over wafer layer in pan. Refrigerate at least 3 hours or until set.
PREHEAT broiler just before serving. Top dessert evenly with marshmallows. Broil 1 min. or until marshmallows are puffed and lightly browned. Sprinkle with chocolate. Cut into 24 squares. Serve immediately. Store leftover squares in refrigerator.


S'mores Cookies


1 (18 ounce) package refrigerated sugar cookie dough
1 cup marshmallow creme
1 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips
4 graham crackers, crushed


Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a baking sheet.
Place cookie dough slices about 1 1/2 inch apart on prepared baking sheet.
Bake in preheated oven until cookies are light gold, about 15 minutes. Remove from oven and cool on a rack.
When the cookies are cool, spread tops with marshmallow creme. Sprinkle evenly with chocolate chips and graham cracker crumbs.


S'mores Crumb Bars

3 cups graham cracker crumbs
3/4 cup butter or margarine, melted
1/3 cup sugar
3 cups miniature marshmallows
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Combine the crumbs, butter and sugar; press half into a greased 13-in. x 9-in. x 2-in. baking pan. Sprinkle with marshmallows and chocolate chips. Top with remaining crumb mixture; press firmly. Bake at 375 degrees F for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and immediately press top firmly with spatula. Cool completely. Cut into bars.



Sensational S'More Torte


CAKE
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 3/4 cups granulated sugar
3/4 cup baking cocoa
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups sour cream
2/3 cup butter, softened
2 large eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
FILLING
2 cups (12-oz. pkg.) semi-sweet mini morsels
1 pkg. (3.5 oz.) vanilla instant pudding and pie filling mix
1 cup cold milk
1 pkg. (8 oz.) cream cheese, softened
1 container (12 oz.) frozen whipped topping, thawed
4 cups miniature marshmallows, divided
16 whole graham crackers
10 fudge-covered graham crackers or 5 squares chocolate graham crackers

FOR CAKE:PREHEAT oven to 350° F. Grease and line bottom of two 8-inch-square cake pans with parchment paper. COMBINE flour, sugar, baking cocoa, baking soda and salt in large mixer bowl. Beat in sour cream, butter, eggs and vanilla extract until just moistened. Beat on medium speed for 3 to 4 minutes or until light in color. Spoon into prepared pans. BAKE for 40 to 45 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pans on wire racks for 10 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.

FOR FILLING:MICROWAVE morsels in microwave-safe bowl on HIGH (100%) power for 1 Minute; STIR. Morsels may retain some of their shape. If necessary, microwave at additional 10- to 15-second intervals, stirring until smooth. COMBINE pudding mix and milk in large mixer bowl. Beat for 2 minutes or until thickened. Beat in cream cheese. Fold in whipped topping. Fold in 3 cups marshmallows. SLICE each cake layer in half horizontally. Place two layers, side-by-side, cut-side-down on large serving platter. Spread 1/2 the melted chocolate over the cake layers. Lightly press half the graham crackers into melted chocolate, cutting crackers to fit. Spread 1/2 the filling over graham crackers. Repeat with remaining cake layers, melted chocolate, graham crackers and filling, covering tops only, not sides of cake. COARSELY chop chocolate covered graham crackers. Sprinkle over top of torte. Sprinkle with remaining marshmallows. Refrigerate for at least 5 hours or overnight.



Frozen S'mores

3/4 cup heavy cream
6 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate
14 or so graham crackers
1 pint vanilla ice cream, softened on microwave's defrost setting for 30 seconds
1 pint chocolate ice cream, softened on microwave's defrost setting for 30 seconds
12 large marshmallows


Microwave cream and chocolate in a 1-quart glass measuring cup on high power until very hot, about 2 minutes. Whisk until chocolate melts into a smooth sauce.
Line an 8-inch square metal pan with plastic wrap, leaving an overhang. Arrange 1/3 of the graham crackers over bottom, cutting the final few with a knife to fit. Drizzle 1/3 of the sauce over the crackers; spread evenly. Freeze until chocolate is just set, 5 to 10 minutes.
Spread vanilla ice cream over the chocolate. Top with another cracker layer as before. Drizzle another 1/3 of the sauce over the crackers; spread evenly. Freeze until just set, 5 to 10 minutes. Spread chocolate ice cream over the crackers. Arrange a final layer of crackers over the ice cream. Spread remaining sauce over crackers.
Freeze until set, about 2 hours, or double-wrap in plastic and freeze up to 5 days.
To serve, lift dessert from pan; discard plastic wrap. Halve the dessert; cut each half into 6 slices. Return to freezer briefly. Toast marshmallows over a flame and serve alongside s'mores.


S'mores Eclairs

For the choux paste:
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
1 all-purpose flour
1 cup water
1/4 pound unsalted butter
2 tablespoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon fine salt
4 eggs
36 large marshmallows
Chocolate Sauce, recipe follows

Special equipment: a large pastry bag fitted with a large star tip, an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

Sift the cocoa powder and flour together at least 3 times. Set aside. Place the water, butter, sugar, and salt in a heavy 2-quart saucepan. Bring this mixture just to a boil over high heat. Remove from heat and add the sifted cocoa and flour in all at once. Stir with a wooden spoon until the dough comes together to form a ball. Return the pan to medium-high heat and beat constantly until a film develops on the bottom of the pan, about 2 minutes. Do not let it burn.

Transfer the dough to the bowl of an electric mixer with a paddle attachment. Add the eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Scrape down the side of the bowl and continue to beat the dough for 4 minutes at high speed. Transfer the dough into a piping bag fitted with a large star tip. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and pipe 3 to 4-inch log shapes onto the paper. Bake for 10 minutes; then reduce the oven temperature to 325 degrees F. Bake for another 15 minutes. Turn the oven off. Remove the eclairs from the oven and poke a hole in each one using a skewer or piping nail. Place the eclairs back in the oven and leave the door ajar for 10 minutes, allowing the eclairs to dry.

Cut the eclairs in 1/2 lengthwise with a serrated knife. Place the bottom halves of the eclairs on a sheet pan and put 3 marshmallows into each. Place under the broiler until golden, watching closely. Remove from oven. Place tops on and ladle the chocolate sauce over top.

Chocolate Sauce: 10 ounces semisweet chocolate, finely chopped 1 cup heavy cream

Place the chocolate in a stainless-steel bowl. Pour the heavy cream into a small saucepan over medium-high heat and heat the cream until just before the boiling point. Pour the cream over the chocolate and let sit for 1 minute. Whisk until smooth and glossy.

Recipe Sources: Very Best Baking (Nestle), All Recipes, Kraft Foods, and Food Network.