Wierd Cooking~~Honeycomb Canelloni and a Disclaimer

A DISCLAIMER (written April 2009)~~~Two years ago I made the following post. I did and still make no claim to being a cook. I am learning and improving my skills since this post was made. Please, take this post with a huge grain of salt and don't read it if you are a gourmet with a low tolerance level to culinary laziness. Against a suggestion by a previous commenter, I will never delete a post of mine, however I will delete comments that tactlessly suggest that I am not allowed to exercise my First Amendment Right to Freedom of Expression in my own blog.

When I cook anything that requires me doing more than opening a box and microwaving, boiling, or thawing it's a big deal. The other day I was sewing and watching the Today Show. One of my favorite actors, Dustin Hoffman, was being interviewed by Matt Lauer, and following the interview was a cooking segment with the hilarious and kenetic Jamie Oliver. I had to watch because Dustin joined them. But when I heard the name of the recipe, my ears pricked. I was glued to the set.

Here's the recipe:

Jamie Oliver's Honeycomb Cannelloni

It's pretty complex. I have no doubt that in the way Mr. Oliver intended, that it's very very tasty. I was far more interested in the idea that you could stand up raw tubular pasta in a dish and bake it to doneness. I wanted to try just that portion of Jamie's remarkable dish before attempting to make it as he intended. My recipe is completely experimental and in no way gourmet. Heck I didn't know if anyone would eat it. I just wanted to make that honeycomb effect and see what happens.

I substituted a chunky vegetable tomato sauce for the vegetable ragu in the orginal recipe. I eliminated the spinach because my son would run the other way. He's gets vitamins in other ways. I added a can of chopped sauted mushrooms to the tomato sauce and some olive oil and simmered all together.

For the creme frache (which I looked for but couldn't find at my local market), I substituted a jar of mushroom Alfredo sauce and some freshly shredded Parmesan cheese.

I made the recipe in a 9 X 9 casserole dish using rigatoni pasta. Here is the only labor intensive part or my version of this dish:

Standing up the uncooked noodles in the later of alfredo sauce and tomato sauce took a little time. Doesn't it look cool? My son thought so!

Then I put the rest of tomato sauce and alfredo sauce on top of the pasta. Then I topped it with a generous sprinking of parmesan cheese and a drizzle of olive oil.

Then I baked it at 375 degree for 45 minutes...

It was cheesy and somewhat tasty but when I improve my cooking skills (I'm a rank beginner) and get the right tools, I'll certainly tackle the original recipe.

Another cookbook on my radar is America's Best Lost Recipes.

I'm putting it on my Christmas list. It looks wonderful! Full of comfort cooking!

Happy eating!~~~XXOO, Beth