Move Over Turkey and Make Room for the Manicotti

Move Over Turkey and Make Room for the Manicotti

I love hearing my family's stories of their holiday traditions. The traditions before everyone sat around and watched the football games after dinner. Thanksgiving used to be an all day affair filled with food, friends, and family. My mom is from South Philadelphia and my dad is from Southwest Philadelphia. Both grew up in row homes and much of their family lived in houses of the same size. Although the were not large homes, this never deterred them from having a huge gathering.  

My mom's aunt hosted their Thanksgiving. They started the feast with a fruit cup, moved on to Escarole soup, then had Ravioli and meatballs/sausage. Then they had their Turkey with the traditional fix ins . Once the meal was finished and the dishes were cleared there was some time to relax before turkey sandwiches were served. From the sandwiches they enjoyed "honeyballs" or "bow cookies" and assorted nuts including chestnuts they had roasted. She said the  nuts were always sitting in a bowl with nut crackers during the holidays. Of course everything was washed down with some Red Wine. If Homemade Red was not available Carlo Rossi or Gallo jugs sufficed.

My dad remembers a fairly similar Thanksgiving hosted by his parents.  They started with an antipasto salad (this is one of the few times salad was served before the meal). They had the usual Thanksgiving dishes and Ravioli. They too enjoyed sandwiches in the evening but their dessert consisted of various cakes.

My Thanksgiving has been hosted by my parents for as long as I can remember, and have varied in size over the years. We have had some sort of pasta, meatballs, sometimes escarole soup, ham, turkey, and the usual sides. Recently we have started making homemade manicotti which was my Grandmom Rose's recipe.

My husband and my mom make the crepes, I make the filling and we form an assembly line for the process on Thanksgiving morning. It is always entertaining as they argue over consistency and when to flip them, but after firing off a few test crepes they get them just right.

These usually get rave reviews so I do recommend trying them if you have the time.

Crepe:

1 cup flour

1 cup milk

1 egg, beaten

1/2 teaspoon salt

Tip: You will probably end up throwing away the first couple of crepes since they take a few tries to get the hang of. Add more milk if batter is not thin enough

Mix ingredients together to make a smooth, thin batter.

Pour 1/4 cup of batter into a hot greased crepe pan, or non-stick 6"pan

Turn Crepe over as soon as it forms

Crepes cook quickly

Lay them out on wax or parchment paper to cool a bit before filling

Filling:

2 lbs Ricotta Cheese

1/4 Cup Locatelli (Parm, Reggiano, or a cheese blend can be substituted)

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1/4 cup Mozzarella Cheese

1 handful chopped fresh parsley or 1 tablespoon dried parsley

2 eggs

Tip: I use part skim Ricotta and Mozzarella. I also add a handful of grated Auricchio Provolone for a sharper flavor.

In a large bowl add ingredients except for the eggs.

Mix well

To make sure cheese is seasoned enough taste and then add more spices as desired

Whisk eggs and add to ricotta mixture

Stir well

In a 13" x 9" baking dish ladle enough gravy to cover bottom

Fill crepe with about 2 tablespoons of mixture

Fold ends over each other and place in baking dish fold down

Once tray is filled cover with more gravy and top with shredded mozzerella and grated locatelli

Bake at 425 degrees until bubbly

Healthier Manicotti

Crepe:

1/2 cup wheat flour

1/2 cup white flour

1 cup 1% or Skim milk

1/4 cup Egg Substitute

1/2 teaspoon salt

Filling:

2 lbs Part-Skim Ricotta Cheese

1/4 Cup Locatelli (Parm, Reggiano, or a cheese blend can be substituted)

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1/4 cup Part-Skim Mozzarella Cheese

1 handful chopped fresh parsley or 1 tablespoon dried parsley

1/2 cup Egg Substitute

As always feel free to share suggestions, recipes, and pictures!

Buon Appetito!