Did you ever have one of those meals where you loved the taste, but still didn't feel good about the finished product? The good news, I know what I did wrong, know what I need to do to make it right next time. Here's why I wasn't happy... 
I was trying to copy a recipe from Cathy at the NOBLE PIG. On New year's Day, she did a recap of the 10 best recipes from her site. #1 was this PASTA CAKE. BTW, you can find her top 10 by clicking HERE.I made a few changes to the recipe, but that is not why my finished product did not look like hers.
I added a pound of Chorizo sausage to give it a bit more za za zing. but that is not why my finished product did not look like hers.
I also substituted a can of tomato sauce and used half the number of crushed tomatoes. but that is not why my finished product did not look like hers.
But, as you can see from this photo, my pasta did not stand up as well as Cathy's.It also did not stay firm and round like Cathy's, so I could not fill the tubes with the meat mixture. My pasta was stuck together. I had to use a smaller cake pan, and most of the meat stayed on top and did not fill up the tubes (cause there were no tubes, just round pasta flattened).
See how hers looks (to the right). Standing there firm and full of meat... Mocking me!Here's what I did wrong...
Boiled my pasta too long.
Here's what I'll do next time...
Boil the pasta a shorter amount of time.
But it sure tasted good... Go take a look at the Noble Pig's posting (click HERE). You will want to give this a try. It is a work of art!
Oh, and even if you screw up the look, it tastes GREAT!
This looks like a fun dish to make!! I love anything pasta ... this is something to try. :-)
ReplyDeleteBuy a sausage/jerky gun. I have one, and filling pasta tubes is easy to do with one!
ReplyDeleteI remember seeing that on Cathy's blog,it was gorgeous. Hey if it tasted great, thats all that matters.
ReplyDeleteDave, it still looks delicious. I made these a month or two ago and I used individual springform pans.
ReplyDeleteTaste is the final measure of a recipe. I've seen Cathy's recipe and it is a thing of beauty. As a matter of fact, all of her recipes are outstanding. If you were able to capture that taste and have figured out why yours was not a mirror image of hers, you're way ahead of the game. Next time you'll be spot on.
ReplyDeleteI saw this recipe on her site and thought it looked fabulous! Actually all of her recipes look fabulous. I'm sure you'll get it perfect next time.
ReplyDeletemmmm, pasta and cake in the same title, how could you not love this!
ReplyDeleteI saw hers too... and I'm with Donna... as long as it tasted great that's all that matters
ReplyDeleteLooks good to me. I've been wanting to make that since I saw her do it, too. I haven't, because I figured I'd screw it up. Heh. Plus my girlfriend has no interest in it. She's wicked picky.
ReplyDeletelooks very festive and hearty :) But seems to me that I might need a great workout post having that one :)
ReplyDeleteOh this looks absolutely scrumptious! I would love to have a piece right now!
ReplyDeleteHave a great weekend!
This looks like the perfect comfort food. Yum.
ReplyDeleteI've been looking at that Noble Pig recipe for a long time now. I'm intrigued by it. I would've made the same mistake. I always cook my pasta too long because my husband prefers it on the mushy side vs. al dente. Still, it sounds delicious. At least it tasted good, right?
ReplyDeleteWell, it may not have stood up, but it sure does look good!
ReplyDeleteI saved that post when Cathy made it too because I thought the presentation was phenomenal, but I agree that the taste is the most important part. (I know that's tough to admit though when you're a blogger, eh?)
ReplyDeleteYum, yum. Pasta in a cake. I'm on it!
ReplyDeleteJust wanted to know if you are going to be submitting a Cook the Books post for Anik See's book. I'm working on the roundup and didn't want to leave you out if you were working on a post.
Rachel, The Crispy Cook
That is a cute presentation! I'm definitely going to have to try this one.
ReplyDeleteRock on, Dave. When I saw it the other day on your bread post, I thought it looked like something I wanted to eat, who cares what it looks like.
ReplyDeleteWhen I make a dish that doesn't turn out so well appearance wise, we jokingly say "Looks like ass, tastes great!"
Did the noodles get too mushy, or would it just not work for the presentation? When I'm making a baked pasta dish -- especially one with stuffed pasta -- I pour boiling water over the pasta and then just let it sit there for about 10 minutes. The noodles get nice and pliable without overcooking. (And they're less likely to get mushy in whatever I'm making. I hate a mushy noodle. Heh.)
ReplyDeleteIn any case, it still looks fabulous. Like a sideways lasagna!
Standing or not, it still looks good!
ReplyDeleteDave, excellent effort, even if not entirely successful by your standards. This makes one helluva presentation and hats off to you for attempting it, figuring out what wasn't right, and willing to go for the brass ring again. Kudos.
ReplyDelete