Ravioli Lasagna

Last shopping trip, I had the ingredients for lasagna in my cart until I remembered Rachael’s Ravioli Lasagna, that was featured on the Rachael Ray Show. Anything that tastes like lasagna without the hassle sounds good to me, so I went around the store again and swapped a few things out (put back the ricotta and picked up cheese ravioli, etc.).

I substituted sweet Italian turkey sausage and a package of Boca crumbles for the mixture of beef, pork & veal (Don didn’t know until I told him). And I halved the recipe but still used a whole can of tomato sauce, and added extra cheeses (mozzarella and asiago). When I tasted the sauce it had that "missing something" taste so I added some fresh sage and Italian seasonings, in addition to the fresh basil.

I thought it tasted better this way, in a casserole, vs. cooking ravioli and spooning sauce on top. The flavors mixed together. I’m not very organized so it took me about an hour to throw this together. I think it would have taken me just as long to make a regular lasagna. On the other hand, there were fewer dishes to clean up.

One comment I have is that I used about 2/3 of a package of ravioli, for half the recipe (which calls for 3 family size packages). That was more than plenty. I'd go by eyeballing the amount rather than a particular quantity stated in the recipe.

Another keeper!

Pantry

Today's Sunday paper had a ton of coupons for Thanksgiving-related products, that are on Rachael's pantry list. Things like chicken stock, canned tomatoes, flour, sugar - real basic kitchen essentials. It inspired me to try to organize my pantry and stock it a little better. Right now quite a few of the items are on sale for the holidays too.

Rachael is everywhere! Her picture was also on the cover of the TV listings in the Dallas Morning News today. At the grocery store, there is a sort of "flag" with her picture in the cracker aisle, for Triscuits and Wheat Thins.

Oh, and in the coupon section, there's a coupon for those kinds of crackers, along with an offer for her "Express Lane" cookbook (only $4.99 plus product purchases).

I'm horrible at keeping a well-stocked pantry. There's lots of cans & boxes in there but I still have a hard time coming up with something to make for dinner on a whim. My other problem is that I'll buy something and not use it and by the time I think about it again, the expiration date has come and gone. I guess that'll be one of my New Year's Resolutions, to maintain a better pantry.

Fish Stick Po'Boys

The other day I made this sandwich from the MP of the October issue of "Every Day With Rachael Ray." I only had a few fishsticks left, not enough to serve for dinner, so it was a good way to use up a small bit. There were no surprises here, it tasted like what you would expect…I mean that in a good way. I put spicy mayo on it like the recipe said, but I like relish too so I added a small squirt of tartar sauce. That gave it more of a Filet-o-fish flavor. Tomatoes would have been good, as in the recipe, but they are out of season and they want a small fortune ($2.89 a pound!) for them right now.

I’m looking forward to tomorrow for Rachael’s "Thanksgiving in 60 II" on the Food Network. I just finished watching "Day to Day With Rachael Ray" - and thought what was that all about?!? While I enjoyed it, I kept wondering what does this have to do with food and cooking. There's also "Iron Chef" on Sunday with Ray vs. DeLaurentiis. Can't wait to see that!

Rachael’s new cookbook "2,4,6,8" is out now. I’m anxious to hear how others like it. We are not big eaters so even though I scale down her recipes, they still make a lot. This sounds like a cookbook more suited to my family’s eating habits.

Be Nice

This week Manilow fans have been treated to a MMF (Manilow Media Frenzy), with Barry doing the talk show circuit to promote his current release, "Greatest Songs of the Sixties." Rachael did a great job interviewing him, even admitting she was so excited she had to write down notes so she wouldn’t get flustered.

One of Barry’s mantras is "Be Nice." Unfortunately there were some not-so-nice comments made by Martha Stewart (directed towards Rachael ) when she had Barry on her own show. She was upset that Rachael’s show with Barry apparently was originally scheduled to air Friday, while Martha’s show (live) was on Thursday, but the schedule was changed such that they both aired at the same time in the New York area. I thought the whole thing made Martha come across as petty and mean. The shows are not on simultaneously everywhere!

There’s more about in some articles online:
Martha Stewart and Rachael Ray Feud...Over Barry Manilow!, Martha Bitchslaps Rachael Over Barry and Rachael, Martha Split Barry

Anyway, I loved seeing how much Rachael was enjoying Barry’s performance, especially when he was crooning directly to her. She looked like she was going to melt and explode all at the same time.

If you liked what you saw on Rachael’s show, and are even thinking of buying the album, think about buying it now! Barry’s fan club is trying to get this one to chart at #1 just as his "Greatest Songs of the Fifties" did earlier this year. We have until Saturday night (tomorrow) for our purchases to count. It’s on sale this week a stores such as Target (which has an exclusive Dual Disc version), and Walmart (which has an exclusive bonus download plus a free year’s membership to the fan club). Or if you don't have time to run to the store, you can get it for only $9.72 at Amazon.com.

By the way, I had wanted to be at the taping of this episode, and even got a phone call from the Rachael Ray Show, for a brief interview. I guess I didn’t come across as the fanilow they were looking for, but it was fun anyway.

Go buy the CD! "Greatest Songs of the Sixties" You won’t be disappointed.

Barry Manilow on the Rachael Ray Show today!

According to the Manilow Hotline...

..." see Barry perform "CAN'T TAKE MY EYES OFF YOU" and "WHAT THE WORLD NEEDS NOW IS LOVE" on THE RACHAEL RAY SHOW (ABC)!"

Check your local listings for air times!