Manicotti

I'm just going to go ahead and toot my own horn here.  This manicotti recipe has been our family holiday meal for ages.  It has always been seen by me as this massive undertaking and day-long project that I could never possibly recreate.

But guess what!? I made the holiday manicotti! I did it!!  With the help of my anti-anxiety medication, aka my husband, by my side.

I'm going to give you this incredible family recipe today and I don't want you to take it lightly.  When you are ready to prepare the manicotti, set aside some serious time.  You don't want to be frazzled and feeling rushed putting this together.  You need a patient delicate hand to craft all the crepes for this dish.

Manicotti
Serves 10

For the shells
4 eggs
1 tbsp oil
1 tsp salt
1 cup water
1 cup flour

For the filling
3 lb ricotta
1/2 lb shredded mozzarella
3 eggs
salt
pepper
grated cheese (about a handful)
parsley

You will also need: tomato sauce and parchment paper

1. To make the shells, mix oil, eggs, salt and water in a blender.  Slowly add in the flour a little at a time. Batter will be thin and should have some bubbles.
2. Use a small non-stick pan to cook the crepes.  Spray pan with cooking spray and heat pan.  Taking pan off the heat, pour 2 tbsp of batter at a time.  Swirl the pan around to make the crepe round and even.  Flip to cook both sides.  The crepes cook up quickly, don't leave the pan unattended.
3. When the crepe is cooked place on a plate with a square of parchment paper on top. Stack each crepe in this manner.  You can cut up a whole bunch of parchment paper before you begin cooking, or have your assistant help out.
4. After all the batter is cooked, mix all filling ingredients in a large bowl. Put sauce on the bottom of a 3 quart casserole dish*.
5. Drop heaping tablespoons of filling on to the crepe, roll, and place seam side down in a prepared dish.
6. After all crepes are filled and lined up in the pan, cover with more tomato sauce.
7. Cook at 350 for 1 hour.

*I ended up using a 3 quart and a 2.5 quart casserole dish.

There it is everyone! Proof that I really did make this.  I have earned my old Italian Lady badge.  It is really and truly worth the effort.