Oh, silly George. Now, when you think of overcooked linguini in a tasteless homogenized sauce, you'll of "Pasta Hut".

OK, what happened to the edit function?

Oh, fine, rub salt into the wound.

sofaking wrote:

It cracks me up that they charge something like $12.00
+tip for what it costs me pennies to make a million times better. I'm talking about the new pasta. My kid had it over at a sleepover and came back and told me it was naaaasty.

I think the chicken one is GREAT. I got fucked up for a weekend and ate the whole 3 pound deal myself. I'll give you the fact that you can make it cheaper, but you have to actually go through the process of doing it. If your time is worth anything, you can't even touch the 12 bucks plus 5 five dollar tip to have it brought to your door, ready to plow.

AladdinSane wrote:

"Restaurant chain Pizza Hut is to change its name to Pasta Hut in an effort to develop a healthier image."

BTW: Maybe Brits should also stop eating Heinz Baked Beans for breakfast, too...

Jesus fuck.  What a load of bollocks.  No one will honestly be fooled, will they?  Then again, there are retards on this side of the pond who think that WingStreet is an actual separate entity housed within their local Pizza Butt.

Make your own sauce: No problemo.
Make your own noodles: Too much trouble for something you can buy for $1.

If I can't make a better spaghetti and sauce in less time and money than it takes for you to make the call and have it delivered, Ill eat it. But even canned sauce is better than that nasty Pizza the Hut sauce. (I got "treated" to lunch by a client there and it was about the only thing on the menu without 10 lbs of cheeze or lots of cream sauce)

sofaking wrote:

Seriously, though, if one freezes the sauce (made in a huge batch), you can have it ready quicker than it takes to deliver it. I made homemade pesto in 10 minutes tonight. It's not fucking rocket science.

This is my M.O. as well--you spend roughly an hour chopping, sauteeing and preparing, another couple hours sitting on your ass enjoying a leisure activity while it simmers, you pack it up in meal-size containers and freeze it, and you have convenient future meals of excellence.

And that's the hard version.  Pesto takes minutes and freezes like a dream.

As for pasta:  pfft.  Pasta is flour paste in shapes.  Yes, the fresh stuff is slightly better, but the boxed stuff runs you about twenty cents per meal and is perfectly fine.

I make a twelve pound lasagna that would blow your fucking mind.

Taint wrote:

jesusluvspegging wrote:

I make a twelve pound lasagna that would blow your fucking mind.

What? Do I look like a size queen?

Maybe, maybe not, but I know you wanna fill your gullet with my steaming ricotta.

pALEPHx wrote:

Seriously, twelve pounds? Are you running soup kitchen?

Assuming standard twenty-something skinny white boy portions of one pound, you're talking twelve servings.  It freezes well, too.

WilberCuntLicker wrote:

Would you guys shut up?
You're making me hungry.
I used to make ravioli by hand - with all manner of filling (often something and truffles). I even bought a special "lampe" I think it's called to press them into. But then I began having migraines after drinking red wine...and I lost my inspiration for long afternoons cooking Italian food. These days I just eat root vegetables and rice - oh the joys of hermithood.

We'll be hitting the peak of the turnip season before much longer!

2 bunches collards
6 slices bacon
1 large sweet onion (such as Vidalia)
2 cloves garlic
Pinch of red chili flakes
1 Tbsp rice, or similarly mild, vinegar
1 Tbsp olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

    * After washing the greens, cut out the tough spines of the leaves (You can do this easily by simply running a knife down both sides of the spine, separating it from the tender green part). Roll a few of the leaves at a time into tight cigars and then slicing vertically across the roll, cut them into strips about ¼” wide (This technique is called a chiffonade). Set aside.
    * Begin heating a large sauté pan over medium heat. Add the olive oil.
    * Stacking the bacon slices, cut them across vertically into small pieces. Add the meat to the pan and begin to fry until bacon is crisp.
    * Slice the onion into two halves, and then cutting vertically into each half, slice the onion into ¼” julienne. When the bacon has sufficiently browned, drain off excess fat and add onion slices, cooking until translucent.
    * Mince the garlic, and add to the bacon and onion mixture along with the dried chili flakes.
    * Add the sliced collards and stir to thoroughly coat the greens with the fat in the pan. Cover the pan and allow the greens to cook over low heat, stirring occasionally. When the collards have reduced in volume and have turned bright green remove from heat and transfer to a serving bowl. Sprinkle the collards with the vinegar and serve.
    * Serves 4 to 6 persons as part of a multi-course meal.

I'm not a self-righteous vegetarian - hell, Thanksgiving's coming up (in Canada next weekend) and I'm not saying no to turkey-lurkey with huge amounts of cranberry (not too sweet, thanks) and gravy (don't over-brown that flour, I like it light) - but since I stopped eating meat I find myself almost gagging at the smell of bacon. That shit stinks, so I'll pass on the collards, Taint. However, if you have a good (non-meat) recipe for root veggies...maybe a stew...I'd be interested.

Here you go, Wilber. I needed a dish for Rosh Hoshanah:

2 butternut squashes, peeled and cut into 1” dice
1 tbsp honey
1 tbsp olive oil
½  tbsp red wine vinegar
½  tsp cumin
½ tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp cayenne
Salt and pepper to taste
¼ cup almonds, sliced and toasted
2 tbsp mint, cut into chiffonade

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

    * In a small sauce pan, mix the honey, vinegar and spices together, and then whisk in the olive oil so that it emulsifies. Bring to a boil, and then remove from the heat and allow to cool until the mixture is comfortable to the touch.
    * In a large mixing bowl, pour the liquid over the cubes of squash, and then add salt and pepper to taste, tossing the squash cubes until they’re thoroughly coated with the liquid.
    * Spread on a baking sheet large enough - or two sheets - to accommodate the squash in a single layer and then bake for 25 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until browned at the edges.
    * When the squash is done, sprinkle the almonds and mint over the vegetable and toss until all the ingredients are well distributed. Serve at room temperature.

In the South of my youth all "squash" was yellow squash, which I hate.  Bitter yellow crap.

Then when I was an adult, I was introduced to butternut squash.  I love it.  Delicious and, once you get that horrible peel off, easy as hell to cook.

You guys're making me hungry, too.

George Orr wrote:

sofaking wrote:

Seriously, though, if one freezes the sauce (made in a huge batch), you can have it ready quicker than it takes to deliver it. I made homemade pesto in 10 minutes tonight. It's not fucking rocket science.

This is my M.O. as well--you spend roughly an hour chopping, sauteeing and preparing, another couple hours sitting on your ass enjoying a leisure activity while it simmers, you pack it up in meal-size containers and freeze it, and you have convenient future meals of excellence.

And that's the hard version.  Pesto takes minutes and freezes like a dream.

As for pasta:  pfft.  Pasta is flour paste in shapes.  Yes, the fresh stuff is slightly better, but the boxed stuff runs you about twenty cents per meal and is perfectly fine.

Yup.

And the funny thing is, I get comments from my kid's friends' mothers about how awesome the kids say I am. If they only knew that behind my bitchin' cooking lies an evil influence on their children.

Taint wrote:

Here you go, Wilber. I needed a dish for Rosh Hoshanah:

2 butternut squashes, peeled and cut into 1” dice
1 tbsp honey
1 tbsp olive oil
½  tbsp red wine vinegar
½  tsp cumin
½ tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp cayenne
Salt and pepper to taste
¼ cup almonds, sliced and toasted
2 tbsp mint, cut into chiffonade

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

    * In a small sauce pan, mix the honey, vinegar and spices together, and then whisk in the olive oil so that it emulsifies. Bring to a boil, and then remove from the heat and allow to cool until the mixture is comfortable to the touch.
    * In a large mixing bowl, pour the liquid over the cubes of squash, and then add salt and pepper to taste, tossing the squash cubes until they’re thoroughly coated with the liquid.
    * Spread on a baking sheet large enough - or two sheets - to accommodate the squash in a single layer and then bake for 25 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until browned at the edges.
    * When the squash is done, sprinkle the almonds and mint over the vegetable and toss until all the ingredients are well distributed. Serve at room temperature.

Thanks Taint!
Butternut is my favourite squash.
I'll make this tonight or tomorrow and report back.