Delicious Dinner With Friends

Hello Friends~ ~
This idea all started because of a trip to the "Olive Garden". I ordered the Shrimp Manicotti Formaggio from their special menu and thought it was delightful. Have you tried it?

We have wonderful neighbors who are always ready to come over for dinner for one of my experiments. It's fun to have friends you don't have to be to serious with. If the dinner turns out poorly we can call out for pizza. Well pizza was not necessary. This one is a keeper!

The centerpiece was still on the table from the holidays and I was feeling a little fancy so I added cute little Christmas Cards as placecards and got out the crystal, just in case the dinner failed at least the table looked lovely.

This is the silver I got for a steal at an little antique shop. It was almost black.

Polished up nicely didn't it?

This is my version of the Olive Garden dish. We all gave it a thumbs up.

Try it and let me know what you think? I'm happy to share it with all of you.

Rocotta Rolls with Shrimp & Brandy Sauce

Recipe by Ahrisha at http://joyouslylivinglife.blogspot.com

Serves 5

1 lb. Lasagna Noodles cooked and drained

* * * *

STUFFING FOR PASTA ROLLS

2 lb. Ricotta

1 T. Oregano

1 tsp. parsley

1/2 tsp. salt

20 grinds of pepper

1 1/4 C. grated Mozzarella

2 - 3 eggs depends on how soft your ricotta is
start with 2, if not soft enough to spread add another.

Mix all together. Lay 2 or 3 noodles on the counter at a time side by side. Using a rubber spatula spread a thick layer of filling on each noodle and roll each one up starting at a short end. Place the rolls in a single layer in a casserole dish coated with olive oil. I make 2 dishes and freeze one for later. You will get 14 - 16 rolls. If you will be using all the rolls at once you will need to double the sauce recipe.

Bake the rolls at 350* till hot. Keep warm. Do not crisp them. If your oven is to hot lower the temperature to just heat the rolls.

SAUCE:

2 T. Butter

2 T. olive oil

1/3 C. onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/4 - 1/2 tsp. Red Pepper flakes

1 tsp. flour

1/4 C. Brandy

2 C. heavy cream

1/2 C. grated Parmesan cheese

30 cooked shrimp (6 for each serving, more if you like)

28 Oz. can Diced Tomatoes, Very Well drained in a strainer.

Melt butter and olive oil in a large skillet over med. high heat. Saute onion till translucent. Add garlic, red pepper and flour, stir and cook at least 2 minutes to fully cook flour. Adjust heat to lower if necessary. Add brandy and cook till reduced by half. Slowly add cream stirring till thickened. Add Parmesan while stirring, add shrimp and HALF the tomatoes cooking to heat. Stirring gently so you don't break up the tomatoes.

TO PLATE:

Place a pool of sauce on each plate and put 2 rolls on top. Top with more sauce and 6 shrimp to each plate. Garnish with additional diced tomatoes. I heated mine in the microwave. Serve with bread to sop up the sauce.

I could use a little computer help here. I had this recipe in my file in Word and thought I could just copy and paste it to my blog post but No Way! I had to retype the recipe. Does anyone know how I can paste copy into a Blogger post?

I'm linking this post to Susan at "Between Naps On The Porch" for Tablescape Thursday.

And Michael Lee at "Designs By Gollum" For Foodie Friday.

Please stop by at these friends to find the links to others who are joining us this week.

~ ~Ahrisha~ ~