I ended up making 5 new recipes over the weekend, which I am pretty pleased with. Three of the recipes were from the new Indian cookbook.
The Husband loved the Red Onion Chutney (a little too red oniony for me). I loved the Aloo Ki Tikkis (he liked them, just no love — he’s kinda funny about potatoes anyway). They were very close to the ones I get at our favorite Indian restaurant, so it will be nice to recreate them at home, even if I’m the only one eating them.
The Chicken Makhani was very good also. Closer to our favorite restaurant’s one, just not quite there. Now, that said, their recipe is a three-day long effort, so the fact that I can get close to it in under 2 hours is a good thing.
Also made a batch of Cherry Baby Cakes for our son to take into school. In their mini form, they’re a perfect small snack (albeit a sugary one) for a class of two-year-olds. I love this recipe … tiny cupcakes with a ribbon of cherry preserves in the middle, topped with a pink confectioner’s glaze and a maraschino cherry. How could you not love that? Too cute.
Went to Maria’s Homemade Ravioli store in Wayne, NJ yesterday. Never been before, but have heard a lot about it. They’ve been around since 1953. Near the Willowbrook Mall, it’s a small place, but packed with fresh, homemade Italian goodness. You can even watch them making and cutting the pasta — oodles of fun for our Sweet Nick! :)
Maria originally started the shop in Clifton. Joe Leonardi and his wife, Jennifer took over the shop some years ago and moved it to Wayne in 2001 in an effort to expand. And to this day, they have continued Maria’s tradition, cutting, filling and shaping the pasta by hand.
They make over 2 tons of fresh pasta each week to keep up with fillings of meat, cheese, lobster, porcini mushroom and several vegetable varieties. House-made sauces are also available to go with your pasta and they even feature several prepared meals for you to take home and heat up yourself, like stuffed shells, cannelloni, homemade gnocchi, tortellini, and ravioli.
Pay them a visit – you’ll be glad you did.
Maria’s Homemade Ravioli
190 Route 23 North, Wayne
(800) 546-8820
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Two tons of fresh pasta per week! That is a LOT of happily-filled tummies! ;) Sounds wonderful. That restaurant name goes into my travel file!
Hey Marilyn, thanks for visiting. After rereading my entry, it probably wasn’t clear. It’s not a restaurant … it’s a storefront that you can go and buy the products and cook yourself at home. Still, do check it out next time you’re in the area. :)