It's a baked pasta dish, but with a twist - you bake it in a puff pastry shell, using a springform pan.
In the interest of time, so I can get caught up, I'm just posting the link:
Baked Angel Hair with Eggplant
from Giada DeLaurentiis, The Food Network
The Photo
Here's a photo of the dish, before I cut & served it. The glass bottom of my springform pan fit perfectly onto my pewter tray. I initially had a cake knife out out to cut it, but we ended up having to use a chef's knife. The cake server worked well, though! I wish I'd taken a picture of a slice; it looked really cool!
The Verdict
I made one change, which was to leave out the eggplant. Neither of us is really a fan. I considered artichoke hearts as a substitute, but ultimately decided the turkey sausage would be enough. (If you have an idea for a substitute, leave me a comment and maybe I'll try it next time!)
One mistake I made was that I didn't read the recipe thoroughly enough and I missed the part where you are supposed to let the pasta mixture cool before you put it in the pastry shell to bake. We ended up having to shove it in the fridge (which I know is a bad idea, as it brings down the temp in there but I didn't have time to wait).
I suggest putting a sheet pan on the rack below the springform pan. I guess some grease from the sausage dripped into the bottom of my oven. I didn't notice, until the next time I went to use the oven and smelled an awful burning smell. That resulted in two rounds with oven cleaner and a couple of nights of baking dinner in the toaster oven. Basically, it was a huge mess, which could be avoided by having something to catch the drips!
We ended up letting it sit for longer than 20 minutes and I was concerned it would be cold, but it was still hot & steamy.
Everyone at the party raved about the dish! There were 2 portions left over and I had them for lunch over the next couple of days, heating them up in the toaster oven (I don't think using the microwave would be successful.
More Photos
Here are a few more photos of the event.
The table, set for dinner
The Verdict
I made one change, which was to leave out the eggplant. Neither of us is really a fan. I considered artichoke hearts as a substitute, but ultimately decided the turkey sausage would be enough. (If you have an idea for a substitute, leave me a comment and maybe I'll try it next time!)
One mistake I made was that I didn't read the recipe thoroughly enough and I missed the part where you are supposed to let the pasta mixture cool before you put it in the pastry shell to bake. We ended up having to shove it in the fridge (which I know is a bad idea, as it brings down the temp in there but I didn't have time to wait).
I suggest putting a sheet pan on the rack below the springform pan. I guess some grease from the sausage dripped into the bottom of my oven. I didn't notice, until the next time I went to use the oven and smelled an awful burning smell. That resulted in two rounds with oven cleaner and a couple of nights of baking dinner in the toaster oven. Basically, it was a huge mess, which could be avoided by having something to catch the drips!
We ended up letting it sit for longer than 20 minutes and I was concerned it would be cold, but it was still hot & steamy.
Everyone at the party raved about the dish! There were 2 portions left over and I had them for lunch over the next couple of days, heating them up in the toaster oven (I don't think using the microwave would be successful.
More Photos
Here are a few more photos of the event.
The table, set for dinner
A close-up of the place setting. I used my New Yorker cartoon plates as the salad plates.
The bar area. I lined up 3 TV trays and draped them with a full-size table cloth.
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