Cannelloni ala The Terminal for Food n Flix

This month's Food n Flix is hosted by Evelyne of  Cheap Ethnic Eatz.  Evelyne chose The Terminal as the Flix and I chose Cannelloni as the Food.  First let me tell you a little bit about this wonderful club.  Each month the host chooses a  film for us all to watch during the allotted time period.  While watching the movie we get inspiration to create a dish of some sort.  This can be due to a food we see in the movie, the location the movie was shot, the era of the film, anything at all.  We create the food that was inspired by the movie and then share what we created and why in a blog post.  It is fun and you should join us.

I had seen The Terminal, starring Tom Hanks, many years ago when it first came out.  I remember that I enjoyed it then and I enjoyed it the second time around as well.  The premise of the movie (if you are the only person in the world who has not seen it) is that Tom Hanks arrives in the USA to fulfill his dead father's dream of collecting autographs from Jazz musicians in NYC.  He had collected all but one prior to passing away and Tom Hanks travels here to collect the last autograph.

Unfortunately, while on the flight over to the USA, Hanks' country goes to war and he ends up in limbo with no country to call his own.  He cannot go back to his own country and he cannot enter the US because his Visa is no longer valid.  He ends up living in the international terminal of the airport for the next 9 months of his life.  The photo above is when Hanks learns that his country is a war but don't let it deceive you...The Terminal is a comedy.  And a story of relationships...of which Hanks makes many during his time in the airport...including a relationship with Catherine Zeta-Jones.  Zeta-Jones is an airline attendant with a history of getting involved in bad relationships.  She and Hanks are very attracted to each other but she warns him that she is always attracted to the "bad boys".   During one point in their courtship, Hanks arranges a dinner on the roof of the airport and one of the offerings is Cannelloni, which Zeta-Jones had mentioned that she loved early on in the relationship.  

That is the inspiration for the meal I am serving.

I found a recipe by Kelsey Nixon on Cookingchanneltv.com that sounded delicious and used many of the ingredients that I had on hand and I adapted that recipe to share with you today.

The original recipe called for spinach but I had some kale in the fridge so I substituted that. When making the filling I added a T. of Garden Gourmet Italian Herbs.  The original recipe also provided a sauce recipe but I used my Grilled Vegetable Pasta Sauce mixed with my Farmstead Marinara Sauce.instead. I also doubled the recipe as we were having company for dinner.  I only had 1 c. of Parmesan Cheese for in the filling but Frank picked some up for me so I put extra when I sprinkled it on top before baking.  I did not make my own pasta but used Barilla oven ready lasagna sheets because they were the size I wanted.    Pretty brave of me to try a new recipe out on guests, don't you think??  Luckily it turned out wonderful!!

Place the filling down the center of the pasta sheet.

Roll up leaving the ends open.

Place on a bed of your favorite pasta sauce.

8 Cannelloni will fill the pan. Cover with additional pasta sauce.

Sprinkle with Parmesan.  Bake at 350* for 30 minutes.

I was having a dinner party and forgot to take photos after baking and before serving.

Trust me..It looked great and was delicious!!

Italian Sausage and Kale Cannelloni
adapted from Kelsey Nixon

1 T. olive oil
1 lg. sweet onion, diced
1 lb. Italian Sausage, casings removed
1 bunch Kale, boiled until tender and finely chopped
1 (32 oz.) Ricotta Cheese
1 c. grated parmesan cheese
6 eggs
1 T. fresh Italian Herbs or 1 t. dried Italian Herbs
Salt and Pepper to taste
1 package of oven ready lasagna sheets
8 c. of your favorite pasta sauce

Heat olive oil over med high heat in a large skillet.  Add the onion, season with salt and pepper, and cook until translucent.  Add the Italian sausage sausage, break up using a potato masher and continue to cook until the meat is cooked through.  Drain through a colander and set aside to cool.

In a large bowl mix together the ricotta, parmesan, eggs, kale and Italian herbs.  Add the sausage and onions.  Set aside.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.  Add the Lasagna sheets and boil for 2 minutes.  Remove with tongs or a slotted spoon and lay individually on parchment paper.

Using 2 (9x13") baking pans, ladle 2 cups sauce onto the bottom of each.  Fill each lasagna sheet with approx. 6 T. of the filling down the center.  Fold each side over into a roll and place, seam side down, into the baking pans, 8 for each pan.  Ladle the remaining 4 cups of sauce over the cannelloni and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

Bake in a preheated 350* oven for a half hour.  Let stand 10 minutes before serving.  Print Recipe

One year ago--A Perfectly Wonderful Weekend