Homemade pasta in cookie cutter shapes?

[The Dairy Queen]

I want to take a pasta dish--basically mini meatballs in a tomato-based sauce-- to a potluck, so, I will be bringing it in a crock pot to keep it warm. The hitch is, I want to cut the pasta into specific shapes using cookie cutters. Would this work or would the pasta all clump together due to the non-optimal serving conditions?

Have any of you had success cutting pasta in oddball shapes with cookie cutters? Any cautions/concerns/tips/pointers to share?

Thank you!

P.S. apologies for this absolutely looney question!

~TDQ

[blue room]

The theme clues were confusing 'til I googled more info -- sounds like fun! And a ten thousand dollar prize too!
Puff pastry a very good idea-- you mentioned there will be potato chips already, anyway.
I think maybe "deconstructed" will be the operative word-clue here. Any shapes put right on top wouldn't *have* to be very hot, would they? Then, take a picture, and eat!

[The Dairy Queen]

I wish I could say you are the only one who found the clues confusing. ;-).

And, your point is spot on. I have lots of great ideas now. I just have to pick one and execute!

~TDQ

[greygarious]

Some sort of pie or stew topped with baked puff pastry letters?
http://cookiecutters.com/Sets.html

[The Dairy Queen]

Beef stew was one of the dishes I was considering, so, yes, the baked puff pastry letters could work, too!

~TDQ

[c oliver]

jfood and others cook puff pastry topping ahead of time and add at the end. Could you take along a toaster oven and reheat the letters?

[The Dairy Queen]

I fear bringing along a toaster oven might be too much. There's a lot of ice and snow out and we'll already be carrying our dish plus beverages. But, it's probably only about a half hour from door to door, from my house to where the potluck will be. So, I think I could do the puff pastry letters before I left home, transport them separately, then add them to the dish on site.

~TDQ

[I used to know how to cook...]

Could your letters travel on top of the crockpot? Wrapped in foil or a tea towel? Might stay warmer.

Lucy

[The Dairy Queen]

Interesting idea, thank you!

~TDQ

[The Dairy Queen]

And, not to be too mysterious about the "theme", I'm trying to make my dish somehow fit clues 1 - 7 here. http://www.twincities.com/ci_17239331... I fear that this may be more confusing than enlightening, but, nevertheless, it's what I'm trying to do.

So, for letters I'm thinking Q's, P's, and A's, B's, and C's.

~TDQ

[blue room]

Oh I hope you take pictures. The cookie cutter shapes are how big? Hearts like Sherri ? -- I wish she had a picture too! I love the idea, what's the occasion?

[The Dairy Queen]

It's for a theme potluck. It's kind of a long story. I was thinking either zoo animals or letters of the alphabet. I don't have the cookie cutters yet, but I was thinking smallish ones if I could find them. So, ideally, not bigger than 2 inches tall.

~TDQ

[c oliver]

Could you do something baked? A lasagna type dish where the same shapes were layered carefully one on top of the other and a final layer where the shapes clearly showed. A square when served would be one animal?

[The Dairy Queen]

You know...that's a very interesting idea. And, really, only the top layer would have to be hand-cut shapes. I could use regular noodles for the underneath layers. I think the key will be how do transport this dish and keep it hot. (I'm in Minnesota). I was thinking a heavy ceramic crock would certainly keep the dish hot in transit. If I did a couple of small lasagnas, I could maybe transport them in our big cooler.

I'll have to think about that! Thank you!

~TDQ

[Gio]

An alphabet soup variation... I Love It.

Use a very simple sauce...just EVOO, garlic tomatoes, S & P, maybe some dried oregano or basil. 2" letters should hold together. Perhaps a trial run?? Just a thought.

[The Dairy Queen]

Yes, like a variation on alphabet soup, except I want it to be a bit heartier. This is the type of potluck where lots of people bring potato chips and desserts and we're sorely lacking in main dishes.

~TDQ

[The Dairy Queen]

By the way, my husband just reminded me that there's a group that brings a hearty pasta in tomato sauce dish every year, so I think I need to morph my dish to be a beef stroganoff in brown gravy kind of dish. I could do chicken, but beef would fit the theme better.

~TDQ

[nemo]

I have a set of alphabet cutters about 1" high. Can't remember if they were called canape cutters or what. So you should be able to find them, although I did get mine a number of years ago. And if you go with chicken soup, they do make alphabet pasta. But if you want specific letters, I doubt you'd want to sort through several boxes just to pick out the ones you want!

[The Dairy Queen]

Yes, I was thinking of sorting through boxes of alphabet pasta just to pick out the letters I want, but that's as much effort as making my own! I think.

~TDQ

[Sherri]

Sounds like the culinary version of "Dirty Word Scrabble" but that's a post for another day ...........

[The Dairy Queen]

HA! Funny!

~TDQ

[blue room]

Well, the crock pot transport / transfer is the dealbreaker, probably. Even if it worked you'd be too stressed by then to enjoy the rest of the evening?
Letters would be *way* more recognizable than animal shapes, though, if you are able to figure how to do this. At least keep the idea in mind for a better venue? Fried potato letters?

[The Dairy Queen]

Fried potato letters? Interesting idea, could you elaborate?

~TDQ

[blue room]

Here they are in the frying pan -- I used a mandolin to slice the potato evenly, and have a set of inch alphabet cutters.

[The Dairy Queen]

HA! Now you're going to have to have fried TDQ potatoes for lunch!

That is a very interesting idea. I recall this wonderful, layered ground beef and potato dish from Penelope Casas that I should have another look at. I'll bet the fried potato slices would suit that dish perfectly!

Thank you!

~TDQ

[c oliver]

Isn't looney a prerequisite for true Chow membership?

(Based upon absolutely nothing!) I'd guess that served the way you intend the shapes would be unrecognizale if they even stayed intact. The only way I can see it being effective is if you were cooking the pasta separately, putting some in individual pasta bowls and "placing" the meatballs and lightly saucing. But I love the idea.

[The Dairy Queen]

Yes, I think you're right (on both the looney part and your point about the unrecognizable shapes...)

Hmmm...I may have to abandon this idea.

~TDQ

[Sherri]

It's not a "looney question", TDQ, or if it is, I'm right there with the rest of the loonies. In the full rushing flush of l'amour, I made pink heart-shaped pasta for Valentine's Day. I used beets for the color/flavor; it was visually stunning but a once-in-a-lifetime plate.

Trying to maintain the shape of (fragile) homemade pasta with meatballs and a sauce in a CrockPot sounds daunting, especially after the first big scoop with the serving spoon.

It doesn't sound at all disastrous, it just sounds like a lot of additional work for not much return. I am having a very difficult time imagining the pasta retaining its cookie cutter shape.

[The Dairy Queen]

Your last sentence goes to heart of my worries: a lot of additional work for not much return...

Maybe I should do a chicken soup instead of meatballs and tomato sauce.

~TDQ

[todao]

Cutting pasta into shapes with a cookie cutter is not uncommon, attaching them to a meat ball with a tooth pick is likely to be more challenging. Fully cooked sheets of pasta, depending on the formula, tends to tear rather easily and the toothpick piercing it will certainly exacerbate that tendency. I'd suggest that you prepare your morsels individually and lay them in the sauce on a shallow pan, (chafing dish) then drizzle more sauce over the top. IMO, piling the mass into a crock pot to keep them warm sound like a recipe for disaster

[The Dairy Queen]

Oh sorry I wasn't clear. This is intended to be a hearty meatball and pasta dish.

I'm thinking of tossing the mini-meatballs and sauce with the pasta, then pouring it it all in the crock-pot for people to later serve themselves, probably with a big serving spoon, though perhaps with tongs.

Does that still sound disastrous?

~TDQ

[Jay F]

Fresh pasta does not belong in a crockpot, ever. Use box pasta. Period.