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Views #68 | High Beginner 3

Pasta Dish

Jessica talks about making manicotti, an Italian pasta dish.
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Todd: OK, Jessica, we are going to talk about cooking.

Jessica: OK.

Todd: Now, you like to cook!

Jessica: Yes.

Todd: OK. What can you cook?

Jessica: I can cook Manicotti, Tacos, lots of food.

Todd: OK. So what is Manicotti?

Jessica: Manicotti is...it's a big noodle. It's hollow on the inside and you fill it with different cheeses and then you put red tomato sauce over the top of it and..it's pretty good

Todd: So how do you make it?

Jessica: Well, you use Ricotta cheese, Mozzarella cheese, um , Parmesan Cheese,a little bit of salt, and basil and stuff and you mix it all together in a pot and then you stuff it in the noodle, and you put the noodle in the pan and shove it in the oven for 35 minutes and let it cook.

Todd: Yeah!

Jessica: And it's good.

Todd: That sounds really good. How often do you make manicotti?

Jessica: Oh, a couple times a month, probably.

Todd: What is the secret to good manicotti?

Jessica: You got to make it tasty, cause if you add enough salt or Parmesan cheese then it doesn't taste as good.It just tastes like your eating cheese. That's it.

Todd: OK. Well I'll remember that. Thanks a lot Jessica.

Jessica: You're welcome.

Learn vocabulary from the lesson!

hollow

Manicotti is a big noodle that is hollow on the inside.

When there is nothing inside an object besides air it is 'hollow.' Notice the following:

  1. This statue is really light.  It must be hollow.
  2. The dead tree was hollow on the inside.

cheeses or tomato sauce

Fill the noodle with different cheeses and pour tomato sauce on top.

'Cheese' a type of processed milk product.  There are many different varieties of cheese.  Tomato sauce is a red liquid that is made up of tomatoes and spices and is put on pasta or pizza.  Notice the following:

  1. How many different cheeses are on this sandwich?
  2. I made that tomato sauce from my grandmother's recipe.

stuff it in

Mix all the cheeses and spices and stuff them in the noodle.

To 'stuff something in' a place is to put it into a hollow area with force.  In this case you are putting the cheese in the hole of the noodle.  Notice the following:

  1. When I am really hungry I just stuff food in my mouth.
  2. If the clothes don't fit in the closet I just try to stuff them in.

shove in

Put everything in the pan and shove it in the oven.

In this case 'shove in' means 'put or push in.'  In normal use 'shove' is similar but a little more violent than push.  Notice the following:

  1. Don't shove me in the car like that.
  2. He shoved some clothes in his backpack and ran out the door.

tasty

The secret to good manicotti is you got to make it tasty.

If something is 'tasty' it has a good flavor and is delicious. Notice the following:

  1. There are many tasty Vietnamese foods.
  2. That salad you made is really tasty.

Vocabulary Quiz

hollow • cheeses • tomato sauce
stuff it in • shoved • tasty
  1. She her book in her desk at the end of class.
  2. Everything I have tried at this restaurant has been .
  3. Please get a jar of at the store for the spaghetti.
  4. Where is my wallet? I always this pocket.
  5. Do you like different kinds of with your pasta?
  6. The bread was hard on the outside and in the middle.
Answer the following questions about the interview.

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