Hungry for ‘Chicago Fire?’ Try these show-inspired dishes

“Chicago Fire” has been taking a page from “Top Chef” lately with some tasty looking dishes coming out of the kitchen at Firehouse 51.

Viewers can thank paramedic Sylvie Brett (Kara Killmer) for giving them the munchies. Her oven-fried ravioli with crispy sage and pancetta won over the firefighers’ tastebuds this season in the NBC drama’s seventh episode, “Nobody Touches Anything.” (Ironic title, given that the ravenous firefighters couldn’t keep their paws off the toasted pasta pillows.)

“Ladies and gentlemen, we have a new house chef!” declared Mouch (Chris Stolte) after taking one bite.

The ravioli dish looked so good to “Fire” fan Paul Rafferty, he went looking for it online. When he couldn’t find it, he asked me to help.

Turns out one of the show’s writers, Jill Weinberger, adapted it from the website realmomkitchen.com.

Weinberger also is the one who made “Fire” co-creators’ Michael Brandt and Derek Haas’ request for “Santa Bites” a reality.

This Christmasy culinary concoction featured in last week’s fall finale by the same name was taken from bettycrocker.com’s “Impossibly Easy Mini Pies” recipe collection, Weinberger said. It’s designed to make the most of holiday feast leftovers.

Weinberger was kind enough to pass along both recipes.

“Chicago Fire” won’t be back with a new episode until Jan. 6, but these dishes might sate some of your hunger for the show until then.

If you eat too much, don’t worry. You can always burn off those calories with Cruzumba.

OVEN-FRIED RAVIOLI WITH CRISPY SAGE AND PANCETTA

Ingredients:

A 20-25-ounce package of refrigerated or thawed frozen cheese ravioli

1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese

2/3 cup seasoned Italian breadcrumbs

2 eggs

2 tbsp. milk

1 3- to 4-ounce package sliced pancetta

1 bunch sage, washed, dried off, and leaves stripped from stems

¼ cup olive oil

Nonstick cooking spray

Fresh Parmesan cheese for grating (optional)

Marinara, alfredo, or pesto sauce for dipping (optional)

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.

In one small bowl, combine milk and eggs. In another, combine bread crumbs and Parmesan cheese.

Place pancetta slices on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Bake in oven until they start to crisp (8-12 minutes). Remove from oven and set slices on paper towels to cool and crisp up.

While the pancetta is cooking, dip each ravioli first in the egg mixture, and then dredge them in the bread crumb mixture to coat. Place ravioli on an ungreased baking sheet. Spray with cooking spray. Bake at 375 until crisp and golden brown (12-15 minutes).

While the ravioli are baking, crisp the sage. Heat the olive oil in a skillet at medium-high heat. (Make sure your leaves have dried before you fry them, or you’ll get spatter.) Fry 6-10 leaves at a time, about three seconds per side. Remove them from heat and drain on paper towels.

Serve cooked ravioli warm with crispy sage leaves and pancetta slices strewn over top. Grate some fresh Parmesan cheese over them, if desired. You can serve these with marinara or your personal favorite pasta sauce for dipping, or enjoy them as is.

Makes 24-45 ravioli, depending on ravioli size.

(This recipe calls for cheese ravioli, but you can use any frozen or refrigerated ravioli you like. Try butternut squash or pumpkin ravioli for a fall appetizer.)

SANTA BITES

Note from Weinberger: Ingredient amounts are approximate and adjustable, depending on what leftovers you have. For example, a little less turkey and a little more potato is fine.

Ingredients for the filling:

(You don’t need to heat any of the filling ingredients, but for evenness of cooking, bring the first four ingredients to room temperature before you start.)

About 1½ cups of cooked turkey, cut into small bite-sized pieces

About 1 cup of gravy

About 1 cup of mashed potatoes

About ½ cup of cranberry sauce

Ingredients for crust:

½ cup Original Bisquick mixture

½ cup milk

2 eggs

Directions:

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Spray a 12 cup muffin tin with nonstick cooking spray.

In a bowl, mix the crust ingredients with a fork or a whisk.

Spoon a scant tablespoon of the mix into each muffin cup.

Fill each muffin cup with enough turkey to fill about 1/3 of the way up.

Spoon enough gravy over the turkey in each cup to not quite cover it.

Top each cup with a tablespoonful of mashed potatoes. Smooth the tops of the muffin cups.

Put about ½ a teaspoon of cranberry sauce on top of each cup. (More if you like a lot of cranberry sauce.)

Spoon a tablespoon of crust mix over each cup.

Bake until tops are golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes.

Loosen the sides of the Santa Bites from the pan using a butter knife. Remove Santa Bites from pan and place on a wire rack to cool for 10 minutes.

Serve on their own, or with extra warm gravy for dipping.

If you’d like to use up some leftover holiday veggies, too, you can mix green beans or corn in with the turkey and add a little extra gravy.

READ MORE: Check out the latest stories about “Chicago Fire” and “Chicago P.D.”