My Baked Ziti ~

A guest post, well sort of....

A few weeks ago, my youngest son called and said he wanted my recipe for my baked ziti.  Our conversation goes something like this:  "Mom, I want to bring your baked ziti to a friend's house, what do I need to buy?" (Usually this means he is in the grocery store shopping for the items and needs the recipe sans pronto).  So this recipe is from the top of my head, since I have made it without ever using a recipe.  It was one of those dishes handed down to me, while I watched my former Italian MIL making it and I took notes.  Notes that have been long since gone by the wayside, no longer needed as long as my memory holds up.  Thus, one reason for blogging, my children...

Now they have some of my recipes documented, since I neither
scrapbook or am much good at keeping notes.

So, from my memory to my son's friend's table, here is the recipe.  And he was nice enough to send my a picture from his cell after he put it together.  So that's what I meant about having "sort of" a guest blogger. :)

Oh, he used a 9 x 13 pyrex dish.  I use a large round, ceramic, very deep baking bowl.  If you choose to use the pyrex, you will have to use an extra square baking dish, because this makes quite a large amount.

Baked Ziti

16 ounces ziti pasta, uncooked (Barilla, might be 1&1/2 boxes)

3 cups spaghetti sauce (about)

2 lb container of whole milk ricotta cheesw

2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese,  (save out 1/4 cup for top,   set aside)

2 eggs, slightly beaten

1 teaspoon black pepper.

1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese (about). I don't measure this, just sprinkle on top.

Cook ziti according to package directions; drain well. (undercook by a minute or two)

Add about 1/2 cup of spaghetti sauce to the cooked ziti, toss and set aside.

In a large bowl add the, ricotta cheese, mozzarella cheese and eggs, mix well,(add a pinch of salt and a grind of black pepper to this).

In a very large, oven proof bowl, or a 9 x 13 pyrex dish, add 1/2 cup of spaghetti sauce and spread around.
 

Spoon half of the ziti mixture of the top, kind of evenly, but don't fuss.

           

By spoonfuls, drop half of the ricotta mixture and spread it out a little.  No need to have everything covered, the cheese will melt nice and gooey.

Top with (about 1 cup, by large spoonfuls) spaghetti sauce, spread a bit, but don't be fussy.  Just trust me on this....

Place the remaining ziti on top, kind of evenly... It's supposed to look rustic.  It's a peasant dish.

Spread the rest of the ricotta mixture over the top of the ziti.

Top with about 1 cup of spaghetti sauce, but don't spread or fuss really. Just use a large tablepoon and cover most everything.  Some of the cheese will be showing from underneath.

Top with the reserved mozzarella and parmesan cheese. Cover with

Aluminum foil. Not tightly, because the cheese will stick to the foil,  just tent it loosely.

.

Bake covered in the middle rack, of a pre-heated 350 degrees for 30 minutes, then uncover the foil and place back in oven for about 15 minutes.  Remove from oven and lay foil over the top and let rest for another 15 minutes.

Enjoy ~

Vegetable Tian ~ Barefoot Contessa ~ easy and delicious.....

As summer wanes and while we still have a bounty of fresh veggies, I decided to make this dish.  I made it as a  brunch side dish and it was such a hit, but then again wouldn't anything be a hit with fresh garden vegetables and gruyere cheese?  ;)

Instead of layering the vegetables, I lined them up this way.  And I didn't use a 9 x 13 pan, mine was an 8 x 8 square dish.  My vegetables were on the smaller side, which I like much better especially with zucchini and summer squash.  I also use roma tomatoes for cooked dishes as I think they hold up much nicer.  Anyway you make this dish, it's a winner.  Don't you think?

Vegetable Tian

Ingredients:

• Good olive oil
• 2 large yellow onions, cut in half and sliced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 pound medium round potatoes, unpeeled
• 3/4 pound zucchini
• 1 1/4 pounds medium tomatoes
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves, plus extra sprigs
• 2 ounces Gruyere cheese, grated

Directions

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Brush a 9 by 13 by 2-inch baking dish with olive oil. In a medium saute pan, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil and cook the onions over medium-low heat for 8 to 10 minutes, until translucent. Add the garlic and cook for another minute. Spread the onion mixture on the bottom of the baking dish.

Slice the potatoes, zucchini, and tomatoes in 1/4-inch thick slices. Layer them alternately in the dish on top of the onions, fitting them tightly, making only 1 layer. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, thyme leaves, and thyme sprigs and drizzle with 1 more tablespoon of olive oil. Cover the dish with aluminum foil and bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until the potatoes are tender. Uncover the dish, remove the thyme sprigs, sprinkle the cheese on top, and bake for another 30 minutes until browned. Serve warm.

Enjoy!

Almost time to say goodbye to Summer ~

There is nothing I like about saying goodbye to Summer, and yet the time has come.... Well almost.  We will have a few nice weekends left in September and October, so I just can't complain too much.  But soon, very soon, our lovely warm and gorgeous weather will be behind us and we will be facing a cold, harsh and long winter.  Then perhaps I'll complain some...

So, as I close out my summer days, I do so with a nice, big lobster dinner.  It's my favorite summer food. And it's very plentiful here in the Northeast throughout the summer and relatively inexpensive. 

This time I steamed my lobster and served it with a simple peach and red onion salsa, with just sliced garden tomatoes and basil.  Doesn't get much easier than steaming this big guy for about 15 minutes, now does it? 

Yum ~

Gerard's Mustard Tart - Adapted from Dorie Greenspan

This is a truly beautiful tart that is delicious just out of the oven, warm, at room temperature, or even slightly chilled.  The distinct flavor of the mustard hits your palate, but does not overwhelm the flavor of the other ingredients.  It's a keeper for me....... big yum!

Ingredients

• 3 carrots, trimmed and peeled
• 3 thin leeks, white and light green parts only, cut lengthwise in half and washed
• 2 rosemary sprigs
• 3 large eggs
• 6 tablespoons creme fraiche or 6 tablespoons heavy cream
• 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
• 2 tablespoons grainy mustard, preferably French ( I used Trader Joe's)
• salt and pepper
• 1 9- to 9 1/2-inch tart shells, made from Dorie's Basic French Tart Dough, partially baked and cooled ( I used store bought)

Directions

Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 425°F Line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper.

Cut the carrots and leeks into slender batons or sticks: First cut the carrots lengthwise in half, then place the halves cut side down on the cutting board and cut crosswise in half or cut into chunks about 3 inches long. Cut the pieces into 1/8- to ¼-inch-thick matchsticks. If your carrots were fat and you think your matchsticks don’t look svelte enough, cut them lengthwise in half. Cut the leeks in the same way.

 

Fit a steamer basket into a saucepan. Pour in enough water to come almost up to the steamer, cover, and bring to a boil. Drop the carrots, leeks, and 1 rosemary sprig into the basket, cover, and steam until the vegetables are tender enough to be pierced easily with the tip of a knife, 10 to 15 minutes. Drain the vegetables and pat them dry; discard the rosemary sprig.

 

In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs together with the crème fraîche or heavy cream. Add the mustard, season with salt and white pepper — mustard has a tendency to be salty, so proceed accordingly, and whisk to blend. Taste and see if you want to add a little more of one or the other mustards.

Put the tart pan on the lined baking sheet and pour the filling into the crust. Arrange the vegetables over the filling — they can go in any which way, but they’re attractive arranged in spokes coming out from the center of the tart. Top with the remaining rosemary sprig and give the vegetables a sprinkling of salt and a couple of turns of the peppermill.

Bake the tart for about 30 minutes, or until it is uniformly puffed and lightly browned here and there and a knife inserted into the center of the custard comes out clean. Transfer the tart to a cooling rack and let it rest for 5 minutes before removing the sides of the pan. Serve hot, warm, or at room temperature (or lightly chilled).

I had to cover my outer edges of my pie shell for the last 15 minutes of baking.  It was still really delicious, even though my edges were a bit dark for my liking.

Nutrition Facts

Serving Size: 1 (125 g)
Servings Per Recipe: 4

Amount Per Serving

% Daily Value

Calories 202.1

Calories from Fat 115

57%

 

Shrimp with pasta, pesto, tomatoes and fresh basil ~

This summer I noticed I have become a minimalist, really cutting back on cooking and adding the very freshest ingredients whenever I can.

This for two reasons, one, I love our summer's fresh fruits and vegetables and second, it's been really humid lots of nights.  So humid, I don't even want to turn the on the stove.  But cooking pasta only takes ten minutes, so I could justify that amount of time. 


I had just made a big batch of pesto for my freezer, when I thought of Ina Garten's pasta, pesto and pea recipe.  And that gave me the idea of tossing the hot pasta with some pesto.  I went light (2 Tablespoons), but I would suggest more.  Maybe 3 tablespoons.  As you can see my pasta doesn't have much pesto on it.  I used Barilla spaghetti, (one box), but you could use any pasta really.

While I waited for my pasta water to boil, I cored and seeded two roma tomatoes and sprinkled them with a little salt.  I chopped one clove of garlic really finely (because it's raw), almost to a paste.
Although this could certainly be a great vegetarian meal, I had some frozen, pre-cooked extra large shrimp in the freezer.  A quick run under cold water and voila, the shrimp were ready.  In a large bowl, toss the diced tomato, the garlic and the drained shrimp.  Add a teaspoon of kosher salt and 1/2 teaspoon of black pepper.  Toss and let sit while your pasta is cooking.  Drain the pasta and hold out a cup full of pasta water.  Toss the pasta in the pesto and at this point add some pasta water if you need it,  place pasta on a platter.  Spoon over shrimp and tomato mixture.  Sprinkle with fresh julienned basil and slivers of parmesan cheese.

This dish was easy to make and oh so pretty to look at too.  Nothing wrong with being a minimalist once in awhile, is there?

Delish too ~

Enjoy!



 

Cobb Salad ~

We are hot and humid once again, so I wanted a cold plate for dinner.  Not complaining though as we will be heading into September soon and I know this weather will change very quickly.  I will miss the long days of summer a lot (sigh). See those huge, very ripe tomatoes?  A friend gave some to me along with pickling cukes.  I love this time of year, can't get enough of fresh garden produce!  My farmer's market had fresh sweet corn and red peppers too.   I made a quick potato salad (see previous post), but didn't add my usual mayo/mustard dressing.  Instead I added it to the Cobb salad and used another dressing I have come to love on salads.  It's a cumin lime dressing that is nice and smokey, great for any summer salad you make.  I started making this salad dressing with Roasted Corn and Black Bean salad, but now add it to other things as well.


When I was young, my mother served us a cold plate for our dinner on these hot, dog days of summer.  It always brings a smile to my face whenever I re-make those dinners of sliced, grilled chicken, potato salad and thickly sliced, beefsteak tomatoes. 


Enjoy ~


Cumin Lime Salad Dressing:


1 Tablespoon of Kosher salt
1 teaspoon of ground cumin
5 Tablespoons of olive oil
2 Tablespoons of cider vinegar
6 Tablespoons of freshly squeezed lime juice


Whisk ingredients well and drizzle over salad of your choice.

Smitten Kitchen's Classic Brownies ~

I am such a huge fan of the Smitten Kitchen's blog and recipes.

These brownies are so yummy, they have now become my go to recipe when I want to make brownies.  So if you are looking to bring a batch of them to bring somewhere or even just making them for your family, try these!  You'll thank me, but really thank Deb.  :)



Classic Brownies
Adapted from Cook’s Illustrated

Be sure to test for doneness before removing the brownies from the oven. If underbaked (the toothpick has batter clinging to it) the texture of the brownies will be dense and gummy. If overbaked (the toothpick comes out completely clean), the brownies will be dry and cakey.

1 cup (4 ounces) pecans or walnuts, chopped medium (optional)
1 1/4 cups (5 ounces) cake flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
6 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped fine
12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into six 1-inch pieces
2 1/4 cups (15 3/4 ounces) sugar
4 large eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1.Adjust oven rack to middle position; heat oven to 325 degrees. Cut 18-inch length foil and fold lengthwise to 8-inch width. Fit foil into length of 13 by 9-inch baking dish, pushing it into corners and up sides of pan; allow excess to overhand pan edges. Cut 14-inch length foil and, if using extra-wide foil, fold lengthwise to 12-inch width; fit into width of baking pan in same manner, perpendicular to first sheet. Spray foil-lined pan with nonstick cooking spray.
2.If using nuts, spread nuts evenly on rimmed baking sheet and toast in oven until fragrant, 5 to 8 minutes. Set aside to cool.
3.Whisk to combine flour, salt, and baking powder in medium bowl; set aside.
4.Melt chocolate and butter in large heatproof bowl set over saucepan of almost-simmering water, stirring occasionally, until smooth. (Alternatively, in microwave, heat butter and chocolate in large microwave-safe bowl on high for 45 seconds, then stir and heat for 30 seconds more. Stir again, and, if necessary, repeat in 15-second increments; do not let chocolate burn.) When chocolate mixture is completely smooth, remove bowl from saucepan and gradually whisk in sugar. Add eggs on at a time, whisking after each addition until thoroughly combined. Whisk in vanilla. Add flour mixture in three additions, folding with rubber spatula until batter is completely smooth and homogeneous.
5.Transfer batter to prepared pan; using spatula, spread batter into corners of pan and smooth surface. Sprinkle toasted nuts (if using) evenly over batter and bake until toothpick or wooden skewer inserted into center of brownies comes out with few moist crumbs attached, 30 to 35 minutes. Cool on wire rack to room temperature, about 2 hours, then remove brownies from pan by lifting foil overhang. Cut brownies into 2-inch squares and serve. (Store leftovers in airtight container at room temperature, for up to 3 days, or, ahem, in the freezer until your resistance gets the better of you.)


Enjoy ~