• baked ziti

    December 4, 2012

    I made baked ziti last week. And then, because it was so good, I made it again.

    When I told my girlfriend I had made some amazing baked ziti for supper, she asked, “So how is it different from regular baked ziti?”

    I looked at her blankly. “I don’t know. I’ve never made baked ziti before.”

    She sucked in her breath like I had slapped her. And then she simultaneously snorted and almost fell out of her chair. (Or maybe she was just bending over to reach her cup of tea on the coffee table?)

    Up until then, I didn’t realize that my lack of baked ziti knowledge was that shocking. Now I know.

    I got the recipe from Ree’s blog. The pictures of the meaty ragu sauce won me over. I had to have it STAT.

    I did hesitate a little, though. What with two pounds of meat and two-and-a-half pounds of cheese for just one pound of pasta, the recipe felt a bit excessive. Just a wee little bit.

    But I had a good excuse for making the recipe! Two excuses, to be exact. One, I had (still do, in fact) a lot of meat in the freezer that needed to be used up before we leave the country, and two, my husband had been (still is, in fact) working his buns off and could stand to have a meaty meal (or three or eight) to bolster him onward ho.

    So I made it and my husband swooned. And then I made it again because my parents were staying over and I wanted to spread the baked ziti joy. That night we were lucky enough to have a couple leftover baguettes to sop up the juices. Carbs on carbs—so, so, so good.

    Baked Ziti
    Adapted from Ree of Pioneer Woman

    1 onion, chopped
    2 cloves garlic, minced
    1 glug olive oil
    1 pound ground sausage
    1 pound ground beef
    1 quart canned tomatoes
    1 quart plain tomato sauce
    ½ teaspoons each basil, oregano, marjoram, thyme, sage, rosemary, and red pepper flakes
    1 pound whole milk ricotta
    1 ½ pounds mozzarella cheese, grated, divided
    ½ cup grated fresh Parmesan
    1 egg
    1 pound ziti
    salt and black pepper, to taste

    In a large saucepan, saute the onion and garlic in the olive oil for a few minutes. Add the meats and cook until browned. Drain any extra fat (I didn’t have any).  Add the tomatoes and tomato sauce and the herbs. Simmer for about thirty minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste.

    Cook the ziti in salted, boiling water until not quite al dente. Drain and set aside.

    In a large bowl, mix together the egg, ricotta, two cups of the mozzarella cheese, the Parmesan, and some salt and pepper. Add the cooked pasta and four cups of the meat sauce.

    Pour half of the pasta into a 9×12 baking dish (or one that is slightly larger—this makes a very full pan). Top with half of the remaining meat sauce and half of the remaining mozzarella cheese. Repeat the layers: pasta, meat sauce, and cheese.

    Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes or until brown and bubbling. Let cool for about 10 minutes before serving.

    Yield: ten hearty servings (at least)

    This same time, years previous: wild (“wild” as in belly dance-in-public wild)

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  • the quotidian (12.3.12)

    December 3, 2012
    Quotidian: daily, usual or customary; 
    everyday; ordinary; commonplace
     


    Kale.
    It makes me feel like a whole person.
    Floor scrubbing: one of the many household tasks that I no longer do.
    In our house, we dress up to cook. 
    Because I have really high standards.
    Yet another mailing, ready to go out to family and friends.
    Holding the computer on his lap helps him to stay still.
    Working on my parents’ house.
    It’s going to be stunning, if I do say so myself. 
    A Sunday morning lesson in tie wearing via Grandaddy.
    When I came down on Saturday morning, this was what I saw: 
    my mother, rocking my baby boy and telling him a story. 
    (We’re going to miss them so much.)
    I did not take this photo.
    Also, a little birdy told me that sometimes, when I’m not around,
    the window gets opened and a puppy wiggles her way into the house, hmm.
    Reality, unedited: my violently dirty windows.
    A two-for-one picture:
    1. The poor guy has been working constantly. 
    Sometimes he pulls twelve-hour days, leaving as early as five in the morning, 
    working at my parents’ house for a couple hours, and then heading off to his regular job.
    (And then I force him to stay up and watch Parenthood, shame on me.) 
     2. Supper biscuits: instead of making traditional circles, 
    I cut the dough into triangles. Easier, and quite pretty, too.
    Soup making: the kids spent hours foraging for vegetables,
    cutting them up, and cooking them.
    Notice I did not say, “eating them”
    (though they did take tastes).

    I was sitting on the sofa when I noticed the lighting in the mirror over the piano.
    So I took a picture.
    That’s all.
    We turned my son’s first deer into bologna and now our freezer is stuffed with long sticks of the stuff. The kids love it, though they all think it could use more black pepper
    and therefore smear black pepper all over their slices.
    I made baguettes, which is code for “I made my family very happy.” 
    (Lunch that day was baguette butter-and-ham sandwiches.)
    Oh, Christmas tree! 
    The kids put it up all by themselves while I mixed up a batch of peppernuts 
    and my husband worked on finances. 
    Not having to trim the tree is, in my opinion, one of 
    the perks of having growing-up kids.

    A little confession: sometimes the photos in the quotidian post aren’t all from the same week. Sometimes I have leftover photos that I didn’t get around to posting and sometimes I have too many so I hold them for the next week. I just wanted you to know that. (Now I feel better.)  
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