Mostaccioli Bake

This recipe is from the vault. The vault that was my crammed recipe box. I packed my recipe box up when we moved overseas and hadn't seen this since 2005. I love this dish, had forgotten how much I loved this dish. I prepared this dish for last nights' dinner and loved it all over again!

I haven't done the math on it exactly, but it ends up being a fairly inexpensive meal as well. Like, under $5. I'll bet you have almost everything in your kitchen to prepare this tonight. So make it! Oh, and I made the whole 9x13 dish thinking I'd have half left over for another night. Not so. The crew devoured this and we only had enough left for Adam to take for lunch today.

What you need
3 cups uncooked mostaccioli (this is about half a 1 pound package)
3-4 Tbs butter, plus 2 more Tbs.
1 cup chopped onion (As usual, I used onion powder. We have onion issues at our house.)
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1/4 cup flour
2 1/2 milk
1 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, grated, plus 2 more Tbs
1 tsp dried Italian dressing mix (the kind you get in the packets)
salt and pepper to taste
1 can (14.5oz) diced tomatoes with basil, oregano and garlic
1 package frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed
1/4 cup bread crumbs, whichever variety you have on hand

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Go ahead and grate your cheese, measure out your ingredients, get the spinach thawed and squeezed in your colander.* Grease a 9x13 dish. You can also make the bread crumb topping (found at the end of this recipe). This all makes this dish come together with little hassle and little clean-up.

*side note: you can also squeeze the spinach out really well in a towel, but this will cause you to have a majorly green towel. Do what's best for you.

Cook your pasta according to directions, usually about 10 minutes. Drain and set aside.

Meanwhile, melt 3-4 Tbs butter in a large skillet. Add onion and garlic and cook about 5 minutes, but don't let your garlic get all brown. Add the flour and whisk constantly for about 1 minute. Slowly add in the milk, whisking the whole time to incorporate your roux. Cook about 4-5 minutes till just bubbling. Remove from heat, stir in 1/4 cup cheese, the Italian seasoning, salt and pepper (go easy on the salt, as there's plenty in the cheese, but it still needs some). Combine the pasta, tomatoes, the cheese sauce, the rest of the cheese (about 1 cup). Stir well. Spoon mixture into your 9x13 dish.

In small bowl, melt 2 Tbs butter. Stir in 2 Tbs Parmesan cheese and bread crumbs. Sprinkle over pasta. Bake about 30 minutes.

Serve with a glass of wine and some fresh bread. All your food groups are in there, so you can take or leave a salad!

Pan con tamoca

Fancy name, eh? This wonderful appetizer (from Spain) is from my new friend Lenée. I didn't even believe her when she first told me how to make this, it seemed way too simple. But it's true! Four ingredients is all that's needed.

What you need

fresh tomato
olive oil
balsamic vinegar
salt
*amounts all to taste

Grate the tomato into a bowl so that the skins are left behind. Stir in about a tablespoon each of olive oil and vinegar to one tomato, then salt to taste.

Serve on a slice of toasted baguette topped with a thin slice of Manchego cheese.

Another way to use left-over sauce: Great as a sauce for pizza. Use this recipe from Cook's Country (again, so easy and good):

What you need:
Dough:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1/3 cup beer (use Newcastle Brown Ale, or O'Doul's Amber)
olive oil

In a mixer or food processor, mix flour, baking powder, sugar and salt together. Slowly add beer and 1 Tbs. oil till ball forms. Form this into a tight ball, cover loosely with plastic wrap and let sit for 10 minutes. Divide into two balls, roll one at a time out onto floured surface to about 9 inches. Heat large non-stick skillet with 3 Tbs olive oil. Cook dough in skillet, poking holes in any bubbles that form (gentle, here!), after about 4-5 minutes, flip, add sauce with any other toppings (see below for suggestions), cover with lid for about 5 minutes. Transfer to plate or cutting board, or you can keep it warm in the oven while you do the same with your other dough round.



Suggestion for pizza topping:
Pan con tamoca (for sauce)
mixture of shredded Parmesan, Manchego and basil
chopped tomatoes (tossed with salt and let drain on paper towels while all the other stuff is going on)






Ok, as I was typing this all out, I realize it seems like more trouble than it's worth, but it's not. I swear. You will thank yourself. Your family will thank yourself. And, you will have a cheapo version of pizza for Friday night without pulling out all the coupons and getting sub-standard pizza. I know, I hate that, too.

Basil, Mozzarella, Tomato Sandwich

Our corner deli/grocery store has about 1,000 choices for sandwiches. They make one of the best hamburgers around. But another of our favorites is with fresh basil, fresh mozzarella, and fresh tomatoes. You get it: fresh! I decided that $5.75 was way too much to pay for this bad boy, so I did it here at home. It's simple. The only trick is this: fresh everything!!

What you need
fresh basil leaves
fresh mozzarella, sliced
fresh tomatoes, sliced
good bread, sliced about 3/4" to 1"
olive oil
oregano (dried is actually ok for this one, it's just as good dried as it is fresh)
salt and pepper

Set you pan on med-high heat. Brush bread slices with olive oil. Toast in pan. Take out of pan and put on cutting board toasted side up. Pile on ingredients, sprinkling on spices at end. Top with another slice of toasted bread, toasted side down now, facing inside of sandwich. Now, you have an option. Do you wan to toast the rest? Go ahead. If you'd rather have it a little bit chewy (so good!), leave it as it is and serve! Great with pita chips.

Baked Tomatoes with Asparagus

I got this fresh dish from my friend here in NYC, Sarah. It is so easy and simple that you will feel guilty (well, maybe only a little bit) because it just looks so complicated and tastes amazing! This recipe is for 8 servings, but you could make it as large or small as you wish very easily. I, personally, could eat 2 servings with no problem! A great side to accompany a steak, chicken or pair it with a pasta dish.

What you need:

4 large tomatoes
24 spears asparagus, lightly steamed--snap spears off at their woody base
1 cup mayo
2 cups grated cheddar cheese
2 dashes Tabasco
1 Tbs Dijon mustard
3 Tbs grated onion (I used a few shakes of onion powder)

1. Cut tomatoes in half, core out. Place in buttered baking dish, cut side up. You may also want to slice off a small part of the bottom of the tomato to make it stable.

2. Top each tomato with 3 spears.

3. Combine mayo, cheese, Tabasco, mustard and onion in bowl. Spoon onto top of each tomato.

4. Bake at 350 degrees for 10-15 minutes or until cheese is melted and tomato is heated through.