Teh Awesomesauce and baked ziti to feed an army.

[Suu]

Since I'm feeding this to D-Cup, Richter, Leln, Mr. Suu and myself today...I thought I'd share with everyone my recipe for baked ziti. Pics will be added as the day progresses.

WHAT YOU WILL NEED!

3 cans of crushed tomatoes
1 can of tomato paste
1 can of diced tomatoes
2lbs of your preferred ziti (This time I'm using Prince™ Ziti Rigati. The ridges work well for holding the cheese)
2lbs of Ricotta cheese (I get part skim)
1lb of Mozzarella, low moisture. (with all the ricotta and sauce, you DON'T need slimy mozzarella!)
Oregano
Parsley
2 Bay Leaves
Salt
Pepper
Sugar
Minced garlic (the jarred kind) OR 2 fresh cloves, I'm just out at the moment.
Half of a red onion


The SAUCE.

The basis of this sauce is a family recipe...as in, my mom, who gave each of her children the outline on how to make it. What we do with it from then on, is up to us. For example: My sister caramelizes onions in her version and my brother uses a carrot instead of adding sugar...The choice is yours. This is just my version...today. (It does tend to change depending on my mood or what I'm making or what spices we have available. Sometimes I use Adobo, cinnamon, cloves or mint, but for baked ziti, I keep it simple.)

Combine the 3 cans of crushed tomatoes and tomato paste in a large sauce pot....in my case it's practically a lobster pot (there's a reason for this). Stir in the paste, this helps thicken the sauce a bit for a baked dish. (For a regular pasta, I'd recommend a small can of tomato sauce rather than paste.)

Add salt and pepper. (I shake them both and whistle Jingle Bells quickly. That's how I measure.) Double the amount of pepper to the salt.

Add oregano...I use enough to cover the surface of the sauce...it's gonna be mixed in anyway!

Add parsley...I don't use a whole lot. It adds more color and digestive help against the garlic and onion than flavor.

Add a little less than a teaspoon of sugar. This counteracts the acidity of the tomatoes.

Throw in the 2 Bay Leaves.

Add a heaping TABLESPOON of minced garlic. Don't be shy. It kills the worms. Or...chop your cloves and add them.

Peel and chop half a red onion. Make sure it's a bit on the fine side, but not TOO small. I tend to cube mine a bit.

It should sorta look like this:



Stir until everything is mixed evenly, and put the pot on the stove. Heat it at high heat uncovered until the moisture begins to escape, NOT BOIL, just a few bubbles and you're good. Lower the heat to a simmer and cover. Stir every 1/2 hour or so.........................Do this for about oh...6 hours. If the sauce starts getting a bit explosive, uncover, stir thoroughly, and recover, only this time leaving a sliver of an opening from the lid to allow moisture to escape.

Finished sauce:



When you hit that 6 hour mark, remove the sauce from heat and set aside. Get another pot on the stove ready to boil the pasta per the directions of whatever kind you have. This tends to take a while, especially in a pot big enough for 2 fucking pounds of ziti.

Some people do different things with their mozzarella. You'll find that most will grate it and mix it with the ricotta, me? I slice most it and put it on top, but still grate some of it for the grand mixture. So now is a good time to do what you prefer while water is boiling and sauce is cooling.

Once the pasta is in, get our your 2lbs of ricotta and gradually mix it to the sauce, but try not to liquify it, the chunkiness is a GOOD thing.



Preheat your oven to 350F/177C.

Drain your pasta when it's finished, give it a bit to cool so you don't BURN yourself, and then add it all into the big ass sauce pot with the cheesysaucyawesome. Stir slowly until all pasta is evenly coated, then throw it in your grated mozzarella, doing the same.

Once mixed to your content, carefully pour the pasta and sauce and cheesy-cheese-cheese mixture into your pan...in this case I have a 20lb foil roaster. Make sure it's down in there all evenly, then take that can of diced tomatoes and spread them over the surface of the goop. Take your sliced mozzarella and place it in a funky pattern or whatever on top of the tomatoes, and garnish with oregano.



Cover the pan with tinfoil completely and slide it into your oven on the top rack.

Put 45 minutes on the clock.

DING.

Yank that shit out, and let cool. Now is a good time to pop open that bottle of red wine.

Uncover the ziti and dish out with a spatula.



Enjoy!

[Richter]

I just ate a big meal of hash and bacon, and now I'm hungry again...

[Roo]

just have a question about the amounts of tomatoes...you're using the big cans for the crushed and diced tomatoes, right? the 14.5 oz ones? But which size can of paste?

Also, no basil?

[Sir Squid Diddimus]

my guess would be the reg. small can of paste since it's so concentrated.

also- basil=win

[Suu]

I'm using bay leaves instead of basil this go around. I only use fresh basil because I'm an herb snob and I don't have any growing at the moment.

3 BIG cans of crushed (28oz), little (6oz) can of paste.

Also, by simmer, I mean lowest heat possible, so you're barely even simmering. I had to clear that up for Triple Zero. Lol.

People often ask why you cook pasta sauce for so long, and I really have no answer for this. Some people say it concentrates the flavor more, some people say it's stupid. Me? I say it's a super secret Italian thing.

Contemplating throwing in mint...

[Suu]

Update!

Upon taste-testing the sauce, I found it a bit lacking...so a shake of crushed red pepper has been added. 

[Roo]

I'm using bay leaves instead of basil this go around. I only use fresh basil because I'm an herb snob and I don't have any growing at the moment.

3 BIG cans of crushed (28oz), little (6oz) can of paste.

Also, by simmer, I mean lowest heat possible, so you're barely even simmering. I had to clear that up for Triple Zero. Lol.

People often ask why you cook pasta sauce for so long, and I really have no answer for this. Some people say it concentrates the flavor more, some people say it's stupid. Me? I say it's a super secret Italian thing.

Contemplating throwing in mint...

Thanks for clearing that up. Just realized that I was thinking of the 28oz cans anyway. I usually do one can of crushed, one can of diced, and 1/2 can of paste. 

Why you cook it so long...because you're cooking it at such a low heat, it takes longer for the tomatoes to really cook and the flavors to meld. At least that's my take, since I have 0 Italian blood. 

needs more onion and garlic, imo.

[Suu]

One can never have enough garlic and onion...My mouth is burning.

Anywho, pics complete!

[Triple Zero]

that looks delicious, suu!

[Darth Cupcake]

It was delicious!

So was my pie. Which was not entirely stable.

Zippy, you made us lol. Thank you for that.

[Richter]

V. Tasty!

Thanks to Suu for the meal, and D-cup for the unstructured pie!

Sleep now, food coma 

[Sir Squid Diddimus]

gawd i want that

[leln]

I agree with all that's been said, that was really good pasta. This morning I still feel full, and I get the sense that I'm a walking cloud of garlic. The pie was very tasty too. (I think I consumed about a day's worth of calories at dinner last night, and it was totally worth it)

[Triple Zero]

Zippy, you made us lol. Thank you for that.

(i have no idea what i did, but i'm sure it was hilarious)

[Triple Zero]

HA! i caught it!



the Black Swan wine, that is, it's even the same logo as on the cover of my book! do you think Taleb got the cover from the wine, or the other way around?