Baked Ziti and Roasted Squash Spanikopita

The Food Nanny
February 26, 2008
Keep Spanikopita frozen until ready to cook!

Meal 1: Baked Ziti, Roasted Garlic Bread, Polenta with Kale
· Bake the Ziti at 350° until hot ( 15-20 minutes). Garnish with additional cheese if desired.
· Heat the bread in the oven 5 minutes before the ziti is done.
· Warm the polenta in the oven for 10 minutes.


Meal 2: Roasted Squash Spanikopita, Mixed Greens with Crutons, Orzo Salad
· Heat the spanikopita in the oven from frozen at 375° until golden brown. Approx. 15- 20 minutes.
· Serve the orzo at room temp along with the salad.


Trivia: Orzo pasta are cut to resemble what other food item ?

Sloppy Joes and Homemade Pasta

Meal One: Sloppy Joes, Steak Frites, and Sweet 'n' Sour Slaw

· Heat the Frites at 400° until hot and sizzly – be careful to not burn them.
· Warm the Joe stovetop or microwave and toast the rolls.
· Open the slaw carefully and incorporate the nuts. Serve cold

Meal Two: Homemade Linguini, Roasted Root Vegetables and Winter Green Fritatta

Please keep the pasta frozen until you cook it.

• Heat the root vegetables in a baking dish at 350° until hot and knife tender ( they are 95-98% done, as is )
• Warm the frittata gently in the oven until a knife inserted in the middle comes out warm. Alternately, serve at room temperature.
• In a saute pan heat the broccoli/ fennel with some extra olive oil to make a sauce-like consistency – not too oily though .
• Bring several quarts of SALTED water to a rolling boil. Add the pasta and cook for 4-6 minutes or until al dente.
• Drain the pasta and toss it immediately with the broccoli in the pan. Serve and garnish with parmigiano.

Passatelli

Passatelli are a traditional soup garnish that resemble fat round noodles but are made with dried bread crumb, last week we made them with Strawberry fields day old baguettes, finely ground with egg and some grated asiago cheese.

they were easy to make, although we had to experiment adding more egg. In the future I would add the breadcrumbs to the egg instead of the other way around.
1 large egg
1 cup fine dried bread crumbs
1/8 tsp salt
1/4 cup grated cheese (parm, asiago, romano)

Basically combine until it isn't sticky, but not to dry. Roll out and cut. Cook in simmering soup pot until tender.

Italian Stew and South African "Meat" Loaf

Meal 1: Italian Bean Stew with Passatelli, Sesame Seed Rolls, Mixed Greens and Kumquat Vinaigrette
· Bring stew to a simmer add the passatelli and allow to cook 5-7 minutes until tender.
· Warm rolls if desired.
· Toss greens with dressing.
Meal 2: South African “Meat” Loaf, Roasted Ginger Carrot Soup, and Cornbread Squares
· Warm Meatloaves in oven at 350° until hot through (approx. 15 min)
· Heat soup on stove top, garnish with yoghurt if desired.
· Warm the cornbread for the last five minutes of heating the meatloaves.

Trivia: What is the main ingredient in Passatelli?

Pad Thai and Spring Rolls

We have been enjoying Thai spring rolls ever since I was shown how to properly enjoy them some years ago. On my frist, and unguided, jaunt with the wrappers I tried to deep fry them like wonton skins. There were a horrible mess and I apologize to the person who got them on a plate. As one can see here, the wrappers are softened in warm water, wrapped around a filling and simply eaten as is. They are infinitely versatile holding both sweet or savory fillings, and they are a smash for parties - exotic and glamorous looking without being too troublesome. Plus they really allow for the enjoyment of the vegetables/fruit inside.

As a side this week we made a cabbage and red onion salad. It is an homage to a simple squid salad prepared at Siam Restaurant in Lambertville, N.J. The salad as they make it is just perfectly savory with its mix of squid rings, red onion, chili flakes, anf fish sauce with a cilantro garnish. Here we emulated the fresh flavors, the sharpness of the onion, a bit of heat, and the sultry brine of fish sauce all carried by the texture of the cabbage. I was happy with the result.
The main course was a Pad Thai. I fumbled upon the technique while eating the previous weeks leftover noodles and dumpling filling. As previous attempts had yielded only sticky, clumpy messes I was disinclined frommaking this dish. However, using a wheat udon style noodle and rinsing it well before cooking worked well to keep the noodles from sticking - although it makes frying them more adventurous !

The 'filling' in enriched with TVP to act as ground pork and is seasoned with, among other things, a condiment called Kecap Manis. ABC is the brand. It is a sweet, thick soy sauce that is very versatile in its applications. For example we like to marinate chicken wings in equal parts Kecap with honey, spiked with chili paste and sesame seeds. Broil or grill them for a treat.

Oh, and BTW, I have in on pretty good authority that the Thai people never use chop sticks.