Remembering the Soprano's - A Ziti Pasta Casserole

Were you a Soprano's fan? I was the longer version of "fan", called "fanatic." My whole family was crazy for the craziness, hating ourselves for liking the bad guys, sucked into the television for every episode. We even went as far as having "Soprano Nights".

Ziti Casserole with Peppers and Mushrooms

Each person (above 12-years-old) would have a night to be in charge of the meal we ate before the show came on. One night, my middle son (about 17 at the time) was not comfortable enough to cook something up so ordered 4 giant Pizza and set up his boom-box with Italian music playing throughout the meal. It was so fun and we sang along while eating.

Every time someone on screen stopped into Vesuvios or Satriale's I got hungry.

(photo HBO promo)

The hardest thing to watch without drooling was when Tony Soprano would just reach into the refrigerator and pull out a great Ziti Casserole that Carmela had whipped up earlier. It was always there. That's when I started having Ziti Casserole in our refrigerator for the taking - anytime - lunch, dinner or in-between.In the last season of the Sopranos, my husband was in New York writing on "30 Rock" over at the Silver Cup Studios and got to sit in Dr. Melfi's chair, and walk through the sets of the show and even saw Tony (Gandolfini) with blood all over his face during a shoot (shooting?). Even though my husband is not easily thrilled by celebrities, seeing a Soprano gave him a rush, too. We were definitely fans. For his birthday, I bought him a brick from Satriale's in New Jersey. Can you say, "obsession"?It has been years, but for some reason my husband and I were talking about that casserole the other day and it seemed like a great one to share on my blog. It's an adaptation of a Sara Moulton recipe from way-back, and it's worth the bit of prep to have a few days of this golden pepper and mushroom cheesiness at my beck and call.

Ziti Casserole with Peppers and Mushrooms
(adapted from Sara Moulton)

1/2 onion (chopped)
2 yellow peppers (seeded and chopped)
2-4 garlic cloves (chopped)
1/4 cup olive oil (used as needed)
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
2 red peppers (seeded and cut into thin strips)
2 orange peppers (seeded and cut into thin strips)
1 cup mushrooms (sliced)
1 pkg. Ziti pasta (cooked and reserve 1 cup pasta water to use if needed) salt/pepper
3-5 spring onions/scallions (sliced, including the green parts)
2 cups grated or shredded Parmigiano Reggiano Cheese

1) In a large stock pot, cook the yellow peppers, onion and garlic in a drizzle of olive oil on low/med. heat, covered until soft. This should take about 20-30 minutes 2) Add the cream to the stock pot, stir together, add salt and pepper. Then puree with an immersion blender (or you can use a blender). Reserve this Yellow pepper sauce for later. 3) In a deep skillet with a drizzle of olive oil, cook the red and orange pepper slices with the mushrooms, salt and pepper on low/med until just cooked through (about 10 minutes). 4) Add the red pepper mixture to the yellow pepper puree, and include the cooked Ziti, the scallions and 1 cup of the cheese. Stir all together (use the reserved pasta water as needed.) 5) Pour this Ziti pasta and peppers, etc.. into a large casserole dish (or I made a pyrex 9x12 plus another 8x8.) Sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake on 350F for about 20 minutes til heated all through and the cheese on top is golden. Serve or cool and hold in refrigerator.

This is SO good cold for a quick lunch or if you're a die-hard Soprano fan - an anytime snack.(photo HBO promo)

Portobello Mushroom Fries - Simple Saturday

First, a confession: I didn't just wake up with this idea. I was eating Portobello Mushroom Fries in a restaurant (that was known for having the best) and when I mentioned to the server how amazing they tasted...he sold out the whole kitchen- "just slices of portobello fried, but the secret ingredient is Wondra". He just assumed it wouldn't matter to me. I guess there are advantages to not getting that tattoo I thought about (FOOD BLOGGA) on my fingers.I knew I'd be stopping on the way home to buy a canister of Wondra and figuring this out. There wasn't much to do, really. I knew I didn't want to use egg washes, or more breading materials that would over power the umami taste of these giant Portobello Mushrooms.So, I just brushed the mushrooms clean, sliced and trimmed them to consistent sizes and laid them out on a parchment lined pan.

Then, I sprinkled them with salt, and let them rest for a few minutes. The salt caused them to release some moisture, which was enough to hold on to the Wondra coating. One of the reasons these are so good is because the coating is light and crispy, not gummy or thick like bad fried chicken wings.One of my favorite Anne Willan recipes is Salt & Pepper Shrimp where she uses just a dusting of cornstarch before flat-frying the shrimp. They end up crispy golden and the shrimp meat just pops through with spicy juice.These are addictive (what fried food isn't, right?) And with all fried foods, the key is to get your oil hot enough to crisp the outside but still low enough to cook the inside. Too low and your food just gets drenched in fat. If it's too hot you burn the outside before the inside gets cooked. Part of the beauty of Portobello Mushroom Fries is that the mushroom is so good raw (unlike a potato), that even if you miss - you win anyway.RECIPE: Portobello Mushroom Fries

1-2 Large Portobello Mushrooms - brush washed, sliced into even strips

1-2 cups Wondra

salt/pepper
Oil

1) Lay the sliced mushrooms on a parchment covered pan and sprinkle with salt to release moisture. Allow to sit for about 20 minutes.

2) Pour the Wondra into a flat bowl and roll each mushroom slice around in the flour.

3) In a deep saucepan, heat about 3-4 inches of oil to 350F and carefully drop a few mushroom slices at a time into the hot oil. Fry for a minute or two, just til golden.

4) Remove with a slotted spider or tongs and lay into a paper or towel covered basket to drain. Season with pepper and serve asap. *These go great with a little Aioli dip*

Duck & Mushroom Pot Stickers in Tomato w/Wasabi Cream (Paper Chef #52)

What would you have created with these four ingredients: Duck, Tomato, Wasabi and Cream? That's what Paper Chef, one of the longest running Food Blogger challenges around, is all about. Each month there is another set of random ingredients just waiting for imagination and execution to meet on a plate.

Pan Roasted Duck Pot Stickers
in Tomato Broth w/Wasabi Cream Sauce

One of my other spinning plates (aka: jobs) is teaching Improvisational Theatre. It's an art-form that, among other things, uses audience suggestions to create a story or character. I've been teaching and loving it for years. The challenge of creating something out of random ideas, being resourceful, developing and designing are all areas that get my spirit tingling. Like cooking, there are techniques that make the creations work better; the most talented make it look effortless.

Like cooking, not every time out is successful, but it feels/tastes/sings/sparks when it really works and at least teaches you something when it fails. I am truly excited by this dish.

For one, Asian inspired food is new to me and I love experimenting in new arenas. One of my favorite bloggers (Rachael of La Fuji Mama) has lived in Japan and cooks completely approachable Asian cuisine effortlessly. I've been making her hand-made Gyoza wrappers for months (added my little cheat of rolling the dough out with a pasta maker.)
Duck is not always an inexpensive item, but with this recipe you can use just a couple breast pieces and make it go a long way, yet still enjoy the earthy taste and the elegant opportunity.
If you have never made Pot Stickers before, this is a really easy way to give it a try. The first time I made them (with minced shrimp a few months ago) I think I made about 20 and feared they would go to waste. My son and husband ate 16 by themselves (I got 4). In a restaurant we would maybe split an order with friends and each of us have 1 - 2, but those guys made a meal of them. Like most things, home-made can't be beat.

Recipe: Pan Roasted Duck Breasts Duck Filling:
2 cooked breasts chopped fine
2 scallions white and green chopped fine
3 med. mushrooms chopped small
1 Tbls. soy sauce
1 Tbls. Mirin
1/2 tsp. grated fresh ginger (easier to do if ginger is frozen first)
1 tsp. red chili paste pepper to taste

On the fatty skin side of the duck breasts, make several slits so the meat will not curl. (refer to picture above)

Preheat the oven to 375F.

On the stove-top, heat an oven-proof skillet on Med. with no oil. Add and Cook the duck breasts fat side down for about 5 minutes. You want to slowly render the fat. As the pan gathers fat, carefully pour it off and save it for another use. (Cooking with the skin on will give the meat a great flavor, so don't remove it first.)

Turn the duck breasts over and sear the other side for about 2 minutes.

Turn back so the fatty side is down and place the pan in the oven for about 10".
Remove the duck to rest and cool. Remove the skin and chop the meat.

In a bowl, add the meat and all the other ingredients, mixing well. Use about a teaspoon of filling in each wrapper.

RECIPE: Gyoza wrapper: fresh made using recipe and guidance by Fuji Mama here:
Or/ use wonton wrappers or frozen gyoza wrappers from store



RECIPE: Cooking the Pot Stickers -

In a skillet, heat several Tbls of oil on Med/High and add the pot stickers (fold side up). Cook til the bottoms of the pot stickers are browned. Remove skillet from the heat and carefully pour in 2 cups of Tomato Broth. Return skillet to heat, cover and lower heat to steam the pot stickers for 5 minutes.
Remove cover, and using tongs, remove the pot stickers to a serving platter. Add more broth if needed to make a soupy sauce and stir. When ready, gently ladle the broth onto the platter to surround the pot stickers.

Drizzle the Wasabi Cream as preferred. Serve to the delight of your peeps.

RECIPE: Tomato Broth-
1 can tomatoes chopped
1 small bunch cilantro chopped (optional - could us basil leaves also)
1/2 shallot
2 tsps. olive oil
salt/pepper to taste
Puree ingredients in a blender til smooth, and heat.

RECIPE: Wasabi Cream -
2 Tbls. Wasabi Powder
1/2 cup Sour Cream
(1 Tbls of heavy cream if needed )
Mix together for drizzling.


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Paper Chef is open to anyone - no sign ups, or commitments, just a spirit of self-challenge. Hope to see you there next month.