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Baked Pasta with 4 Cheeses

This is my FAVORITE pasta dish of all time!!!!!!

I did it last night as a Birthday present dinner for my friend Walter, who traveled with me to Spain this past Summer. And whom I am trying to convince to apply with me to be in The Amazing Race.

If I have to ask for a Last Meal, this will be the dish I would request. This is an adaptation from a Martha Stewart recipe, which is actually a recipe from a Providence, Rhode Island restaurant called Al Forno. I’ve never been to Providence, but if I get to go, Al Forno is the only restuarant I need to go.

I hope you enjoy it as much as I do…

BAKED PASTA WITH 4 CHEESES

1/2 pound whole-wheat pasta – shells, penne or rigatoni would all work well

1 cup heavy cream

1/2 cup of shredded mozzarella cheese – I sometimes use a pre-shredded cheese blend from the store

1/2 cup freshly grated Pecorino Romano cheese, divided in half – half for mixture, half for topping

1/4 cup freshly grated Fontina cheese

2 tablespoons ricotta cheese

1/2 cup pureed tomatoes

10 fresh basil leaves, torn with your hands

1/4 teaspoon salt

a few grinds of freshly cracked pepper

Heat oven to 500 degrees.
Bring large pot of salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook until al dente.
While pasta cooks, place cream, cheeses, pureed tomatoes, salt, pepper and basil in a large bowl.
Drain pasta and toss together with cheese mixture in bowl.
Pour into a medium-sized baking dish. Sprinkle with 1/4 cup remaining Pecorino Romano on top.
Bake until bubbly and brown on top for about 15 minutes.
Turn off oven and leave in there for a few minutes for the sauce to set a bit.
Serve immediately afterwards while still hot.

It’s important to watch out the measurements of the cheeses. The right amount will melt beautifully and create the most wonderful sauce. When I started to eye-ball the amounts, sometimes the results were not as I expected.

I make this recipe right in my toaster oven…

And the recipe doesn’t reheat very well. It will still be tasty, but the sauce becomes a bit oily… just so you know. This is one of those recipes to make and eat in the moment. Every time I do it for company, people can’t believe that came out of a home kitchen. It’s unbelievable!!!

I served this last night with my Cinammon Vanilla Plantains and my Super Easily Dressed Green Salad. Oh, and I also did my Garlic Parsley Breadsticks.

Buen Provecho.

Tags: basil, cheese, fontina, mozzarella, pasta, pecorino romano, tomato

Comments 6 Comments
Categories main courses

Lemony Cheese Dip

5 Dec

It’s the Holiday season, so here’s another dip for you to try at your next party. This is my take on Giada De Laurentiis’ Crostini with Ricotta and Goat Cheese.

I personally don’t particularly enjoy the taste of raw lemon rind in my recipes. I find it too bitter, even without the pith. So for this version of the dip I used lemon juice instead of lemon rind. The lemons in Puerto Rico are quite different from the ones in the States. The taste of “limones criollos” or criollo lemons is closer to a lime than to a yellow lemon. But you can add the one you prefer.

LEMONY CHEESE DIP

4 ounce packet of cream cheese

1/2 cup of ricotta cheese

half a log of goat cheese

the juice of 1 lime or criollo lemon

salt and pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients in a food processor. DONE!!

Enjoy with whole-wheat crostini… recipe follows.

WHOLE-WHEAT CROSTINI

1 whole wheat baguette

Olive oil

Salt and Pepper to taste

Cut whole-wheat baguette in slices, on a bias.
Place on a cookie sheet. Drizzle olive oil and sprinkle salt and pepper to taste.
Toast in a 350 degree oven for 8-10 minutes, until golden brown.

The dip is lemony and delicious. It would work great in a sandwich… however, I did not have the chance to try it because it was gone in a flash.

Tags: cheese, lemon

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Categories appetizers

Sweet Red Bell Pepper Dip

3 Dec

This is the first dip I learned to make that was not just a mix of stuff I had bought. I have to thank my friend Aniette for giving me the recipe 10 years ago. This has become a staple dip in my parties… even my friend Ana Yolanda requested me to bring it to all her parties too.

When I first tried this dip, it was served with a chunk of cream cheese and the dip drizzled over it. With a spreader, you would get a bit of cheese with some pepper dip on top of a chip and enjoy. The thing is that the dip, as good as it is, will not look very appetizing after a while. So after many tries later, I came up with a fool proof way to retain the flavor and integrity of the mixture, while still making it look appetizing no matter what. This is the version right here.

SWEET RED BELL PEPPER DIP

1 red bell pepper, cut in pieces

2/3 cup brown sugar

1/3 cup apple cider vinegar

1 8oz. pack of cream cheese

Place bell pepper, sugar and vinegar in a blender. It might seem there’s little liquid to blend, but it will. Believe me.
Transfer the blended mixture to a small saucepan. Bring to a boil – watch it, because it could boil over.

Reduce heat and simmer for a few minutes.
Let it cool a bit.
Place cream cheese and most of the pepper mixture in a food processor. Blend until smooth. It will turn a nice shade of pink. If the pink is too pale, keep adding pepper mixture. Just watch out that the mix is still creamy and does not become too runny.

Enjoy with Wheat Thins or Ritz Chips.

You could also enjoy this dip without mixing the cream cheese. It makes a great addition to a sandwich. If you’re too lazy or the market is out of red bell peppers, my friend Ana’s mom does it with jarred red bell peppers. If using those, you can omit the boiling part.

Tags: bell pepper, cheese, vinegar

Comments 11 Comments
Categories appetizers

Stuffed Bell Peppers

3 Dec

This has become one of my signature dishes. I saw a recipe in a vegetarian cooking book and, because I never follow a recipe to a “T”, over time I developed my very own version. My sister, who is not vegetarian, called me from Indiana to ask me for the recipe once. That’s the impression it made on her.

This recipe works with any color of bell peppers – green, red, yellow or orange. They all taste great. Buy the ones cheaper at the supermarket that day. I cut the pepper in half, so each pepper yields 2 servings. But I guess your servings will depend on the amount of hunger and how voracious are your guests.

This recipe makes great use of leftover rice. It’s hard for me to give you exact measurements for ingredients, because I always make this recipe out of leftovers… and the last few times, I have done it for 30 people – so the recent amounts are not applicable for a home dinner. So bear with me on this one… I’ll try to give you my best estimates.

STUFFED BELL PEPPERS

3 bell peppers, washed well, cut in half lengthwise from top to bottom

1 onion, diced

2 cloves of garlic, minced

2 small carrots, shredded

2 tomatoes, diced or 8 oz. chopped tomatoes in glass jar (Viter or Pomi brands work well)

1 cup of cooked whole grain rice

1/3 cup slivered almonds

4 oz cream cheese

2 oz goat cheese

2 tablespoons scallions or green onions

1/4 cup fresh Italian parsley

3/4 cup shredded cheese – cheddar or Italian cheese blend

Salt and Pepper to taste

Wash peppers and cut them from top to bottom, so each pepper half has a bit of pepper stem, which looks nice as presentation. Clean out all the seeds and white ribs inside with a pairing knife.
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.
In a saute pan over medium heat, heat a small amount of oil and saute onions for a few minutes, add garlic, add carrots. Saute until softened. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Add tomatoes. If adding fresh, saute until the tomatoes exude most of their liquid. This will provide moisture to the mixture.
Add rice to mixture. Remove from heat.
Add almonds and cream and goat cheeses. Add scallions and parsley.
Fill the pepper halves with the rice mixture. Top with shredded cheese.
Bake in oven for 30-45 minutes, until peppers are cooked and cheese on top is golden brown.
Remove from oven and rest for 10-15 minutes.

If you rather prepare this recipe without cheese, it tastes great just the same. You could also use rice cream cheese and rice or soy shredded cheese for the topping. This way you will not feel as if you’re depriving yourself of anything.

You can definitely include in the rice mixture any vegetable of your choice. Just like this is a recipe for leftover rice, it’s also great for leftover vegetables and cheese. I once made this with a leftover cheese dip from a party.

This is just the starting point. Let me know what other version you can come up with. OK?

Tags: bell pepper, cheese, rice

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Categories main courses

Sweet Potato Flan

26 Nov

This is a recipe to dissipate any myths that good desserts can only be made with eggs. This is an egg-less flan full of flavor and smooth texture.

I use the sweet potato with an orange-colored flesh, which are also called yams. In Spanish, or at least in Puerto Rico, we call these “batata mameya”. I included some pictures for reassurance. These, I find, are tad less sweet than the white sweet potato.

SWEET POTATO FLAN

1 medium sweet potato, baked – about 1 cup of baked flesh

1 carton evaporated milk

1 can condensed milk

1 pack of cream cheese – you can use 1/3 less fat version

2 tablespoons vanilla extract or vanilla powder

3 tablespoons cornstarch

strip of lemon rind or grated lemon zest

3/4 cup brown sugar – for caramel

Bake the sweet potato in a 400 degree oven for 30-45 minutes. I encourage you to do this ahead of time. Just cut the ends of the potato, pierce it with a fork all around and bake.
After baking, remove the flesh from the skin and mash it well with a fork.
Reduce oven heat to 350 degrees.
Place brown sugar in a small saucepan over medium heat. Mix a bit of water and carmelize about 10 -12 minutes.
Meanwhile, mix in a blender or food processor the baked sweet potato flesh, milks, cream cheese, vanilla and cornstarch. You’ll also mix in the grated lemon zest, if using. If using a piece of lemon rind, don’t put it in yet. If you feel the blender is too full, just mix the milks first. Take some out, blend the sweet potato with the remaining milks and then put it all together. It will fit.
Drizzle the caramel in a glass dish and twirl making sure you cover the whole bottom of the dish with caramel. Careful if using a metal baking dish… the caramel is hot and heats the metal FAST.
Pour flan mixture on top of the caramel.
Drop in the piece of lemon peel.
Place baking dish in a water bath.
Bake in oven for 45 minutes to 1 hour. You’ll know it’s done when the top is browned and a knife or wooden skewer comes out clean.
Take out of the water bath and chill in the refrigerator for about 2 hours.
When ready to serve… Release over a dish so the caramel side is on top.