Modified Neely's Baked Ziti

Description:
I've always wanted to find a good baked ziti recipe, not the sbarro type but more of the italiannis' type. When I saw the Neely episode with this recipe, I thought it looked good. While tasting the cooking red sauce, to my surprise, it sort of tasted like italiannis. Almost but not quite, especially when the pesto was added. So while I am still on the lookout for THAT recipe, here's my modified Neely's baked ziti recipe. If you look up the original recipe, they mixed in a bag of spinach with the cheeses and used ricotta to bind this mix. I really didn't care for that after trying this the first time. Another thing, they used hot turkey sausage instead of italian sausage.

Ingredients:
1 lb ziti
2 lbs hot italian sausage, skin off (about 4-5 pcs), if you want it chunky, you can also use 2 lbs ground hot italian sausage if you want a smoother sauce
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
1 28-oz can of crushed tomatoes
3 oz pesto (about 3 tbs)
6 oz ricotta cheese
6 oz cream cheese, softened
1-1/2 cups shredded mozzarella, save 1 cup for topping
1 cup grated parmesan, save 1/2 cup for topping
salt and pepper for seasoning
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1 bay leaf
1/2 cup chopped italian parsley
butter to brush on the baking dish



Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375 deg F.
2. Bring a pot of water to a boil, add some salt, and cook ziti until al dente (do not overcook as this will still cook when you bake the dish). Drain and set aside.
3. In a large skillet, saute the sausage under medium heat (no oil!) then add the garlic and onions. Saute together, break up the sausage with a wooden spoon, until the sausage is cooked through and browned.
4. Add the crushed tomatoes and pesto. Season with salt and pepper, add bay leaf, and dry oregano. Mix and simmer for about 10 minutes.
5. Butter a baking dish and place the cooked ziti on the bottom.
6. Add the parsley to the cooked sauce, fish out the bay leaf, and pour on top of the ziti.
7. Mix the ricotta, cream cheese, 1/2 cup mozzarella, and 1/2 cup parmesan. Add some black pepper. Spread this mixture on top of the sauce.
8. Sprinkle the parmesan on top then the mozzarella.
9. Bake until heated through and top is brown and crispy, about 20-30 min. (place the baking dish on the 3rd rack down in the oven to avoid browning the cheese too soon).

Red Velvet Cake/Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

Description:
Loved TCF's Stefanie's Ultimate Red Velvet Cake Cheesecake but it was time consuming to do the cake and the cheesecake then combine! One time, saw a red velvet cupcake at Starbucks but it wasn't that good, according to Bradley and it had butter cream frosting on it. So, found this recipe for red velvet cupcakes and cream cheese frosting... best of both worlds!

Ingredients:
Cake:
3/4 cup buttermilk (or 3/4 cup milk + 3/4 tsp white vinegar, mix lightly)
3/4 tsp vanilla
2 cups all purpose flour
2 tbsp dark cocoa powder
3/4 to 1 tsp cinnamon
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 to 1-1/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup canola oil (or vegetable oil)
2 large eggs
1 tsp vinegar
1-2 tbsp red food color (put in small amounts at a time, until you reach your desired red shade)

Cream Cheese Frosting:
8 oz (1 brick) cream cheese, softened, at room temp
4 tbsp butter, softened
4 tbsp solid shortening
1-1/2 to 2 cups confectioners or powdered sugar (depends if you want it to be really sweet. In future, I'll just use 1-1/2 c because the 2 cups masked the cream cheese flavor)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1-2 tbsp milk, if necessary

Directions:
Cake:
1. preheat oven to 350 deg F. Spray or butter the pan or line cupcake tins with paper liners.
2. In a small bowl, whisk buttermilk and vanilla, set aside.
3. Blend flour, cocoa, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt together in another bowl, and set aside.
4. Cream the sugar and oil together on medium-high speed in a large bowl fitted with a whisk attachment.
5. Add one egg at a time and whisk.
6. Add vinegar and food coloring, and beat the batter well.
7. With mixer on low-medium speed, add half of the flour and cocoa mixture to the batter, alternating with the buttermilk mix, ending with the dry ingredients. Scrape the side of the bowl as needed between additions. Mix until batter is nice and smooth with no lumps.
8. Pour the batter into prepared 8x8 inch pan, or divide evenly between the cupcake tins.
9. Bake cake for 30-40 min, or until a toothpick comes out. Bake cupcakes for approx 20-25 min or until tops spring back when lightly touched.
10. Cool square cakes or cupcakes completely on wire racks before frosting or freezing. Cool round cakes 10-15 min before loosening, then remove from pans and cool completely.
11. Double the recipe if you want to make layer cakes, with the frosting in between layers and top of cake.

Frosting
1. Using a stand mixer, and fitted with a paddle attachment, or in a medium to large bowl and a hand mixer, beat softened cream cheese, butter, and shortening together on medium speed until creamy.
2. Add confectioners' sugar, 1/2 cup at a tim and beat after each addition, scraping the sides of the bowl when necessary. Beat until smooth and fluffy.
3. Turn mixer to low, add vanilla and beat again, adding milk only if needed for proper spreading or piping consistency. Cover bowl with damp towel until ready to use.

Square cake: frost all sides or pipe rosettes on top
round cakes: if layered, smear a good size dab of the frosting on a plate. Place the 1st layer of cake. Spread a thick coat of frosting over this layer and place the second layer on top, pressing down lightly to seal. Frost the sides and top of cake using an off-set spatula, making sure to seal all edges evenly. Using a pastry bag, you may put in rosettes on top of the cake.

cupcakes: spread the frosting over the tops of the cakes. leave as is or add sprinkles, colored sugar or finely crumbled red velvet cake crumbs.

Linguine with Clams

So, discovered this awesome Greek/Mediterranean resto in Manila called Cyma -- thanks to Angge and Chei! Had one of the best pasta I've ever tasted. I'm attempting to duplicate it here!

Ingredients:
2 lbs fresh baby clams
1 box linguine, cooked as per directions on the box
1/2 c extra virgin olive oil
3 tbsp butter
1 small yellow onion finely chopped
6 large garlic cloves finely chopped
1/2 to 3/4 c white wine (depends on how much liquid you like in the dish; i like it with some liquids, my brother prefers it drier)
1 small red chili (or you can you crushed red pepper flakes)
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup chopped Italian parsley

Directions:
1. Scrub the clams with small stiff brush to remove any grit, discarding any that are open or cracked
2. Soak and rinse the clams in several changes of water over 1 hour or until the water is clean and free of grit. Drain and set aside
3. Cook the pasta until al dente. Drain well and return to the pan to keep warm
4. Heat the oil and 1 tbsp of the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat
5. Add half the garlic and the onions and cook for about 10 minutes, or until the garlic is lightly golden and the onions translucent
6. Add the wine and cook for 2 minutes
7. Add the clams, chili, and the remaining butter and garlic. Season with salt and pepper. Cook, covered, for 10 minutes, shaking regularly, until the clams pop open. Don't worry if there are any that are still closed. Can't have them all perfect, right???
8. Stir in the parsley and season again with salt and pepper, if necessary
9. Add the pasta and toss together

Enjoy!