Italian Style Creamy Ziti Recipes

ITALIAN BAKED ZITI

Steps:

• In a large saucepan, cook beef and onion over medium heat until meat is no longer pink. Add garlic; cook 1 minute longer. Drain. , Stir in the spaghetti sauce, tomatoes, tomato paste, water, parsley, Worcestershire sauce, basil and 1/2 teaspoon oregano. Cover and simmer for 3 hours, stirring occasionally. , Cook pasta according to package directions; drain. In a large bowl, combine the ricotta, mozzarella, 2 tablespoons Parmesan, egg, salt and pepper., Spread 1 cup meat sauce into a greased 13x9-in. baking dish. Layer with half of the pasta, a third of the meat sauce and half of the cheese mixture. Repeat layers. Top with remaining sauce. Sprinkle with remaining Parmesan and oregano. , Cover and bake at 350° for 1 hour or until heated through.

CREAMY BAKED ZITI

Steps:

• Heat oven to 375 degrees F.
• Cook pasta in large saucepan as directed on package, omitting salt. Remove from pan; drain. Meanwhile, add marinara sauce, tomatoes and cream cheese to same pan; cook on medium heat 5 min. or until cream cheese is melted and mixture is well blended, stirring frequently. Return pasta to pan; mix well.
• Layer half the pasta mixture in 13x9-inch baking dish; cover with layers of sour cream, 1 cup mozzarella and remaining pasta mixture. Top with remaining mozzarella and Parmesan.
• Bake 20 min. or until heated through.

ITALIAN-STYLE CREAMY ZITI

Steps:

• Heat oven to 375°F.
• Cook pasta in large saucepan as directed on package, omitting salt; drain well.
• Return pasta to pan. Add pasta sauces and mozzarella; mix lightly.
• Spoon into 13x9-inch baking dish sprayed with cooking spray; top with remaining ingredients.
• Bake 20 to 30 min. or until heated through.

ZUCCOTTO: A CREAMY ITALIAN DESSERT CAKE

Steps:

• Line a 2 1/2 quart bowl with plastic wrap. Have it much larger than you need to cover the top later.
• Cut the sponge cake in half. I love this inexpensive tool.
• Place one slice in the bottom of the bowl. If you're using a loaf cake, cut slices and then triangles and fill the bowl like a jigsaw puzzle to cover every spot, so that the entire bowl is covered.
• Slice a few pieces of the other half of the cake into strips.
• Use the strips to line around the cake in the bowl. This only takes a few minutes, and its very easy!
• Sprinkle the cake with your choice of liqueur. I used Kahlua this time.
• In a medium sized pot (off the heat), stir the egg yolks and sugar together briskly with a wooden spoon.
• Add the flour a little at a time and incorporate into the mixture.
• Heat the milk to boiling and add the vanilla. Begin adding the hot milk to the mixture a little at a time, mixing well in between additions. Do not add too much at once or the eggs may curdle.
• Continue adding the hot milk and stirring continuously with a wooden spoon.
• Once all the milk has been added, put the pot onto medium heat and continue to stir.
• When the mixture comes to a boil, let it cook for 3 or 4 minutes then remove from the heat. Keep stirring as it cools so that it doesn't form a skin.
• Melt the chocolate in the microwave, or in a bowl over some hot water.
• Set aside.
• In a medium sized bowl, beat 10 oz (300 ml) heavy whipping cream with the instant coffee powder until stiff peaks form; set aside.
• To the cooled pastry cream, add 1 Tbsp of Grand Marnier, the 2 oz (57 g) of grated chocolate and the whipped coffee cream. Fold mixture until completely combined.
• Spread 2/3 of the mixture into the cake-lined bowl almost reaching the top, but not completely. Leave a hollow in the middle and don't worry if it doesn't look perfect, it will be fine in the end.
• Add the melted chocolate to the remaining cream.
• Mix well until the color is uniform, then fill the center of the zuccotto.
• Take pieces of the remaining cake and close up the bottom of the zuccotto.
• Sprinkle with more of your chosen liqueur, then seal with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 6 hours, but I like to leave it overnight.
• Beat the remaining 8 oz of heavy whipping cream, with the other 2 teaspoons of coffee powder and 2 tablespoonfuls of sugar until stiff peaks form.
• When ready to decorate, remove top plastic wrap and place a FLAT (must be completely flat!) plate or cake stand on top of the zuccotto and invert. Remove the bowl.
• Ta dah! This is my favorite part! Have cracks? Doesn't matter, it's still going to turn out perfectly.
• Spread the coffee-flavored whipped cream all over the zuccotto.
• Make swirls or peaks in the cream, whichever way you like, but it doesn't have to be fancy. Sprinkle with chocolate shavings, curls or more grated chocolate.
• It's best to refrigerate the cake for an hour or so. However, you can serve it immediately if you need to.

ITALIAN BAKED ZITI (AUTHENTIC)

Steps:

• Add tomato sauce,rosemary,oregano,chili peppers,sugar and basil to a pot.
• Bring to boil and simmer one hour. Remove chili peppers.
• Cook pasta to al dente (little chewy). You don't want to overcook it as it cooks in the baking also.
• Remove sausage from casing and cook in 1/2 cup olive oil over medium high till browned.
• Add cooked sausage and all the oil (don't drain)to the tomato sauce and mix.
• Add cooked pasta into a 9x13 baking pan.
• Add the sausage and sauce over top and toss.
• Add parmesan on top and then cover with shredded mozzarella.
• Cover with foil and bake 30 minutes at 350°F (put toothpicks so cheese doesn't stick).
• Remover foil and continue to bake 10 minutes (watch cheese so it doesn't burn).
• Remove from oven and let set 10 minutes before serving to allow it to set.

CREAMY BAKED ZITI RECIPE

Steps:

• Preheat your oven to 425 degrees.
• Cook the ziti in a large saucepan according to package instructions. Drain the ziti and keep it in the colander while you reuse the pot to create the pasta sauce.
• Open the can of tomato sauce and mix it in the pasta pot with the Italian seasoning and onion powder. Cut the cream cheese into small cubes and put it in the tomato sauce mixture.
• Heat the sauce over medium heat, stirring until the cream cheese is melted and incorporated into the tomato sauce. If this takes too long, you can use a stick blender to blend the cream cheese into the sauce.
• Stir the browned ground beef into this mixture until it is fully mixed. Take it off the heat and set it aside.
• In a medium-sized mixing bowl, mix together the garlic, parsley, and eggs. Stir in the Parmesan cheese.
• Stir the cooked and drained pasta into the tomato sauce in the pasta pot.
• Spray a 9 by 13 pan with cooking spray. Put half of the ziti and sauce mixture in the pan. Spread the garlic, parsley, Parmesan, and egg mixture on top of this layer.
• Add the rest of the ziti on top of this layer. Sprinkle mozzarella on the top of the ziti.
• Cover the pan with aluminum foil and bake the dish in the oven for fifteen minutes. Remove the foil and bake it for an additional ten to twenty minutes or until the cheese on top is lightly browned.
• Remove the pasta from the oven and let it sit for about five minutes. Serve the pasta with a side salad and crusty bread.