Ziti Al Forno

In Italy it is Ziti Al Forno, In Paris it might be Cuit Au Four Ziti but in the good old USA (Memphis, TN) it is purely Neely's Baked Ziti. Bottom line is that it is good. Our Chef's the other night made a few alterations to the basic recipe and experimented with presentation. By their own admission the salad, although good and complimentary to the meal, lacked just a bit of contrasting color. Did it ruin the meal? Heck no! That's why we do this. Experiment, experience, reinvent and enjoy. I was so intrigued by the recipe that I made my own version last night and the good news is I have leftovers for lunch today. The bad news is no photos, but I admit, I did not do a presentation.
It was a modified Ziti casserole with really terrific
Celebrity tomato's that I purchased at a

local Farmers Market. Hurray for home grown,

picked ripe tomato's.

Baked Ziti

Ingredients
• Salt
• 1 pound ziti
• 1 pound hot Italian turkey sausage, casing removed
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes
• 6 ounces pesto
• 15 ounces ricotta cheese
• 1 (9-ounce) package washed spinach
• Butter, for baking dish
• 2 cups shredded mozzarella, plus more for topping
• 1 1/2 cups grated Parmesan, plus more for topping

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add ziti and cook until al dente. Drain in a colander.

In a large skillet over medium heat, saute turkey sausage. Add onion and garlic and saute until the sausage is cooked through. Use your spoon to break up the sausage while it cooks. Add the can of diced tomatoes and pesto and let simmer for 10 minutes.

Add the ricotta cheese, spinach, Parmesan and mozzarella to a large bowl, and stir to combine.

Butter a 4-quart baking dish, add the cooked pasta, then sausage mixture and cheese mixture. Top with a sprinkling of mozzarella and Parmesan.

Bake until completely heated through and golden and crisp on top, about 20 minutes

Chef's Comments

Last night's dinner - it was good, can be made ahead and feeds a crowd.

Needed some of Chef Pete's balsamic reduction on the bottom for color. The
salad was good too, but didn't add much color to the plate. A darker
variety of lettuce would have had some contrast, but I had iceberg on hand.
Might be a good recipe to make and take to the Lake when there are
going to be a few people there. Just a thought.

I will email the recipe from the Food Network site (www.foodnetwork.com)

I sent an email from the food network website with the recipe, but I guess it didn’t come through. It is the Neelys Baked Ziti, but made with pork sausage instead of turkey. Imagine that. The salad was a creamy sour cream cucumber salad from Cooks.com