Mario Batali's Baked Ziti

Mario, I love you. No, seriously, I really love you. After making your baked ziti this past weekend, I realized that a chubby bearded man wearing orange clogs is what Ive been looking for all along.

I decided that before I attempt to embrace my healthy New Year resolutions, I would go out with a bang. Mario's baked ziti was just what we were looking for . I've been eating numerous variations of ziti for a very long time. Most of them, blahhhhh. I always hope for something special, perhaps a little basciamella, fresh mozzarella, nope never. Its always the same, an aluminum tray of ho mum overcooked ziti sitting on top of a whimpy Sterno flame. Well, Mario changes all of that, introducing Mario's Ziti al Telefono.

• 1 pound ziti(Cooked al dente, drain and rinse under cool water)
• 2 cups tomato sauce (I used a jarred sauce called Patsy's)
• 2 cups besciamella (directions below)
• 1 pound of fresh mozzarella, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
• 1/2 cup grated parmigiano reggiano

Basciamella

5 tablespoons unsalted butter

1/4 cup flour

3 cups of whole milk

1 to 2 teaspoons salt

1/2 teaspoon grated nutmeg

Melt the butter in a medium saucepan. Add the flour, stirring till light golden brown, about 6 minutes. Add milk to the butter mixture 1 cup at a time, whisking constantly. Cook till thickened, about 10 minutes, remove from heat. Season with salt and nutmeg, let cool.

Place drained cooked ziti in a large bowl. Add the tomato sauce, basciamella, mozzarella and Parmigiano to the ziti. Mix and stir well. I divided the pasta into 8 individual gratin dishes. A 9 by 13 dish works great as well. Bake for 20 minutes until bubbling and crusty on top. Serve immediately.

Sweet Potato Ravioli

As the weather gets cooler Ive been really craving pasta. I'm not much of a pasta person, so I pay attention when these cravings hit. The other day while out to lunch I ordered sweet potato, arugula and walnut pasta salad. The combination of the sweet potato with the pasta was incredible. The following day I made these sweet potato raviolis for din din. They were a big hit, using won ton wrappers instead of rolling out fresh pasta made life much easier.

• 1 large sweet potato, (1 lb 2 oz) peeled and chopped
• 1 Tablespoon of lemon juice
• 6 to 8 oz butter
• 1/2 ts sugar (optional)
• 1/2 cup grated parm cheese
• 1 Tablespoon of chopped chives
• 1 egg lightly beaten
• 1 9oz packet won ton wrappers (look for the thin ones)
• 2 Tablespoons fresh sage, chopped
• 2 Tablespoons chopped walnuts

Cook the chopped sweet potato and lemon juice in a sauce pan of boiling water. This took about 20 minutes till the potato was tender. Drain and cool. Blend sweet potato and 1 oz of butter in food processor till smooth. Add parm, chopped chives and 1/2 of mixed egg. Season with salt and pepper. Brush egg mixture around edges of several won ton wrappers. Put 2 teaspoons of sweet potato mixture in the center of the won ton. Top with another won ton, pressing edges firmly together.

Cook the ravioli in salted boiling water. This just takes about 2 minutes, as you want them al dente.

Melt the remaining butter in sauce pan, cook till lightly golden. Add sage leaves, allow them to crisp up a bit. Drain raviolis, add them to browned butter and sage for a quick toss. Serve immediately grated parm and chopped walnuts.

Zucchini Linguine

I know, I know your so over zucchini. We are heading in to October and I felt the same way. That was before I discovered Grace Parisis' zucchini linguine with herbs. Zucchini and scallions are shredded to look like linguine. Wait..it gets better. She mixes these veggies with melted butter and herbs, tosses in some cooked linguine and tops it all off with pecorino cheese.

Many birthdays ago I was given a mandoline. I used it once to perfectly slice onions, however I also happen to slice my index finger. My perfect onion slices were covered in blood. Since that incident, my sweet mandoline has been in hiding. This time I was more careful, ending up with lovely string like zucchini strands. I planned on calling it zucchini beet linguine if I just happen to slice my finger again. I can hear the comments already.." that beet juice adds such great color to the linguine." Seriously, this is a great 'say goodbye to summer veggies' pasta dish.

• 2 pounds small zucchini
• 3 Tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2 scallions thinly sliced lengthwise
• salt and pepper
• About 3/4 pound of linguine
• 1 Tablespoon chopped tarragon
• 1/2 Tablespoon chopped lemon thyme (I used regular thyme, it was fine, I got done on time, please don't whine).
• 1/2 teaspoon grated lemon zest
• About 1 cup of freshly grated cheese, Grace Parisi recommends pecorino, I used parm and it was delicious)

Break out your mandoline to julienne the zucchini lengthwise. Avoid the seedy centers. Mandolines have really come down in price since I got one. This recipe may be a good excuse to pick one up. Just think, you will have perfectly sliced onions and tomatoes on your burgers at your next barbecue. FYI, if you cut yourself, and you just might, don't whine to me about it, just be careful. Ok back to the zucchini, when you are finished you should have about 6 cups of beautiful zucchini strands.

Cook linguine in salted water till al dente, drain, be sure to reserve 1 cup of the water from the pasta.

In a large pan melt the butter, adding both the scallions and zucchini. Cook for about 10 minutes till the zucchini begins to soften, season with salt and pepper. Combine the linguine with the zucchini and scallions. Add the chopped tarragon, lemon zest, thyme and grated cheese. Mix everything together slowly adding pasta water. Cook over high heat, stiring occasionally till the sauce appears to thicken. This took about 4 minutes. Scoop a nice portion on to a plate, garnish with grated cheese.