A Summer Supper

A delicious way....

 ...to use the first asparagus of spring!

Amy's Birthday...

 ...was on Friday!! 
She picked out a new recipe for us to make called Pasta Pie.  (Although I think it looks a bit more like a cheese cake myself...)  Ana and I had fun making it together and it was delicious!

 HAPPY BIRTHDAY AMY!!!!!!

This was her 'cake' - bars witrh layers of cookie dough, Oreo cookies, and brownie batter all baked together!

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Edited to add a recipe! :)

Pasta Pie
Adapted from Martha Stewart
1 pound rigatoni
1 Tablespoons olive oil
1 pound ground beef
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 can (28 ounces) good quality crushed tomatoes
Butter, for pan
Salt
1 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese
8 ounces coarsely grated mozzarella

In a large pot of salted boiling water, cook pasta until slightly underdone (I cooked mine for 12 minutes when the box indicated 14 minutes).  One pound of pasta should be cooked in 6 quarts of water, make sure you are using a big enough pot so the pasta doesn't stick together.  When done, rinse in cold water and drain again.  Toss pasta with 1 Tablespoon olive oil to coat.  Set aside.

Cook ground beef, stirring occasionally until browned.  Add garlic, 1 teaspoon salt and pepper.  Cook 2 minutes more.  Add crushed tomatoes; simmer until thickened, about 20 minutes.

Toss pasta with Parmesan cheese.  Butter a 9-inch springform pan.  Tightly pack pasta into pan, standing each piece on end.  Spread meat sauce on top of pasta.
Push the meat sauce into the pasta holes filling each one up.

Place springform pan on a jelly roll pan in case of leaks and bake in a 400 degree oven for 15 minutes.  Sprinkle mozzarella cheese on top and bake another 10-15 minutes until cheese is golden.  Remove from oven and let stand for 15 minutes.  Run a knife around the edge to loosen and then unmold. 

Cut into wedges and serve with any remaining meat sauce you might have.

A Pepper with Personality

We made salsa last week and when I cut one of the peppers in half it looked like a face!

These are some the captions friends came up with:

  ‎

"Don't eat me! Don't eat me!!!!" - J.R.

‎"Baby RUTH..." - T.H.

‎"Whoa! I can't see, I can't SEE!" - P.P.

Do you have an idea for a fun caption? :)

Lemon Sherbet

 I made this the other day and it was delicious!

Lemon Sherbet Recipe:

1/2 cup (120 ml) of lemon juice (2 - 3 large lemons)

Zest* of 1 large lemon

1/2 cup (120 ml) heavy whipping cream

1/2 cup (120 ml) milk

1/3 cup (65 grams) superfine (castor) sugar  (Can use regular granulated white sugar that has been processed in the food processor for about 30 seconds)

Lemon Sherbet: In a measuring cup, stir together the lemon juice, lemon zest, cream, milk, and sugar. Taste and add more sugar if needed. Cover and place in the refrigerator to chill for several hours.

Once the mixture is thoroughly chilled, place in your ice cream machine and process according to the manufacturer's instructions. Once made, transfer to a chilled container and store in the freezer.

If you do not have an ice cream machine you can 'still' freeze the sherbet. Pour the mixture into an 8 inch (20 cm) or 9 inch (23 cm) stainless steel pan (will freeze faster in stainless steel), cover with plastic wrap, and place in the freezer for about four hours. Stir the mixture every half hour, to break up any large ice crystals that have formed. When the sherbet is firm (will not be rock hard) with a consistency somewhere between an ice cream and a sorbet, transfer the sherbet to a plastic container and place in the freezer.

I like to make the sherbet the day before serving to give the lemon flavors time to mellow.

Makes about 4 servings.

*Lemon Zest - The yellow outer rind of the lemon that contains the fruit's flavor and perfume.  The rind being the outer skin of the lemon which consists of both the yellow zest and white membrane (pith).

Read more: http://www.joyofbaking.com/LemonSherbet.html#ixzz1JiHNheVV

Working in the Kitchen with Friends

Last week our friend Jodi came up to stay for a couple days and we had such fun working in the kitchen together. We baked and frosted a cake and then made supper; home-made noodles and meat balls.  Yum!!

Ana and Jodi working on the cake.

The beautiful roses!



Rolling out the dough for noodles.



Tossing the noodles in flour.



A lovely sight!



Amy mixing up the meat balls.

There is something about working together in the kitchen with friends that is such fun!