Spaghetti Pie

                                                                                   

Good morning!

Triple Chocolate Rum Cake for Brooks.

The first time I heard about spaghetti pie was from Ruth Smith who wrote the miniature lamp books.  She traveled with us when we were antiquing so we had hours and hours together in the car discussing recipes and other issues. Ruth had served this to her club ladies and she said they carried on about it for days.  There are several recipes and one can even use left over spaghetti from previous dishes.  That is what I do and my recipe is a bit different in that it has eggs to bind and fresh green herbs for color. I also pack it firmly in a souffle dish so I can invert it on a serving board and slice it like a pie. I'll print more than one for you because this is a good go- to recipe that can be eaten at room temperature or any way you like pasta.

Spaghetti Pie has a layer of pasta with a ricotta cheese filling, topped with spaghetti sauce and Italian cheese.

Ingredients

Sauce (I just use sauce in a jar with the ground beef addition.) We like Carfagna's, but Paul Newman's is good too or any of Trader Joe's.) I also use a lot of fresh herbs.
• 1 lb. ground beef
• 1 cup diced onion
• 1 28 oz. can  crushed Tomatoes
• 1 28 oz. can water
• 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
• 2 teaspoons dried basil
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
Pasta
• 10 oz. spaghetti or bucatini
• salt
• 1 16 oz. container ricotta cheese
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 teaspoon basil
• 1/4 cup parmesan cheese
• 2 cups Italian cheese
• 
  

Instructions

1. Brown the ground beef. Add the onions and saute until softened.
2. Add the tomatoes, water and spices. Stir until mixed. Cook over medium heat for about 60 minutes, until sauce thickens.
3. Boil pasta in salted water for about 6 minutes, until it starts to become tender. Rinse in a colander with cold water.
4. Mix the ricotta, eggs, basil, and Parmesan cheese together. Add the pasta. Mix thoroughly.
5. Place pasta in a greased 9 x 13 pan. Top with spaghetti sauce. Cover pan and bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees. Remove pan from oven and top with Italian cheese. Bake for another 15 - 20 minutes until cheese is melted and browned. Let set for 10 minutes before cutting.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Food Network TV recipe for spaghetti pie:

• 1 pound cooked spaghetti, cooled
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan
• 1/2 cup grated pecorino
• 1/2 cup grated Swiss
• 4 eggs
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 4 slices American cheese

Directions

Mix the cooled spaghetti, grated cheeses and eggs together in a large bowl. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Add the oil to a large nonstick saute pan and heat to medium heat. Once hot, add a handful of the spaghetti mixture to the pan and flatten it out to the edges. Lay the American cheese on top and add another layer of the spaghetti mixture. Cook for about 5 minutes and flip, cooking for another 5 minutes on the other side until golden brown.
Turn out onto a cutting board, slice as you would a pizza and serve.

Recipe courtesy Marc Murphy
__________________________________________________________________________

Kate Sears

Yields: 8 main-dish servings

Total Time: 1 hr 10 min

Prep Time: 20 min

Oven Temp: 375

Ingredients

U.S.

• 1 tablespoon(s) olive oil
• 3 large sweet onions, thinly sliced
• 2 clove(s) garlic, finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon(s) fresh thyme leaves
• 1/2 teaspoon(s) sugar
• 1/2 cup(s) dried bread crumbs
• 3 tablespoon(s) butter, melted
• 1 1/2 cup(s) shredded Gruyère cheese
• 4 large eggs
• 2 cup(s) whole milk
• 1/2 cup(s) dry white wine
• 1 pound(s) spaghetti

---

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Heat large covered saucepot of salted water to boiling on high.
2. In 12-inch nonstick skillet, heat oil on medium. Add onions, garlic, thyme, sugar, and 1 teaspoon salt. Cook, covered, 10 minutes, stirring often.
3. In medium bowl, combine crumbs, 2 tablespoons butter, and 1/2 cup Gruyère. In large bowl, whisk eggs, milk, 1 cup Gruyère, and 1/2 teaspoon each salt and pepper; set aside.
4. Uncover skillet. Cook 5 to 7 minutes on medium-high., until golden, stirring often. Add wine and 1 tablespoons butter. Cook until wine is reduced by half.
5. Cook pasta for half the time label directs. Drain; return to pot. Stir in onion mixture and egg mixture. Transfer pasta to skillet. Top with crumbs. Bake 30 minutes or until eggs set.

________________________________________________________________________________

Brooks is coming home late tonight and I want to have him greeted with this triple chocolate rum cake for his good grades.

                                 

Cake:

1 18 ounce box chocolate cake mix

1  2 7/8 ounce box instant chocolate pudding mix

1/2 cup rum

4 eggs

1/2 cup low-fat milk (I added some sour cream too.)

1/2 cup oil

Once the batter is in the heavily greased bundt pan sprinkle in 1 cup of chocolate chips and swirl them around.  Bake 350 for 45 minutes and pull cake from oven and set it aside on a wire rack.

Glaze

4 tablespoons butter

1/2 cup rum

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 tsp. vanilla

Bring to a boil until sugar is dissolved

Using a toothpick, poke holes all over the hot cake and slowly pour glaze over the cake letting it soak in and cool a bit before inverting from pan.

This is a tried and true recipe.