Welcome

Welcome to my Blog, Grandpa Cooks.  I am retired and have spent the last 17 years traveling and studying food and wine around the world.   I have collected recipes and tips and would like to share some of them with you, so lets get started.

Here is a simple recipe for Baked Ziti, a hearty dish that combines classic Bolognese Sauce with the three classic Italian cheeses, Ricotta, Parmigianino and Mozzarella.

Ingredients:
1 #  Ziti
1 # Sweet Italian Sausage
1/2 # Ground Beef
One 28 oz. can Crushed tomatoes
2 Cups Ricotta
One cup fresh Mozzarella (cut into 1/4 " cubes)
1/2 Cup Grated Parmigianino
One large onion - finely chopped
One Carrot - finely grated
Two Bay Leaves
Salt and Pepper

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Bolognese;

Using a large heavy bottomed stock pot, Sauté the onion and carrot in 1 TBSP olive oil, until the onion is tender and translucent.  Add the Crushed Tomatoes and Bay Leaves and simmer over low heat for about an hour.
Stir occasionally to make sure the sauce is not sticking to the pot. While the sauce is simmering, cook the Italian sausage and brown the ground beef. Drain the beef and season with salt and pepper to taste.  Slice the cooked Italian sausage into very thin slices. Add both the sliced sausage and ground beef to the sauce in the stock pot and simmer on low for another half hour. Remove the Bay Leaves and discard.

Cook the pasta Al Dente according to the package directions, and drain.  Add the pasta to the sauce and mix together thoroughly.  Stir the Ricotta into the pasta and sauce mixture, again mixing thoroughly.  Transfer the mixture into a  9 x 13 " glass baking dish.  Top evenly with the grated  Parmigianino  and then with the fresh mozzarella cubes.  Bake in the 350 degree oven until the Mozzarella is melting and begins to brown.  Let set for a few minutes before serving. 

Enjoy this dish with a  Caesar Salad, some crusty bread and a glass of nice red wine.  This is truly "Comfort Food".  The recipe comes from Mario Carrate.  Mario was a food broker in New York city and catered to the shops on Arthur Avenue in the Bronx.  His father had run an Italian restaurant on Arthur Avenue for years.