A Nice Dinner with Friends

Over the past few weeks, our friends (Dave, Dimesh, & Adriano) have regularly invited Josh and myself over for BBQs. We never object because freshly grilled foods are hard to come by in Dominica. You just can't go wrong with flame broiled burgers! We usually cook chicken, hamburgers, and fish. In fact, we are using the same man made pit that the boys dug just for the pig roasting!

Josh and I decided that we wanted to return the favor by cooking everyone dinner. So as soon as I woke up on Tuesday (7:30am) I was in the kitchen making baked ziti, french bread, salad, and chocolate delight. I literally never sat down. Luckily, Josh had just taken a test the day before so he could spare some time to help me. Because of our limited supplies here on the island, I sent Josh out to look for a pan large enough to fit all of the ziti. I figured with 5 strapping boys and myself, a 9 x 13 pan just wouldn't cut it! So after much searching, Josh comes back with a HUGE turkey roasting foil pan! Much to my surprise, I filled that pan full of delicious baked ziti! Josh thinks the pan weighed about 20- 30 lbs!

When we arrived at the boys house, they had moved the dining room table outside and even picked a few flowers for the table. I was impressed! It was a really nice evening among friends. We, especially Josh, are really fortunate to meet great friends wherever we go. They just seem to gravitate towards Josh and I am grateful for that!

By the time Josh and I left and after a few random "grazers" ate some food, all that remains were a few servings of ziti and a few pieces of bread! I was extremely impressed how much ziti we ate!! I am glad my hard work was appreciated.

Picture: Me, Dimesh, Coulter, Josh, Adriano, and Dave

I thought I would post my recipe for baked ziti in case anyone was interested. (Kendall!)

Hope you enjoy!

BAKED ZITI

*

1 lb. hamburger

(I hear sweet sausage is nice in ziti too. I am going to try that when we get back to the states)

1 lb ziti noodles

*

The Tomato Sauce

2- 28oz cans of diced tomatoes

1-8oz can tomato sauce

1 or 2 cans tomato paste

Onion

3-6 cloves of garlic

2-3 TBS sugar (taste before adding the third TBS)

salt (1 TBS or more for taste)

Basil (2-3 tsp)

Parsley (2 tsp)

Rosemary (1-2 tsp)

Thyme (dash)

Oregano (dash)

Black Pepper (dash)

*

Ricotta Cheese (8 -16oz)

1 egg

2 tsp parsley

*

Parmesan Cheese (1 cup )

Mozzarella Cheese (LOTS- 2 cups+)

*

1. Brown meat. Drain Grease. Add tomatoes, tomato sauce, paste, onion, garlic, salt, sugar, herbs, and spices to meat and heat to a boil. (Decrease or increase any of the ingredients to taste. This is just what I do) The longer you let the sauce simmer, the better. I try to cook the sauce for about 2 hours.

2. When sauce is ready, Cook the noodles. (Avoid overcooking because the noodles will continue cooking while baking

3. Combine the ricotta cheese with an egg and parsley. Mix ricotta cheese with noodles in a bowl. I sometimes as add a little parmesan and mozzarella to this mixture as well. (I love cheese!!!!)

4. In a large pan, (9x13 at least) begin layering the ziti. The first layer is sauce (just enough to cover the bottom: less than 1/3 of the sauce), then sprinkle 1/3 of the parmesan cheese over the sauce, then add half of the noodle mixture. On top of the noodles, add 1/3 of the moz. cheese. Then repeat the layers (sauce, parmesan, noodles, moz cheese) and end with the remaining sauce. On top of the sauce, place the remaining parmesan cheese and mozzarella cheese.

5. Cover the ziti (spray the foil with pam to prevent the cheese from sticking) and Bake for 30 -40 minutes at 350 degrees.

*I hope you enjoy!! Let me know if you try it.

**if you want to make your own ricotta cheese, let me know and I will give you the recipe!