Baked Pasta w. 5 Cheeses
+ an ultra cozy and creamy pasta that can be made entirely ahead of time
This pasta dish begins with Ina Garten, one of my idols. It’s not even her food that I’m such a fan of, but her story. Her path to success is a very interesting one that’s all about risk taking. This NPR podcast is worth a listen if you’re interested. She’s an inspiration for people who have a voice inside them saying “move towards things that fulfill you and bring you joy”. But pack to the pasta…
My in-laws are big fan’s of Ina’s Penne with Five Cheeses, which is in one of her older books. They lovingly call it “crack mac” (I recently found out why) and have been making it, as it it written in her book, for many years. On a recent trip to Minnesota, my mother in law had it all prepped out, up to the point of baking, in her refrigerator and popped it in the oven one night for dinner. This feature of it alone was very interesting to me, as I love things that can be almost entirely made ahead of time and finished off when it’s mealtime. It’s just plain delicious. Anyone would be really really happy to come home on a chilly night and eat this. I took one bite and knew I’d be making it at home. I can’t help myself but deviate from recipes, so I’ve made a bunch of adjustments. Like adding a vegetable and a protein to turn it into a complete meal. This rendition has broccolini and mini meatballs. But just a few nights ago, my best friend made it with broccolini and chunks of leftover chicken and she said her family raved. So it’s very customizable. The gist is that you par boil pasta, toss it with a very creamy, tomato-y and cheesy sauce. That gets put into a casserole dish and baked until bubbly and a little crispy on the top. In the words of Ina, “How bad could that be?”. It’s not for the faint of heart or the lactose intolerant. You can find the recipe for my Baked Pasta with 5 Cheeses at the bottom of this email. It’s visible to paid subscribers.
Make It Ahead
Here’s some ideas on how to prep this dish ahead of time, if cooking it start to finish in the evening isn’t an option:
You can mix the sauce together a day ahead of time, cover it and store it in the refrigerator. This would leave only the 4 minutes of cook time for the pasta and broccolini and the baking time in the oven.
You can make and assemble the whole thing up to a day ahead of time, stopping before you put it in the oven. Cover the baking dish and keep it in the refrigerator until you’re ready to bake it. You’ll likely meed to add a few minutes to the baking time if you go this route.
Just taking some steps to ready yourself when you have a moment in the morning can shave off time later on. Fill the pot with water and leave it on the stove. Grate the cheeses. Measure things out and leave them in the fridge. Pull out the baking dish. I’m all about finding pockets of time to prep things ahead, making dinnertime less stressful.
Head over to my instagram page and watch my reels, to see it all in action.
Mini Meatballs
Like I said up top, you could add nearly any protein to this pasta- or none at all! I love mini meatballs in it. I think it’s the fact that they have more surface area of crisp exterior that makes them so appealing to me. I’ll make them in a big batch, cook them off and use them throughout the week. Kids love them, a baked pasta dish loves them and even a soup loves them. They even freeze well. I have a very simple but effective recipe for Mini Baked Meatballs and it is down below with the pasta recipe.
What I’m Loving This Week:
The Wonder by Emma Donoghue: Last night I finished this book (is there a better sense of accomplishment?). I saw the trailer for the movie Netflix made based on the book and the story line really compelled me. It wasn’t the best book I’ve read all year, but if you like historical fiction and mystery, it might be for you. The beginning was intriguing then slow but by the last third I was racing to find out what happens.
Maintenance Phase: I’m most likely late to the party on this fantastic and highly entertaining podcast. But basically it’s two smart, sarcastic and funny people explaining and sometimes debunking wellness fads. As you may have noticed, I would categorize myself as someone who is “into wellness”. I also think the word “wellness” casts a giant net and in that net is some weird shit. Some of the episodes that I have listened to and found very interesting: The Daily Harvest Scandal, Dr. Oz and Jordan Peterson.
Serves 6
2 cups heavy cream
1 ½ cups marinara sauce (I use Rao’s brand, Ina uses straight up canned crushed tomatoes)