Between our home-delivered farm-fresh milk and the cheese addiction my toddler shares, we consume a lot of (hormone-free) dairy products in our house. A favorite way to use up the assorted bits and ends of cheeses in our cheese drawer is my baked macaroni and cheese, with roasted red peppers. I don’t believe in hiding vegetables in food, but I do exploit the “better together” theory of adding vegetables to something the toddler is guaranteed to eat. He loves to look at different colored peppers, but rarely eats them. I find that roasting the peppers first gives them a velvety smooth texture that goes better in creamy pasta than crisp fresh vegetables, making them a little less objectionable to sensitive eaters.

Recipe: Baked Macaroni and Cheese with Roasted Red Peppers

Ingredients:

• 2 roasted red peppers, cut in thin 1-2 inch slices
• 2 cups uncooked macaroni
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1/4 cup flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon mustard powder
• 2 cups milk
• 2 cups shredded cheese (favorite blend: cave-aged cheddar, smoked gouda, Wallaby)
• 1/4 cup breadcrumbs
• 1/4 cup grated parmigiano (or similar, used Dry Jack recently)

Instructions:

Cook macaroni according to package instructions, but subtract 3 minutes from cooking time. While macaroni cooks, melt butter in saucepan over low heat. When melted, stir in flour, salt and mustard and cook until smooth and bubbly. Remove from heat and whisk in milk, stirring until lumps are dissolved. Return to high heat and cook, stirring constantly, until boiling. Boil and stir 1 minute, until sauce begins to thicken. Reduce heat to low and stir in cheese until melted and smooth.

Drain macaroni. Combine with red peppers and cheese sauce and pour into 2-quart casserole pan. Mix together breadcrumbs and parmigiano cheese and sprinkle over top. Bake 25-30 minutes, until topping is golden. Makes 6 servings. Enjoy!

Shared with Presto Pasta Nights, hosted this week by its founder, Ruth of Once Upon a Kitchen. Check out this week’s round-up for more yummy pasta inspiration!

That kale we can’t get enough of? I love to make myself a quick lunch of “green eggs and kale” (blanch kale, then poach eggs in the same water = greenish eggs), but am still hunting for a way to convince the husband and toddler of kale’s deliciousness. In the meantime, I add bits and pieces in dishes and hope that some of their nutrients (vitamins K, A, C, calcium, iron and more) rub off on the other ingredients, since the toddler is still pretty adept at picking out strange green pieces. (He did accidentally take a bite of this ziti with kale and didn’t spit it out this time, so I’m considering that a small victory.) Baked ziti is a great dish to incorporate stray winter produce languishing in your refrigerator, in this case, kale and carrots. Of course I used organic ingredients, including organic ricotta, cheese and pasta and natural, no-nitrates-added Italian sausage. And I’m submitting this hearty, healthy, classic family favorite for the 100th installment of Presto Pasta Nights. (Happy anniversary, Ruth!)

Recipe: Hearty Winter Baked Ziti

Ingredients:

• 1 pound ziti noodles
• 1 cup organic kale leaves, torn
• 12 ounces Italian sausage, crumbled (if using links, remove casing and dice)
• 3-4 cloves garlic
• 1 small yellow onion
• 3 organic carrots, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced
• 1 tablespoon oregano
• 28 ounces crushed tomatoes
• salt & pepper
• 1 pound whole milk ricotta
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella, romano and parmesan cheeses

Instructions: Bring water to boil in a large stock pot.

Heat oil in dutch oven over medium heat. Add sausage and cook until evenly browned. Remove sausage from pan and set aside, covered.

Lower heat to medium low and add garlic and onion. Cook 2-3 minutes until translucent. Add carrots and cook another 2 minutes. Stir in oregano, sausage and tomatoes and simmer for 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste (go easy on the salt if your sausage is already salty).

While sauce simmers, cook pasta for 6 minutes (or 2/3 of minimum recommended cooking), adding kale for the last minute. Drain.

Stir together pasta, kale, ricotta and 1/2 of the sauce. Pour into 9×13-inch baking pan. Pour remaining sauce over top, then spead shredded cheeses evenly over top. Bake at 400 degrees for 35-40 minutes, until cheese is golden. Makes 10-12 servings. Enjoy!

Submitted to Presto Pasta Nights, created and hosted by Ruth of Once Upon a Feast. Be sure to share your favorite pasta recipe for the special 100th round-up!

Our CSA farm, Potomac Vegetable Farms, takes great pride in their sweet onions. Onions’ flavor is heavily dependent on the soil they are grown in, so great onions require careful treating of the soil and are a good indicator of a farmer’s commitment to the land. Carrots from our farm are likewise sweet and flavorful, and carrot puree from our CSA share was one of my son’s favorite baby foods. He has a more fickle attitude towards raw carrots now, so I came up with this creamy risotto as a way to get some of that vitamin-A rich carrot into him. The husband was skeptical but surprised that it didn’t taste “too healthy.” People often think risotto is unhealthy but in fact a lot of the creaminess comes from the starch of the rice, and you can make perfectly rich risotto with just a little butter and cheese, no cream needed.

Rice is traditionally a heavily pesticide-treated crop, so in addition to the dirty dozen produce items, look for organic rice when you can. I love Lundberg’s organic California-grown rices for most other uses, but use an organic Italian carnaroli, from Cascina Belvedere, for risotto.

Recipe: Organic Carrot Risotto

Ingredients:

• 4 large organic carrots, peeled
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 2 shallots, diced
• 1 1/2 cups organic carnaroli or arborio rice
• 2 cups chicken or vegetable broth
• 2 cups water (including reserved carrot water)
• pinch of white pepper
• 1/4 cup parimigianno reggiano, grated
• minced parsley to garnish

Instructions: Cut carrots into 1/2-inch pieces and steam until just tender, approximately 10-12 minutes. Reserve the water, and puree cooked carrots with in food processor until smooth. Add spoonfuls of cooking water as needed to thin the puree; it should be about the same consistency as apple sauce.

Add water to reserved carrot water to make 2 cups. Combine with stock in a stock pot and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium low and leave to simmer while you begin the risotto. In a dutch oven or large saucepan, heat butter over medium low until melted. Cook shallots until soft and translucent (do not brown), about 5 minutes. Stir in carrot puree and cook 2 minutes. Stir in rice and cook 1 minute. Ladle in broth, about 1/2 cup at a time, stirring and letting cook until liquid is absorbed between each addition. Repeat until all the liquid is added and rice is thick and creamy, about 25 minutes. Stir in pepper, salt and cheese; stir and remove from heat. Sprinkle with parsley and serve. Makes 4 servings. Enjoy!

Shared with Presto Pasta Nights, created and hosted this week by Ruth of Once Upon a Feast.

Ruth’s Presto Pasta Nights was one of the first foodblogging events I stumbled across when I began my blog, and I am thrilled to now be hosting the holiday edition! One of the great things about the event is getting a peek at how pasta is enjoyed all across the world, and our first submission comes to us from Greece!

Ivy of Kopiaste to Greek Hospitality writes from Athens, Greece, to share Tagliatelle with Chicken and Veggies.

Navita of Zaayeka shares a Spaghetti Americana.

Kitchenette of Got No Milk creates a lactose-free Tetrazzini Reconstructed.

Ferdzy of Seasonal Ontario Food submits an easy weeknight Whote Wheat Noodles with Stir-Fried Vegetables.

Gilli of So So Simple cooks up an Italian Chow passed down from her mother-in-law, for a holiday buffet.

Robin of Made with Love shares Ham & Shells Casserole, with a ziti twist.

City Girl of City Girl Lifestyle adds a Greek twist to Shrimp Scampi Pasta with Feta.

Daphne of More Than Words writes from Perth to share a celebratory Chinese Seafood Mee Sua; stop by and congratulate her on passing her University exams!

And another submission from the South Pacific, Ning of Heart and Hearth in Manila shares Cheezy Beefy Twirls.

Back in the Northern hemisphere, Katie of Thyme for Cooking writes from Lot et Garonne, France, with Chicken with Cauliflower Pasta.

Mary of One Perfect Bite shares Thai Rice Noodles with Beef and Spinach.

And Marye from Baking Delights writes with a dish that combines three of my favorite things, Artichoke & Parmesan Pasta.

Our founder Ruth of Once Upon a Feast received an early gift of Giada’s Kitchen and prepared her Pasta with Shrimp, Arugula & Lemon Oil.

As for me, I’m still enjoying leftovers of the Cherry Coconut Kugel I baked for my son’s daycare holiday potluck.

Thanks everyone for participating and thanks to Ruth for allowing me to host this week! Presto Pasta Nights is now officially on holiday vacation. Visit the archives to get your pasta fix between now and January 9, and submit your latest creations to our founder Ruth of Once Upon a Feast, ruth (at) 4everykitchen (dot) com, by January 8 to be included in the first round-up of 2009. Happy Holidays!!

As mentioned previously, I’m hosting this week’s Presto Pasta Nights round-up. Hanukkah starts this weekend, so it’s only fitting to share a traditional Jewish kugel (noodle casserole) for the holiday edition of PPN. I am the non-Jewish spouse in our family, so I didn’t have the benefit of family recipes when learning how to prepare all the requisite holiday dishes. On the flip side, my mother-in-law is not a big cook so I had some freedom in not having to make dishes exactly the way my husband had always had it. Sweet noodle kugel has been one my favorite dishes to experiment with, probably because it appeals to my pasta-loving Italian roots. I did learn a trick from a friend who did have a Jewish grandmother, which is to blend the sauce ingredients before mixing them into the noodles to eliminate the graininess of the cottage cheese. I often serve this with brisket for dinner, but it also makes a great brunch dish for Hanukkah or Christmas (or Chrismukkah!) – it can be made ahead and served warm or cold.

Ingredients:

• 12 oz. wide egg noodles
• 1 pound cottage cheese
• 1 pound sour cream
• 3 eggs
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 8 ounces dried cherries

Topping:

• 1 cup crushed corn flakes
• 1/2 cup grated unsweetened coconut
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar

Instructions: Bring pot of water to a boil and cook noodles for 2 minutes less than recommended time, drain. Meanwhile, combine cottage cheese, sour cream, eggs, sugar and vanilla in blender or food processor until smooth. Combine with noodles and cherries and pour into lightly oiled 9 x 12 baking dish. Combine topping ingredients and sprinkle over noodles. (Omit brown sugar if using sweetened coconut.) Bake 45 minutes, until top is golden. Cool at least 10 minutes before cutting. Great the second day, straight from the fridge or reheated. Makes 12 servings. Enjoy!

To submit a favorite pasta recipe for Presto Pasta Nights, send me an email at foodietots at gmail dot com. Check back for the round-up Friday afternoon!