Dan's Birthday: Ziti and Nut Cups

The one thing I remember the year after Dad passed away, was how quiet my landline was. He would call on every holiday. On Christmas morning, Valentine's Day, Arbor Day, any holiday. He was usually the first person to call on my birthday. That was the year I started hating birthdays. Kathy was similar in that she always sent cards- St. Patrick's Day, Halloween and birthdays. Sometimes she sent more than one birthday card! I knew holidays, especially my birthday would be difficult after Kathy passed, which is why I went away for my birthday.  


My brother's birthday is six weeks after mine. The main love language in our family was acts of service. I wasn't exactly sure how he was feeling about his birthday, we always called each other on birthdays, but didn't necessarily see each other for them as adults. Since his birthday was on a Tuesday, and I would be in the area for my $2 Tuesday thrifting at Goodwills in the Lehigh Valley, I thought I would cook and/or bake something for him, and drop it off. So over the weekend I made a tray of ziti, something he doesn't make, probably because Kim is gluten free, and put half in a Pyrex dish. Then, I cut up a cucumber and added a dressing cup of Italian dressing. Kathy, Dan and I all loved cucumbers in Italian dressing.  I also had some mini sub rolls (not hoagie) that I sliced in half, and prepared to be made into garlic bread.  


But perhaps the most surprising thing I found myself doing, was making him nut cups, which are these little pecan tarts.  There was a time, before I had Covid in August of 2022, when I LOVED to bake. I still do, but my palette has switched from sweet to savory, hence the joy I have found in cooking.  Regardless of my baking enjoyment, I would only make nut cups once a year because I absolutely despise rolling out dough. I can never get the thickness right and even after 20+ years of making these, I still haven't found the right size circle cutter. This time I used a smaller circle by choosing the top of an empty seasoning bottle container, which I did wash first so that the pecan flavor did not include a hint of garlic & herb. Because the circle of dough was smaller, they held  less filling, and my two dozen yield of nut cups for the recipe turned into three dozen plus one additional. I made 37 nut cups.  I packed up and labeled everything, and dropped it off. Though, it wouldn't be a surprise that I snuck in and covertly left food because Dan has cameras by the doors, I'm not entirely sure the cameras caught how many treats I gave the dog.


Dan sent several texts the week I dropped off the birthday food of the dog stalking him for a bite of whatever is being eaten at the time. I, for one, am surprised the nut cups lasted more than a few days.


Easy Ziti:

one 16 oz. box, plus half a box of rigatoni, ziti or penne, cooked and drained

one 15 oz. container of ricotta cheese, part skim

one egg

seasonings to your liking- salt, pepper, oregano, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, etc.

two 24 oz jars of tomato sauce (I use Francisco Rinaldi, Ragu gives me heartburn)

mozzarella cheese, amount to your liking

one casserole dish


Directions: 

1. Cook pasta according to the directions on the box. Drain and return pasta to the pot. While the pasta is cooking, cover the bottom of your casserole dish with a thin layer of sauce. This was a trick my Mom (who had no Italian in her) taught me so that the ziti doesn't dry out. Kathy watched me do this last summer and claimed she had no idea Mom did this.



2. In a small bowl, mix together the ricotta, egg and seasonings.

3. After the pasta is drained and back in the pot, mix it with the ricotta mixture. 




Then pour in and mix the pasta with sauce. Once everything is mixed, pour the ziti into the casserole dish, sprinkle the top with mozzarella cheese and cover with foil. Sometimes, I'll drop some dollops of sauce on top so the pasta doesn't dry out on the top either.


     I am not a huge fan of mozzarella cheese, so I put it on sparingly. There have been times that I haven't had it in the house and made the ziti without it, or used string cheese. Be creative.


4. Bake in a 350 oven for 35-40 minutes. Remove foil and bake for an additional 10-15 minutes to brown the cheese a bit.


5. Eat it with your own version of garlic bread.





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