Sam And Daves Rich And Creamy Rigatoni N Cheese Food

SAM AND DAVE'S RICH AND CREAMY RIGATONI 'N CHEESE

Steps:

• 1. Preheat oven to 350. In large pot, bring water to boil, add 1 Tbl. salt. Boil rigatoni noodles according to package directions. Once cooked, drain but do not rinse the pasta. While pasta is boiling, grate cheese. (Start while water is heating.) Drain pasta well, shaking and tilting to remove all of the water, then pour pasta into large mixing bowl. Add half the cheddar, monterey jack and parmesan cheeses, and all of the the heavy cream. Stir well to combine, season with pepper and more salt to taste. Transfer the mixture to a 9"x13" casserole dish. Sprinkle the remaining cheeses on top, sprinkle nicely with paprika, pepper and parsley for pretty color, and bake for 30 minutes until golden brown and bubbly.

PORK CHOPS THAT MELT IN YOUR MOUTH

Steps:

• 1. Place just enough oil In skillet to barely cover bottom, heat to med-high heat, In meantime, season & lightly flour chops, if using panko you might need to rub a little olive oil on the meat to help the panko adhere. Preheat oven to 375.
• 2. Lightly brown both side of chops, place on baking sheet ( you can spray baking sheet with spray oil but not needed unless pork is very lean). Pop in 375 oven for 25 to 35 min. depending on thickness of chops.
• 3. NOTE: If using cube steak, reduce oven time to about 20 min.

DAVE ROBERTS' MAC & CHEESE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• Prepare rigatoni noodles according to package directions, but add a good bit of salt to the water. Once cooked, drain but do not rinse the pasta.
• Transfer pasta to a large mixing bowl. Add half the cheddar, monterey jack and parmesan cheeses, as well as the heavy cream. Stir well to combine, season with pepper to taste.
• Transfer the mixture to a 9"x13" casserole dish. Sprinkle the remaining cheeses on top and bake for 30 minutes until golden brown and bubbly.

LIMONCELLO CREME CAKE

Steps:

• 1. LEMON CURD: (Make Ahead) Roll room temperature lemons to loosen the juice inside. Then zest 7-8 lemons using a fine grater. Cut lemons and use a strainer to strain seeds from juice as you squeeze into a bowl.
• 2. Separate the 8 egg yolks and reserve 3 whites for the cake.
• 3. In the top of a double boiler, mix egg yolks, sugar, the 2/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice, and the lemon zest from all of the lemons.
• 4. Bring the double boiler to simmer and keep it there. Simmer and whisk constantly. Both the temperature and the whisking are necessary to prevent curdling. Simmer and whisk 10 minutes in this fashion until it becomes a thick pudding-like consistency.
• 5. Remove from heat and whisk in lemon extract. Add butter.
• 6. Whisk until it dissolves completely.
• 7. For a smooth lemon curd, strain the curd to remove the zest. You can leave it, though. I leave it in because I like the slight chewiness one gets from the zest.
• 8. Once the curd is strained, it's nice and smooth like pudding.
• 9. Pour into a bowl and cover with plastic wrap touching the curd to prevent a skin from forming. Place bowl in the refrigerator to cool completely. This will be used to make the mascarpone mousse. (My curd makes around 2 cups, and whatever the recipe makes, I use it ALL in the mousse.)
• 10. CAKE: (Can bake the cake a day ahead.) Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cut parchment paper to fit the bottom of a 10-inch springform pan. Spray cooking spray onto the pan. Place parchment paper in the bottom, and then spray paper too. Dust slightly with some dry cake mix.
• 11. Mix pudding mix and cake mix. Then add 3 egg whites, 2 tablespoons of oil, and 1 1/3 cup of water until the cake mix is moist. Mix 2 minutes (according to package directions).
• 12. Pour into springform pan. Place this into a larger roasting pan in case of leaking.
• 13. Place into the oven for 30-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
• 14. Remove from oven and allow to cool slightly before removing springform sides.
• 15. After removing springform sides, place the cake in the freezer for cooling. If baking the night before, I place it into the refrigerator and then place it into the freezer for about 2 hours the morning before I assemble the cake.
• 16. LEMON MASCARPONE MOUSSE: (Should also be made several hours before assembling to help the mousse set up before assembling.) Whip mascarpone until smooth. Continue to beat while adding sugar and lemon extract.
• 17. Check to see that sugar is dissolved. Then continue to beat while adding lemon curd. (If you stop beating while adding these ingredients, the acid of the lemon could curdle the mascarpone.)
• 18. Add limoncello while beating. When it's smooth, chill in the refrigerator. (I do not remove all of the zest caught in the beaters or wire whip. There will still be some in the mousse.)
• 19. LIMONCELLO SOAKING LIQUID: Combine water, sugar, and lemon zest in a saucepan. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring consistently until sugar is completely dissolved. Bring the heat up to medium-high and bring the syrup to a boil.
• 20. Remove the pan from heat and let sit for 2 minutes. Strain the liquid to remove lemon zest.
• 21. Stir in the limoncello and the lemon extract. Keep the syrup covered until ready to assemble the cake.
• 22. TO ASSEMBLE THE CAKE: Remove cooled cake from the freezer. Using a bread knife, carefully split layer into two layers, cutting all of the way through. Remove top layer, carefully, to wax paper with the cut side up. Carefully, loosen the bottom of the springform pan from the bottom layer by sliding knife or spatula between parchment paper and pan bottom. Then slide cake onto a cake plate with the cut side up.
• 23. Using a pastry brush or a spoon, put limoncello soaking liquid on each layer. (This is why I use the springform pan and cut the layers instead of using two or three round cake pans. The cut layers really allow the liquid to absorb into the cake.)
• 24. Using half of the mascarpone mousse on the layer of cake on the cake plate, smooth it out, and then place it into the freezer until well set. If you rush this, the mousse will squeeze out when the other layer is placed upon it. Return other layers to the freezer also.
• 25. Carefully, place the top layer onto the frosted bottom layer.
• 26. Spread mousse along the top of the cake. You can frost the sides of the cake if you want, but I do not always do that.
• 27. Grate white chocolate on top of the mascarpone mousse. Chill cake for several hours. It takes a while for the mousse to firm up and it's even better the day after it's assembled.
• 28. GARNISHES: When slicing, you may garnish with fresh mint and a lemon slice. Or, it looks really great garnished with a raspberry and some raspberry sauce.
• 29. NOTE: This can be made alcohol free by omitting the limoncello in the mousse, by increasing the sugar in the soaking liquid, and using lemon juice instead of limoncello.

HAM AND CHEESE RIGATONI WITH WHITE SAUCE

Steps:

• Butter a 2 quart baking dish and lightly sprinkle 1 tsp bread crumbs over butter. Just sprinkle it with your finger tips like you would sprinkle salt over plate. It will be very sparse.
• Pour milk into a medium saucepan. Using a seive, whisk in flour. Squash out any lumps.
• Place saucepan on high heat for 2 minutes to get the milk warm then turn down to just above medium to avoid boiling. When the milk is warm, add the butter, nutmeg, grated parmesan and a dash of salt. (be careful because your ham will be salty as well) Stir gently. Continue to stir until the sauce thickens, 15 - 20 minutes. (this is a long way to get a bechamel sauce but it comes out nice).
• Cook your pasta just to al dente, it will continue to cook in the oven.
• When the sauce is thick and creamy remove it from the heat.
• Put your pasta in a large bowl, add the sauce over top. (all of it, it looks like a lot but it makes a nice creamy dish) Mix gently.
• Add ham and mozzarella cubes, fold all together. Pour into baking dish and top with breadcrumbs and grated parmesan to your liking.
• Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes, sauce should be bubbly and tips of pasta will be golden.