Pasta Pie

Welcome all to my new blog.  Since I love trying new things in the kitchen, one of my friends mentioned that I start a blog telling about my experiences.  Well that is exactly what I am going to do!  Haven’t you ever seen a recipe and wondered if it will REALLY come out the way they say it will?  I am here to find out.  When I travel, I will be able to post all the new and unique foods I come across too.  As an added bonus, I will also throw in some tricks and tips I learn along the way.

Let’s start the fun off with a Pasta Pie.  You can check the recipe at http://noblepig.com/2009/03/18/when-the-moon-hits-the-sky.aspx.  When I originally stumbled across this site, I knew I just had to try it and I finally have!

Making the recipe

Overall the recipe is pretty simple but just takes a while to make.  As I made the sauce, it already seemed thick once I added the tomatoes but I let the garlic and meat flavors blend together and simmer while I stood the noodles up in the springform pan.

Looking at the package, I wasn’t sure if the 1lb of noodles was going to be enough but I ended up with about 20 extra noodles.  As I was stuffing the noodles into the springform pan, I discovered two things: 1) The noodles stand up a lot easier if you put the pan on a slight angle, and 2) Not all noodles are the same length!  Once the pie is complete, the different heights didn’t really matter but I also tried to space out the short ones.  Once all the noodles were in the pan, there was extra parmesan cheese left that didn’t stick so I sprinkled it around in some of the noodles (can’t go wasting good cheese!)

One thing that is different from how you may normally cook it is that I prepared everything the night before but filled the noodles with the sauce the next day.  I heated up the sauce to make it easier to stuff, and as a result didn’t notice any major delay in cooking times because the noodles were cold.  One way to get the sauce to make its way down the noodles better is to gently tap the pan on the counter.  I didn’t end up with any leftover sauce but I also didn’t any up with any craters like are shown in the original recipe page.  I also highly recommend putting the springform pan on a cookie sheet as it tends to leak out the bottom a little bit.

The Result

The pie came out great!  Here is a picture of how mine turned out.

Here is one after it has been cut along with the rest of our dinner.

The pie had a lot of good flavors going on especially the garlic added in.  The garlic had a definite presence but was not overwhelming by any means.  The parmesan around the noodles made for a excellent crust on the outside.  I had some friends over to help me taste test the final product and they all agreed that it was fabulous as well.

Would I make this again/recommend it?

YES!  Not something for a quick dinner in a hurry but would be excellent for a dinner party as a way to spruce up a spaghetti dish.  It would probably be a big hit with kids as well.