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Let ziti spice up family mealtime

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By JEFF HOUCK

jhouck@tampatrib.com

Published: November 15, 2009

Chef Mario Batali and country music singer Martina McBride are promoting Share the Table, an effort to get people to have more meaningful dinners together. When people go online to SharetheTable.com and pledge to improve family mealtime, Barilla will donate $1 to Meals on Wheels, up to $150,000.

To get the ball rolling, Batali offers a recipe for Ziti With Spicy Pesto "Pantesco" and Pecorino Cheese. It runs here.
Pizza Parlor memories

Mary Ellen Heuer of Tampa wants to revisit the salad from the famous Pizza Parlor, a small Italian eatery on South Dale Mabry Highway near Lois Avenue that closed in the 1980s.

Heuer loved that the salad came "in a small bowl but was piled about a foot high with a green olive on top."

Linda Aversa of Lithia sent a recipe for the salad that she clipped a few years back when it was printed in the Tribune. She hasn't tried the recipe but says the Parlor "used to be my favorite hangout. It brings back great memories."

Greek roll craving

This month, I wrote a story about the Tampa Greek Festival at St. John the Baptist Greek Orthodox Church.

"Reading your story on the Greek festival made me wonder if you know of any places to purchase eastern European/Slovakian holiday pastries," writes Jackie Kunzmann. "I used to know the Slovak words for them, but Americans simply call them 'nut rolls.'

"My dad loves them, and my grandmother would never share her tricks for baking them. She gave me the recipe, but I swear she left something out because my dough would not rise. It tasted right, but just would not rise. Rather frustrating."

If readers know any place in the Tampa or Pinellas County area that makes them, "I will be forever in your debt."
Strawberry cake thanks

For more than a month, we ran a request from Elsie Gunn of Tampa for a cream cake similar to those sold at local groceries.

It seemed like a lost cause. I had readers writing me to tell Elsie to give up the search.

Then a few weeks back, Vivian Whitehurst of Sun City Center sent a recipe for Fresh Strawberry Cake.

Elsie wrote to say thanks.

"It sounds delicious and I am looking forward to going to my daughter's house in Plant City when the fresh crop of strawberries come in, and letting my 11-year-old granddaughter Kayla help me make it," Gunn writes.

"She loves to help grandma cook and make cakes, so it will be a fun time for us," she says. "We will share it with some of Kayla's friends, but of course, we will have to make sure grandpa and Uncle Johnny get their fill of it first. Maybe later we can make one for Kayla to take to school for a special treat for her middle school (sixth-grade) classmates. We made a Halloween pumpkin cake for her class."

It's always good to hear about how the recipes get used.

Calling all readers

Thanksgiving is only days away. Then again, everything is days away, when you think about it. Just depends on the number of days.

Anyway, we'll all be up to our giblets in leftover turkey soon.

Got a casserole you like to make? Maybe you have a soup or sandwich that hits the spot.

Send me your best recipe and I'll pick one to feature here in the column. The winner will receive a copy of "Gourmet Today," the new cookbook by former Gourmet magazine editor Ruth Reichl.

E-mail recipes to me at jhouck@tampatrib.com.

Leftover requests

Joan Shalleck in Sun City Center shares the story of attending a New York City wedding reception many years ago where the cake was provided by a well-known Brooklyn bakery called Sutters. The cake was dark, very moist and had raisins and dried fruits inside. The icing was a simple, white sugar glaze. The recipe may have a Colonial Williamsburg origin.

Carole Swinehart of St. Anne, Ill., wants the recipe Steak and Ale used for its Signature Herb Roasted Prime Rib and its crab-stuffed mushrooms.

THE PIZZA PARLOR'S ITALIAN SALAD

1/2 head lettuce torn into bite-size pieces

1 to 2 tomatoes, cut into bite-size pieces

1/2 cup salad olives

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese

DRESSING:

1/2 cup olive oil

1/2 cup juice from jar of olives

1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1 tablespoon cider vinegar

1/2 teaspoon sugar

To assemble salad, mix lettuce, tomatoes, olives and cheese. For dressing, mix oil, olive juice, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, cider vinegar and sugar. Pour over salad and serve immediately.

ZITI WITH SPICY PESTO "PANTESCO" AND PECORINO CHEESE

1 box Barilla ziti

1/2 cup fresh mint leaves, packed

1/2 cup fresh basil leaves, packed

1 cup fresh parsley, packed

2 cloves garlic

2 tablespoons capers, rinsed and drained

4 medium fresh plum tomatoes, roughly chopped

1 tablespoon black pepper

1 tablespoon crushed red pepper flakes

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

1 cup freshly grated Pecorino cheese

Preparation time: 10 minutes

Cooking time: 15 minutes

Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add 2 tablespoons salt.

Place mint, basil, parsley, garlic, capers, tomatoes, black pepper, red pepper and half the olive oil in a blender. Process in short bursts until roughly chopped.

Turn blender on full and drizzle in remaining oil and process until smooth, about 1 minute. Remove pesto and place in a large serving bowl.

Cook ziti according to the package instructions until al dente. Drain and transfer pasta to a large bowl.

Add pesto and toss like a salad to coat. Sprinkle with grated cheese and serve.

Makes 4 to 6 servings.

Seeking a recipe? Write to Jeff Houck, The Tampa Tribune, P.O. Box 191, Tampa FL 33601, or e-mail jhouck@tampatrib.com. Keyword: Recipes, for more recipes and to check out our archive.

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