Marcella Hazan’s Tomato Sauce ...... 2 Drunken Rum ...... 2 Rum Glaze ...... 3 Crunchy Top Mac and Cheese ...... 4

Marcella Hazan’s Tomato Sauce

This is perhaps the most famous recipe created by Marcella Hazan, the cookbook author who changed how Americans cook Italian food. It also may be her easiest. Use your favorite canned tomatoes for this and don’t be scared off by the butter. It gives the sauce an unparalleled velvety richness.

2 cups tomatoes, in addition to their juices (for example, a 28-ounce can of San Marzano whole peeled tomatoes) 5 tablespoons butter 1 onion, peeled and cut in half

Combine the tomatoes, their juices, the butter and the onion halves in a saucepan. Add a pinch or two of salt. Place over medium heat and bring to a simmer. Cook, uncovered, for about 45 minutes. Stir occasionally, mashing any large pieces of tomato with a spoon. Add salt as needed. Discard the onion before tossing the sauce with pasta. This recipe makes enough sauce for a pound of pasta.

Celantano Ravioli and Armour Italian Style meatballs from Harmons

Drunken Rum Cake

(Turning this “cake mix” recipe into a homemade cake wasn’t hard to figure out, of course. I blended a scratch yellow cake recipe with the rum and vanilla pudding, throwing in a couple extra eggs.)

3 cups all-purpose flour 2 cups 1 tablespoon baking powder 1/2 cup butter 4 eggs 1 3.4-ounce package (dry) instant vanilla pudding 1 1/2 cups milk

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1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla 1/2 cup dark rum Combine all the ingredients in a large bowl.

Before you add the rum, you might want to test it. Unless you’re trying to be frugal, because this is one of my cheap-but-special Christmas present ideas. You can bake this cake in a standard large Bundt pan, but you can also bake it in two smaller (7-inch) Bundt pans to give as gifts.

You don’t really want to give anyone bad rum, though, so you should probably check it. With eggnog.

Mix at medium speed for two minutes. Do not overbeat! Pour into one large greased and floured Bundt pan or two smaller Bundt pans. Place in a 350-degree oven. A large will take approximately 50-60 minutes. Seven-inch Bundt will take 35-45 minutes. Halfway through baking, I put a square of foil over the cake to keep it from over- browning.

Place the cake, still in the pan, on a wire rack until completely cooled. Invert onto a cake plate. Prick the cake all over with some kind of long doohickey that will reach all the way through the cake.

Rum Glaze 1/2 cup butter 1/4 cup water 3/4 cup sugar 1/2 cup dark rum Melt butter in saucepan. Add water and sugar. Boil for 5 minutes then add the rum.

You can check the rum again now if you want to.

Now drizzle the glaze over the cake, letting it soak in through all those holes. This cake gets better the longer it sits. In fact, you can let it sit in your refrigerator for weeks and it is just better. This cake makes a great gift, especially since it can be made ahead! Now, if you want the original short-cut “cake mix” version from the newspaper, here it is

1 package yellow cake mix 1 3.4-ounce package (dry) instant vanilla pudding 4 eggs 1/2 cup water

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1/3 cup oil 1/2 cup dark rum Follow all the above for mixing, baking, and glazing.

Crunchy Top Mac and Cheese

1 tsp olive oil 1/3 cup panko 1 20-oz package peeled and cut-up butternut squash (frozen works fine) ¾ cup vegetable broth 1 cup shredded reduced-fat sharp Cheddar 2 tablespoons grated pecorino 2 tablespoons light cream cheese 1 tsp Dijon mustard ¾ tsp salt 1/8 tsp cayenne 1 ¼ cups (4 oz.) mini pasta shells 2 cups small cauliflower florets (Walmart frozen with is nice)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Spray 9-inch square baking dish with nonstick spray. Bring large saucepan of salted water to boil. Meanwhile, heat oil in medium skillet over medium heat. Add panko and cook, stirring occasionally, until toasted, about 4 minutes; set aside. Add squash to boiling water; cover and return to boil. Cook, uncovered, until squash is very tender, about 10 minutes. Meanwhile, combine broth, Cheddar, pecorino, cream cheese, mustard, salt, and cayenne in blender. With slotted spoon, transfer cooked squash to blender and puree. (Leave water in pan.) Bring water back to boil. Cook pasta half the time directed on package; add cauliflower during last minute of cooking time. Drain; return to pot. Stir in puree and toss to coat. Spread pasta mixture in prepared baking dish; top with browned panko and spray with nonstick spray. Bake until top is golden and casserole is bubbling, about 25 minutes. Source- Weight Watchers Serves 4 (large portions)

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