Tuesday
Mar092010
baked ziti with spicy Italian sausage
Tuesday, March 9, 2010 at 7:50PM 
Living in Hoboken, NJ for three years, we came to love real Italian American cooking. We lived on the far west side of town (not that far since the whole of Hoboken is one square mile), which put us within easy walking distance of Leo's Grandevous. Named by Men's Journal as one of the best bars in America (agreed), the real star is the plain spoken Italian American food, heavy on marinara (gravy) and cheese. The meatballs there were perfection. I remember walking those blocks from our condo to Leo's several nights each week after our son was born. We needed carbs and comfort, and Leo's delivered every time.
Since moving away from Hoboken, we miss Leo's a lot. There are nights where I found myself in Hoboken after work (a great place to park when you're headed into NYC, with a quick trip on the PATH standing between you and Citarella on 9th for their lemon bars and cheap grey salt), and Karen has told me to swing by Leo's for a fix of Garlic Parm bread, oozing with provolone and a side of marinara.
When we can't get to Leo's, we make baked ziti, based upon a recipe from America's Test Kitchen. Tons of flavor. We add some spicy Italian sausage in at the beginning of the recipe, lightly browning it before we add the garlic. Then, we crank up the heat of the red pepper, eyeballing it between 1/2 - 1 teaspoon. Live dangerously.
Your weeknight meals just got happier.
Recipe | Skillet Baked Ziti
Reader Comments (4)
Since you turned me on to this I think I must make it 3 times a month!
I make it meatless, use rigatoni, the extra crushed red pepper like you, and petite diced in garlic/olive oil instead of plain crushed.
It is so weird, but it really tastes like "restaurant food"!
@brandy101: Agreed, this tastes way better than it should.
This has become a favorite in our house too thanks to Chris! I even had to buy a new pan that is just right for making it. I pretty much throw in whatever is in the fridge that day and it comes out great!
I remember going to the Grandevous with you and Karen years ago. Fun and Delicious!