I HAVE to learn how to make this...

[Firefyter-Emt]

This is far from Self-Sufficient, but yesterday we ordered take out and there is a funny story too. First the story... My wife hands me a menu to pick out something, I see this special (someone's name, like "Brenda's Special") and it sounds good. I have her order that for me. So she calls and they are like "we don't have that", where do you see it? My wife keeps insisting it's right there and tells them what it is. (I am getting worried here by now...)

Well, she tells them it say's that it's a pasta dish with ziti, roasted peppers, egg-plant and chicken parm topped with mozzarella cheese. They tell her "ok, but it will be a couple bucks more than what our menu said" I am getting tiffed here and told her just go ahead!~

Well, they deliver the food and with it two new menus! This I thought was kinda funny when I noticed the menus were not from restaurant we ordered from! She had a pizza joint on speed dial and tried to order another restaurant's special! Which they made for me!

Anyway, help me out here to figure they best way to make this... as it was stunning! Ziti, cooked first or not? Roasted peppers layered on top, egg plant appeared to be non-fired and cooked with the dish. Chicken breast, pre-cooked and this all topped with parmesan sauce and cheese? Any thoughts? I like pasta, but for the poor pizzas joint making this off the fly, they hit it out of the park!

 

[Dace]

Funny story! Sounds like an awesome meal though.

Here a recipe for eggplant parm which has excellent reviews. If you dont want to fry it just roast off the eggplant first. Add in chicken as you assemble.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/tyler-florence/eggplant-parmesan-recipe/index.html

 

[patandchickens]

I don't know about the eggplant part as I am soooo not an eggplant fan, but as for the rest, I think you could make something pretty close to your description according to one of these two procedures:

First possibility

Cook yer ziti fully but not one smidge *past* sufficiently-cooked.

Mix w/spaghetti sauce or seasoned tomato sauce as you prefer.

Put in greased casserole dish.

Top with peppers and chicken, pull a little sauce over them if you want, then put shredded or sliced mozzarella over the whole thing.

Bake at some random temperature (anything between 350-425 should work fine) for like 15-30 minutes, covered with foil at first and then remove the foil 10 min or so before taking out of oven. Let sit 5 min before serving.

Second possibility

Cook ziti, toss with a little oil (I would fry up some garlic and maybe otehr stuff in the oil, personally).

Place ziti in greased casserole, top w/peppers and chicken, ladle sauce evenly over the whole thing, top w/mozzarella.

Bake as above.


For some mysterious reason, pasta baked in the oven in spaghetti sauce or tomato sauce, with cheese on it or mixed amongst it in cubes, is really a whole different critter than the same pasta tossed with the same sauce and the same cheese but never baked.

Good luck, have fun, too funny about the restaurant mixup ,

Pat