The birthday dinner

Heard the expression 'Don't do as I do, do as I say'? This applies here. I made a recipe I haven't made since we moved in with the lovely new stove. I cooked a simple baked pasta using my existing recipe time, I dropped it back by ten minutes 'to be safe', but otherwise left it to it's own devices. Fortunate I chose to set the timer for ten minutes less, as goodness knows what the full forty five minutes would have achieved!

I can usually trust my nose to tell when something is ready, but I have to be in the vicinity of the oven for this to work. Being outside with the family meant that I was left with a rather burnt pasta 'lid'. Thankfully it was salvageable, and in fact, the crunchy dark bits were popular, which perhaps says more about my cooking than I'll care to go into.

Anyway this recipe IS really simple. Obviously the cooking time and temperature are a little off for me now, but I think reducing it back to 180C from the original 200C will do the trick.

Our son requested a pasta dish with tomatoes for tea, this is what I served up, much to his delight. Having Dutch blood, he's a little Kaaskop who loves cheese as much as his mum, so to have tomato *and* cheese was a bonus to Master Four. It's hardly as healthy as it might sound, there's lots of cheese, a heap of butter and even sugar in it, so it's treat food, but considering what he could have ordered up for his birthday meals, I felt a bit of indulgence was called for.

Tomato Cheese Penne Bake

500g penne
100g butter
800g chopped tinned tomatoes
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp sugar
freshly ground black pepper
225g extra tasty cheese ('tasty' is a generic term for Cheddar-style cheeses in Aus)
225g mild tasty cheese*
Extra cheese for topping (optional)

Preheat the oven to 180C.

Pop a big pot of water on to boil. Dice the cheese into smallish cubes, not being to precious about it. Perhaps aim for about 2cm dice.

Cook penne until done (this recipe seems to work best with it cooked through I think). Drain the pasta and return to the pot on a low heat. Stir through the butter and, when it has melted add the tinned tomatoes and juice, salt, sugar and pepper until it's all mixed in.

Toss through half the cheese, and stir in, when it's well incorporated do the same with the rest of the cheese.

Tip the mixture into a 4 litre baking dish and smooth out. Dot the top with a few extra cubes of cheese if you wish, but the top should still be more tomato than cheese here.

Bake until the top is crispy (NOT burnt!) and the centre is beautifully gooey. 35 to 45 minutes should do you.

Serve immediately, with a salad if liked.

Serves 4 with a hearty appetite.

*I am not sure why the two cheese combos are called for, but I have tried altering the recipe and it really doesn't work as well - no idea why.


Whoopsadaisy! Couldn't even get away with the term 'caramelised' on this one! It IS supposed to be a bit crusty, not Cajun blackened.