Baked Italy & Yai's Mai Tais

By Keegan Crowley

Almost as Good as Mama’s Cookin’…

Before I came to college, Sunday was the best-smelling day of the week. My mama bear always concocted something that made the entire house smell like an Italian eatery.

The past 10 Sundays have smelled like Bird Library, so in honor of taking a break from musty bookshelves and the burnt coffee at Pages, I cooked up a little preview of what my Thanksgiving break will smell like.

Let your creativity loose with the ingredients list and take an hour break from your bio lab to toss this recipe together for Italy in the Oven. Regardless of the ingredients you play around with, your kitchen will exude the happiest smells on Earth.

Ingredients:

1 can crushed tomatoes (or plain tomato sauce) ½ cup raw mushrooms (substitute any veggies you want) ½ cup green pepper (again, use whatever veggies you want) 1 clove garlic 1 sprig rosemary 1 tsp oregano 1 bag frozen ravioli (freedom to use whatever pasta you want) 1 cup mozzarella cheese

1. Preheat oven to 425 and boil the ravioli just until it floats. No matter what pasta you use, don’t cook it all the way. Drain and let it sit.

2. In a sauce pan, heat up the tomatoes or sauce for about 3 minutes. Add whatever raw veggies you want, or even meat like chicken, shredded pork, or bacon. Add chopped garlic, rosemary, and oregano and cover the sauce. Let simmer for about 15 minutes. If you’re using crushed tomatoes, let simmer for no less than 30 minutes.

3. In a small baking dish, put a small layer of sauce on the bottom.

4. Stir the pasta into the sauce, and pour it into the baking dish.

5. Cover with cheese and put in the oven for 15-25 minutes or until the cheese has melted and browned slightly.

6. Take out of the oven and enjoy the wonderful home-cooked smells before indulging.

Shout out to my peeps in Bangkok, waddup

Besides my madre’s cooking, there’s nothing I miss more right now than chilling with the cool cats I met while I lived in Thailand a few years ago. For a while, I stayed with a woman half my size and 5 times my age. She taught me how to make some stellar Mai Tai’s. I have no idea what Thai liquor she used, but for the purposes of not getting completely hammered after three sips, use rum.

Yai’s Mai Tais

1.5 oz Rum 4 oz lime juice 4 oz orange juice

Shake it all up in a tumbler. Pour into a glass, add a straw and one of those little umbrellas, and kick back with your best homies.

Keegan Crowley is a regular contributor to A Bite and a Sip, updated Tuesdays.