Pepperoni Pizza Lovers Rigatoni Pasta

Yeah, I know you can see my reflection on the serving spoon above.  I was too lazy to create a whole new layer in Photoshop and clone it out.  Don't look too closely or you will see my favorite scraggly tank and my bed head which sometimes stays beddy until the early afternoon.   And it's good the camera is covering my face because I'll let you in on a little secret--I don't usually put make-up on to blog.  Sometimes I don't even shower.

And now I'm thinking that I should go back into my archives and check all of the silverware in every picture.  Who knows what I may have unknowingly revealed to the world in a the well of a spoon or the blade of a knife.  *Blogger shudders in fear*

But the pasta looks great, don't you think?  It was great.  It was a huge hit. So big, in fact, that my son-in-law said he might like it better than lasagna.  This is huge if you know my son-in-law.  Which you probably don't.  But still.

Before I give you my notes on the recipe, though, I have some important announcements to make.

First.  I shot the cover of a magazine.

Let me say it again.

I SHOT THE COVER OF A MAGAZINE. 

The December/January issue of eat.drink.Mississippi.  It's on the newsstands now.  Probably not in Alaska, though.  But definitely in Mississippi. 

Secondly, I have a spread in another magazine.

Let me repeat.  I HAVE A SPREAD...

...you get it, right?  I am excited.

The magazine is Town & Gown, another Mississippi magazine, and it's their December issue.  I have several recipes and photos.  You should *run* to the local bookstore to buy both of these.  Unless you live in Alaska.  Then I wouldn't bother.

 Okay, here are my notes: 

-First, I bought turkey pepperoni by accident and it was...weird.  It tasted good, but the texture was weird.  And curly.  I think I would prefer the regular variety better but it did taste alright.

-I used Bertolli's Olive Oil, Garlic, and Basil pasta sauce.  

-I used regular block mozzarella for the pasta part that I shredded myself.  For the layers, I used fresh mozzarella that I sliced myself and I really think it made this over the top good.  The kicker is that I don't know how much I used.  The package was very fresh, like from a local farm fresh, and it didn't have the weight on the package.  I estimate it to be about 12-16 ounces.

-My dish was an oval casserole dish, but I think a 13 x 9 inch would be fine.

-I placed mine under the broiler for a golden brown crust on top.

-Let this set for about 10-15 minutes before digging in.

Pepperoni Pizza Lovers Rigatoni Pasta

Printable Recipe

16 ounces dried rigatoni

1/4 cup butter

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

3 cups whole milk

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cracked black pepper

3 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

Non-stick cooking spray

1 (24-ounce) jar marinara or pasta sauce

1 (4.5-ounce) package pepperoni slices

12-16 ounces sliced fresh mozzarella

Grated parmesan cheese and red pepper flakes for sprinkling

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  In a large pot, cook rigatoni according to package directions to al dente.  Immediately rinse with cold water to stop the cooking process.  Drain and set aside. 

In a large heavy saucepan, melt 1/4 cup butter over medium to high heat; add flour and whisk for 1 minute.  Gradually whisk in the milk and continue to cook over medium to high heat, stirring constantly, until thickened and bubbly.  Stir in the salt, pepper, and 3 cups of the shredded cheese until melted.  Stir in the rigatoni.

Spray a 13 x 9-inch baking dish with non-stick cooking spray.  Pour in half of the pasta in a single layer.  Spoon 1/2 of the marinara sauce carefully over the pasta.   Top with 1/2 of the sliced fresh mozzarella and 1/2 of the pepperonis.  Repeat layers once ending with pepperonis.  Bake for 30-40 minutes or until cheese is golden brown and pasta is bubbling in center.  Let stand for 15 minutes before serving.  Sprinkle with grated parmesan cheese and red pepper flakes, if desired.

MK's Quadruple Chip Cookies

You guys.

It's like this.  I sometimes feel shallow for spending time writing a food blog. Often, in fact, if I'm being honest.  I feel shallow for spending the enormous amount of time that I do writing recipes for the blog and for contests.  Making dishes.  Taking time to make them look pretty.  Taking pictures.  Editing pictures.  Posting pictures, writing the posts, and then, all the social networking. 

(And I am not even good blogger.  The good bloggers post three times a week or more!) 

I mean, is this blog changing lives?  No. Waistlines, yes.  Lives, not so much.

I sometimes think to myself, "Why are you doing this, Lorie? Why?  Why?"  

But then I think to myself that hobbies are not bad, necessarily, right?

Unless your hobby is robbing banks, then yes.

But if like doing this, why shouldn't I do it?  And why can't this blog, in a very small, teeny, tiny way, maybe possibly do some good in the world?

So I know that I may appear all shallow and stuff on this blog.  I joke about Black Friday shopping and life crises that are NOTHING compared to what other people in this world are going through.  

But I am not as shallow as this blog looks.  I'm not.  Just know that my heart is to give.  So, yes, I normally give a portion of my ad revenue each month to a ministry that provides the basic necessities for survival to people of underdeveloped nations.  (I have a big heart for Africa.)  But I thought that maybe for December, I would donate 100 % of the ad revenue from this blog.  Not that that amount would be significant.  This blog is not a money maker.  But it would be something.

And I thought that maybe you could help by telling two or six friends about Mississippi Kitchen.  To help it grow.  So it can do some good.  Just a thought.  No pressure.

And I also thought that other bloggers might want to do this.  You know, like a blogging-giving challenge.  To give a portion or all of your blogging income if you have one for the month of December.  Wherever you choose.  And do some good in the world.

Because it is the season to give. 

And now for some yummy cookies.  Every time I make my chocolate chip cookies, I fall more in love.  This version is no exception.  I took it to the extreme by adding four different kinds of chips and I totally think it worked.  My sweet little grand-boy, who I'm sorry to say is also a cookie thief, wouldn't leave me alone when I was taking my pictures.

I had a pretty little set-up with a wine glass full of milk and a dessert glass full of cookies, but he came in and confiscated my props like he owned the place. He doesn't understand the importance of what a food blogger does and how much immense pressure I am under until I am able to finish a post and get it out to the masses.  He's kind of selfish like that.

 Here are my notes:

-I did not chill the dough.  I used a medium cookie scoop (i think it was about 2 tablespoons) and also a small one (1 tablespoon), but you could use any size you want.  The larger cookies baked for about 12 minutes in my oven, and the smaller ones for about 10 minutes, but your oven could be different, so just look for golden brown edges.

 -I love cookies that have the wrinkly tops.  These do. Yay!

-Puffy, chewy middles, and slightly crispy edges.

-Let them cool for at least 2 minutes on the baking sheet before transferring to a wire rack.

MK’s Quadruple Chip Cookies

Printable Recipe 1 cup butter, softened to room temperature 3/4 cup granulated sugar 3/4 cup brown sugar 2 eggs 2 teaspoons white vinegar 1 tablespoon vanilla 3 cups all-purpose flour 3/4 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon baking soda 1 tablespoon cornstarch 3/4 cups each milk chocolate, vanilla, butterscotch, and peanut butter chips Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Beat the butter and both sugars until light and fluffy. Add eggs and beat until mixed.  Beat in vinegar and vanilla.  Mix together the flour, salt, baking soda, and cornstarch in a large bowl. Slowly add to batter and mix just until blended. Stir in chips by hand until mixed.  Drop dough onto parchment paper lined baking sheet by a 1-2 tablespoon measure cookie scoop.  Leave about 1-2 inches in between cookies.  Bake 10-12 minutes or until cookies are set and light golden brown around edges.  Cool on baking sheet for 2 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.   There is a three year old boy somewhere in this picture.

Vanilla Bean Iced Coffee

Dear World,

Here is a secret about me:  I don't like football.  And I sit here silently typing this startling fact as my husband switches between the Ole Miss-Mississippi State game and Notre Dame-USC game, and these after he watched the Alabama-Auburn game earlier. 

But I have no complaints about him watching football, because my fine specimen of a man offered to watch our three year old grandson all day on Friday while my daughter and I made our way south to Mobile to hit some Black Friday sales. 

(He offered himself, I might add, and stayed home from hunting on his vacation day to do it.  How grateful am I for this guy?  XOXOXO!!!!) 

They had quite the exciting day starting with Bray giving Pop a fun little lesson on how to properly brush teeth.  ("Not that way, POP!  I DO IT!  Lemme do it!")  

I'm not sure that he combed his hair or put clean underwear on him, BUT he was called into the bathroom to aid in some teeny, tiny, hiney clean-up.

"Pop, I'm thwoo-oo, come and wipe me!  Pop?!  POP!"

Oh. My.  I think we may have conveniently forgot to tell him that Bray occasionally poops for fear the whole deal would be off.  But he handled it like a trooper, or so he let me know.

So daughter and I had a fun day, and by fun I mean we had to leave the house at 4 AM and drive for an hour and a half, stand in lines that rival Disneyland, and create a plan of attack to decide which eight items could be taken into the dressing room to be tried on first and which of the remaining 32 items should be left behind to be tried on during the second through fifth rounds. 

And this: 

My daughter made me take this picture on the very back aisle at Academy Sports.  I normally don't post pictures of myself unless they have been heavily Photoshopped, but this was our special bonding day so I made an exception.  I think we look pretty, don't you?

 Okay, enough about my life.  This iced coffee recipe is my favorite and I made it a little bit different this time by using a real vanilla bean.  Yes, I debated and debated on whether to do this or not as vanilla beans are precious commodities in my house (thank you, Rodelle!), but when I made this I was having a very stressful ten-day stretch and I just needed a little bit of pampering.  This did the trick.

Here are my notes:

-You should try this:  blend one cup of the iced coffee mixture, 1 medium frozen banana and 1/2 cup crushed ice or ice cubes.  You can thank me later.  Heaven.  I forgot to take a picture of it but it is sooooo good.

-I think this would be a good base to blend with some other flavors--butterscotch, chocolate syrup, cinnamon, etc.

-You can use instant coffee granules in place of the espresso.

-You can leave out the vanilla bean and add vanilla extract to your liking.

-The amount of espresso can also be adjusted for a more powerful jolt.

Vanilla Bean Iced Coffee

Printable Recipe

1/3 cup instant espresso granules
1/3 cup sugar
1 cup boiling water
1 vanilla bean, split and seeds removed

1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
2 cups cold water
4 cups milk
1-2 teaspoons vanilla extract (for extra vanilla-y punch)

Place the espresso granules and sugar in a bowl and stir in the boiling water until dissolved.  Stir in the vanilla bean seeds. 

Whisk in the sweetened condensed milk and cold water until combined.  Pour the milk into a pitcher.  Stir in the espresso mixture and the vanilla extract.  Chill in fridge for about an hour.  Serve over ice.