Ricotta Cheese

What's the correct way to rehydrate sun-dried tomatoes? Previously, I just soaked them in water and used them in my recipe, but they tasted bitter -- not at all like the sweet, juicy, plump tomatoes I've tasted in restaurant dishes. Thanks for your help. Unless you buy your sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil, they will need to be rehydrated with liquid. A rule of thumb is to cover sun-dried tomatoes with warm water and soak for two hours at room temperature. You can get a feel for how long they should soak by feeling how flexible they are -- the stiffer they are, the longer they should soak.

Academy Award-winning actor Robert De Niro lunched at a Harbor East restaurant Saturday. De Niro had an early afternoon meal with actor and restaurateur Chazz Palminteri at his six-month old establishment Chazz: A Bronx Original in the 1400 block of Aliceanna St., according to restaurant spokeswoman Marianne Ortiz. De Niro was accompanied by several other guests, she said. He was on his way to Washington for the Kennedy Center Honors, scheduled for Sunday. Also present for the meal were Sergio and Alessandro Vitale, who run the business with Palminteri.

To celebrate its 100th anniversary, Pollio Dairy Products has created a quick recipe featuring the company's Polly-O ricotta and mozzarella. Other brands of cheese should work as well.Speedy Skillet PastaServes 4 to 61 pound ground beef1 (28-ounce) jar spaghetti sauce2 cups water3 cups pasta, uncooked1 (15-ounce) container ricotta cheese2 cups (8 ounces) shredded mozzarella cheeseBrown meat in large skillet until cooked through. Drain off excess fat.Stir in spaghetti sauce and 2 cups water and bring to boil.

Rick Seyfried from Columbia was looking for a recipe he has lost for making a quick Christmas Stollen bread that he found on a package of Jell-O vanilla pudding mix some years ago. He said that he has written the "Jell-O company to search their archives for the recipe to no avail. " I searched the Kraft food website but could not locate a recipe for a stollen that used pudding. However, in my internet search I did find on http://www.tasteofhome.com an excellent quick and easy recipe for making a stollen.

This elegant fish dinner is fancy enough for a holiday dinner party. Yet it's simple to make and most cooks will need to buy just four ingredients. We served our fish with two kinds of sauteed squash. The fish sits on a bed of zucchini strips. We shaved thin slices off two large zucchini and sauteed the strips in a little olive oil with dried tarragon. The chopped yellow squash, on the side, was sauteed the same way.Nutritional breakdown)Serves four: each serving has:* Calories: 240* Protein: 32 grams* Carbohydrates: 2 grams* Fat: 10 grams* Cholesterol: 65 milligrams* Sodium: 330 milligramsShopping list*1 pounder flounder fillets* Ricotta cheese* Fresh parsley* Lemon* Pantry: dried tarragon, paprika, pepper and saltWHAT YOU NEED1 pound flounder fillets1/2 cup ricotta cheese2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley1 teaspoon dried tarragonteaspoon salt1/8 teaspoon peppermedium lemonPaprikaIf fish fillets are large, cut into four serving pieces, pat dry. Mix cheese, parsley, tarragon, salt and pepper.

Just about everyone loves the taste of fresh bananas. This easy recipe makes a delicious treat for any special occasion -- even if it's just dinner tonight.Very Easy Banana Pie1 large or 2 small bananas, peeled and sliced1 envelope plain gelatin1 cup water5 to 6 ice cubes1 0.9-ounce package sugar-free banana pudding1 teaspoon sugar1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon3/4 cup low-fat ricotta cheese1 Keebler chocolate-flavored ready-crust pie crustMint leaves for garnishExtra bananas for garnish2 squares semi-sweet chocolate for garnishPut gelatin in blender with two tablespoons water.

Lighten up. The foods of summer should leave a pleasantly full feeling in the tummy, not an "I ate the whole thing" heaviness.Omelets always make a good hot weather choice, but you'll need to detour from the usual Cheddar cheese or western versions in order to start jaded taste buds salivating. This Fastlane Feast omelet takes an unusual twist, relying on ready-made pesto sauce to do double duty -- as a flavoring and as a liquid for sauteing the vegetables. The Italian theme is carried through with use of a mild, creamy ricotta cheese filling.

My introduction to watercress came years ago when my family went hiking through Kettle Moraine in eastern Wisconsin. This stunningly beautiful range of ridges and ponds came alive with thatches of green growing in the fast-running brooks. Naturally, I had to discover for myself what this thriving vegetation was. One taste of the peppery leaf was a giveaway. It had to be watercress. I became an instant fan but had to wait for years until supermarkets caught up with my appetite. Now watercress, a harvested crop, is widely available in supermarkets and farmers' markets.

CANNED PINTO BEANS are featured in this update of a classic lasagna dish. This meatless main dish makes enough to feed a crowd. Instead of layering the lasagna noodles, you simply spread them with a savory filling of the beans plus broccoli and ricotta cheese. Roll them up, top with tomato sauce and bake.Canned beans, an excellent source of complex carbohydrates, are precooked so they don't need the long soaking and cooking times necessary with packaged dry beans.This recipe is from The Pillsbury Co.Vegetable Lasagna Roll-ups12 uncooked lasagna noodlesSauce:1 15.5-ounce can pinto beans, drained1 15-ounce can tomato sauce1 14 1/2 -ounce can Italian style stewed tomatoes, undrained1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil or 1 teaspoon dried basil leavesFilling:1 15-ounce carton part-skim ricotta cheese1 15.5-ounce can pinto beans, drained1 cup chopped frozen broccoli cuts, thawed and well drained1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil or 1 teaspoon dried basil leaves2 garlic cloves, minced1 onion, finely choppedTopping:1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheeseHeat oven to 375 degrees.

Academy Award-winning actor Robert De Niro lunched at a Harbor East restaurant Saturday. De Niro had an early afternoon meal with actor and restaurateur Chazz Palminteri at his six-month old establishment Chazz: A Bronx Original in the 1400 block of Aliceanna St., according to restaurant spokeswoman Marianne Ortiz. De Niro was accompanied by several other guests, she said. He was on his way to Washington for the Kennedy Center Honors, scheduled for Sunday. Also present for the meal were Sergio and Alessandro Vitale, who run the business with Palminteri.

Rosalind Mann of Baltimore was looking for a recipe for a ricotta cake. She did not give any detail as to what type of cake she was looking for, and I received several variations of what our readers knew as ricotta cakes. I was most intrigued with a recipe sent in by Frances Bedini of Florida, Mass. Her recipe, called Italian Ricotta Cake, came from her mother-in-law, who Bedini says made it for the family every Christmas. It is much like a cheesecake, with a buttery bottom crust topped with a rich creamy filling.

Thick, creamy pasta sauces don't have to be laden with calories, and they don't have to take forever to make. Sometimes it is just a matter of stirring in the right ingredient. In this case, ricotta cheese. To borrow a tip from chef and cookbook author Mario Batali, hot pasta water is blended with the ricotta to "melt" it into a creamier texture. For this recipe, we broiled cherry tomatoes to get optimal flavor, and used their juice to help create the sauce when we mixed in the cheese.

Big Sky Cooking By Meredith Brokaw and Ellen Wright Vintage Restaurant: Handcrafted Cuisine From a Sun Valley Favorite By Jeff Keys Gibbs Smith / 2006 / $34.95 Here's more Sun Valley cuisine, this time with a greater emphasis on fusion fare; for example, Fresh Alaskan Halibut, Mediterranean Style; Asian Mahogany Chicken Bowl; and Grilled Chile-Lime Prawn Salad. Many of Jeff Keys' recipes require a lot of prep work and the lists of ingredients for each stage of a dish could have been listed in a less-confusing manner.

Ruth Wignot of Lenior City, Tenn., was looking for a recipe for a cheesecake that uses an artificial sweetener in place of sugar. Janet Morrissey of Baltimore sent in a recipe for what she says is "without a doubt the best sugar-free cheesecake around." It is from George Stella's Food Network show, Low Carb and Lovin' It. The recipe is for a crustless cheesecake, but Morrissey says she has mixed finely chopped nuts, Splenda and butter to make a very thin bottom crust. She thinks, however, that it really doesn't need a crust.

What's the correct way to rehydrate sun-dried tomatoes? Previously, I just soaked them in water and used them in my recipe, but they tasted bitter -- not at all like the sweet, juicy, plump tomatoes I've tasted in restaurant dishes. Thanks for your help. Unless you buy your sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil, they will need to be rehydrated with liquid. A rule of thumb is to cover sun-dried tomatoes with warm water and soak for two hours at room temperature. You can get a feel for how long they should soak by feeling how flexible they are -- the stiffer they are, the longer they should soak.

Can you ever get enough blueberries during the summer? If you're like me, the answer is no. Why even try to limit yourself? Summer blueberries are plump, satisfying and wholesome. And local berries, which are coming to markets soon, are so much juicier than imported crops, you'll want to experience the delicious difference. Depending on where you live, you should be seeing home-grown blueberries now through August or early September. Of the seasonal berries, such as strawberries, raspberries and blackberries, I prefer blueberries for baking.

Can you ever get enough blueberries during the summer? If you're like me, the answer is no. Why even try to limit yourself? Summer blueberries are plump, satisfying and wholesome. And local berries, which are coming to markets soon, are so much juicier than imported crops, you'll want to experience the delicious difference. Depending on where you live, you should be seeing home-grown blueberries now through August or early September. Of the seasonal berries, such as strawberries, raspberries and blackberries, I prefer blueberries for baking.

Sometimes Italian dumpling recipes can be problematic. They work perfectly several times, then for some reason, the results are disappointing, even disastrous.Some cooks blame "kitchen gremlins," unknown pranksters who play cruel culinary tricks -- often when the unsuspecting cook is suffering from a case of overconfidence. More likely, these culinary inconsistencies are the result of variations in the ingredients and/or climate. Some recipes are a matter of texture and feel, such as combining just the right amount of flour or water to make a perfect dough.

Angela Hall of Reisterstown requested a recipe for shrimp lasagna. Carol Wilson of Bend, Ore., responded with a recipe that includes crab meat and shrimp. Wilson noted that the recipe is good made with leftover baked or barbecued salmon. Seafood Lasagna Serves 6 1 clove garlic, minced 3 tablespoons butter or margarine 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper 1 cup each milk and reduced-sodium chicken broth one 10-ounce package frozen cooked shrimp, thawed and rinsed 1/2 pound cooked crab meat or imitation crab 1 cup (8 ounces)

My introduction to watercress came years ago when my family went hiking through Kettle Moraine in eastern Wisconsin. This stunningly beautiful range of ridges and ponds came alive with thatches of green growing in the fast-running brooks. Naturally, I had to discover for myself what this thriving vegetation was. One taste of the peppery leaf was a giveaway. It had to be watercress. I became an instant fan but had to wait for years until supermarkets caught up with my appetite. Now watercress, a harvested crop, is widely available in supermarkets and farmers' markets.