Anonymous
Post 07/30/2025 13:06     Subject: Am I the only middle aged mother who didn’t know “ziti” is just red/meat sauce and ricotta?
Anonymous wrote:We called it "mostaccioli" growing up. All the midwest Italian families served it at the Catholic church suppers, weddings, and funerals.


Yes, every Midwest party had baked mostaccioli in the 80s/90s. Maybe still - I don’t live there anymore.
Anonymous
Post 07/30/2025 13:00     Subject: Am I the only middle aged mother who didn’t know “ziti” is just red/meat sauce and ricotta?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:We called it "mostaccioli" growing up. All the midwest Italian families served it at the Catholic church suppers, weddings, and funerals.


Mostaccioli is stumpier than ziti, isn't it?

I feel like we're on the verge of confessing our irrational hatred of certain pasta shapes


Mostaccioli is angled. Ziti is a straight cut.

It is basically the same dish.

But in the midwest, tubular pasta in a tomato meat sauce covered in cheese and baked until gooey is called Mostaccioli no matter if they are using ziti or penne pasta.

Mostaccioli is the generic "kleenex" word equivalent for this dish of midwest Catholic church suppers.


Shouldn't the FDA step in here and regulate the usage so that there is less confusion for the consumer and protect our EU trade partners?
Anonymous
Post 07/30/2025 12:24     Subject: Am I the only middle aged mother who didn’t know “ziti” is just red/meat sauce and ricotta?
Here's a mindblower for OP.
Scampi are actual crustaceans. Crawfish-like.
Shrimp scampi are shrimp cooked the traditional way scampi sre prepared.
Anonymous
Post 07/30/2025 10:32     Subject: Am I the only middle aged mother who didn’t know “ziti” is just red/meat sauce and ricotta?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:We called it "mostaccioli" growing up. All the midwest Italian families served it at the Catholic church suppers, weddings, and funerals.


Mostaccioli is stumpier than ziti, isn't it?

I feel like we're on the verge of confessing our irrational hatred of certain pasta shapes


Mostaccioli is angled. Ziti is a straight cut.

It is basically the same dish.

But in the midwest, tubular pasta in a tomato meat sauce covered in cheese and baked until gooey is called Mostaccioli no matter if they are using ziti or penne pasta.

Mostaccioli is the generic "kleenex" word equivalent for this dish of midwest Catholic church suppers.
Anonymous
Post 07/30/2025 10:24     Subject: Am I the only middle aged mother who didn’t know “ziti” is just red/meat sauce and ricotta?
Yea, it's big with my in-laws. I don't get the hype, but I'm also not a huge fan of American Italian cuisine overall. They way most people make baked ziti/lasagna/spaghetti are just the same red sauce, cheeses, and starch combo in different delivery methods. Once your start chewing, they're all the same.
Anonymous
Post 07/30/2025 10:20     Subject: Am I the only middle aged mother who didn’t know “ziti” is just red/meat sauce and ricotta?
Anonymous wrote:I think it’s hilarious that everyone is so surprised how easy it is to actually cook after they watch a Youtubr or TikTok video of someone telling them how to make it. If you can read you can probably make a most of the dishes you eat in restaurants. The recipes are all online - with multiple methods, substitutions, additions, and comments of 500 people who tried it and can tell you what works and dues not.

And even before the internet the Ziti recipe has been on the box of pasta!!


Yes. My teenage daughter just recently discovered how incredibly overpriced something like pasta with a simple sauce at a restaurant is -- how cheap it is to make at home and how easy. I love Italian food but it's hard a bit hard to eat out at a lot of Italian places because I know I can make the same things more cheaply, better, and quickly at home. So I eliminate half the menu that way. I sort of hate making home-made ravioli, though, so that's a always a good one to eat out. And eggplant parm is another one that's just such a pain to make at home.
Anonymous
Post 07/30/2025 10:08     Subject: Am I the only middle aged mother who didn’t know “ziti” is just red/meat sauce and ricotta?
I have GERD so I sometimes make the sauce less acidic by adding other veggies to the blend (carrots, peppers, sometimes squash). I love the taste of red sauces but my esophagus, not so much (sadly, it's genetic, I got my first flare up at 14).
Anonymous
Post 07/30/2025 10:06     Subject: Am I the only middle aged mother who didn’t know “ziti” is just red/meat sauce and ricotta?
I tasted baked ziti for the 1st time in college when a boyfriend made me dinner. It was amazing and I wondered how I’d never ever heard of it. I make it a few times a year as it’s easier than lasagna and so easy to customize. It’s also the meal I bring to others after a new baby, surgery or death in the family because I think it has wide appeal. I confess I always thought it was meatless until recently when I stumbled on a new recipe for it. Now I’ve been trying recipes from various sources to see if I can improve mine.
Anonymous
Post 07/30/2025 09:48     Subject: Am I the only middle aged mother who didn’t know “ziti” is just red/meat sauce and ricotta?
Get this Op - same recipe (ricotta + marinara + mozzarella), BUTswitch out ziti to spaghetti and call it spaghetti pie.
Anonymous
Post 07/30/2025 09:48     Subject: Am I the only middle aged mother who didn’t know “ziti” is just red/meat sauce and ricotta?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:It’s basically an Italian American mac and cheese — but far easier to make. And there’s no way to screw it up. Amazing.


Actually it’s really easy to screw up. If the proportions are wrong or it’s overbaked the ricotta gets all dry and curdy. So gross. Stuffed shells are even worse for this — almost no one can get them appropriately creamy. Maybe because people use reduced fat ricotta?

We ate ziti all the time growing up but never the thing Americans refer to as baked ziti. We often did it with home mad red sauce and a mix of hot and sweet sausage. I feel like at some point they started selling penne instead of ziti, but in the 70s, ziti was more common than penne. I think the only real difference is that penne ends are angled like a quill. The penne might also be skinnier.


There's really no need to bake it. I don't see any point in baking it. If you really want to brown some mozzarella on top, just broil it for a couple minutes. But really, shredded mozzarella can melt if the pasta is hot enough anyways, so even broiling is honestly unnecessary. I don't even think the mozzarella is needed on top.


I mean, if you're struggling to pay for cheese or the energy to bake it, sure, depression version not baked ziti would be sort of edible. But it won't be good.
Anonymous
Post 07/30/2025 09:48     Subject: Am I the only middle aged mother who didn’t know “ziti” is just red/meat sauce and ricotta?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:My baked ziti has a layer of provolone topped with sour cream, no ricotta, and I promise it's delicious

Baked Ziti Recipe https://share.google/xcxiXy2OHmb0MXaXZ



I promise you that is not baked ziti. Source: Lived in Italy many years.


Ah yes baked ziti, the famously authentic Italian dish.

I'm not PP, but seriously, when you're making food for yourself, eat what works for you. It's your food.
Anonymous
Post 07/30/2025 09:43     Subject: Am I the only middle aged mother who didn’t know “ziti” is just red/meat sauce and ricotta?
Anonymous wrote:We called it "mostaccioli" growing up. All the midwest Italian families served it at the Catholic church suppers, weddings, and funerals.


Mostaccioli is stumpier than ziti, isn't it?

I feel like we're on the verge of confessing our irrational hatred of certain pasta shapes
Anonymous
Post 07/30/2025 07:02     Subject: Am I the only middle aged mother who didn’t know “ziti” is just red/meat sauce and ricotta?
It is ziti shaped pasta, with red meat sauce and cheese, and baked. Therefore it is baked ziti

Anonymous
Post 07/30/2025 06:59     Subject: Am I the only middle aged mother who didn’t know “ziti” is just red/meat sauce and ricotta?
Anonymous wrote:My baked ziti has a layer of provolone topped with sour cream, no ricotta, and I promise it's delicious

Baked Ziti Recipe https://share.google/xcxiXy2OHmb0MXaXZ



I promise you that is not baked ziti. Source: Lived in Italy many years.
Anonymous
Post 07/30/2025 04:10     Subject: Am I the only middle aged mother who didn’t know “ziti” is just red/meat sauce and ricotta?
My baked ziti has a layer of provolone topped with sour cream, no ricotta, and I promise it's delicious

Baked Ziti Recipe https://share.google/xcxiXy2OHmb0MXaXZ