[ChefJLynn]

Ok, so I am catering this party this upcoming Saturday. It is a failry informal sit down. So...to cut costs, we decided to go with an individual pasta type 'baked ziti' dish. I saw a while back ago "cupcake Lasagna" where you layer the lasagna in muffin tins to make them look like individual pasta cupcake servings. As always, my bright ideas have got me into a little bit of trouble. I talked the customer into baked ziti cupcakes, the same concept as the lasagna cupcakes. Now...how am I going to form baked ziti into a cupcake for or dish for, large enough for a serving, yet still presentable, yet still be able to re-heat it without it loosing its shape...please if you have any ideas, let me know.

Sincerely,

Crazy Tired

[tessa]

what about making up your zita as normal and instead of baking it in a big dish just do it in muffin pans with maybe something like spinach leaves around the outside and partially cook it in the muffin pans and then finish off just before service dont make it too wet though so it all holds together

[jpharris14]

you might want to try lining your muffin pans with foil for easy removal. i would use a smaller pasta so you can fit more in a portion size. try using tomato paste to thicken your sauce and use it as a binding agent, as well as extra cheese. reheat the dish in a water bath and top with fresh sauce before serving. try a couple of dry runs before saturday so you can get it right.
if it does not work let me know, i may have some other ideas.
good luck on saturday!
jeremy h.

[boar_d_laze]

First, it would be helpful if you could provide a description of your "baked ziti" recipe. So far, everyone's on a different page.

To me, it's a slightly sophisticated take on "mac and cheese." From a technical standpoint, it's a mornay (bechamel with cheese) base, enriched with egg, forming a custard which holds the pasta together.

If so, stiffening up the custard by making appropriate cheese choices, possibly changing the way some cheeses are added, adding a little half and half to the milk, and adding extra egg is not a big deal. Bumping the protein and butterfat contents, and using pleated muffin tin liners are probably all you need to make a rich ziti that will hold together well.

I'd also like to know what your "reheating" strategy is; and whether it's possible to save and reheat in the muffin tins, or if you have so many covers you have to do batches. It's possible your solution may lie in a mix of liners and buying a few more pans.

BDL

[youngbuck]

First off, I love this idea. Never seen such a thing. But, how about you go about it like a pot pie of some sort? Lay the pasta in the tin, put in your mix and then fold over the extra pasta, make some sort of design on top. Put a little bit of sauce on the plate, then the "muffin" and top it with a little fried basil or something to add some height. Best of luck, wish I could be more help. Cheers.

[ED BUCHANAN]

If you mixed ziti with riccotta, grated cheese, and a beaten egg with a drop of sauce cook them in a pam coated large cupcake pan in a water bath till the egg sets. Let cool and invert on greased sheetpan. later pan can be put in oven for reheat then put on plate and topped with sauce. You should have stayed with lasagna. Each noodle could have been rolled seperatly around a filling, so you have a neat round cylinder. The purpose of the egg is it willo combined with cheese hold it together. Cook Pasta Al Dente You can top with a criss-cross of mozzerella

[Koukouvagia]

It sounds like you will have to experiment with this idea a bit to get a consistant product that will reheat easily and not fall apart during plating.

If it were me I would go with ramekins - easy, no fuss.

But if you don't want to serve in ramekins I would say line the muffin tins with wax paper on the bottom. Butter the whole inside - that way your pasta will take on a bit of color and won't stick. I would also mix in a bechamel sauce to bind the pasta.

[Just Jim]

I think Ed has it right.
Mixing everything rather than layering.
The key is inverting them after cooking, so that the widest part is on the pan, so it doesn't fall.
Then you can cover and reheat, flip back over onto the plate to serve, then sauce, garnish, etc.
Neat idea.
Let us know how it comes out.

[ChefJLynn]

Thank you all for your time and help with the cupcake ziti! I got a ton of fantastic ideas, and I am going to experiment tonight! I will follow up and let you know the end result! I appreciate you all and your ideas!

ChefJLynn

[leilamh]

Originally Posted by ChefJLynn

Thank you all for your time and help with the cupcake ziti! I got a ton of fantastic ideas, and I am going to experiment tonight! I will follow up and let you know the end result! I appreciate you all and your ideas!

ChefJLynn

I found this on food network! Sounds easy and yummy.
Line each cupcake mold with a round wonton wrapper. Put a little Parmesan, a little mozzarella, and a little ricotta into each mold. Top with a little spinach and a spoonful of sauce. Repeat layers of wonton wrappers, cheeses, spinach and sauce, creating 6 layers in all, and ending with sauce. Sprinkle each lasagna with reserved Parmesan and mozzarella.