» Tina

Hotcakes

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I know, I know, it has only been a few weeks since we last cooked the cover of Bon Appétit but… what can you expect really? Have you taken a look at the May issue?

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These delightful maple pancakes where just about as big of a treat as getting to spend a long weekend together with Ginger!

 

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Something savoury to celebrate

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There is a small corner of my mind that is always flirting with the concept of savoury drinks. It started a few years back when I was working as a barista and doing the occasional competition. I had grown tired of the sweet drinks. Seriously, we are so bombarded with sweet drinks that something a little savoury always sounds like an intriguing break to me. The problem with savoury drinks is that they are tricky. I have tried numerous ideas, and based on trial and error I can tell you this for sure, NEVER EVER EVER make yourself a sparkling iced Americano. Really bad idea. If you think about the number of savoury options that are out there, the caesar and the bloody mary are two of the few drinks that come to mind. Perhaps it is a sign, savoury is just to tricky to make well.

I however am not ready to give up on the idea just yet. Perhaps the answer to the savoury drink conundrum lies in infused syrups. In fact some of my favourite coffee drinks are ones that feature herb infused syrups. So, a few weeks ago when I saw Love and Lemons Lavender French 75 it got me thinking about what other options might just work. I decided to start slowly with this recipe from Martha Stewart. It is lightly sweet, a little tart and has just a hint of celery on the end. If you aren’t to sure about savoury flavours in a cocktail this is the place to start.

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Celery French 75
Adapted from Martha Stewart

1/2 cup sugar
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2 tablespoons packed fresh celery leaves, plus more for garnish
3/4 cup fresh lemon juice (from 4 to 5 lemons)
6 ounces gin, chilled
1 bottle (750 mL) sparkling wine, such as cava or prosecco, chilled
lemon twists, for garnish

Directions
In a small sauce pan combine sugar and water. Simmer the mixture over medium heat, stirring until the sugar has dissolved. Remove pan from heat and add the celery leaves. Allow to cool. Strain out the leaves and discard.

For the cocktail, combine 1 tablespoon of celery syrup, 1 tablespoon of lemon juice and a half an ounce of gin. Top with sparkling wine. Stir lightly to incorporate. Garnish with a celery leaf or a twist of lemon.

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Orange ginger almonds

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A few weeks ago I shared with you one of the perks of being involved in a food blog. This week let me enlighten you with the second reason. Recipe testing. One of my co-workers showed up to the office earlier this week with a little tub of roasted almonds from Whole Foods. Orange ginger almonds to be exact. We all gathered around her desk to sample the almonds. We marvelled over their roasty taste, their sweet crunch, the spicy ginger and tangy orange flavours. We looked at the ingredients, wrote them all down, discussed some tactics for making the nuts and finally I was challenged to recreate the recipe and post it.

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Not one to back down from a challenge, I accepted and here we are. Since I am not the recipe creating queen, through a quick google search I was lucky enough to find that just about everyone and their dog is in love with Whole Foods orange ginger almonds. There where recipes galore and I even found the original recipe. Problem is, they are all different. Some called for egg whites, some for honey, some for sugar, some were baked in the oven, others on the stove top!

It was all too tricky for me, I needed a distraction. So I saddled up to the computer and ordered myself a new pair of running shoes. With the shoes ordered, I was ready to make some decisions. Honey, salt and baked on lower heat for longer.

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Orange Ginger Almonds
*These aren’t exactly like the Whole Foods almonds. But they are highly addictive.

For example, infections of the prostate, bladder, urethra or the semen-producing glands can trigger painful burning or itching during or after ejaculation. order viagra Keep in mind, most times it is due to sexual problems that the men and women face today. canadian generic cialis The later is an inhibiting enzyme which lies in the medicine of Ajanta pharma “Kamagra”.Incapability or impotency both terms are related to same problem of inability on bed. sildenafil 25mg Looking to buy the most effective medication generic viagra cialis generic?Buy from our online medical store. 2 cups raw almonds
1/2 of a navel orange, zested and juiced
1 teaspoon ground ginger
3 tablespoons honey
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt

Directions

Preheat oven to 300F.

Zest and juice half an orange. In a mixing bowl combine almonds, orange juice, zest, ginger, honey and salt. Mix until combined.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and spread almonds out in a single layer. Bake for 20-30 minutes checking and stirring often.

Let cool completely before serving. Store in an air tight container.

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Cook the cover or die

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Have you ever had someone tell you that they would basically disown you if you didn’t cook something for them? Yeah, that happened to me. The whole ordeal started about a week and a half ago at the grocery store when my partner in crime noticed the April cover of Bon Appétit. He is either fairly observant, or maybe just an eavesdropper, but he certainly is a tricker and some how knew how to play me to get just want he wanted. After examining the cover he said to me “Hey, weren’t you and Ginger going to try to cook the cover of Bon Appétit again soon?” You can guess what happened next. I absent-mindedly confirmed his suspicion and the next thing I knew the magazine was in our grocery bags and I had committed to spending my Sunday making Fried Chicken Sandwiches with Slaw and Spicy Mayo.

Long story short. I cooked the cover and it was delicious!
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Panna cotta with rosemary honeyed apricots

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One of my all time favourite things about having a collaborative blog with Ginger is the opportunity it provides to play off of each others ideas. That is exactly what I did this week. I’m sure that you remember Ginger’s decadent Cheesecake with honeyed apricots. When I saw it I nearly lost my mind, apricots, fresh or dried are a favourite of mine, and as luck would have it I was on the hunt for a delicious, quick and easy dessert.
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I knew that a cheesecake, as yummy as it would have been, wasn’t quite in my timeline. So I stole the honeyed apricots idea, it fit with my timing and I began searching for something to pair them with. In these types of situations I like to turn to google for help. I did numerous random searches like “best easy dessert in the world” or “quick and easy dessert”, what kept coming up for me was Panna Cotta. Apparently, if you don’t know how to make Panna Cotta, you should, because it is a lifesaver. Not only are the ingredients simple but you can easily fancy it up with a little fresh fruit, a compote or honeyed apricots!
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Perfect Panna Cotta
Server 4 | Adapted from David Lebovitz

You can find the recipe for the Honeyed apricots with Ginger’s cheesecake recipe.

1 cup half-and-half
1 cup whole milk
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1 teaspoons of vanilla extract
1 packets powdered gelatin (about 4 1/2 teaspoons)
3 tablespoons cold water

Heat half and half, milk and sugar in a sauce pan. Once the sugar has completely dissolved remove the pan from the heat and add in the vanilla.

Lightly oil four custard cups or teacups with a flavourless oil.

Add cold water to a medium mixing bowl and gently sprinkle the gelatine powder over the water. Allow to sit for 5 to 10 minutes. Pour the warm Panna Cotta mixture into the medium bowl and stir until the gelatine is full dissolved.

Divide the Panna Cotta mixture amongst the four oiled cups and chill until firm. This will take about 2 to 3 hours. If you are unmolding your Panna Cotta run a sharp Knife around the edge of the dish, unmold onto individual serving plates and top as desired. Enjoy!

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Grilled thin crust pizza

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The sun came out in full force this weekend and I attacked the patio and a few other areas of the house will equal force. Sweeping, trashing old plants that didn’t make it through the winter, giving a little TLC to the ones that did make it and finally I dusted off the BBQ. Around here, one of the indicators that spring is really here to stay, coincides with the first usage of the BBQ. It is official, spring is here.

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It may be clear to those of you who often visit the blog, that I am not the hugest meat-eater in town. I don’t really know how to cook much meat therefore I often stick with recipes that call for bits of meat here and there, as opposed to a huge rack of ribs of some such thing. What that also means is that a lot of the traditional BBQ items never really make it onto our grill. And I am often left pondering what other foods could be prepared on the BBQ.

One of my favourite things to throw on the BBQ is homemade thin crust pizza. This no-raise recipe is fast and easy and works well as a base for pizza, flatbread or I bet you could even use it as a rustic wrap! Once I have whipped up the pizza dough I like to make a couple of variations, one tradition and a second experimental version. This usually leaves something for everyone, even the more adventurous members of the family. This time round my experimental version was topped with mozzarella cheese, potato, caramelized onion, a bit of crumbled bacon and finished with pea shoots after grilling. I have big plans for my next creation, I am thinking of an adaptation of  Kelsey from Happy Yolks Grilled Carrot + Carrot Green Pesto + Asiago Grilled Cheese  recipe. I’m pretty sure that it is going to be magic once new carrots start showing up at the market! Experiment or make something tried and true, it is up to you. I’m know both will be delicious.

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Grilled Thin Crust Pizza
Makes two 10-inch pizzas | adapted from The Kitchn

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3/4 cups lukewarm water
1/2 teaspoon instant yeast
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoons salt

Preparing the dough
Fill a measuring cup with lukewarm water, add the yeast to the water and stir to dissolve. Add the flour and salt into a large mixing bowl and pour in the water and yeast mixture. Using a wooden spoon mix the dough until incorporated. The dough will be loose and sticky. Turn the dough out onto a clean working surface and knead until smooth and elastic. About 5 – 10 minutes. Add additional flour a tablespoon at a time if the dough is overly sticky. Divide into two equal portions, cover will a towel and allow to rest while preparing the toppings of your choice.

Grilling the pizza
Pre-heat grill to about 600F. Roll out the dough, roll until it is about 1/2″ thick, the dough will stretch out more as you transfer it to the grill. Transfer dough from the working surface to a cookie sheet or cutting board. Brush one side of the pizza with olive oil. Place the pizza oiled side down on the grill. Leave the BBQ’s lid open and cook for 3 minutes. While the first side of the pizza is cooking bring pizza topping out to the grilling area. You will need to top the pizza quickly so, being organized is helpful. Depending on your grill you may want to check the pizza half way thru the cooking time and rotate it if needed. Once the 3 minutes is up lightly oil the top side of the pizza and flip it, freshly oiled side down onto the grill.

Working quickly, add your toppings to the grilled side of the pizza dough. Keeping the toppings light seems to work best with this type of thin crust pizza. Once you have placed all your topping on the pizza, close the BBQ lid and cook for an additional 5 minutes. Using tongs or a flipper remove the pizza from the grill, cut into pieces and serve!

 

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Homemade creme easter eggs

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I wish that I could tell you that these didn’t take the better part of an evening to make and that they totally weren’t worth the trouble. That would be a lie. Truth is, I did spend a good 4 hours in and out of the kitchen mixing, freezing, photographing, shaping, freezing, photographing, freezing, tempering, dipping… and so on. But it was totally worth it.

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Growing up, creme eggs were always the Holy Grail of Easter candy. They were soft, creamy and slightly gross, in that intriguing kind of way. How did that gooey yellow centre stay in the middle of the egg? How did it all get inside a chocolate egg? These were questions I wanted to know! Damn Cadbury and all their tricky candy!! They just kept me wanting more.

Although creme eggs don’t hold quite the hallowed spot that they used to in my holiday treat line up, I can’t seem to let Easter pass without one somehow ending up in my grocery basket. This year I have stayed strong, that is until I saw the DYI creme eggs up on Food52. I just couldn’t say no, they used to be a childhood favourite after all. Who doesn’t want to relive fond childhood memories?

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So what sets these guys apart from the 2$ version that you can pick up at just about any store in the city? Um, let’s see. First there is the outer layer of silky rich dark chocolate, gone is the overly sweet milky chocolate. And the filling? The filling is smooth, but not to runny, sweet with a hint of salt (which is sheer genius) and finally there is the slight crunch of the tiny beads of vanilla. All and all a sophisticated take on the classic and you can rest assured knowing that you can pronounce every single ingredient used in the making.

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So if you love your creme eggs as much as me and you have a few hours burning a hole in your evening, visit Food52 where Ashley Rodriguez shares the complete recipe and instructions and shape up a batch for yourself. Remember to read the recipe through first! I always like to remind you of this because I often fail to do so. While I didn’t take the time to read the recipe through this time, I did set aside a little time to read some of the comments. You should do this too, I found a lot of the comments to be really helpful. Good luck, and Happy Easter!

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Parisian pocket picnic

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If the world were to need a picnic champion, I could easily be that champion. I am the picnic proponent in my circle and am quick to point out that there is virtually no situation where a picnic isn’t appropriate. For example, it is sunny out after 6 days of rain… sounds like the perfect time for a picnic. It’s your birthday… we should go on a picnic to celebrate. The work week is complete… picnic. Just want to relax a little… picnic. Wanna hang out with your friends but haven’t cleaned your house lately… picnic. See what I’m saying? You probably want to have a picnic right now don’t you? What about a winter picnic? That sounds like marvelous fun to me too and yes, I have thrown the “p” word around a few times already this year.

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I am sure that it isn’t a big surprise to you that picnics can be great fun. But, you might find yourself thinking “If picnics really are so wonderful, why do I have them so infrequently?”. I’ll tell you why, because you haven’t embraced the pocket picnic yet. When it comes to picnics it is easy to over complicate them, preparing 7 different salads, packing the BBQ, bring 4 coolers of drinks, 17 blankets, a volley ball net… and the list goes on. Not every picnics should be that complicated. Picnics can also be easy, relaxing and spontaneous.

A few years ago while Ginger and I were vacationing in Paris (yeah vacationing, we are fancy that way) all of my preconceived notions about picnics being complicated affairs changed. Some of my best memories are of the outdoor lunches that Ginger and I enjoyed together. We arrived in Paris in late september. Paris has the most beautiful falls, the weather is crisp and fresh in the morning, but warms by early afternoon. There were many an afternoon where Ginger and I found ourselves in the middle of some city square, famished after a morning spent in a museum. In those moments nothing was more inviting than the warmth of the afternoon sun and a park bench.  This is how the Parisian pocket picnic came to be. Every Parisian street is not complete without a lovely bakery and the majority of those bakeries made wonderful baguette sandwiches and pastries (in my case I always went for the flan, big surprise). A sandwich and a small treat were easily stowed away in our pockets or perhaps even an oversized Longchamps tote while we headed off down the street in search of a patch of sun to enjoy a simple, yet tasty lunch in.

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With a pocket picnic there are no excuses. A beautiful sandwich comes together quickly or is easily picked up at the local deli and before you know it, you are enjoying a sunny park bench. Some of my favourite sandwiches are the simple ones, filled with a nicely curated selection of vegetables, a hard boiled egg, maybe some beets, something pickled and of course Dijon mustard. Next time you see the sun peeking out from behind the clouds, pack up a quick pocket picnic and afterwards try to tell me that a quick hour spent in the fresh air didn’t just make your day.
We made these sandwiches two ways, one was vegetarian and the other had a spattering of French salami. Another fun way to customize your sandwich is with the mustard and the olive oil. We used a tarragon mustard and a good quality olive oil but, I imagine dijon and a nice lemony vinaigrette would also be a delightful addition.
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Boiled Egg, Seared Asparagus & Pickled Onion Sandwiches
Adapted from The Kitchn | Serves 2

1/2 a bunch of thin asparagus spears (about 15-20 spears)
2 demi baguette
4 slices of cheese (go with something full fat like havarti, brie or chèvre)
2 eggs, hard boiled
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons diced raw onion
2 tablespoons French tarragon mustard
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
salt and pepper

Hard boil eggs and set aside to cool. Prepare the asparagus by trimming off the tough ends, if you couldn’t manage to find thin spears cut them in half length-wise. Now for the quick pickle, dice the red onion and place it in a small bowl topping with red wine vinegar, set aside allowing the pickling magic to happen.

Bring a large skillet to high heat and add a splash of olive oil. Carefully add the asparagus to the pan searing for about 3-4 minutes per side. Only turn the asparagus once or twice as you want to spears to char a little.

Cut the baguettes in half and smear one side of the bread with mustard and the other with a little olive oil. Top each sandwich with two slices of cheese, half of the asparagus, a sliced egg, pickled onions and salt and pepper to taste.

 

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Magic rose custard cake

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One thing is certain, I like eggy dishes. Savory, sweet, breakfast or dessert, I love them all. There is nothing like a cherry clafouti, a flan, popovers and Dutch babies. Love them. Last week while perusing through some of my usual food blogs in search of dinner ideas, I encountered White on Rice Couple’s Magic Custard Cake. A custard cake is my dream, the soft custard middle, a thin cake layer, awwwwww.

It took me all of about 5 minutes to decide that I was going to make this magic custard cake, and I was going to make it as soon as the last bite of dinner was down.

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I have made the cake a few times now. Yes, a few times in the last week. Here are a few tips to keep in mind. Temperature is important, make sure that your butter and milk are not too hot. Adding a splash of vinegar to the egg whites will help them hold their shape and leave you with a fluffier cake layer. Finally when you are folding the white into the batter, you want to achieve a fairly even consistency. Under mixing the whites will give you a two layer cake without the soft custardy centre and over mixing with give you a very thin cake layer.

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Magic Rose Custard Cake
Adapted from White on Rice Couple

Ingredients
1/2 cup unsalted butter
2 cups milk
4 eggs, separated
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1 1/4 cups confectioner’s sugar
1 tablespoon water
1 cup flour
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 teaspoon food-grade pure rose extract (not rose water);
extra confectioner’s sugar for dusting

Preparation
Pre-warm your oven to 325°F. Butter a 8″x8″ baking pan.

Warm the milk to about lukewarm and set aside. Then melt the butter and let it cool down a little. In a medium size mixing bowl beat egg whites to a stiff peak, adding the vinegar at the halfway point. Set the eggs aside.

In a second mixing bowl mix together the egg yolks and sugar until the mixture is a pale yellow. Continue mixing while adding the melted butter and the tablespoon of water. Mix until incorporated.

Beat in the flour, once smooth slowly add the milk, vanilla and rose extract, continue mixing until the batter is smooth. Divide the egg whites into thirds and fold in one portion at a time until all of the eggs are folded in.

Pour the batter into the baking pan and bake until the top of the cake is golden, about 45-60 minutes. Allow to fully cool, dust with confectioner’s sugar and cut into squares.

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Brussels sprout + fennel lasagna

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After 45 min of sitting in front of the computer, editing photos for a totally unrelated project, it became clear that I was just procrastinating and I had no clue how to make a lasagna. This realization came as a bit of a shock to me. I have most certainly been involved in the making of these baked delights before, it seemed like a no brainer. But the truth of the matter is that I have never made a lasagne on my own.

While in the produce department of the grocery over the weekend, I found myself staring at the brussels sprouts and thinking of the lady down the aisle dishing up tiny samples of lasagna. In that moment I knew that I was going to have to make a brussles sprout lasagna. After all, I had made a pact with myself to use more brussels sprouts this season.

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I wanted this dish to pull inspiration from some of the lovely winter dishes that have made me fall in love with brussels sprouts. I have sliced the sprouts thinly, mixed a little meyer lemon into the ricotta and topped the whole dish with a creamy béchamel sauce.

With spring just around the corner, and the evening becoming longer and brighter, make sure to enjoy this cozy meal sooner rather than later.

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Brussels sprout + fennel lasagna

Ingredients
9 lasagna noodles
1/2 onion chopped
1 clove minced garlic
1 teaspoon dried italian herb mix
9 ounces extra-lean ground beef
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 cups brussels sprouts thinly sliced
1/2 cup fennel bulb thinly sliced
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1/2 teaspoon meyer lemon zest
2 tablespoons flat leaf parsley chopped
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter
1/4 cup all purpose flour
2 1/2 cups whole milk
1 bay leaf
1/2 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon (scant) ground nutmeg
1/2 cup grates mozzarella cheese

Directions
Pre-heat over to 375°.

Bring a pot of salted water to a boil, add noodles and follow cooking directions on the package. Drain cooked noodles and spread flat on a clean tea towel.

Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic, herbs and beef to the pan, cook for about 14 minutes or until the beef has browned. Season with salt and pepper and set aside.

In a sauce pan heated to medium heat, melt butter. Stir in flour and mix until smooth, slowly stir in the milk and add the bay leaf, salt and nutmeg. Turn pan to medium-low heat stirring occasionally until sauce thickens.

In a bowl mix together ricotta, lemon zest and parsley. Season with fresh ground pepper to taste.

Scoop enough béchamel sauce into a 8×8 baking dish to cover the bottom of the pan. Add a layer of noodles. Spread half of the ricotta mixture onto the noodles and top with half of the brussels sprouts and fennel. Add a second layer of noodles and more béchamel sauce. Next layer on all of the meat mixture and top with another layer of noodles pouring on additional béchamel sauce. Spread on the remaining ricotta, fennel and brussels sprouts and add the final layer of noodles. Pour on the remaining béchamel sauce and place in the oven.

Bake at 375° for 25 minutes. Sprinkle with mozzarella; bake for an additional 20 minutes or until cheese is melted. Remove from oven; let stand 10 minutes before serving.

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