Cook, video host, recipe developer, bestselling cookbook author and dog mom Molly Baz has another surefire hit title for home cooks that evokes her vibrant personality and can-do attitude through a new collection of creative dishes.
Baz joined "Good Morning America" on Tuesday in tandem with the release of her highly-anticipated second cookbook, "More is More: Get Loose in the Kitchen."
From her quirky love of abbreviations for foods like Cae Sal -- Caesar salad -- to the love of her dachshund, Tuna, the former Bon Appétit senior food editor has become well-known and beloved in the food world and highly respected for her expertly executed dishes and seemingly effortless and fun cooking videos on social media.
Below, check out two recipes from her new cookbook to recreate at home.
"This recipe has been percolating inside me for about 10 years. Welcome to the inside of my brain. I've always wanted to develop a Bolognese recipe, but one that feels like it was prepared by Molly, not your nonna. It wasn't until I sat down to write this book that I felt I was ready. So please welcome the Broken Noodle Bolognese, my very Molly, very 'more is more,' OTT take on the classic. This version uses not one but two types of wine (why choose???), a bigggg dollop of miso paste in addition to the usual tomato paste, and rich mascarpone as it braises. Call me cray, but then tell me it doesn't taste GREAT."
Serves: 6-8
Pantry items
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Extra-virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons white miso paste
3 tablespoons tomato paste
3/4 cup dry red wine
3/4 cup dry white wine
1 pound lasagna noodles (not no-cook)
Finely chop 2 celery stalks, 1 large yellow onion, and 1 medium fennel bulb, stalks and all.
Finely chop the leaves of 2 large rosemary sprigs.
In a large bowl, mix together 1 pound ground beef and 1 pound spicy Italian sausage. Divvy up into 4 large, shaggy balls.1 Season lightly with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
To make the ragu: In a large Dutch oven, heat a few big glugs of olive oil over medium-high heat until it starts to smoke. Cook the meatballs, flipping every few minutes, until a nice thick seared crust forms all over, 10 to 12 minutes total. Transfer to a plate.
Add the chopped celery, onion, fennel, and rosemary, and cook until the veg are very cooked down and soft and begin to stick to the bottom of the pan, 10 to 13 minutes.
Stir in 3 tablespoons miso paste and 3 tablespoons tomato paste. Cook until they begin to sizzle and fry in the fat and stick to the bottom, 3 to 4 minutes.
Add 3/4 cup each of dry red and white wines, scraping to release anything from the bottom of the pot, then reduce the heat to medium.
Crumble the meat into smaller pieces as you add it back into the pot. Cook, mashing and stirring occasionally, until most of the liquid has cooked off and the pot is mostly dry, 9 to 11 minutes.
Stir in 2 1/2 cups water. Bring to a simmer, cover the pot, and reduce the heat to very low. Simmer, stirring once every 15 to 20 minutes or so, for 1 1/2 hours.
Stir in a couple big spoonfuls of mascarpone cheese. Leave the pot uncovered and cook at a very low simmer until the sauce has thickened, most of the water has cooked off, and the sauce is deeply flavorful, 1 hour or longer. Add a splash or two of water if you think it's getting too dry -- the sauce should be thick and rich but not dry. Remove from the heat and cover to keep warm.
Cook the pasta and serve: Bring a large pot of heavily salted water to a boil.
Break 1 pound lasagna noodles into irregular 2-inch shapes. Stir the broken noodles into the boiling water and cook until al dente, about 10 minutes. Just before draining, scoop out and reserve a big measuring cup full of pasta water.
If the ragù has cooled, reheat it gently. Stir the noodles into the ragu over medium heat. While stirring, add another fat spoonful of mascarpone and big handfuls of grated Parm. Keep stirring until the noodles are super saucy, adding splashes of the reserved pasta water if the ragu needs to loosen and tasting as you add the cheese until you're happy.
Divide the noodles among serving bowls. Top each with another dollop of mascarpone and a drizzle of olive oil. Serve with more grated Parm on the side.
"This garlic bread goes beyond the call of garlic bread duty. The way I see it, if you're gonna make garlic bread and commit to the wrath of garlic breath, you might as well REALLY make some garlic bread. One whole head of roasted garlic, 12 grated garlic cloves, and tons of sliced chives (that's the triple threat!) go into the supercharged garlic butter that you'll slather over a big loaf of challah bread, inside and out, for what may be the most extra garlic bread of all time."
Roast the garlic:
Preheat the oven to 375 F.
Cut 1/2 inch off the top of 1 garlic head, or just enough to expose the tops of the cloves. Place the head on a square of aluminum foil, drizzle with olive oil, season with kosher salt, and enclose.
Place on a small rimmed baking sheet and bake until the garlic is very soft and lightly golden, 45 to 55 minutes. Unwrap the foil and let the garlic cool.
Raise the oven temperature to 400 F.
To make the garlic butter:
Lightly smash and peel 12 raw garlic cloves. Finely grate the cloves. Yes, this recipe calls for a tonnnn of garlic.
In a small saucepan, melt 12 tablespoons unsalted butter over medium-high heat. When the foaming subsides, add the grated garlic and 2 big pinches of red pepper flakes. Stir and let cook until you see the slightest hint of golden on the garlic, 30 seconds. Immediately remove from the heat and season with kosher salt.
Squeeze the cloves from the roasted garlic head into the garlic butter, add any leftover oil in the foil, and mash to combine. It's OK if the mixture is a little chunky.
To assemble:
Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
Thinly slice 1 large bunch of chives.
Place a loaf of challah on a cutting board and, with your knife parallel to the surface, carefully slice it nearly in half horizontally so the loaf opens like a book.
Transfer the challah to the prepared baking sheet. Brush the insides of the loaf with half of the garlic butter. Scatter with half of the chives and a big handful of grated Parmesan. Close the bread.
Brush the remaining garlic butter over the top, separating the braids of the bread to brush butter in the crevices.
Bake until the challah is lightly golden and the butter is fully soaked into the bread on the inside, 14 to 16 minutes.
Remove the challah from the oven and immediately shower the outside with the remaining chives, remaining Parmesan, and flaky sea salt. Cut crosswise into slices and serve hot!
Recipes reprinted with permission from "More is More" Copyright © 2023 by Molly Baz. Photographs copyright © 2023 by PEDEN + MUNK. Illustrations Copyright © 2023 Claire McCracken. Published by Clarkson Potter, an imprint of Random House."
