Bucatini pie

I've had a long past 2 weeks, and so has B.  We're both working a ton, which is great, but with me leaving really early for work and him getting home from work as late as 11:15 p.m. (!!), I sometimes don't get to see him as often as I'd like (at least during wakeful hours).  Last night we both managed to be home by 9 p.m. and we even ate dinner together.  Turns out that today is my early day at work and he doesn't expect to work late, and I felt like that was cause for a (mini) celebration...or at least a home cooked dinner that was more than a protein and salad (our mainstay).  Honestly, I was probably only looking for an excuse to make this recipe, but heck, maybe I'll throw in a glass of wine and we can have a little party.

This recipe, much like the hummus I made before, is a savory one.  But unlike the hummus, it is baked and it does have the word "pie" in the title.  I've done a few savory things in the past (there was this garlic parmesan pull-apart bread and this killer mac and cheese) that also required baking, so I felt that this was an OK thing to post on this baking blog (which, by the way, turns 4 years old in 2 days!).

We usually make our own pasta sauce, which we call marinara sauce, for our meatballs and pasta.  I decided that, since I was going all out with this homemade bucatini pie, I might as well make some homemade sauce as well.  So I did just that!  We don't have a recipe, per se, but since I'm on this "savory kick," I've added a link to it here and below. 

Just one note about the pasta shape: I love bucatini but have found it difficult to find in the past.  Not all stores carry it.  Much to my dismay, there was no bucatini at either of the two grocery stores or two other bodegas that I checked out.  I used spaghetti instead and it came out really well!

Bucatini Pie
From Food and Wine

Ingredients:

4 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted and cooled
6 large eggs, beaten
1 pound bucatini, broken in half (Bucatini is a long pasta with a hole in the center so that it is actually a tube, also known as Perciatelli)
1.5 cups freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese (4 oz)
3/4 cup heavy cream
1/3 cup chopped parsley
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 Tbsp minced garlic
1 Tbsp freshly ground pepper (no, that is not a typo!)
2 tsp kosher salt

Warm marinara sauce, for serving

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 375F.
Lightly grease a 10-inch cast iron skillet (our cast iron skillet is technically a grill pan, with grooves on the bottom, so I baked this in a regular 9" round metal cake pain, adjusting a little for time since it was a bit thicker).

In a large pot, bring salted water to a boil.
Add the bucatini and cook until al dente (the pasta will continue to cook a little while baking)
Drain the pasta.
Run under cold water to stop the cooking.
Drain well.

In a large bowl, whisk together the butter, eggs, cheese, cream, parsley, olive oil, garlic, pepper, and salt.
Add the pasta and toss to coat.
Scrape into the prepared skillet.
Bake for about 30 minutes, until just set..
Remove from the oven.

Preheat the broiler.
Broil the bucatini pie 6 inches from the heat until golden, about 5 minutes.

Transfer to a rack and let cool for 10 minutes before cutting into wedges.

Serve with warm marinara sauce.

The pie can be kept at room temperature for 4-6 hours before serving.