NEW YORK —
If there’s anything more comforting than boiled pasta in a sauce, it’s got to be baked pasta in a sauce. The baking adds a crispy crust that is such a delicious contrast to the tender goodness of the dish.
The challenge is how to get the pasta to turn out just right. Most baked pasta recipes instruct you to boil the noodles until cooked halfway before baking them. This allows the pasta to finish cooking in the oven as it bathes in the sauce. But this method has challenges. If you boil the noodles more than halfway, they’ll be overcooked by the time you pull the finished dish out of the oven. I find it hard to get the precooking time right.
And precooking the pasta, even halfway, takes work and dirties a large pot and colander. Then again, if you don’t precook the pasta and instead add it dry to the sauce for baking, it will take much longer to become tender in the oven, even as it absorbs all the liquid in the sauce. Dry pasta needs to hydrate.
So what’s a home cook to do? Use my simple no-cook method of precooking the pasta. Just soak the pasta in warm salted water before adding it to the other ingredients and sliding the mixture into the oven. Pre-soaking is a way to begin hydrating the pasta and washing away some of its starch, even as the salt in the water pre-seasons the pasta.
Yes, you’ll dirty a bowl, but given that that’s the same vessel in which you’ll combine all the dish’s ingredients, it’s the only bowl you’ll need. The soak requires 45 minutes, but it’s hands-off time, freeing you to prep the rest of the ingredients. Then it takes no time at all to assemble the dish and pop it into the oven.
Just 20 or so minutes later you can collect your reward: deeply flavored baked pasta, creamy on the bottom and crispy on top. Add a salad and some crusty bread and be happy.
BAKED PENNE WITH PROSCIUTTO AND FONTINA
Start to finish: 1 hour 15 minutes (20 minutes active)
Servings: 6
450 grams penne pasta
Salt
Butter, for coating the baking pan
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1 cup heavy cream
2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 cup crushed tomatoes
1 to 2 teaspoons red pepper flakes, to taste (optional)
1 1/2 ounces finely grated Parmesan cheese
115 grams coarsely grated fontina cheese
115 grams thinly sliced prosciutto, chopped
In a large bowl, combine the pasta with enough lukewarm, well-salted water to cover. Let stand for 45 minutes.
Heat the oven to 450 F. Lightly butter a shallow baking dish (12-cup capacity with 2 to 2 1/2-inch sides).
Drain the pasta and set aside. In the same bowl, combine all remaining ingredients, stirring well. Add the pasta, toss to combine, then season with a pinch of salt. Transfer the mixture to the prepared baking dish, pressing it down evenly. Bake on the oven’s middle shelf until bubbly and browned, 20 to 22 minutes.
Nutrition information per serving: 590 calories; 240 calories from fat (41 percent of total calories); 27 g fat (15 g saturated; 0.5 g trans fats); 100 mg cholesterol; 1060 mg sodium; 63 g carbohydrate; 3 g fiber; 5 g sugar; 24 g protein.
Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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BAGHDAD —
A suicide car bomb attack in a densely-populated neighborhood of Baghdad on Monday killed at least 32 people and left dozens wounded, police and hospital officials said.
Many of the victims were daily laborers waiting for jobs at an intersection in Sadr City, a sprawling majority Shiite neighborhood in the northeast of the capital that has been repeatedly targeted.
Pictures posted on social media shortly after the explosion showed a huge plume of black smoke billowing into the sky and seriously injured people being evacuated.
According to a police colonel, at least 32 people were killed and 61 wounded in the blast, the second major attack in Baghdad in three days.
At least 27 people were killed by twin explosions in a busy market area in central Baghdad on Saturday, in what was the deadliest such attack in the Iraqi capital in two months.
There was no immediate claim for Monday’s suicide blast but the Islamic State jihadist group has claimed all such attacks recently, including the double bombing on New Year’s Eve.
The caliphate IS proclaimed in 2014 is shrinking steadily and jihadist fighters are defending Mosul, their last major urban stronghold in Iraq.
Observers have voiced fears that the group, once it definitively loses its status as a land-holding force, could increasingly revert to targeting civilians in Iraq’s cities.
© 2017 AFP

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TOKYO —
Last year, popular Japanese confectionery chain Ginza Cozy Corner released their “osechi” cake set to ring in the year of the monkey. The cake sets are modeled after “osechi ryori,” which is served in stacked bento-like boxes and contains various foods each with special meanings, such as black beans for hard work and good health, and shrimp for longevity.
Now 2017 – the year of the rooster – is just around the corner, and Cozy Corner is back with their cute boxed cake sets and more to help us celebrate in sweet style. Sales of these treats run from now until Wednesday (unless otherwise noted) so you’ll want to hurry and pick yours up before time runs out!
Sweets “osechi”
9 cake set – 2,200 yen
12 cake set – 2,800 yen
These “osechi” sets include a variety of little cakes, decorated to celebrate the Year of the Rooster. You will find tiny tarts decorated with a cute rooster head, traditional New Year’s “kagami-mochi” (pounded rice cakes topped with a mikan), a roll cake topped with a New Year’s greeting, and more.
Year of the rooster cake (500 yen): Chestnut creme filling, including pieces of diced chestnut, sandwiched between two sponge cakes and topped with chestnut cream and whipped cream.
Daruma cake (500 yen): Strawberry whipped cream filling sandwiched between sponge cake, topped with whipped cream and raspberry jelly, decorated to look like a lucky daruma doll.
New Year’s greeting cheese souffle (530 yen): A cheese souffle with a fluffy, meringue-y texture, steam-baked to retain its softness, and stamped with the New Year’s greeting “geishun” (迎春).
Gateau chestnut cake (1,600 yen): A subtly-flavored chestnut pound cake, infused with rum and topped with chestnut cream, whipped cream, and candied chestnuts.
Rich matcha cheesecake (1,600 yen): A sponge cake made with matcha from Uji City, Kyoto. Topped with a yuzu citrus custard, matcha cheese mousse, and dusted with matcha powder.
Jumbo cream puff with fortune, vanilla or chocolate (115 yen): Light and fluffy puff pastry, filled with either vanilla bean cream or milk chocolate cream. If your fortune reads “daikichi” (大吉 “excellent luck”) you can receive one free cream puff, or if you get “cho daikichi” (超大吉 “extremely excellent luck”) you will get 10 free cream puffs! Sale of the vanilla puff runs until Jan 8, and sale of the chocolate puff runs from Jan 5 to Jan 8.
With around 400 stores around Japan, if you’re hoping to pick up something for yourself, you won’t have to look far. And you may want to keep an eye out for Ginza Cozy Corner’s limited edition Disney sumi-e New Year’s sweets too.
Source: PR Times
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— New take on traditional Japanese “osechi” is a sweet way to ring in the new year

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OKAYAMA —
Police in Tamano, Okayama Prefecture, said Monday they have arrested a 32-year-old man on suspicion of fatally stabbing a 38-year-old man on a mountain road on Sunday.
According to police, a man called 119 at around 4 p.m. Sunday, saying he had stabbed someone and gave the location. Fuji TV reported that police rushed to the site and found the victim, Maku Kohara, lying on the road, bleeding from stab wounds to his back and thigh.
Kohara, who lived in Kurashiki, was taken to hospital where he died at around 9:30 p.m. Sunday.
Police said Kohara’s car and another vehicle were parked near where his body was found. However, the owner of the second car, who is believed to have made the 119 call, was nowhere to be found. A bloodied knife was also found by the cars, police said.
Police on Monday traced the car to Ryotaro Yamaguchi and arrested him in Kurashiki.
Police said Yamaguchi has admitted to stabbing Kohara, whom he knew. He was quoted as saying he and Kohara got into an argument.
Japan Today

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TOKYO —
Like adoption, fostering a child is a long process that involves careful planning, complicated procedures and adaptation that affects every family member. In these three-series we follow Melodie Cook and her family on their journey from deciding to foster a Japanese girl, to meeting her and raising her as their older child.
“I want siblings!”
Two years ago, my son Shinji* started saying this pretty much every day. Having no other immediate family than us in Japan, we started understanding where he was coming from, but I was concerned about whether or not we could handle another child. I was over 50, so I knew that I didn’t have the energy for a really small child full-time. My husband, however, was well connected within the foster/adoptive community in our prefecture, so I suggested that we find a child who would like to do weekend visits with us. To do this, we had to start the foster parent certification process, which involved going to information sessions, attending talks by professionals and spending two days at an institution (I find it difficult to call these places “orphanages” now that I know many of the children in them have living parents) to play with the kids and see what their daily lives were like.
In order to expand our family, we decided to go through the process of getting our fostering certification. We began attending meetings where doctors and social welfare professionals gave statistics about the increasing number of children being put into institutionalized care, why this was happening, and what kinds of issues these children had. While the meetings were certainly informative, they were hardly practical. In other words, no advice was being given to potential foster parents about what to do when certain issues came up. We learned about ADHD, various learning disabilities, and so on, but no practical advice was given for how foster parents should handle these issues.
Our two-day visit to the institution was pivotal for me. My husband and I were assigned to spend an afternoon and evening with a different group of children. The first day, I was with a group of mixed-age children, including several high school students. We spent time doing origami, chatting, and cooking dinner together. I learned several things from doing this. First, I realized that many of these children had parents and had short visits with them from time to time. I also learned from some children that their parents’ relationships were far from happy. One little girl asked me, “Do you fight with your husband?” When I laughingly replied that we never did, she said, “My parents fight every day.” I also noticed that some of the older girls seemed to take pleasure in verbally or physically teasing the much younger ones.
The second day, I was placed with a group of third graders. I brought a book to read to them, but as soon as I sat down on the floor, I had one kid in my lap, one hanging off my back, and was surrounded by the others. A few little girls, marveling over my blonde hair, ran immediately to get their boxes of clips, combs, and brushes, and I felt like a practice head for hairdressing trainees. I enjoyed the “salon” treatment very much, and I could see how much these children needed adult attention and affection by their jostling each other to get it from me.
As we were going through the process, we found a Catholic institution through my husband’s contacts. The staff there asked if there were any kids who wanted to have a family experience and one little girl, Natsumi*, who was just turning 10, said that she wanted to give it a try.
Natsumi came to our house once a month for a weekend visit for about a year and a half. She was a very pretty and sporty girl; she was quiet, but had a beautiful smile, and was eager to do whatever we suggested. At home, she and I often spent time baking treats which she would take back to her friends at the institution. We didn’t talk much – to be honest, I didn’t know what to say to her. Once, while we were on a walk to the nearby grocery store, I asked if she’d ever met her parents. I was coming to realize that although many institutionalized children actually had parents, their parents couldn’t care for them for economic or other reasons (such as domestic violence). She looked at me sadly and said that she hadn’t. I could have bitten off my tongue. I realized I needed to be extra careful about what I asked her.
When we went somewhere, she would sit in the front seat and chat to my husband; if she sat in the backseat, she’d fall asleep. Actually, she fell asleep a lot. We figured it was because of the medicine she was taking for ADHD and stress. She and Shinji didn’t talk at all. During the weekends she stayed with us he was often out with his friends, and when he returned, would talk to us, but not her. I began approaching her by buying little gifts from time to time, after I found out what her likes were. And we gradually began thinking of how it would be if we were to live together…
*All names appearing in the article have been changed for privacy issues.
In Part II of “Fostering in Japan,” we follow Melodie and her family through the process of welcoming their foster daughter at home and beginning their life with her.
Savvy Tokyo

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Japan’s Emperor Akihito delivered his traditional New Year address Monday with tens of thousands of people flocking to the Imperial Palace for what could be his last such appearance after he expressed his desire to abdicate. It was his first New Year message since he that his advancing age and weakening health mean he may no longer be able to carry out his duties, setting the stage for Japan to prepare for an historic abdication. The Imperial Palace said some 58,600 people attended his address in fine weather, many waving small Japanese flags and shouting “Banzai” or “Long live”. “At the start of this year, I wish for happiness and tranquillity of people in the world and our country,” the emperor said in a televised address from a glass-covered balcony at the palace, where he was flanked by other members of the royal family. Deliberations over his retirement wish are under way in an advisory panel set up by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in September to study a possible legal mechanism for a royal departure, which currently does not exist. Any eventual move by Akihito to step down, which would see him replaced by his eldest son , appears to have wide support, according to recent opinion polls. Akihito has had surgery for prostate cancer and heart problems, both of which he alluded to in his August announcement, though he stressed that he currently enjoys good health. Speculation about Akihito’s future emerged last year with reports he had told confidantes that he would like to step down in a few years, in what would be the first abdication from the Chrysanthemum Throne in two centuries. Akihito has keenly embraced the role of symbol of the state imposed after the second world war ended. Previous emperors including his father, Hirohito, had been treated as semi-divine. Akihito is credited with seeking reconciliation both at home and abroad over the legacy of the war fought in his father’s name, venturing to a number of locales that saw intense fighting, including Okinawa in Japan and Saipan, Palau and the Philippines overseas, offering prayers for the souls of all the dead.

© Source: http://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/2058668/japans-emperor-delivers-new-year-address-nation-prepares
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ISTANBUL —
The Islamic State group on Monday claimed responsibility for the New Year’s attack at a popular Istanbul nightclub that killed 39 people and wounded scores of others.
Turkish police meanwhile detained eight people in connection with the attack but were still hunting for the gunman who disappeared amid the chaos of the attack.
The IS-linked Aamaq News Agency said the attack was carried out by a “heroic soldier of the caliphate” who attacked the nightclub “where Christians were celebrating their pagan feast.”
It said the man fired an automatic rifle and also detonated hand grenades in “revenge for God’s religion and in response to the orders” of IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.
The group described Turkey as “the servant of the cross” and also suggested it was in retaliation for Turkish military offensives against the Islamic State group in Syria and Iraq.
“We let infidel Turkey know that the blood of Muslims that is being shed by its airstrikes and artillery shelling will turn into fire on its territories,” the statement said.
Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus on Monday confirmed news reports that said eight people were taken into custody but did not provide details, saying a “sensitive” investigation was underway.
Authorities had obtained the fingerprints and a basic description of the gunman and were close to identifying him, Kurtulmus said.
He said the attack in the early hours of 2017 was a message from extremist organizations that they intend to continue to be a “scourge” against Turkey in the new year. Kurtulmus also said it was intended as a response to Turkey’s “successful and determined” military operation against the IS in Syria.
He said Turkey was determined to continue fighting violent groups declaring: “Wherever they may hide in 2017, we will enter their lair… With the will of God, with the support of our people, with all our national capacity, we will bring them to their knees and give them all the necessary response.”
Earlier, Turkish media reports said that Turkish authorities believed the IS group was behind the attack and that the gunman was likely to be either from Uzbekistan or Kyrgyzstan.
According to the Hurriyet and Karar newspapers, police had also established similarities with the high-casualty suicide bomb and gun attack at Istanbul’s Ataturk Airport in June and were investigating whether the same IS cell could have carried out both attacks.
Kyrgyzstan’s Foreign Ministry said it was looking into the media reports.
“We have ordered the consul in Istanbul the check this report that has appeared in the press,” the Interfax news agency quoted ministry spokeswoman Aiymkan Kulukeyeva as saying Monday. “According to preliminary information, this information is doubtful but we are checking all the same.”
The gunman killed a policeman and another man outside the Reina club in the early hours of 2017 before entering and firing with an automatic rifle at an estimated 600 people partying inside.
Nearly two-thirds of the dead in the upscale club, which is frequented by local celebrities, were foreigners, Turkey’s Anadolu Agency said. Many of them hailed from the Middle East.
Citing Justice Ministry officials, Anadolu reported that 38 of the 39 dead have been identified. The report said 11 of them were Turkish nationals, and one was a Turkish-Belgian dual citizen.
The report says seven victims were from Saudi Arabia; three each were from Lebanon and Iraq; two each were from Tunisia, India, Morocco and Jordan. Kuwait, Canada, Israel, Syria and Russia each lost one citizen.
Relatives of the victims and embassy personal were seen walking into an Istanbul morgue to claim the bodies.
Turkish officials haven’t released the names of those identified.
The mass shooting followed more than 30 violent acts over the past year in Turkey, which is a member of the NATO alliance and a partner in the U. S.-led coalition fighting against the Islamic State group in Syria and Iraq.
The country suffered multiple bombings in 2016, including three in Istanbul that authorities blamed on IS, a failed coup attempt in July and renewed conflict with Kurdish rebels in the southeast.
The Islamic State group claims to have cells in the country. Analysts think it was behind suicide bombings last January and March that targeted tourists on Istanbul’s iconic Istiklal Street as well as the attack at Ataturk Airport in June, which killed 45 people. Authorities have said the three suicide bombers in the airport attack were Russia, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan and there has been speculation that Akhmed Chatayev, a Chechen extremist known to be a top lieutenant in the IS militant group, may have directed the attack.
In August, Turkey sent troops and tanks into northern Syria, to clear a border area from the IS and also curb the territorial advances of Syrian Kurdish forces in the region. The incursion followed an IS suicide attack on an outdoor wedding party in the city of Gaziantep, near the border with Syria, that killed more than 50 people.
In December, IS released a video purportedly showing the killing of two Turkish soldiers and urged its supporters to “conquer” Istanbul. Turkey’s jets regularly bomb the group in the northern Syrian town of Al-Bab. Turkish authorities haven’t confirmed the authenticity of the video.
Last week, Turkey and Russia brokered a cease-fire for Syria that excludes the IS and other groups considered to be terrorist organizations.
On Monday, Anadolu said more than 100 Islamic State targets in Syria have been hit by Turkey and Russia in separate operations.
Citing the Turkish Chief of General Staff’s office, Anadolu said Turkish jets struck eight IS group targets while tanks and artillery fired upon 103 targets near Al Bab, killing 22 extremists while destroying many structures. The Russian jets also attacked IS targets in Dayr Kak, eight kilometers (five miles) to the southwest of Al Bab.
Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said the attacker left a gun at the club and escaped by “taking advantage of the chaos” that ensued. Some customers reportedly jumped into the waters of the Bosporus to escape the attack.
Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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