Seven Layers to a Boy's Heart

Six days of living in our house. Six days of settling, unpacking, bonding. We decided it was high
 time to test the place out. So, we invited over some guests. We invited three of our closed guy friends to come for a small low key party Sunday afternoon. With food and cooking ever on my mind, I naturally volunteered to cook the main course. I needed our houses first showing to go flawlessly. I would serve my tried and true Best Ever Lasagna. This is a crowd pleaser has been fine-tuned to an exact science, ensuring that the dish would come our perfect. I use a jar of pasta sauce as the base for the red sauce. I know, quite unorthodox, but a nice and easy shortcut that won’t compromise flavor. I stalked up on the groceries and waited for Sunday to roll around.

Sunday came and I was found dutifully slicing and dicing in our 60’s era kitchen. Complete with a popcorn ceiling, lament floors, and golden oak cabinets (which never seem large enough to house 7 girls worth of cooking supplies). The lasagna was assembled and sent to the oven to cook, perfuming the house with its wonderful aroma as our boys arrived.

Jenna accompanied me in the kitchen to toss together a delicious salad of mixed greens, cranberries, pecans, and my signature orange vinaigrette.

We set the table with an eclectic variety of dishes and brought out the dinner. Plates were piled high and quickly cleared as we engaged in conversation, taking the moment to catch up with one another’s busy lives. Fellowship and food is a magical combination. Dinner was chased with a variety of gelato flavors, Tiramisu, Salted Caramel Truffle, and Strawberry Cheesecake, all brought from my gelato cart, La Crema Gelato.

I can say that our first house party went pretty well.

The boys even washed the dishes. 

Laurel’s Lasagna recipe:

Serves 12

Cook time: 1 hour 30 minutes

Ingredients:

1 box (16) oz. lasagna noodles

2 tablespoons olive oil

Salt

For the meat sauce:

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 pounds 80/20 ground beef

1 (24)oz. can favorite pasta sauce - I used Classico tomato and basil

1/2 cup red wine

5 springs fresh thyme, left whole

1/2 teaspoon allspice

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

3 cups Italian cheese blend, divided

16 oz. whole milk ricotta

2 eggs

For the béchamel sauce:

1/4 cup butter

1/4 cup flour

4 cups whole milk, room temperature

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

Salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

Parsley, minced (optional)

Directions:

1.      Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

2.      In a large pot bring water for cooking the noodles to a boil. Add olive oil and a generous amount of salt to the water. This step helps  to prevent the noodles from sticking together. Cook as per package directions, leaving the lasagna noodles al dente.  Remove from water and lay the noodles in a single layer on wax paper. Set aside.

3.      In a large skillet cook the ground beef, stirring until the meat is no longer pink. Add in the minced garlic, red wine, pasta sauce, and thyme. Allow the sauce to reduce for about 10 minutes. Stir in the allspice, cinnamon, and salt and pepper to taste. Leave the sauce on the stove to bubble for 20 min or until the lasagna is ready to assemble. Remove the thyme stems.

4.      In a medium bowl, combine the whole milk ricotta, eggs, and 2 1/2 cups of the Italian cheese blend. Mix to combine. Set aside.

5.      In a medium sauce pan over medium heat melt the butter for the béchamel. Once the butter is melted whisk in the flour. Cook for 30 seconds, stirring constantly. This helps to cook out any flour flavor. Slowly whisk in the milk. The milk should be at room temperature to prevent a lumpy sauce.  Cook, stirring constantly, over medium-low heat until the mixture thickens. The sauce should easily coat the back of a wooden spoon. Remove from the heat and set aside.

6.      The next step is to assemble the lasagna in a 9x13 inch glass baking dish. First, ladle in one half cup of the béchamel sauce. Spread the sauce evenly to completely coat the bottom of the pan. This prevents the lasagna from sticking. Next, layer in three lasagna noodles to cover the béchamel. Cover this layer with half of the meat sauce. Cover with three lasagna noodles. For the next layer, spoon in half of the cheese mixture, using a rubber spatula to evenly distribute the mixture. Once again, cover with three more lasagna noodles. For the third layer spoon in half of the béchamel sauce. Cover with noodles and repeat one layer meat sauce and one layer of the cheese mixture, with three noodles in between each layer. After assembling these last two layers you should be out of the meat sauce, cheese mixture, and lasagna noodles. On the top layer of noodles pour the remainder of the béchamel. Top with the reserved half cup of cheese.

7.      Cover the lasagna with aluminum foil. Using a small knife cut two or three vents to allow the steam to escape. Bake covered for 40 minutes. Remove the aluminum foil and bake for an additional 20 minutes or until the lasagna is golden and bubbly.

8.      Allow the lasagna to rest for 10 minutes while you gather everyone to the table. Top with fresh minced parsley and serve.

Categories: Laurel, Recipe