Lasagna

Lasagna is a true family meal.  whether you are Italian or not your family is going to love this cheesy, saucy classic. 

Let's start with our meat sauce. We can use ground beef only, or ground beef and pork. You could either is Italian sausage pork or spicy chorizo. For me let's use half ground beef and half Italian sausage for. First add diced onions,garlic and mushrooms to a pan to cook. Once soft then add your Meats then brown them till they're falling apart. Once cooked all the way through add red wine and reduce. Then add either store-bought marinara or homemade. ( we'll make homemade marinara in another blog.) You want that meat to cook for a long time, low and slow and falling apart.

Your meat sauce is done and now it is time to cook our lasagna noodles. We are going to need a large pot of salted water at a rolling boil. Drop in your noodles and cook for 8 to 10 minutes just until your noodles are soft. Then pull them out and place them in cold water.

Let's make your cheese sauce filling. Get a large mixing bowl. Let's mix in 2 eggs, ricotta cheese, mozzarella cheese, Parmesan cheese, fresh chopped parsley, oregano, salt, pepper, basil and red chili flakes. Mix it all together and set aside and prepare to assemble.

In a baking casserole lasagna dish ladle in a  scoop of your meat sauce. This is to help make sure your lasagna does not burn to the bottom of the pan and help with clean-up.

Now assemble your first layer of cooked noodles followed by a layer of meat sauce and a layer of your cheese mix. And repeat. Once you have your layers sprinkle on top your remaining shredded cheese of mozzarella and Parmesan.

Wrap with tin foil. And put in your oven at 350° for 45 minutes. All out of the oven to remove the foil and then play back in the oven for another 15 minutes so that the cheese on the top turns a nice golden brown.

Now wait. Do not dig in right away it would be best to wait 10 to 15 minutes before cutting in to your lasagna. Give it time to rest especially for that photo finish. Now enjoy.

Ingredients: 

1 pound of ground beef 

1 pound of pork

1/2 cup of mozzarella cheese 

1/2 cup of parmesan cheese 

32 oz jar of marinara

16 oz ricotta cheese 

2 eggs

1/2 cup of onion 

1/2 cup of mushrooms 

2 cloves of garlic 

Salt

Pepper 

Oregano 

Basil

Parsley 

Red pepper flakes 

Red wine ( to taste)

Alfredo sauce

Ever wonder how to make your very own creamy silky Alfredo. You can enjoy pouring this liquid cheese over ANYTHING pasta, vegetables, nacho chips, ect. 

Let's start making this liquid gold with a French roux. Don't run! It's not gonna be that hard. In fact by reading this blog you'll be learning two recipes in one. 

A roux isn't hard, but it is in so many things like sauces, soups, and gumbo. It is used as a thickener and gives a nutty flavor. 

It is started by using equal parts (amounts) butter  (or fat) with flour. Start by melting down the fat you choose and slowly add the flour while quickly whisking to prevent the flour burning. Do this until you achieve your desired color and for an Alfredo you'll want a nice golden blonde. 

Once you have your hot roux and it has been cooking for a few minutes it's time to add your liquids. If you have it on hand (I highly recommend it) white wine. If you don't you have white wine you can substitute a squeeze of lemon juice. Slowly add about 1/2 cup of white wine to your roux. Remember pour slowly and whisk quickly. Allow the wine to cook out letting the alcohol to evaporate. 

Now we're going to add in our dairy. I recommend heavy cream, but next best thing would be whole milk. So slowly pour in a cup of cream. It will be very thick at first. Let it cook out if it's too thick for your liking add a few drops of water to loosen it up. 

Once the cream is nice and hot let's add cheese. I recommend 1 1/2 cups of parmesan. Whisk until smooth. Turn the heat off because the cheese might burn at the bottom. 

Finally some seasonings. If you add salt too early in a recipe it will only enhance the saltiness of your dish. So add salt to taste at this stage. Followed by garlic and onion powder. (Powder will help keep your Alfredo lump free rather than minced garlic) Then white pepper, I prefer white pepper so it doesn't show up in the final product. 

Ingredients: 

1/2 cup of butter 

1/2 cup of flour 

1/2 cup of white wine  ( or 1 once of lemon juice)

1 cup of heavy cream or whole milk 

1 1/2 cup of parmesan cheese 

Salt

White pepper 

Garlic powder 

Onion powder to taste 

Thank you and enjoy.