Terri's Baked Lasagna

Another FamSup with Terri's famous lasagna today, to celebrate Portia's return for Thanksgiving break.  Since it's a family favorite, and because I now cook almost exclusively from web recipes, it was time to get this on the blog.

Terri, adapted from Nika Hazelton’s Pasta Cookbook

Ingredients:

12 ounces ground beef

3 T oil

1 large onion, chopped (1 cup)

2 large garlic cloves, minced

1 can (28 ounces) tomatoes pureed

1 can (6 ounces) tomato paste

1/3 c water

1 1/2 t dried basil

1 t oregano

1 t sugar

salt

1/4 t freshly ground pepper

1 bay leaf, broken

2 c (1 pound or 15 ounces) ricotta

1/4 c freshly grated Parmesan cheese plus 1/2 cup for topping

1 egg

1/2 t salt

1/4 ground pepper

lasagna noodles (1 box-will have left over)

4 c mozzarella

Instructions:

Brown beef  in a pan  large enough to hold all of the sauce ingredients.  Drain and set aside

Heat 3 tablespoons oil in same pan, add onion and garlic.  Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, about 5 to 8 minutes.  Stir in the meat, tomatoes, tomato paste, water, basil, oregano, sugar, 3/4 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper and bay leaf and bring to a boil.  Cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, about 2 hours.

Combine the ricotta, 1/4 cups Parmesan, egg, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper in a medium bowl; set aside.

Bring 3 quarts water to boil in large pot.  Add 1tablespoon salt, then add lasagna noodles gradually, so that water continues to boil.  Cook noodles until barely tender, about 5 minutes.  Drain, rinse in cold water, Toss gently with some oil to prevent noodles from sticking

Line bottom of a buttered 13x9 inch baking pan with noodles.

Spread with half of the ricotta mixture.

Sprinkle evenly with half of the mozzarella.

Spread with half of the sauce.

Top with noodles to cover.

Evenly layer the rest of the ricotta, mozzarella, and sauce.

Sprinkle the top evenly with 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese. 

Bake in preheated 375-degree oven for 45 minutes. 

Remove and let stand 15 minutes.

…I never knew how to make Lasagna until I tried this recipe, now apparently it is “one of the best”, Thank you Nika!!!!!

Makes 1 13x9 inch pan and serves about 8 people.

Grilled Sirloin with Peppercorn Butter and Merlot Sauce

Adapted from The Common Grill Cookbook, by Craig Common

The Common Grill in Chelsea, MI was a go-to spot for Sam and Donna when they were living in Michigan with the vulture-sized black flies and 18-foot snowdrifts (at the same time, some months).  They gave me a copy of this cookbook.  Everything I’ve ever made from it was as delicious as it was caloric.  I took the opportunity to add it to the blog because a) I only cook from online recipes now, and b) because I intended to serve the dish for dinner the Little Black Dress Party widowers gathering at my place for dinner this coming Friday.


Ingredients:
4 12 oz. N.Y. steaks, trimmed
 
PEPPERCORN BUTTER
l/2 cup merlot wine
1 shallot, thinly sliced
1 1/2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
1 sprig fresh thyme
1 sprig fresh rosemary
pinch dry mustard
4 tablespoons butter, softened
pinch cracked peppercorn blend
1/4 teaspoon Dijon mustard
pinch kosher salt
 
MERLOT SAUCE
4 tablespoons butter, softened
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 cup olive oil
6 cloves garlic, minced
1/3 cup red wine vinegar
3 cups merlot wine
4 cups good chicken stock
2 tablespoons fresh thyme, finely chopped

POTATO LEEK CAKES
1 lb. baking potatoes
1/4 teaspoon salt
pinch black pepper
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/4 cup leeks, finely chopped, sautéed in butter
2 tablespoons butter

Instructions:

Peppercorn Butter

1.  Combine merlot, shallot, vinegar, fresh herbs, and dry mustard in a medium saucepan, then boil over medium heat until liquid is syrupy (approximately 15 to 20 minutes).  Remove herb sprigs and cool.
2. Add the butter, cracked peppercorn blend, mustard and salt to cooled butter mixture, then blend thoroughly. 
3. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Merlot Sauce

1.  Mix softened butter and cornstarch together into a paste.  Set aside. 
2.  Heat oil in large saucepan.  Add the garlic and saute 30 seconds. Add the vinegar and merlot.  Heat sauce to just under a boil and continue cooking until liquid reduced by ¾, about 15 to 20 minutes.
3. Add chicken stock, return to just under a boil and reduce by ¾ again.  Straithen return to saucepan.    
4. Stir in the cornstarch mixture and whisk in until thoroughly blended.
5. Add fresh thyme and cook for 3 minutes or until sauce begins to thicken.  Cool.

Potato Leek Cakes

1.  Boil water in a large stockpot.  Add potatoes and boil for 15 minutes.  Remove from hea and cool for 10 minutes.
2. Drain potatoes and rinse with cold water.  Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
3. Peel potatoes and grate them into a large bowl.  Add beaten egg and leeks, then stir gently.  Shape into four patties.
4. Heat butter in a skillet over medium heat and cook patties until golden, about 4 minutes.

Steaks

1. Cook steaks and place on a serving plate.  
2. Pour ¼ cup of sauce over each steak, then put 1 tablespoon of the butter on top.   
3. Serve with Potato Leek Cake and roasted asparagus.

Serves four.

Fresh Mozzarella in 30 Minutes

Aunt Ruth demonstrates via YouTube.

The End-of-the-World Chipotle Cheeseburger

I have a theory (which is mine) that people who either don't or can't look at the pretty pictures of various menu items when they order at their local McBurgers will, on the whole, report superior satisfaction with their order when all is said and done. I base this on the fact that there is an absolute disconnect between what is pictured and what is actually delivered. The picture is invariably piled high with goodies and dripping with its own juices, where the delivered sandwich is inevitably dry and thin enough to fit comfortably in the average wallet.

Not so with Sam's Chipotle Pork Cheeseburgers, which require a ladder to get from the bottom bun to the top, and eat exactly the way they look. I've taken the liberty of posting his recipe from Epicurious.  Have the crash-cart handy when you serve.

Ingredients

1 pound ground pork (not lean)
2 teaspoons minced chipotle in adobo plus 1 teaspoon adobo sauce
2 garlic cloves, forced through a garlic press
4 slices Muenster cheese
4 hamburger buns, toasted
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1 large tomatillo (1/4 pound), husked and rinsed, then sliced
1/2 small avocado, sliced
1/2 cup cilantro sprigs

Instructions

Prepare grill for cooking over medium heat.
Gently mix pork, chipotle, garlic and a scan t salt until just combined.  Form into 4 patties 1/2 inch thick.
Oil rack and grill patties, covered, for 4 minutes.
Flip patties and top with a slice of cheese. Grill, covered, until just cooked through, 1 to 2 minutes more.
Spread buns with mayonnaise and assemble burgers with tomatillo, avocado and cilantro.

Korean Fried Chicken Wings

At the Grotto for TGIF drinks and appetizers last Friday, S&D, K&K and T&T all bemoaned the disappearance of the Korean Fried Chicken Wings from the menu.  But I had found a recipe shortly after I first had them at the Grotto.  I haven't tried them yet, but if you have a hankerin', check out http://food52.com/recipes/6845-kfc-korean-fried-chicken-wings

Porcini-Crusted Steaks with Fresh Herb Butter- Happy Birthday, Ruth!

What better way to celebrate Ruth’s birthday than to coat a steak with the delicious mushroom powder in the Makanda Goodins' Xmas gift baskets, cook it up and serve it with some herb butter.  And if you drove to Missouri to get filet mignon for $8.99 a pound, and you made the butter yourself, then congratulations… it’s your birthday week!

Ingredients:

• butter, room temperature
• chopped fresh chives
• chopped fresh tarragon
• garlic clove, finely chopped
• Enough mushroom powder to dip the steaks in (can also just grind up some dried porcinis)
• steaks (chicken or pork would work too)

Instructions:

1. Mix first 4 ingredients in small bowl for herb butter. Season butter to taste with salt and pepper. 
2. Put mushroom powder onto a plate. Sprinkle steaks with salt and pepper. Press steaks into porcini powder to coat both sides well.
3. Melt 2 tablespoons herb butter in a nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add steaks to skillet and cook to desired doneness, about 6 minutes per side for medium-rare. Transfer steaks to plates. Put some herb butter atop each steak and serve.

Made in Spain

Media-related debates at our house generally pit those who want to watch Jose Andres (Keira) against those who would prefer to see anything else (everyone except Keira), but who eventually end up watching Jose for the umpteenth time. These sorts of things happen in a house whose youngest member thinks she is on a first-name basis with Mario Batali.

Which brings us to churros, those not-quite-doughnut little goodies scarfed down at Spanish cafes with mugs of thick Spanish chocolate. I am hardly a fan of sweets, but with the two women of the house swooning every time Jose Andres dunks a hot churro into a steaming cup of chocolate, duty was calling. Please note that, the first time I made these, the chocolate was just an after-thought, and I just whipped up some Swiss Miss. Bad Daddy: make the real thing. The critics know how Jose does it, and they expect nothing less.


Churros

1 c water
2 T brown sugar
1/2 t salt
1/3 c butter (we used home-made, since that's all we had)
1 c white flour
2 eggs
1/2 t vanilla extract
1/4 c sugar
1/2 to 1 t ground cinnamon

Heat 1 1/2 to 2 inches of vegetable oil in a 10-12 inch Dutch oven or fryer.  Shoot for a temperature of 360, and be assured that VBT (Very Bad Things) will happen when you stray too far above or below that mark.

Mix the 1/4 c sugar and cinnamon together on a large plate and set aside.  This is for dusting the finished churros, although you may prefer to dispense with this and use powdered sugar instead.

In a sauce-pan, bring the water, brown sugar, salt and butter to a good boil.  Remove from heat and stir in the flour until well blended.  In a separate bowl, mix the eggs and vanilla together and then add this mixture to the flour mixture. Stir until well blended and all the egg is completely mixed in.

The next step is important.  The internets--which never lie--will tell you it is possible to make churros using one of those frosting applicator tools that look like a caulk-gun.  My experience was that I could not keep the dough streaming long enough with one of those to really do the job right.  So when your oil is up to temp, load your dough into a pastry-bag with the biggest star-tip you can find.  Hold it as low as you dare over the oil, and push 4 inches of dough into the oil at a time.  The rate at which the cooking churros have to be turned precludes doing more than a few at a time.  When you see gold appear on top, gently flip them, and be prepared to remove them to newspapers or a stack of paper towels.  As soon as they are cool enough to handle, dust with cinnamon-sugar mix or powdered sugar and make available for munchers.


Spanish Chocolate

2 c whole milk
4 oz Abuelita (or equivalent) chocolate, available at your favorite Mexican grocery
1/2 t cornstarch

Pour the milk into a saucepan and add the cornstarch, whisking in to dissolve thoroughly. Heat on medium just until boiling, then remove pan from heat. Add the chocolate and stir until it is completely melted. Dunk and enjoy!