Sunday I spent 4+ hours in the kitchen making a homemade lasagna. I made the sauce and noodles from scratch and it was tasty! I also attempted to take pictures as I was cooking. Not an easy task and they don’t look anything like my friend Alicia’s but I tried.

Classic Bolognese Sauce
3 TBSP unsalted butter
2 TBSP each minced onion, carrot and celery
1/4 lb each ground beef chuck, ground veal and ground pork
1 Cup whole milk
1 Cup dry white wine (or beef stock)
1 28 ounce can whole tomatoes packed in juice, finely chopped, with juice reserved

1. Heat butter in large, heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat; add the onion, carrot and celery and saute until softened but not browned, about 6 minutes.

2. Add the ground meat and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Crumble the meat into tiny peaces. Cook, continuing to cumble the meat, just until it loses its raw color but has not yet browned, about 3 minutes.

3. Add the milk and bring to a simmer, continue to simmer until the milk evaporates, 10-13 minutes. Add the wine and bring to a simmer; continue to simmer until the wine evaporates, 10-13 minutes longer. Add the tomatoes and their juice and bring to a simmer; reduce to heat to low so that the sauce continues to just barely simmer with an occasional bubble or two at the surface, until the liquid has evaporated, about 3 hours.

Bolognese Sauce initially:

Bolognese Sauce almost done:

Bechamel Sauce
2 Cups whole milk
4 TBSP unsalted butter
3 1/2 TBSP all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon Salt

1. Heat the milk in a small saucepan over low heat until hot but not scalded or boiling.

2. Meanwhile, melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. When it is foamy, whisk in the flour. Whisk constantly for 2 minutes. Do not let the flour brown.

3. Remove the saucepan from the heat. Add 2 TBSP hot milk and whisk vigorously. When the mixutre is smooth, whisk in another 2 TBSP, and then another. Return the pan to very low heat and slowly whisk in the remaining milk, at first in 1/4 cup increments and then in 1/2 cup increments until it is all incorporated.

4. Raise the heat to medium-low. Add the salt and cook, whisking often, until the sauce thickens to the consistency of thick heavy cream, 7 to 10 minutes.

5. Remove the pan from the heat. Use immediately or cool to room temperature and whisk until smooth before using.

Slowly adding the milk and whisking away:

The finished sauce, after a lot of vigorous whisking:

Lasagna
Fresh Pasta
Bechamel Sauce
Bolognese Sauce
1 Cup grated Parmesan cheese

1. Cook noodles until al dente, then gently retrieve the noodles and transfer them to a bowl of ice-cold water for 30 seconds. Then drain the noodles and lay them out on kitchen towles for up to 1 hour.

2. Grease a 13-by-9-inch pan with cooking spray. Smear several tablespoons of bechamel sauce across the bottom of the pan. Line the pan with a layer of pasta, making sure the noodles touch but do not overlap. Spread a scant 2/3 cup bolognese sauce evenly over the pasta. Drizzle with 3 TBSP bechamel and sprinkle with 2 1/2 TBSP Parmesan. Repeat the layering of the pasta, bolognese sauce, and cheese 4 more times. For the sixth and final layer, coat the noodles with 6 TBSP bechamel sauce and sprinkle with the remaining 3 1/2 TBSP cheese (or more if you want).

3. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Bake until the cheese on top turns golden brown in spots and the sauce is bubbling, about 20 minutes. Remove the pan and let the lasagna rest for 5 minutes before serving.

Recipes Courtesy of “The Complete Book of Pasta and Noodles” by Cooks Illustrated

And since I wasn’t busy enough, I made Orange Cookies while I waited for the Bolognese sauce to simmer down:

And of course the pasta:

But unfortunately, this is the only picture I have of the pasta. I was covered in flour for the rest of the pasta making process and forgot to ask Joey to take some pictures.

Next time I make lasagna, I’ll let you know in advance so you can make a reservation.

This weekend I had some extra time so I decided to make fresh spaghetti for dinner.

A couple of weeks ago I went to the Farmer’s Market and tried a sample of fresh pasta with a seasoning called “Tuscan Dust”. It was so tasty. The guy giving out the samples tried to sell me the seasoning and his fresh pasta but I only bought the seasoning. I told him I’d make my own pasta. He probably thought I was lying but I wasn’t.

Here’s a picture of the Tuscan Dust (it has salt, oregano, marjoram, thyme, basil, rosemary, sage, garlic, black pepper and lemon):

and the yummy pasta with the Tuscan Dust on it:

It was a delicious dinner. I am glad I bought that seasoning.

A couple of weeks ago I asked my Grandmother what some of her favorite recipes were and she mentioned Rouladen. I’ve heard her talk about Rouladen before but I’ve never eaten it so my mom and I decided to make it for her.

Rouladen is a German meat roulade usually consisting of bacon, onions, mustard and pickles wrapped in thinly sliced beef (flank steak) and then cooked. Instead of pickles we used carrots because that’s how my Grandmother made it.

With my Grandmother’s help and this recipe, it turned out delicious. You should give it a try.

Here is the Rouladen all rolled up and ready to be put in the pan:

After we browned all the sides, we added water and a bouillon cube and let it simmer for about an hour:

Then we made a gravy:

And it was ready to be served with mashed potatoes and cooked red cabbage. (You don’t see red cabbage on my plate because I don’t like it):

It is definitely not a low calorie meal but maybe that’s why it’s so tasty. I think I will make it again sometime.

For Christmas my husband bought me three Kitchenaid pasta roller attachments (lasgana, fettucini and linguine) and “The Complete Book of Pasta and Noodles” by Cooks Illustrated (If you are a pasta lover, you need to get this book. It really is the COMPLETE book of pasta). I was really excited. I have been wanting to make my own pasta since I tried some in July.

After reading the pasta cookbook (the first part of the book is like a textbook) I discovered that a food processor would be necessary for my pasta making adventures. So, this weekend I broke down and bought one.  Now I am all set to make homemade pasta (I just need to find the time to make it).

I was recently introduced to a new series of cookbooks by Stephanie “Mrs. 101 Things” Ashcraft that I would love to have. As you guessed, her cookbooks contain 101 recipes. Each book is based on a single ingredient such as cake mix, chicken, potatoes, tortillas, etc. A couple of coworkers have brought in recipes from her “101 Things to do with a Cake Mix” cookbook and every single one has been so delicious (and probably really easy to make). I was so excited when I discovered she had multiple cookbooks. I added most of them to my Amazon wishlist.

To get me started, my husband bought me “101 Things to do with a Cake Mix” and “101 MORE Things to do with a Cake Mix” for my birthday. He also bought 5 different cake mixes. My mom continued with the baking theme (I don’t think they planned to do it this way) and bought me a metal cake pan, cookie scoops, parchment paper and a nice cake/pie carrier. I am ready to bake! All I need now is a reason to make a dessert (I don’t want a dessert sitting in our apartment with only Joey and me to eat it – that could be very bad for “diets”).

Dessert anyone?