Lasagna

Did you know that Lasagna may in fact be British and not Italian?? The Forme of Cury is the oldest cookbook written in English. It was compiled about 1390 by the master cooks of King Richard II. Researchers studying it made a surprising announcement in 2003 - the book contains a recipe for lasagna. The dish, called loseyns in Old English (prounounced "Lasan"), consists of noodles rolled as flat and wide "as paper," cooked in broth, layered with cheese, and baked. This recipe predates any Italian reference to the dish, which leads to the surprising conclusion that lasagna may be British. You learn something new everyday! :)

The recipe for Loseyns in The Forme of Cury

Ingredients

• 2 containers (15 oz ea.) ricotta cheese
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese, divided
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
• 1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
• 4 oz. diced prosciutto
• 2 jars of your favorite sauce or sauce recipe below
• 1 lbs ground beef
• Lasagna noodles, fresh or dry
• 1/2 lbs Mozzarella, shredded

Directions

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F

In a small saute pan, saute prosciutto until crispy, about 5 min. In a large mixing bowl, combine ricotta cheese, 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, eggs, salt, pepper and prosciutto; set aside. 

In a large saute pan over medium heat, brown ground beef. Add in your jar sauce of choice and let simmer until your ready to assemble lasagna. If you're using the sauce recipe below, disregard that last step and follow the directions there. In a large pot, boil salted water and cook pasta noodles as per box directions. I usually buy store bought fresh lasagna noodles, you can usually find them in the cooler section. Cooking time for fresh is about 4 min, cooking time for dried about 10-12 min. 

In a 13x9 inch baking dish. Spread about 1 cup of the meat and sauce mixture on the bottom. Top with lasagna noodles, then add 1/2 of the ricotta mixture and another cup of sauce; top with 1/3 of the mozzarella cheese; repeat. Top with remaining noodles to cover, add another cup of sauce and top with 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese. 

Cover with aluminium foil and bake for 1 hour. Remove tin foil and top with remaining mozzarella cheese. Bake an additional 10 minutes or until bubbling. Let stand for 10 min before serving. Garnish with fresh basil. 

Sauce Recipe (optional)

Ingredients

• 1 3/4 lbs ground beef
• 1/2 cup minced onion
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
• 2 (6 ounce) cans tomato paste
• 2 (6.5 ounce) cans canned tomato sauce
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 Tbsp white sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp dried basil leaves
• 1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds
• 1 tsp Italian seasoning
• 1 Tbsp salt
• 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
• 2 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley

Directions

In a Dutch oven, cook ground beef, onion, and garlic over medium heat until well browned. Stir in crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, tomato sauce, and water. Season with sugar, basil, fennel seeds, Italian seasoning, salt, pepper, and parsley. Simmer, covered, for about 1 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally. 

This is a great red sauce in general, you can make a large batch of this and can it or freeze it for quick meals. 

Song of the Recipe

I've been in love with Incubus for awhile now and seeing that this is a Food blog, I figured the title would be appropriate :)

Basic Pizza

So I have a beef...I have a beef with the companies that make and sell pizza stones. They advertise them like the best thing in the world and make it sound like they will make your pizza turn into delicious brick oven pizza. Well people, let me save you from this, they suck...plan and simple. You may love them, but I hate them and I will tell you why. The thing that makes brick oven pizza special is a crap load of heat, a lot more heat then our little home ovens can produce. The problem with these pizza stones is that they are impossible to get hot enough to make a really good pizza. So here is the solution...metal. Metal is way more conductive, it heats faster and it heats more evenly. I've read that some people get sheets of aluminum cut to the dimensions of their oven, then they heat that as hot as their oven can go and then get it even hotter with the broiler. This is the ideal solution and you will be spittin' pizza's out of your oven faster than you can say....I don't know, some big word...But, since I didn't have a big sheet of aluminum laying around, here's the way I did it. Enjoy!

Ingredients

• 1 package active dry yeast
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 1 cup warm water
• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups Mozzarella
• 1/2 cup pizza sauce
• Pizza topping(s) of choice

Directions

Pre-heat oven to 450 degrees F

In a small bowl mix the yeast, sugar and warm water. Let stand for 5 minutes until yeast is activated and foaming. In a large bowl, combine the flour, olive oil, salt and yeast mixture. Mix until dough forms. If dough is to sticky, add in 1 Tbsp of flour at a time until elastic, vice versa with 1 Tbsp of water if it is to dry. Cover with a dish towel and let rise in a warm area until double in sized, about 30 min. Once dough has formed, knead on a floured service until smooth and elastic. 

Roll out pizza dough on a metal pizza pan or, in my case, a metal baking sheet. Don't put on any toppings yet, put dough in the oven and bake for 7-10 min until dough is starting to brown. Remove the crust from the baking sheet onto a pizza peel (You don't need a pizza peel, just put the crust on something so you can transfer it back into the oven). Add sauce, cheese and toppings of your choice. Slide the pizza into the oven, directly on the oven rack. Bake for another 7-10 min until cheese is melted, I hit it with the broiler for about 30 second to brown the cheese. 

Song of the Recipe

Sausage & Peppers Pasta

This is a very simple pasta dish that is perfect for a quick meal. My mom used to make this all the time and it was always one of my favorites. Of course I stole the recipe from her whenever I moved out and decided to make it a little more spicy with the addition of the Diced Tomatoes and Chilies and the Pepper Jack. If you want a more mild version instead of using the pepper jack, use 1 1/2 cups of a mozzarella and parmesan blend and use regular diced tomatoes.

Bon Appétit!

Ingredients

• 3 Cups wheat Rigatoni
• Italian Sausage, Sliced
• 1 green, yellow & red pepper, sliced
• 1 clove of garlic, diced
• 1 (14.5 oz) can Diced Tomatoes and Chilies
• 3/4 cup Mozzarella, shredded
• 3/4 cup Pepper Jack, shredded
• Parmesan cheese

Directions

Cook Pasta as per box directions.

While pasta is cooking, cook sausage in a large saute pan over medium heat for 10 min. Add sliced peppers and and garlic and cook for an addition 7 min.  Stir in tomatoes and cook for an additional 2 min. Drain pasta, add it in the saucepan with other ingredients and top with mozzarella and pepper jack , cover to melt the cheese. Plate and garnish with Parmesan.