“Oh, the weather outside is frightful, but the fire is so delightful. And since we’ve no place to go, Let It Snow!
Let It Snow! Let It Snow!”
After reading that you are probably wondering if I’ve sent in the correct article, and while I’m well aware Christmas is behind us I think Mother Nature may not have gotten the memo.
I still can’t believe it snowed just last week.
I actually had to go to Brookhaven Mississippi for a funeral and didn’t get home until 10:30 p.m. on Monday night. Luck was definitely on my side because the roads were clear and the driving was easy.
About 3 a.m. on Monday morning the gentle, rhythmic tap of sleet hitting my window woke me and like a kid on Christmas morning, so I hopped up to have a peek. I was disappointed to see nothing on the ground, so much so that I lingered in bed pouting like a petulant child when the sun finally rose.
I finally got over myself around 7:30, took another peek and saw the landscape dusted in beautiful white snow with more falling. I guess the novelty is what makes snow so magical for us in south Texas, and to me it will never get old.
Never, as long as it comes along once eveiy few years and leaves as quickly as it comes. I am not one to waste an occasion, so as quickly as I saw there was snow on the ground, I pulled on my Ugg boots and warmest robe and headed out to tromp through the fresh powder, take a few pictures, make a few snowballs and marvel at nature’s majestic beauty.
Then I decided to put on some proper snow gear, hop on my golf cart and cruise the neighborhood. Sweet families built snowmen in their front yards and some snowballs were thrown in the streets.
My dogs were extra frisky and delighted in tromping around the yard but then decided that napping in front of the fireplace was more their speed. I had a smile on my face the whole day, enjoying the magic that is snow in south Texas.
I hope you made a few snow angels and even more memories on our rare snow day.
For me there is no place better to be than in the kitchen on an icy day; I think the rich smells of food warm the soul. When we had the last freezing cold snap, I made a 15bean soup with a ham bone I saved from the Edna Lions Club barbecued ham fundraiser, a double batch of chili AND a big pot of chicken and dumplings, all of which were wonderful but left me feeling a bit “souped out”.
So, before I set out for Mississippi, I made sure to procure the provisions to make a huge pan of lasagna when I got home, both to keep the cold at bay and to keep me busy. I have made hundreds of pans and probably eaten thousands of slices of lasagna in my life and they have all been good. Recently I had one which included bechamel sauce and it was truly sublime. I decided to add my own version to mine this time, and I will never make it another way again.
In all reality what I made was truly a white sauce/ gravy because I did not add the nutmeg that is traditionally found in a true French bechamel sauce, but even without it, the smooth, silky texture added a noticeable richness to an already spectacular meal.
Full disclosure, I use jarred sauce to make my lasagna mostly because it is a process, and I often don’t have time to make Italian gravy from scratch and make the lasagna all in the same day.
I love Rao pasta sauce; it is almost as good as homemade and will get you from stove to table a lot faster, but feel free to substitute your own homemade sauce if you like. This recipe also calls for a larger than traditional pan, I have tried to make it smaller and for some reason it just never comes out the same as it does when I break out the big pan. The leftovers freeze beautifully, especially if you use a vacuum sealer, but an even better idea is to share with your friends and neighbors. It also makes a wonderful meal to serve for Valentine’s Day!
Lasagna Ingredients: • Tomato sauce
• 2 lbs lean hamburger meat
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 8 ozs white mushrooms, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 jars Rao Arrabbiata sauce
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 1/2 tbsp Italian seasoning • Cheese filling
• 32 oz ricotta cheese
• 2 eggs, beaten
•2c grated mozzarella cheese - it is better to grate your cheese rather that using the pre-grated cheese
• 1 c parmesan cheese
• salt and pepper to taste
White Sauce Ingredients • 5 tbsp salted butter
• 1/4 c flour
• 1 quart heavy cream
• 1 box oven ready lasagna noodles
•2c grated mozzarella cheese
• 1 c parmesan cheese
Preparation:
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Cook the onions in a large pot over medium high heat with olive oil until soft, then add the hamburger meat, cooking until finely crumbled and no pink remains. Drain the grease off of the meat and then add the mushrooms, cooking until just soft, then add the garlic and jars of Rao.
Reduce the heat to medium and simmer the sauce until it is reduced and thickened. While this is happening, mix the ricotta, mozzarella, parmesan, eggs, salt and pepper until smooth and set aside.
To make the Bechamel sauce, melt the butter over medium heat in a heavy bottomed pan, once it is melted, whisk in the butter and cook until it is lightly browned, almost the color of sand at the beach. Turn the heat up to medium high and whisk in the cream, whisking until smooth, lower the heat to medium and cook until the flour is cooked and the sauce is smooth.
To assemble the lasagna, spread a healthy amount of sauce over bottom of 10.5 x 14.75 glass baking dish, arrange uncooked lasagna noodles over the sauce, spread the ricotta cheese filling over lasagna, then top with Bechamel sauce, repeat for three layers, then top with a last layer of noodles with red sauce.
Cover tightly with foil and bake for 60 minutes.
(I usually put a rimmed baking sheet under the pan to catch the drips) Uncover, top with the additional cheese and bake for 15 more minutes until the cheese is fully melted. Let the lasagna rest for about 15 minutes before cutting and serving.
