KA Note: I made this in the Rock Chick Lair. I ate this. I now fear making this again because this cheese sauce is so flavorful, rich and creamy, I might not bother with pasta, or anything else, and just spoon it up from the pan.
So, after texting my delight about this to Suzanne, we agreed there are many alternate uses of this cheese sauce. Including spreading it over veggies…and using it as a dip. When you try this, you’ll want to keep the ingredients in stock for whatever you dream up to use the sauce for. It is just that sublime.
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Boone’s Mains
Bacon Wrapped Steak Kabobs
2 (4-6 ounce) filet mignon, cut into 1-inch cubes
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
2 cups whole button mushrooms, stems removed
1 onion, sliced into 1-inch squares
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup honey
1 pound bacon, cut into 2- or 3-inch pieces
10-15 kebab sticks, soaked in water
Season steak with salt and pepper. In a large resealable bag, place the steak, mushrooms and onions, then top with the soy sauce and honey. Seal the bag and massage for 1 minute to ensure all of the ingredients are coated with the marinade. Refrigerate and marinate for 1 hour.
Thread the skewers as follows: wrap a piece of bacon around one piece of steak, thread onto skewer, add one mushroom, then place one onion slice next. Repeat this order until the skewer is full. Place on a baking sheet until all the kebabs are complete. Preheat grill to 350 degrees and place the kebabs over indirect heat. Grill for 10-15 minutes, turning once. Place on direct heat and grill for 1-2 minutes, then remove from grill.
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~Dueling Lasagnas~
Boone’s Lasagna (the Chefy Kind)
1 (32 ounce) container ricotta cheese
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup Basil Pesto (Click here for recipe.)
1 batch Garden Marinara (Click here for recipe.)
1 pound ground beef, cooked and drained
1 batch Homemade Pasta, cut into 3 9x13-inch sheets (Click here for recipe.)
2 cups freshly grated mozzarella cheese
In a large bowl, mix together the ricotta cheese, Parmesan cheese, and basil pesto. In a large saucepan, add the Garden Marinara and ground beef and simmer for 30 minutes. In a 9x13-inch baking dish, place 1 cup of meat sauce on the bottom to prevent sticking. Next, layer 1 sheet of pasta, 2-3 cups of meat sauce, 1 sheet of pasta, ricotta mixture, 1 sheet of pasta, remaining meat sauce and top with the mozzarella cheese. Bake for 50 minutes, remove from oven and let sit for 10 minutes before slicing.
Basil Pesto
2 cups fresh basil leaves
2 tablespoons minced garlic
1/4 cup pine nuts
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
2/3 cup olive oil
Add all ingredients except olive oil to a food processor. Pulse until coarsely chopped. Turn to low and slowly add in olive oil. Process until smooth.
Garden Marinara
12 ripe Roma tomatoes
1 (28 ounce) can whole peeled San Marzano tomatoes, undrained
1/4 cup olive oil
1 onion, diced
2 celery ribs, diced
2 tablespoons minced garlic
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon dried parsley
1 teaspoon white wine vinegar
In a large pot with 4-6 cups of water, add in Roma tomatoes. Bring to a boil for 1 minute, then remove from heat. Pour off hot water and replace with cold water. Allow to cool. Remove the tops of the tomatoes with a knife and peel off all remaining skin. Add to a food processor with the can of undrained San Marzano tomatoes. Pulse on low until completely pureed. In a Dutch oven over low heat, add the olive oil, onion, celery and garlic. Simmer for 10-15 minutes or until translucent and tender. Stir in tomato paste until blended. Add in tomatoes and remaining ingredients. Simmer for 2 hours, stirring frequently.
Homemade Pasta
6 cups all-purpose flour
6 whole eggs
Place the flour on a clean, flat surface and make a well in the middle. In a bowl, beat the eggs, then pour into the well of flour. Slowly incorporate the flour in the eggs to begin forming the dough. Continue to knead until the dough comes together and is smooth. Divide dough into 2 portions and wrap with plastic wrap. Allow to rest for 1 hour. Roll out dough on a floured surface until very thin. You should almost be able to see through it. If you have a pasta machine, follow the directions for your desired pasta. If you do not, simply use a pizza cutter and cut strips to the thickness you prefer. Allow to dry on a floured surface for about 5-10 minutes.
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Ryn’s (Momma’s) Lasagna (the Cheat and Eat Kind)
1 pound ground beef
Salt
Pepper
1 (24 ounce) jar Ragu
1 teaspoon minced garlic (optional)
1 teaspoon dried oregano (optional)
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)
1 small container cottage cheese
2 (8 ounce) packages grated mozzarella (or grate your own or use one package 2-4 cups depending on how cheesy you like things, I like CHEESE!)
2 eggs (hard-boiled and chopped)
1 box lasagna noodles
Several pinches salt (for noodle water)
Put two pans of water on to boil, one big one for the lasagna noodles that includes a few healthy pinches of salt, one for the hard-boiled eggs. Hard boil your eggs, drain, rinse under cool water, de-shell when they’re cool enough to handle and chop. As per instructions on the box, boil the lasagna noodles. When noodles are al dente, drain and rinse with very cold water. Handling them carefully so as not to break them, lay out on a clean dishtowel.
Preheat oven at 350 degrees and grab yourself a 9x13-inch casserole dish.
Brown ground beef in large skillet or medium saucepan having seasoned it with salt and pepper. Drain any excess grease. Add jar of Ragu. If faking it to make it and pretending to be chefy, add garlic, oregano and pepper flakes so your jar of Ragu might taste some modicum of homemade. Simmer this for a bit just so the flavors can coalesce, but not so long that it reduces.
Assemble your lasagna by starting with a layer of the meaty Ragu sauce at the bottom, then noodles (overlap the edges a hint as you lay them out), then spread some cottage cheese, sprinkle the chopped eggs, scatter some mozzarella, coat with meat sauce and repeat, until you run out of stuff, ending on meat sauce and a dusting of mozzarella.
Bake in oven for 25-30 minutes until bubbling and yummy-looking with the cheese browned. Let it sit for a bit before you dig in.
KA Note: Needless to say, the first recipe is Suzanne’s, the second is mine.
You see, Suzanne created this lasagna recipe and I’m all for lasagna in any form. Bonus, I knew Ryn made lasagna in Dream Chaser. Then I read the proof pages for Dream Chaser and was reminded that Ryn is no culinary dynamo, and she made the only recipe she knew, one her mother taught her. I also saw that I gave her the lasagna my mother gave me, except I bastardized it because I didn’t have Mom’s recipe, and I lived in England, and calling her cost a fortune, we were poor as dirt, and she did not do email. So I had to make it up from memory. My ex-husband is a lasagna connoisseur and he adored this lasagna. Shh, don’t tell him it’s totally a cheat!