PW's Best Lasagna

We hosted family dinner night with an Italian theme because we thought it might be a nice trip down memory lane for them. (They took a Griswold-isque vacation to Italy 2 years ago). It was a nice and hearty meal that we all loved. I love this lasagna because of the richness of the meat, and use of cottage cheese and the quantity this meal makes...perfect for the family!


The Best Lasagna Ever
Adapted from The Pioneer Woman & also seen in her new cookbook

Ingredients
1 pound Ground Sirloin (I used 85% lean)
8 oz Breakfast Sausage
12 oz Spicy Italian Sausage
4 cloves Garlic, Minced
1 can (28 ounce) Whole Tomatoes - My choice
2 cans (6 Ounce) Tomato Paste
2 Tablespoons Fresh Parsley
2 Tablespoons Fresh Basil
1 tablespoon Fennel seeds
1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
1 teaspoon Salt
3 cups Lowfat Cottage Cheese
2 whole Beaten Eggs
½ cups Grated (not Shredded) Parmesan Cheese
2 Tablespoons Fresh Parsley
1 teaspoon Salt
1 pound Sliced Mozzarella Cheese
1 package (10 Ounce) Lasagna Noodles
(add 1/2 Teaspoon Salt And 1 Tablespoon Olive Oil To Pasta Water)
Preparation:
1.Bring a large pot of water to a boil.
2.Meanwhile, in a large skillet or saucepan, combine ground beef, sausage, and garlic. Cook over medium-high heat until browned. Drain half the fat; less if you’re feeling naughty. Add tomatoes, tomato paste, 2 tablespoons parsley, basil and salt. Set aside.
3.In a medium bowl, mix cottage cheese, beaten eggs, grated Parmesan, 2 more tablespoons parsley, and 1 more teaspoon salt. Stir together well. Set aside. Cook lasagna until “al dente” (not overly cooked).
4. To assemble:
Arrange 4 cooked lasagna noodles in the bottom of a baking pan, overlapping if necessary. Spoon half the cottage cheese mixture over the noodles. Spread evenly. Cover cottage cheese with a layer of mozzarella cheese. Spoon a little less than half the meat mixture over the top.
Repeat, ending with meat mixture. Sprinkle top generously with extra Parmesan.
Either freeze, refrigerate for up to two days, or bake immediately: 350-degree oven for 30 minutes, or until top is hot and bubbly.

Review: Everyone loved the lasagna, because of the wonderful mixtures of meat. The sweetness from the breakfast sausage, and the spiciness from the Italian sausage was the perfect combination of flavors for lasagna. I was leery of the cottage cheese instead of using ricotta cheese, but the creaminess is still enjoyable. Thanks PW for such a great recipe, my food coma was definitely worth it.

Rosemary Onion Bread with Gorgonzola Cheese Topping

I have a beautiful rosemary tree in my garden, and it gets neglected alot. Mainly because there aren't too many dishes that I have made that use "fresh rosemary." It's such a Christmas-isy, woodsy perennial herb that its flavors blend well into roasts, soups and marinades. My favorite Italian restaurant is the Macaroni Grill and they serve this wonderful rosemary foccacia bread with dipping sauce of olive oil and balsamic vinegar. It's like heaven and earth together on a plate, I could eat this all day long and be happy as a bee.

I wanted something like this to balance our wonderful Steak Au Poivre meal, and nothing too complicated. The yeast beast battle that I've been in fear of, had to be put to the test, again. One of the food blogs that I oogle and drool over is The Pioneer Woman. She had a perfect step-by-step demonstration on her food blog that helped tremendously because working with yeast has not been successful for me. Give yourself a good 2 to 3 hours to prepare this for dinner, because it is sure worth the wait. I was deliriously happy the bread cooked beautifully and tasted like heaven on my plate. My only revision to the recipe was the original called for blue cheese, I had substituted Gorgonzola since it's less pungent, but still creamy and gooey like blue cheese. Enjoy!

Rosemary Onion Bread with Gorgonzola Cheese Topping
Adapted from the awesome and wonderful Pioneer Woman
Ingredients
1 Tablespoon Butter
1 whole Large Yellow Onion, Sliced
3 cloves Garlic, Minced
1½ cup Warm Water (Make sure it's at least in between 100 to 110 degrees)
3 teaspoons Active Dry Yeast
1 Tablespoon Sugar
3 Tablespoons Olive Oil
3 cups Bread Flour
2 teaspoons Kosher Salt (more To Taste)
Freshly Chopped Rosemary To Taste (be Generous!)
½ cup Crumbled Gorgonzola Cheese
Preparation
1.Saute sliced onions and minced garlic in 1 tablespoon butter over medium heat. Cook them until brown and caramelized, about 8 to 10 minutes. Allow to cool for a few minutes.
2.Pour warm water into a bowl. Sprinkle yeast on top. Add sugar and olive oil, then stir gently with a fork until combined. Set aside.
3.Combine flour and salt in a separate bowl. Add to the flour mixture your onions, and rosemary in alternating ingredients, stirring gently until dough is combined. (It’ll be sticky!)
4. Generously flour a flat surface. Knead dough 15 to 20 times, adding flour generously to make it easier to handle. (Keep it sticky, though!)
5. Drizzle olive oil in a separate bowl, then add your ball of dough, turning to coat. Cover with a tea towel and place in a warm spot for 1 1/2 to 2 hours.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
6. Divide dough into eight portions, and form each into a rough round shape. Place on a baking mat or parchment paper, then cover with a towel and allow to rise for 15 to 20 minutes.
7. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes or until brown. Brush with butter halfway through baking time.
8. To top with Gorgonzola cheese, either place crumbled Gorgonzola cheese on completely baked rolls and allow it to soften naturally, OR remove the rolls with five minutes baking time left, top with cheese, and return to the oven to finish baking and allow cheese to melt. ***I highly recommend that you take them out within the last 5 or 10 minutes, and butter it up!*** Serve warm or at room temperature. Divine!

Review: This went perfectly with our Steak Au Poivre dinner, best bread ever. The sweetness from the caramelized onions, and gooey Gorgonzola, and buttery rosemary bread was the PERFECT accompaniment to our meal. Actually, it's my first successful attempt with yeast. I have had 3 or 4 possibly 5 FAILED bread attempts. I'm very happy to experiment again with yeast, and I know that I can divide and conquer the yeast beast! Yeah!

Steak Au Poivre

Whenever Eric & I crave a hearty and delicous steak, we "used" to dine at Ruth Chris Steak house, Morton's, Wood Ranch, Prime Cut Cafe is my newest favorite steak place. However, my husband, aka pyro-afficiando, loves this recipe from Alton Brown because it inspired him to cook like our steak house restaurants. Getting restaurant quality at home is our number one mantra right now. It's alot easier to make this meal at our current house than our small Yorba Linda apartment...I think we burned the exhaust fan...it never ran the same after that incident! I love this meal for many reasons: 1)the pyro-show - seeing Cognac flames is quite entertaining and fearing for my life is next; 2) it's the best steak recipe ever; 3) it's an elegant meal for anyone. Try it, fire it up, and eat it up...because it's that good. Trust me.



Steak Au Poivre
Adapted from Alton Brown
4 tenderloin steaks, 6 to 8 ounces each and no more than 1 1/2 inches thick
Kosher salt
2 tablespoons whole peppercorns
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 teaspoon olive oil
1/3 cup Cognac, plus 1 teaspoon
1 cup heavy cream
Preparation:
1. Remove the steaks from the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes and up to 1 hour prior to cooking. Sprinkle all sides with kosher salt.
2. Coarsely crush the peppercorns with a coffee grinder - it's much easier on the hands than using a mortar and pestle. Spread the peppercorns evenly onto a plate. Press the fillets, on both sides, into the pepper until it coats the surface. Set aside.
3. In a medium skillet over medium heat, melt the butter and olive oil. As soon as the butter and oil begin to turn golden and smoke, gently place the steaks in the pan. For medium-rare, cook for 4 minutes on each side. Once done, remove the steaks to a plate, tent with foil and set aside. Pour off the excess fat but do not wipe or scrape the pan clean.

4. Off of the heat, add 1/3 cup Cognac to the pan and carefully ignite the alcohol with a fire starter. Gently shake pan until the flames die. Return the pan to medium heat and add the cream. Bring the mixture to a boil and whisk until the sauce coats the back of a spoon, approximately 5 to 6 minutes. Add the teaspoon of Cognac and season, to taste, with salt. Add the steaks back to the pan, spoon the sauce over, and serve.
Review: Best steaks ever...it's the kind of dish that I would lick the plate clean. All the steakhouses can't come close to this meal. I did scream my head off due to the proximity of the fire in my face, but luckily I was holding the fire extinguisher, too!

Weekly Menu Nov 15 to 21

Sun: PW's Best Lasagna Ever, Gnocchi w/Browned Butter & Sage, Garlic Bread, Fall Salad & Creme Brulee for family dinner night
Mon: Leftovers,
Tue: Beef Stirfry & Brown Rice
Wed: Walnut Crusted Chicken w/Cinnamon Sage Sauce, Sweet Potato & Pumpkin Risotto (Recipe courtesy TPOX)
Thur: Butternut Squash Soup & Rolls
Fri: Girls night out for New Moon - Dinner at The Melting Pot
Sat:4th Annual PALS Alumni Turkey Potluck - also Iron Chef Battle Turkey - between my husband & I.

Company Pot Roast

As far back that I can remember, my mom cooked mainly Filipino dishes for us. The smells of vinegar and garlic would linger in the house, and you would know that it was chicken adobo night. I wouldn't trade any of my childhood memories of food, I loved everything that my mom made for us. She always made sure we had something good to eat. There were rare occasions that she would make something out of the box for her, she never really liked to go outside her comfort box. (We would have spaghetti with hot dogs, who does that?) That's where I'm different from my mom, she cooked one genre of cooking, I like them all. Lately, I've been focusing on American comfort food, and I'm like a kid at a candy store! It's been exciting and adventurous to taste different cultures of food.

I came across Ina Garten's Pot Roast while watching one of her many loved episodes of Barefoot Contessa. I've been in love with using my dutch oven since the cold weather has slowly appeared in SoCal. This is an easy recipe to follow, and most of the ingredients were easy to find at my farmers market. This was my first opportunity to use leeks and knew that they would resemble a huge green onion with lots of sand. (Be careful and clean them well under running water). This is a great pot roast recipe, and my first try at it....this is a dish worth making.


Company Pot Roast
Adapted from Ina Garten
Ingredients:
(4 pound) prime boneless beef chuck roast
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
All-purpose flour
Good olive oil
2 cups chopped carrots (3 carrots)
2 cups chopped yellow onions
2 cups chopped celery
2 cups chopped leeks, white and light green parts
5 large garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
1.5 cups good red wine, Cabernet
2 tablespoons brandy
1 (28-ounce) can whole plum tomatoes in puree
1 cup chicken stock, preferably homemade
1 chicken bouillon cube
3 branches fresh thyme
2 branches fresh rosemary
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, at room temperature

Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
2. Pat the beef dry with a paper towel. Season the roast all over with 1 tablespoon salt and 1 1/2 teaspoons pepper. Dredge the whole roast in flour, including the ends. In a large Dutch oven, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium heat. Add the roast and sear for 4 to 5 minutes, until nicely browned. Turn and sear the other side and then turn and sear the ends. This should take 4 to 5 minutes for each side. Remove the roast to a large plate.
3. Add 2 tablespoons olive oil to the Dutch oven. Add the carrots, onions, celery, leeks, garlic, 1 tablespoon salt, and 1 1/2 teaspoons pepper and cook over medium heat for 10 to 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until tender but not browned. Add the wine and brandy and bring to a boil. Add the tomatoes, chicken stock, bouillon cube, 2 teaspoons salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper. Tie the thyme and rosemary together with kitchen string and add to the pot. Put the roast back into the pot, bring to a boil, and cover. Place in the oven for 2 1/2 hours, until the meat is fork tender or about 160 degrees F internally. Turn the heat down to 250 degrees F after about an hour to keep the sauce at a simmer.
4. Remove the roast to a cutting board. Skim off as much fat as possible from the sauce. Remove the meat from the dutch oven and using a hand processor puree half of the sauce until smooth. (I liked my chunky, so puree at your discretion). Place 2 tablespoons flour and the butter in a small bowl and mash them together with a fork. Stir into the sauce and simmer for 2 minutes, stirring until thickened. Taste for seasonings. Slice the meat and serve warm with the sauce spooned over it.

Review: Honestly, the best meal that I have made recently. The hubs said it should be put in my top ten list, and that it was better than my Pumpkin Beer Braised Ribs. I really had no expectations for this dish, because we have never had pot roast before. The meat was really tender from the slow roasting, and the flavors from leeks, onions, carrots and red wine were mighty tasty. The entire house was infused with the sweet smells of pot roast, a very intoxicating smell of rosemary and thyme. Thyme, I love you - you are my new favorite herb. You add so much to the dish. I didn't waste the gravy on this either, I saved it for a mashed potatoes and gravy kinda day.

Easy French Apple Tart

Seriously, this was an easy treat for the hubby & I. I knew that after eating fish & veggies that he would want something delicious and sweet for the perfect ending. Apple pie is his favorite dessert, and I knew this would be a comparable for him. I cheated by not making the pastry dough, but come on now, I was exhausted after preparing the first 2 components of the meal. Besides, I only wanted 2 servings of this dish because this dessert is best to serve fresh and warm. My grocery store sells them in the perfect 10 x 10 sheets, too. So less work for me, yeah! I loved the mixture of the apricot jam & rich cuban rum that was drizzled over the tart was heavenly.



French Apple Tart
Adapted from Ina Garten
Ingredients:
Puff Pastry sheets
or use Ina's recipe
For the apples:
2 Granny Smith apples
1/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) cold unsalted butter, small diced
1/4 cup apricot jelly
1 tablespoons Rum

Directions:
1. Remove the pastry sheets and thaw as directed.
2. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.
3. Peel the apples and cut them in half through the stem. Remove the stems and cores with a sharp knife and a melon baler. Slice the apples crosswise in 1/4-inch thick slices. Place overlapping slices of apples diagonally down the middle of the tart and continue making diagonal rows on both sides of the first row until the pastry is covered with apple slices. (I tend not to use the apple ends in order to make the arrangement beautiful.) Sprinkle with the full 1/2 cup of sugar and dot with the butter.
4. Bake for 25 minutes or until the pastry is browned and the edges of the apples start to brown. Rotate the pan once during cooking. If the pastry puffs up in one area, cut a little slit with a knife to let the air out. Don't worry! The apple juices will burn in the pan but the tart will be fine! When the tart's done, heat the apricot jelly together with the rum and brush the apples and the pastry completely with the jelly mixture. Loosen the tart with a metal spatula so it doesn't stick to the paper. Allow to cool and serve warm or at room temperature.

Review: What an easy and sweet little treat. We both had the tart with a large glass of my favorite milk. What a perfect "Ina Garten" day of food.

Roasted Butternut Squash Salad with Warm Cider Vinaigrette

My new favorite vegetable is Butternut Squash. Maybe because it's similar to taste to pumpkin, my other love of my life aside from my husband. I love you hubby! Recently, I made a butternut squash risotto and loved it. Also, I still have to make butternut squash soup - it's on my to-do list. I served this salad as a starter for our Parisan meal from Ina Garten. You really must try this salad, it's nutty, sweet & melts in your mouth. I had to substitute the arugula for mixed greens because it's too peppery for my tastebuds. There is plenty of dressing leftover from this, so you can always save it for later, too. I don't like my salads overly done with dressing.




Roasted Butternut Squash Salad with Warm Cider Vinaigrette
Adapted from Ina Garten

1 (1 1/2-pound) butternut squash, peeled and 3/4-inch) diced
Good olive oil
1 tablespoon pure maple syrup
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 tablespoons dried cranberries
3/4 cup apple cider or apple juice
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
2 tablespoons minced shallots
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
4 ounces mixed greens
1/2 cup candied walnuts halves
3/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan

Preparation:
1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Place the butternut squash on a sheet pan. Add 2 tablespoons olive oil, the maple syrup, 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper and toss. Roast the squash for 15 to 20 minutes, turning once, until tender. Add the cranberries to the pan for the last 5minutes.
3. While the squash is roasting, combine the apple cider, vinegar, and shallots in a small saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Cook for 6 to 8 minutes, until the cider is reduced to about 1/4 cup. Off the heat, whisk in the mustard, 1/2 cup olive oil, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon of pepper.
4. Place the mixed greens in a large salad bowl and add the roasted squash mixture, the walnuts, and the grated Parmesan. Spoon just enough vinaigrette over the salad to moisten and toss well. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and serve immediately.

Review: I love roasted butternut squash and the addition of the maple glaze on top is divine. My husband thought we were eating mango with our salad because it was so soft and sweet. Although this salad is perfect as is, add a little crispy crumbled bacon on top - for that extra oomph and ahhh for a perfect lunchtime meal. You deserve it.