Outstanding Lasagne

September 4, 2007 · Filed Under Recipes · Comment 
  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 6 strips bacon, diced
  • 1/4 pound ham, diced
  • 1/2 pound ground veal or ground pork, or 1/4 pound of each
  • 1 pound ground beef
  • 1 1/2 cups chopped onion
  • 1/2 cup finely chopped carrot
  • 1/2 cup finely chopped celery
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • Pinch ground cloves
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 3 tablespoons tomato paste
  • 1 cup dry white wine
  • 3 cups chicken stock (Use stock, not broth)
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
  • 4 chicken livers, finely chopped (Optional)
  • 1/2 cup heavy cream
  • 1/4 cup chopped parsley
  • 1 1/2 pounds fresh spinach pasta
  • Bechamel Sauce, recipe follows
  • 1 cup freshly grated Parmesan
  • Bechamel:
  • 6 tablespoons butter
  • 6 tablespoons flour
  • 4 1/2 cups milk
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
  1. In a large pot heat the butter over medium high heat. Add the bacon and ham and saute until caramelized and light brown, about 10 minutes. Add the ground meats and cook over high heat until well-browned, stirring constantly, about 20 minutes.
  2. Add the onions, carrots, celery, and mushrooms and cook until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, cloves and nutmeg to the pan and cook for 2 minutes. Add tomato paste and cook for 2 minutes. Add the wine and cook until almost evaporated.
  3. Add stock and simmer over medium high heat until sauce is thickened and flavorful, about 45 minutes to 1 hour. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
  4. Add the chicken livers to the pot and cook 5 minutes. Stir in the cream and parsley, and adjust seasoning if necessary. Set aside until ready to assemble lasagna.
  5. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
  6. Bechamel: In a saucepan, melt the butter over low heat and stir in the flour, stirring constantly until smooth, about 2 minutes. Slowly whisk the milk into the flour, stirring vigorously to blend together. Set over high heat and quickly bring to a boil for 1 minute, stirring. Allow to cook another 5 minutes, or until floury taste is gone. Remove from heat and add salt and nutmeg to taste.
  7. Butter a large rectangular baking dish, then spoon 1/2-cup of meat sauce onto the bottom of the dish. Cover with 1 sheet of fresh pasta. Top the lasagna with a layer of meat sauce (making certain that pasta is completely covered), a layer of bechamel, then a light dusting of cheese. Repeat layering lasagna, sauces, and cheese in this manner until all have been used, ending with a topping of bechamel and cheese.
  8. Bake until the lasagna is bubbling and golden brown, about 1 hour. Allow to rest 10 minutes before serving.

From: http://www.wikihow.com/Make-an-Outstanding-Lasagna

Creative Commons: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.5/

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Two Rice Puddings

August 27, 2007 · Filed Under Recipes · Comment 

A Tale of Two Rice Puddings

There are two kinds of rice pudding in my life.  One is my Mom’s recipe.  Rich, creamy, and loaded with plump raisins, it is the best rice pudding you will ever have.  The other is a quick and easy rice pudding you can make using leftover rice.  Much less decadent, but it fills a certain niche too.

Yesterday, I made the quick and easy version.  I had some leftover rice from Chinese takeout and decided that there would be no lovlier use for it than rice pudding, even this basic one.  Here’s how you make it:

Quick and Light Rice Pudding
2 cups leftover rice
1 cup milk (I used skim to keep the calories down and it worked fine)
½ teaspoon salt
3-5 tablespoons sugar, honey, or maple syrup
½ teaspoon vanilla
½ teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
¼ cup raisins or other dried fruit

Combine the rice and milk in a saucepan and bring to a boil.  Just when it’s to a boil, cover it and lower the heat.  Simmer for 20-30 minutes or until all milk is almost absorbed (20 mins worked for me).  Add all the additional ingredients and stir. 

This is a healthier, lighter rice pudding than the rich, creamy one my Mom makes.  As such, it’s suitable for a light dessert, an afternoon snack, or even as breakfast.  While it lacks the creamy goodness and depth of my Mom’s recipe, it’s great as a lighter, faster alternative.  I ate some for breakfast this morning and Lima even had it as most of her dinner tonight.

But let’s get to the good stuff.  If you are looking for a really decadent rice pudding, look no further.  In reviewing my Mom’s recipe, I don’t see anything that makes it particularly unusual or unique, but it’s stood the test of time and is always delicious.  My Mom, an incredibly sweet and giving lady, is the type of person who always makes special food and desserts based on who’s coming over.  So my cousin Carol gets her delicious homemade manicotti, my cousin Laura gets her pecan praline pie, and my brother Mike gets beef stroganoff.  I hate beef stroganoff and I think it should also be noted that my Mom never makes it when I am home; she reserves it for visits from my brother only, not larger family gatherings.  This is the kind of niceness we’re talking about here.  Anyway, there’s a whole contingent of “rice pudding lovers” who visit and my Mom will make rice pudding for them.  I happily fall into this group.

Mom’s Old Fashioned Creamy Rice Pudding
1 quart milk
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup long grain rice
1/2 cup raisins
1 cup evaporated milk
2 eggs slightly beaten
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla

In a heavy saucepan, cook the milk and salt until slightly heated.  Stir in the washed rice.  When the mixture reaches the boiling point, lower heat and simmer 15-30 minutes until rice is done.  Add 1/4 cup evaporated milk and cook a few minutes longer.  In a mixing bowl, combine eggs, sugar, vanilla and the remaining 3/4 cup evaporated milk.  Stir some of the rice mixture into the egg mixture.  Return the mixture to the one in the saucepan and cook slowly until it thickens a bit (about 3-4 minutes).  Pour into bowl; stir often as it cools.  Serve with dash of cinnamon on top if you’d like.

I wish I had a photo of this pudding to share in this post.  It’s much creamier and prettier than my rice pudding pictured above.  You’ll just have to trust me on that for now.

By the way, I had my Mom’s rice pudding recipe tucked away in a recipe box my Mom painted and stamped for me.  She also filled it with some recipes she knew I loved.  She did this when I got married and moved into a bigger apartment with a kitchen you could actually cook in.  How cute is she?

From: http://atourtable.blogspot.com/2004/07/tale-of-two-rice-puddings.html

 Creative Commons: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/

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Javanese Chicken Curry

August 26, 2007 · Filed Under Recipes · Comment 
Javanese Chicken Curry
Serves 4 to 6

1 tablespoon coriander seeds
1 fresh red Holland or Fresno chili, stemmed and cut into chunks
6 shallots, peeled and cut into chunks
2 cloves garlic, peeled
1 piece galangal, about 1½ inches long, peeled and roughly sliced (optional)
1 piece ginger, 2 inches long, peeled and roughly sliced
3 tablespoons peanut oil
1 thick stalk lemon grass, stem end and brittle top cut off
2 pieces cinnamon stick
5 kaffir lime leaves
2½ to 3 pounds skin-on chicken legs, thighs or both (if possible, have thighs cut in half and knuckle cut off legs), patted dry
2 cups unsweetened coconut milk
¾ teaspoon kosher salt, more to taste

1. In a small food processor, whirl coriander seeds until finely ground. Add chili, shallots, garlic, galangal and ginger and process to a smooth paste, adding a tablespoon or so of water if needed. (Ingredients can also be chopped finely, then pounded together in mortar and pestle.)

2. Heat oil in a large heavy pot over medium heat. When oil is hot enough to gently sizzle a pinch of paste, add all the paste and cook, stirring often, until golden, 5 to 7 minutes. Reduce heat as needed to prevent browning.

3. Using a heavy object like a glass measuring cup, smash lemon grass stalk, crushing lightly just until bendable. Tie in a knot, pulling gently on both ends. Add to pot with cinnamon and lime leaves. Cook 1 minute more, until cinnamon is fragrant.

4. Scrape paste to one side and add chicken to pot. Raise heat and brown chicken lightly on both sides, about 10 minutes total. Add 1 cup coconut milk, 1¼ cups water and salt, stirring well and scraping up browned bits from bottom of pot. Bring to a gentle simmer and cook uncovered 40 to 50 minutes, until chicken is cooked through and sauce is thickened. Do not boil.

5. Add remaining coconut milk and heat through. Taste for salt. Let cool slightly and serve.

Visit the delightful Wednesday Chef for more on this recipe and other food items.

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