Sunday, December 20, 2009

How to bake italian lasagna? Divulge all the trade recipes! No secrets left untold! Be honest!?

I badly need to know how to bake lasagna but augur ill i don't know how. I want to cook this on my sonny boy's first bday this coming 21th of april. I want the italian recipe. The al dente cooking style! And pls tell me everything and no secrets must be left untold! Don't give me a web site or something just enumerate it briefly. Thank you very very much my friends! muchos gracias senior!How to bake italian lasagna? Divulge all the trade recipes! No secrets left untold! Be honest!?
I got this recipe when I was watching Martha Stewart Living. It's kind of hard, but so worth it. The first part of the recipe is for the mini meatballs you use for the Lasagna, and the second is for the lasgana itself. Hope this helps. BTW, It's a very tall kind of lasagna. Just follow the directions and you'll do great. Like I said, my family raved about this. Good luck.








Meatballs for Patsy's Meatball Lasagna Ingredients


Serving: Serves 10 to 12


3/4 Cup fresh breadcrumbs


6 Tablespoons whole milk


2 Tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil


2 medium onions, finely chopped


6 garlic, finely chopped


1 1/2 Pounds ground beef, preferably chuck


1 1/2 Pounds ground pork


3 large, whole eggs, lightly beaten


3 large egg yolks, lightly beaten


3 Tablespoons finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley


3 Tablespoons finely chopped fresh oregano


1 1/2 Cups freshly grated Parmesan cheese


Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper


Dried breadcrumbs, for work surface


Olive oil, for frying


Directions


Place breadcrumbs in a small bowl. Drizzle the milk over and let stand until absorbed.


Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion and garlic; cook until translucent, about 3 minutes. Set aside.


Place the ground meats in a large bowl. Add breadcrumb mixture to meats along with the reserved onion and garlic, whole eggs, yolks, parsley, oregano, and cheese. Season with salt and pepper. Using your hands, mix until just combined.


Sprinkle breadcrumbs over work surface. Roll 3/4 cup meatball mixture into a thin strip, about 12 inches long; repeat 3 more times. Line strips next to one another; sprinkle with breadcrumbs. Cut strips into 1-inch lengths. Repeat process with remaining meat mixture.


Working in batches, transfer 1-inch pieces to a large sieve; sprinkle lightly with breadcrumbs to prevent sticking. Toss until pieces become round and form meatballs.


Lightly coat the bottom of a large skillet with olive oil; set over medium-high heat. Working in batches, cook meatballs until browned and cooked through, 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer to a paper towel-lined baking sheet to drain. Repeat with additional oil and remaining meatballs.





Patsy's Lasagna


Ingredients


Serving: Serves 10 to 12


2 1/4 Pounds (4 inches by 8 inches) fresh lasagna sheets


Coarse salt


10 Cups homemade or store-bought pasta sauce


1/2 recipe Meatballs for Patsy's Meatball Lasagna


1 1/3 Cups freshly grated pecorino Romano cheese


1/4 Cup chopped fresh basil leaves, plus more for garnish


2 Pounds (about 8 links) sweet Italian sausage, broiled and thinly sliced


2 Pounds fresh mozzarella, cut into 1/2-inch cubes (about 2 1/4 cups)


2 Cups fresh ricotta cheese


1 large egg


Directions


Bring a large pot of water to a boil; season with salt. Add lasagna sheets, and cook until pliable and al dente, 1 to 2 minutes. Drain, and rinse under cold water.


Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Pour 1 cup sauce into a shallow baking dish; set aside. Cut two sheets in half lengthwise to make four 2-by-8-inch sheets; set aside.


Spread 1 cup sauce on the bottom of a 13-by-9-inch baking dish. Dip half of a reserved cut sheet crosswise in the reserved sauce, and drape over a corner of the baking pan, leaving the sauce-covered end in the pan with the other half hanging over the edge. Repeat with remaining 3 cut sheets and corners. Line edges of pan in the same manner using full-size sheets dipped lengthwise. Finish lining the bottom of the pan with 2 full sheets.


In a medium bowl, toss to combine meatballs with 1/3 cup pecorino Romano, and 1/4 cup basil; spread evenly in bottom of dish. Pour over 1 cup sauce, and cover with 2 lasagna sheets.


In the same bowl, toss sausages with 1/3 cup pecorino Romano; spread evenly in baking dish. Pour over 1 cup sauce, and cover with 2 lasagna sheets.


In a medium bowl, combine mozzarella with 1/3 cup pecorino Romano; spread evenly in baking dish. Pour over 1 cup sauce, and cover with 2 lasagna sheets.


In a medium bowl, combine remaining 1/3 cup pecorino Romano with ricotta and egg; spread evenly in baking dish. Top with 1 cup sauce.


Center pasta sheets on ricotta within 1/2-inch of the edge of dish. Brush draped lasagna with sauce, and fold over to seal and enclose.


Cover lasagna with a clean, damp kitchen towel. Double-wrap baking dish in aluminum foil. Place an ovenproof plate, upside down, in a large roasting pan; fill pan with 2 inches of hot water. Place lasagna on top of plate. Bake until lasagna reaches an internal temperature of 160 degrees to 170 degrees on an instant-read thermometer, 1 1/2 hours to 1 hour 40 minutes. Remove from oven; let stand 15 minutes before serving. Garnish with remaining basil, and serve with remaining sauce, if desired.How to bake italian lasagna? Divulge all the trade recipes! No secrets left untold! Be honest!?
Buy a box of Bravo Italian Lasagna noodles, and follow the recipe on the back of the box. It's a real Italian recipe.
Start by making spaghetti sauce brown 2lbs of ground beef drain fat. add lg can of tomato sauce and a package of spaghetti mix salt and pepper, chopped onion, garlic and olives , mushrooms, bell pepper. let that cook down simmer all day. then if that tastes good your ready to start the lasagna add a tub of cottage cheese and a can of spinach cut up in can with scissors. set aside and cut up your cheeses mozzarella, Cheddar, jack and boil your noodles. get a deep 9x12 backing dish and layer sauce use a coffee cup to scoop out sauce from pan, layer of noodles, cheese, sauce, etc. cover with foil and back on 350 or so for about 45min-hr. remove let set for 10-15min.
You can google for Lasagna recipes. Lots to choose from or if you have a favorite from a restaurant check out www.copykat.com
first of all al dente is not a cooking technique. it means ';to the bite'; so if you want your pasta al dente, just cook it to a point that you still could feel your teeth bite through the pasta.





i made you up a recipe. you said you want it italian style right? i suggest you do something not italian if you are a meat lover but anyway, here's a recipe that is italian in nature.





cream cheese


garlic


olive oil


spinach leaves


fresh basil leaves


black pepper corns


parmesan cheese


mozzarella cheese


sundried tomatoes


mustard


cayenne pepper


lasagna


egg





boil peppercorns in water for about twenty minutes. just let the water absorb the flavor of the pepper then strain them out. blanch your spinach in the pepper infused water then shock it in ice cold water. after shocking, squeeze the water out. i'm making you do this to eliminate the bad gardeny flavor of spinach. chop it up into large pieces, you should be able to feel and taste it in your mouth when you chew it up.





beat your cream cheese in an electric mixer until it softens. when soft, mix in all the other ingridients except for your garlic, then season with a little salt and pepper. remember to use very tiny amounts of cayenne pepper and mustard. these ingridients are used to intensify the flavor of your cheese. your sundried tomatoes should be sliced, if you buy the whole ones then just slice them up. i suggest you buy parmesan cheese in block form, not the grated ones. those in block form taste a whole lot better, just grate it up yourself into chunky portions. your basil should be sliced into thin strips, ';chiffonade.'; you might be thinking why i included eggs in here, well the eggs act as binders so when you pop your lasagna in the oven, it cooks into 1 solid piece just like a pie or a cake.





for your garlic, slice the top off so you expose a part of the cloves. after doing this, sprinkle some salt and pepper then drizzle some olive oil over it. pop it in a 300 degree oven and roast it for 40 minutes to an hour. it should be very soft. when cooked, mix it together with all the other ingridients.





bake your lasagna in a glass container at 275 degrees for about 30 minutes or just check on it regularly. your cheese should sort of boil for about 3-7 minutes.





oh and for the assembly, just arrange your lasagna so that the bottom of your baking pan is filled up. layer it off with the mixture that you prepared. repeat this till you fill your baking pan. i personally do it up to 4 layers only.





for the quantities of your ingridients, just use more of what you like, play around. don't overuse your basil, just put an amount that would give your dish a good aroma.





good luck and happy birthday to your boy!
A recipe from Emilia-Romagna, Italy; this lasagna made with spinach pasta cannot be beat. It's excellent if you want to impress some guests, or even yourself. It may be a bit time consuming, but it's well worth the TLC you put into it.';


INGREDIENTS


(You can; of course; blow this part off and buy dried lasagne noodles)


PASTA


5 ounces spinach - rinsed, stemmed, and dried


2 eggs


5/8 cup semolina flour


1 teaspoon salt


1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour





RAGU


2 tablespoons butter


2 slices bacon, diced


1 carrot, diced


1 stalk celery, diced


1 onion, diced


3 1/2 ounces lean ground pork


3 1/2 ounces lean ground beef


3 1/2 ounces minced ham


2 tablespoons tomato paste


1 teaspoon dried oregano


1 cup beef stock


salt and pepper to taste





3 1/2 ounces chicken livers, trimmed and chopped (optional)





BECHAMEL


2 tablespoons butter


2 tablespoons all-purpose flour


2 cups warm milk


1 pinch salt


1 pinch ground nutmeg





CHEESE


1 2/3 cups grated Parmesan cheese


1 pint ricotta cheese


3 tablespoons butter


DIRECTIONS


For the pasta dough: Steam the spinach in a steamer or over boiling water until bright green, 2 minutes. Squeeze to remove excess moisture and process in a food processor to make a paste. Combine spinach with eggs, semolina, and salt and process until smooth. Stir in enough of the flour to make a smooth dough. Knead briefly, cover and set aside.


For the ragu: In a large skillet, melt butter over medium-high heat. Saute bacon, carrot, celery and onion until onion is translucent. Stir in ground pork, ground beef and minced ham, and cook until browned. Stir in tomato paste, oregano and beef stock. (Reserve the chicken livers for later.) Season with salt and pepper, reduce heat to low, cover and simmer 20 minutes.


For the bechamel: While the ragu is simmering, combine 2 tablespoons butter and 2 tablespoons flour in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat. Whisk to make a roux. Remove from heat, let rest one minute, then whisk in warm milk. Return to heat, simmer 10 minutes, stirring constantly, until thickened. Season with salt and nutmeg. Remove from heat.


To cook pasta: Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. On a floured surface, divide pasta dough into three portions. Roll each portion out to a thin sheet. Have ready an ice water bath. Cook each sheet 3 minutes in the boiling water; remove from the boiling water and dip in the ice water; drain and dry on a clean, dry cloth.


To finish the ragu: Stir the chicken livers into the simmering sauce. Cook 1 minute, remove from heat and set aside.


Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Grease a 9x13 baking dish.


To assemble lasagna: Place one pasta sheet in bottom of prepared baking dish. Spread one-third of the ragu, one-quarter of the bechamel, one-third of the ricotta, and one-quarter of the parmesan over the pasta. Repeat layers twice. Top with remaining bechamel and parmesan and dot with butter.


Bake in preheated oven 30 minutes, until top is golden brown.
I AM NOT EVEN GOING TO TRY GIVING YOU MY RECIPE. PAAAAAALEASE
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.








Things You'll Need





* 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

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