On my mind today – Lasagne Bolognese

For Christmas my wife gave Tyler Florence’s new book “Dinner at MY Place” and there is a recipe for Lasagna Bolognese that I’m going to try today.  I’ll take some photos and let you know how it went.

Chianti

Time

Some of my cookbooks

Here is Tyler doing his version of Ultimate Lasagna =  – http://www.foodnetwork.com/videos/ultimate-lasagna/32112.html

And my photos of the procedure:

Large Onion, two carrots, three stalks of celery, 4 cloves of garlic into the food processor

Process until all ingredients are smooth - and consistent

Coat bottom of large pot with olive oil; add 1 lb of ground veal, 1 lb of ground beef, and get some good dark color on the meat

Add one bottle (750ml) of dry red wine - I used Chianti

Let this simmer on low for 1 and 1/2 hours - stirring occasionaly so that it doesn't burn on the bottom

Next:

You can use ricotta cheese (1qt with one beaten egg), a little salt, black pepper and fresh chopped Italian parsley – you will use this between the layers of lasagna pasta.

OR

You can make a Bechamel Sauce with the following recipe link:

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/mario-batali/bechamel-sauce-recipe/index.html

and use this in place of the ricotta cheese filling.

Get two rounds of fresh mozzarella cheese and slice into 1/4 in slices

Prepare 1 pound of lasagna pasta per the package direction and drain in a pasta strainer.

In a large baking dish assemble the lasagna in the follow manner:

A thin layer of bechamel sauce or some of the bolognese sauce if you are using ricotta (note: do not put the ricotta cheese on the bottom of the baking dish – it will burn).

Then put a layer of pasta laying it without any gaps

A layer of bechamel or ricotta next

Then a layer of bolognese sauce

Then a layer of mozzarella cheese

Repeat this until all ingredients are used up and you end with mozzarella cheese on the top.

Bake in a 350 degree oven for 30 minutes - then cover with aluminum foil - then bake an additional 30 minutes until bubbling around the edges

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The Park Avenue Burger – Pannullo’s – Winter Park, FL

Pannullo

On Friday I went over to Park Avenue in Winter Park for lunch.  I wasn’t really sure what I wanted, but I was in a “vacation” kind of mood, so I stopped at Pannullo’s.  At first I thought about have a pannini or other sandwich, but then I spotted “The Park Avenue Burger” on their menu.

Gotta tell ya – the BEST burger I’ve had all year (including the ones I make myself).  The wait person told me that they grind their own beef each day.  I’m not sure if that was the ultimate secret, but this was a great burger.  I had mine done med-well and topped with two slices of provolone cheese, lettuce, tomato, and shaved red onion. It came with fries – I had a beer with it.  Total with the tip $15.00.  I’ll go again when I’m in the craving a great burger.  Thanks Pannullo’s!

Park Avenue Burger w/fries

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Grilled Shrimp with Lemon Pasta

Sunday I made Grilled Shrimp with Lemon Pasta. I looked around for an easy lemon pasta recipe and found Giada De Laurentis had one that was easy and looked great – check out her Lemon Spaghetti.

For the shrimp I made a marinade as follows:

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
juice of one lemon
two garlic cloves finely chopped
1 tsp of Old Bay seafood seasoning
a few turns of fresh black pepper and a pinch of sea salt
Some fresh chopped basil to sprinkle

I whisked this all in a medium bowl and then tossed in a half pound of large de-veined shrimp. Let that marinate for about an hour; then placed the shrimp on skewers that were soaked in water for about a half hour.

I grilled the skewered shrimp on high on an electric grill for about three minutes each side. Only turned the skewers once. Enjoy. Write if you have questions.

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Friday Pizza

Another Friday pizza tonite.. this time I just took from what I had on hand.  Leftover meatballs, sausage, and eggplant Parmesan.   Very good.

See my other pizza postings for instructions on dough and sauce.

I used shredded mozzarella cheese with some good Parmesan cheese on the top.  The sauce was just a simple tomato sauce.

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Friday Pizza – Carmelized Sweet Onion, Sauted Baby Portobellos, Sweet Italian Sausage

This pizza – from the bottom up was: olive oil, marinara sauce, provolone cheese, carmelized sweet onions, sauted baby portobello mushrooms, sweet Italian sausage. I

• 1 dough (from supermarket bakery – ask them for one of their Italian or French bread dough – tell them you are going to use it for pizza. Here in FL I can get it at Albertsons or Publix.
• Shortening
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil for drizzling
• Fresh ground black pepper
• 1 cup marinara sauce
• ½ lb sliced provolone cheese
• 1 large sweet onion – slivered
• 1/2 lb of sliced baby portobello mushrooms
  
• 1 link of sweet Italian sausage left over from spaghetti and meatballs supper last weekend
  
• Garlic powder
• Dried oregano

Grease your pizza pan with shortening (omit if you are using a non-stick pan or a pizza stone). On a floured board or counter top spread or roll the dough (from the center outward) until it is the right size for your pizza pan. Place on the pizza pan and make your crust edges.

Drizzle the dough with olive oil and spread it out evenly with your hands – then sprinkle with fresh ground black pepper.

Spread marinara sauce over the dough almost to the edges.

Lay on the provolone cheese evenly.

Next add the carmelized onions, then the sauted mushrooms, and then the sausage (sliced into thin circles. You want the sausage to be on the top so that it cooks thoroughly.

Drizzle over the top with more olive oil, then shake on some garlic powder, and dried oregano.

Bake in a pre-heated 400 degree oven

for 20-25 minutes or until crust is desired color and the bottom is well done. Serve with your favorite beer or red wine and a nice salad.

Enjoy!

=Dad

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