Food, Glorious food...

SOOOO good:

Short Rib Lasagna- the most non-turkey thing I could think of.
I made the full recipe, so look for that link- my version was a half-size.
This blogging thing could become a habit....

A Recipe Trifecta!

It all starts with this salad dressing by Our Best Bites: Greek Salad Dressing & Marinade

You will see that the recipe calls for freshly squeezed lemon juice; before you squeeze, grate the zest of one of the lemons into a large mixing bowl and set aside for the Orzo Salad. Then proceed to make the dressing in a blender as directed. My other alterations to this recipe were to use only 2 garlic cloves, and to reserve about a third of the called-for amount of feta. I blended as directed, then added the reserved cheese, and pulsed to obtain a chunky consistency.

Greek Orzo Salad

• 1 cup of orzo pasta
• zest of one lemon
• 2 scallions, chopped finely
• ½ cup grape tomatoes, quartered
• ½ cup frozen peas
• salt & pepper
• 1/3 to ½ cup Greek Salad Dressing
• ¼ cup crumbled feta cheese
• salt & pepper to taste

Cook orzo as directed, adding frozen peas in the last 5 minutes. Rinse in cold water to halt cooking, and drain well. Dump into large mixing bowl.

Add remaining ingredients, and toss to mix well. Season as desired with salt & pepper. Refrigerate for 3 hours to combine flavors.

Greek Chicken Burgers

• 1 egg, beaten
• 2 scallions, chopped finely
• 2 TBSP garlic-&-herb-marinated sun-dried tomatoes, minced
• ½ cup bread crumbs
• 1 tsp salt
• ½ tsp pepper
• ¼ cup Greek Salad Dressing
• One package ground chicken (20 oz?)

1. Beat egg in bottom of large mixing bowl.
2. Add remaining ingredients except chicken and mix thoroughly. Add chicken, and gently combine completely.
3. Lay out a piece of waxed paper on counter, and divide mixture into 5 patties, about ½” thick.
4. Heat a large frying pan over medium heat. Spray with vegetable spray. Add patties, and fry for 5-1/2 minutes each side.
5. Alternatively, heat a Forman Grill to medium high heat, and cook patties for about 6 minutes total.

Serve with or without buns.

Enjoy!

Wonderful Wednesday Wrecipe

Emily found this recipe last week. It sounded yummy. However, I didn’t want to make a huge 9” x 13” pan of it though, so I adjusted the quantities. None of us like mushrooms very much either, so I eliminated those too. It took all afternoon, but it came out delicious! Very rich & decadent- worth all the trouble.

Short Rib Lasagna

Short Rib sauce:

• 3 fresh thyme sprigs plus 1 TBSP chopped fresh thyme
• 1 fresh rosemary sprig
• 2 fresh parsley sprigs
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 pounds boneless beef short ribs
• ½ cup flour
• 3 TBSP olive oil, divided
• 2 medium carrots, chopped in ¼” dice
• 2 celery stalks, chopped in ¼” dice
• 1 medium onion, chopped in ¼” dice
• 2 TBSP tomato paste
• ¼ cup ruby Port
• 1 cup dry red wine (Cabernet Sauvignon or Zinfandel)
• 3-1/2 cups beef broth
• 4 garlic cloves, peeled

Lasagna:

• 3-1/2 TBSP butter
• 3 TBSP flour
• 2 cups whole milk
• ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
• 1-1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 3 or 4 no-boil lasagna noodles

Sauce Directions:

1. Create a bouquet garni with the fresh herb sprigs & bay leaf. Tie in cheesecloth, or place in a coffee filter pinned closed with toothpicks.
2. Preheat oven to 325 degrees Sprinkle ribs with salt & pepper. Place flour in a shallow bowl; dredge meat, shaking off excess. Reserve flour.
3. Heat 2 TBSP oil in a large ovenproof pot over medium high heat. Working in batches, cook ribs until browned on all sides, about 6 minutes per side, setting aside after they cook. Reduce heat to medium.
4. Heat remaining 2 TBSP oil in same pot. Add carrots, celery, & onions. Cook until softened, stirring often, about 10 minutes. Sprinkle 1 TBSP reserved flour over vegetables (discard remainder).
5. Add tomato paste & stir until paste begins to brown on bottom of pot, about 1 minute. Add Port & stir until almost all liquid is absorbed, scraping up brown bits, about 1 minute. Add red wine, then 1 cup of the beef broth.
6. Bring to boil and simmer until reduced by about 1/3, stirring often, about 7 minutes. Add remainder of broth, garlic, and bouquet garni. Return to a boil.
7. Add ribs back to pot, arranging in a single layer. Cover pot. Place in oven and braise until very tender, about 2-1/2 hours.
8. Using tongs, remove cooked ribs from liquid. Discard bouquet garni. Shred beef. Spoon off any excess fat from top of sauce & discard.
9. Boil sauce until reduced to about 3-1/2 cups, about 8 minutes. Return meat to sauce and season with salt & pepper. Stir in chopped thyme.

Lasagna Directions:

1. Melt butter in a heavy large sauce pan over medium heat. Add flour & whisk until smooth. Cook until flour turns light golden brown, whisking often, about 6 minutes. Add milk; bring to a boil, whisking constantly. Boil 1 minute. Add nutmeg and season to taste with salt & pepper.
2. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray a 5” x9” x 3” loaf pan with vegetable spray.
3. Spoon about ½ cup sauce evenly on bottom. Sprinkle 2 TBSP cheese over. Place a lasagna noodle on top of cheese. Spoon about 2/3 cup béchamel over noodle, spreading evenly. Sprinkle with ¼ cup cheese. Spread 1 cup of sauce over. Repeat with noodle, béchamel, cheese, and meat sauce. Top with one last noodle, spreading remaining béchamel sauce, and ½ cup of Parmesan.
4. Bake uncovered until edges are bubbling & top is golden brown in spots, about 40 minutes. Let rest for 10 minutes before serving.

The cast of characters:

My low-tech bouquet garni:

Browned beef:

Sauté the vegetables:

After braising in oven for 2-1/2 hours:

Reduce the sauce a bit more (after removing the packet of herbs):

Add shredded meat back to reduced sauce.

The assembled lasagna:

The finished dish:

Against the original directions, I had covered this with foil prior to baking (purely my executive decision). I think it would not have been as “saucy” if I hadn’t, so I kept the original instructions above. Also, I ended up with about 1-1/2 cups of meat sauce leftover. Perfect for another meal, served over buttered egg noodles.

It was a TON of work. and now I have a bottle of Port to use up. But that makes the perfect excuse to make this again!

Wonderful Wednesday Wrecipes

I love lasagna, but not all the time consuming steps, nor the mass quantities the end result produces. Being cheap, wanting lasagna fast on a weeknight, but only having me, myself & I to eat it, I devised this “method”:

Lasagna for 2  

• 1 box of “No-Boil” lasagna noodles
• 15 oz tub of ricotta
• 1 egg
• 1- 8 oz package shredded mozzarella
• 1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese
• 1/4 cup fresh minced parsley
• 3 fresh basil leaves, chiffonaded
• salt & pepper to taste
• 1 jar –24 oz.- favorite spaghetti sauce (or use 3 cups of your own)
• 1/2 lb. ground beef or bulk sausage –OPTIONAL

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray a 9” x 5” loaf pan with vegetable spray and set aside.
2. Brown meat in sauté pan if using, drain excess fat, stir in spaghetti sauce. Or just open the jar & away we go!
3. In a medium mixing bowl, whisk egg then combine with ricotta, half the package of mozzarella, the parmesan, parsley & basil, salt & pepper. 
4. Spoon a thin layer of sauce in bottom of loaf pan. Top with one dry, uncooked noodle. Top with one quarter of the cheese mixture. Spoon about 1/4 cup more sauce on top of cheese, then a noodle, and so on. Gently press noodle into preceding layer of sauce. Repeat with remaining ingredients, ending with a noodle just topped with sauce.    See! The No-Boil noodles fit perfectly! They expand during the cooking process.
5. Sprinkle this with about 1/2 cup mozzarella. Cover pan with foil. Bake at 375 degrees for 45 minutes or until bubbly.    
6. Remove foil, and continue to bake an additional 5-10 minutes or until cheese get lightly browned.
7. Remove; cool for 10 minutes and serve. Makes 4 servings (2 meals for 2).  

I don’t know about you, but I can never get that first slice out!

By all means use your favorite sauce- either homemade or otherwise; generally I’d prefer a meat sauce but I already had a sink full of dishes to wash and I didn’t want to add to them. This is a perfect amount: I get to eat lasagna for a day or two or three until my cravings are satiated, and then its gone! Or, I’ll have a serving, and tomorrow when I get up D.B will have finished for me- either way, I can’t lose!