Greek Lasagna...Oopah!

Sup kids. You're probably wondering why I make so many heavy dishes during the summer months. My reasons are three-fold: 1 - I like making this kind of food. They are dishes that take time and care - the essence of a SND. 2 - My area of Southern California is having the most boring summer ever: barely gets above 75 degrees on a good day. I'm sure that if it was 90 degrees outside I'd be making lighter dishes. 3 - Calories don't count on Sundays!

Okay, that's out of the way - thought I had some 'splainin' to do. On to today's recipe: Pastisio! I watched my dear friend Ina's show on Saturday last, and she made this amazing Greek lasagna dish for her adorable husband Jeffrey. It looked delicious and the ingredients seems wack-a-doo to me, so of course I had to try it! Adam okay-ed it after I promised I would make the crazy salad that Ina made as well: arugula with feta cheese and WATERMELON. /Shudder. I'm not a fan of any melon. But I'm a good sport too, so we had an accord.

First things first: make the meat sauce. Finely chop a medium to large yellow onion and throw it into a pot that's been heated over medium heat with a three to four count of olive oil. Sweat those onions out for five minutes or so - you want them to soften but not brown. Next add one pound of ground beef and one pound of ground lamb. Cook that down for 10 minutes or so, and break it up until it crumbles with a wooden spoon. Try to get a little color on the meat. After all that work, the meat and onions need a drink! Add 3/4 cup of red wine (I used rose because that's what I was drinking), and stir well to get any delicious bits stuck on the bottom of the pan up. Next up: add four cloves of minced garlic, one teaspoon of dried oregano, one and a half teaspoons of fresh thyme, two pinches of cayenne pepper, and here comes the wack-a-doo part. One TABLESPOON of cinnamon. Cinnamon??!? I know, nuts right? I was nervous about it because I didn't want to eat dessert meat (who does?) but I was brave, and you need to be too. Mix all of your spices in with the meat and wine well. It will smell very cinnamony, but don't fret. It will be delicious. After cooking for about five minutes, add one 28 ounce can of crushed tomatoes in puree, along with two teaspoons of salt and one teaspoon of pepper. Mix well, then simmer that lovely sauce for 40-45 minutes. Stir occasionally, and do not cover. The sauce will be quite thick. Be sure to taste for seasonings.

Once the sauce is close to done, start making your béchamel. A béchamel is a white sauce (a "mother" sauce) that can be flavored a million different ways. In a small pot heat 1 1/2 cups of whole milk and 1 cup of heavy cream over medium low heat until simmering. Side note: I used lactose free milk and half/half and it worked out just fine - and was less lactosey for my man friend. Win! As your milk is warming, heat four tablespoons of butter in a saucepan over medium heat until melted. Add 1/4 cup of flour and whisk until it is totally mixed with the butter. Cook for about two minutes, then add your warm milk/cream, whisking whisking to avoid lumps. Simmer this for another five minutes until it is thick and smooth. Turn the heat down to low, then add a pinch of grated nutmeg, one teaspoon of salt and one teaspoon of pepper. Whisk again, then add a few ladlefuls of your meat sauce and 3/4 cup of grated parmesan cheese and stir well. Sneak a few tastes.....hot damn is that sauce gooood! Turn the heat off and let the béchamel cool for 10 minutes, then add a few more wacky (but delicious!) ingredients: 2 eggs (beaten together beforehand) and 2/3 cup of Greek yogurt. I was delighted by these additions - not only was the sauce really amazing, but after it's time in the oven the white sauce took on the texture of ricotta cheese and was totally outstanding.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees, and get out a large cake pan. Whilst you are making your béchamel, cook one pound of shell shaped pasted just to al dente. You really want it to have some bite, as it will continue to cook in the oven. Drain and add to your meat sauce and mix well. Pour your meat sauce and noodles in the bottom of your cake pan, then spread the white sauce on top evenly with your spoon. Add 3/4 of grated parmesan on top - shake it all over to make a yummy brown crust.

Bake that bad boy for one hour. Towards the end of the hour, keep a weather eye on your Pastisio - mine was nice and browned by forty five minutes. Pull it on out of the oven and let it cool/set while you make your salad.

I made a simple lemon vinaigrette for the salad - the juice of one lemon, a small squirt of dijon mustard, a splash of my wine, pinch of S/P, and a five count of olive oil. Whisk and done. Pour that over your arugula, crumbled feta (get the good stuff that comes in water), and cubed fresh watermelon. Adam loved the watermelon in the salad, and I thought it was pretty darned good without.

Serve up your out of this world greek lasagna after it's cooled a bit and go to town, guys! It has amazing flavor - the cinnamon and cayenne give it such a warm, happy taste. Probably would be great mid-winter but what the hell. Make what you want, when you want. That's my motto.

Heart,

D

Julia Sunday Night Dinner!

Hello again friends. The subject of this post has already been blogged about by other people, but that doesn't mean I can't follow suit! This is the first Julia (but not the last ohhhh no) recipe that I've done for SND. Mr. B. gave me Volumes I and II of Julia et al's masterpiece a while ago, and I've been waiting for the perfect time to make..... Boeuf Bourguignon. Guhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh it was sooooo gooooooooood. I INSIST you make this right now. It really is the Ultimate SND. Start to finish it took me a good four hours and me oh my was it worth it.

So, BB. This is a multi step process. I'm going to tell you how I did it, and it probably wouldn't hurt you to look up Julia's recipe if you're going to make it as I'm writing this from memory.

First things first - you gotta boil some bacon. What what what, you say! I know. Bizarro. But Julia knows what she's talking about people. If you don't boil the bacon, the smokiness will overtake the flavor, and this dish is a symphony of flavors not to be overpowered by one (albeit delicious). So chop up half a packet of bacon (6 ounces) into lardons around an inch wide. Simmer the bacon for ten minutes and then drain.

Ooh! Pre-heat the oven to 425 degrees! Now!

You need to use a oven and stove-top proof pan for the majority of the cooking. I used a smaller dutch oven, but anything that will hold 5 or so cups of liquid plus the meat and veggies will do. It needs to have a lot of surface area for browning, so no saucepans/kettles. Pour in a three count of olive oil and fry your boiled bacon for around five minutes - render some of that fat and get it lightly browned. Take the bacon out of the pan with a slotted spoon and drain on some paper towels.

Next you need the main attraction: the beef! Use three pounds of 'stewing' beef. I got mine at Costco, and it was already cubed into 2" cubes. Thanks Costco! You're the bestest. Before you toss the beef into the hot pan, pat each piece dry with a paper towel - it won't brown if it's damp. Brown the beef in the bacon fat in shifts until you have some nice color on all sides. I was sorely tempted to salt and pepper these, but that comes later - I promise. Trust me and Jules. Remove the beef from the pan and set aside.

Again using the same fat, brown one sliced onion and one sliced carrot. This took about seven minutes or so over medium heat. If there is a ton of excess oil, drain that from the pan and return the beef and bacon to the pan. Toss everything with one teaspoon of salt and a quarter teaspoon of pepper (I used a pinch more of both). Sprinkle on two tablespoons of flour and toss again. Set your pan on the middle rack of your pre-heated oven and roast for four minutes. Use a timer, my dear friends. That is a hot oven and you do NOT want to burn. After four minutes take the pan out and carefully give it shakey shake and put it back in the oven for four more minutes.

Remove the pan and turn the oven down to 325 degrees. Add three cups of Chianti (insert Silence of the Lambs reference here), and around two cups of beef stock. Pour the wine in first, and then pour the beef stock in until the meat is juuuuuuuuuuust covered. Then add one tablespoon of tomato paste (I added a bit extra, prolly a tblsp and a half, sorry Jules), 2 minced cloves of gahlic, 2 teaspoons of thyme (I took it off of the stems and roughly chopped) and a crumbled bay leaf. Bring this pot o'delicousness to a simmer, cover, and put in the oven. The rack should be in the lower third of the oven this time. This should cook in the oven for 2 1/2 to 3 hours. Be sure to check on it often - you want the liquid to simmer NOT boil. If it's boiling turn the oven down until you reach a nice simmer.

Whew! That's a lotta work, right? Well friends you are about halfway done. You can take a breather at this point and enjoy a glass of wine and some nibblies. Don't rest too long though because you've got braised onions and sauteed mushrooms to make!!

Okay, so watch your timer. The braised onions take about thirty to forty minutes, so plan accordingly. Lovely Julia says to use 18-24 pearl onions. I used 24 and fervently wished for more later. They are soooooo delicious that I'll probably use forty or so next time. You can use fresh pearl onions if you so desire, but they are kind of a pain in the ass to peel (drop into boiling water for 2-3 minutes; drain; cut of the tops and peel). I used frozen pearl onions that are already peeled! Hurrah! I just took them out of the freezer as I began to prep, and they were thawed by the time I was ready for them.

Back on track: melt 1 and 1/2 tablespoons of butter in a three count of olive oil. I'd say over medium heat, and use a frying pan that has a cover. Drop in your baby onions with a little salt and pepper, and roll those guys around until they brown. As Julia says, "You cannot expect them to brown uniformly". That cracks me up, I don't know why. Anyhoo, after you've browned your onions lightly, add 1/2 cup of beef stock and (this is a Dana addition) 1/3 cup red or white wine (I used white cause that's what I drink). Cover the pan and lightly simmer those beauties for thirty for forty minutes until most of the liquid has evaporated. Remove from the pan and set aside.

Mushroom time! These take no time at all, so cook them when the meat has ten or fifteen minutes left. You need 16 ounces of mushrooms for this - I used porcinis but you could go with shiitake as well. Clean them by wiping the tops lightly with a damp towel and quarter. Melt two tablespoons of butter in a three count of olive oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Don't let the butter burn, but get it nice and bubbly. Add your mushrooms with some salt and pepper and toss in the pan to get everyone nice and coated with delicious butter. Use a wooden spoon if you don't have the frying pan food toss down yet (it took me a little while and some spilled food, but it sure is fun!). Keep the mushrooms moving so they don't burn, but do get some good color on them - this will take ten or so minutes. Finely mince one shallot and throw in the pan for the last minute of cooking. Remove everything from the pan and set aside with the braised onions for later.

All righty....we're getting there!! After about two hours in the oven, test your meat with a fork - it should pierce the beef easily. If it's not tender enough, back in the oven it goes. If it is....you're so close to done! Strain the contents of the pot into a saucepan, then put the meat and vegetables back into the pan. Add the braised onions and mushrooms on top of the meat. Skim the fat off of the top of the sauce (or use the handy dandy fat separator gadget from Crate and Barrel!). You should have around two and a half cups of sauce, and it should coat the back of a spoon. If it's too thin, you can boil it down a bit - but I'm too impatient for that. I put around a third of a cup of beef stock in a bowl with a heaping tablespoon of cornstarch and whisked it together, then added it to my simmering sauce. It tightened right up. If your sauce is too thick, add some more stock. Taste for seasoning, then pour the sauce back over the meat and vegetables. Top with some chopped parsely and whoaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa you're done! Eating time! Oh man I promise all this work is worth it.

I served this amazing-ness with some boiled potatoes - just some new potatoes boiled until soft, drained, then tossed with a little butter (ha, more butter) and salt. I put the potatoes down first in a bowl, then smothered with the meat/veggies/sauce. And enjoy!

Srsly, please try this. Yes, there are a lot of steps - but the end product is so satisfying and happy making. Even more so since it took lots of hard work to make. As always kittens, let me know how it turned out and if you added/changed anything.

BFF,

D