Layers Are In

Growing up, special occasions meant one thing, lasagna. And if that occasion was your birthday, Carvel Ice Cream Cake. How I miss those crunchies! But I digress. I've made lasagna many times since then but never from scratch- ricotta, prego & boxed noodles, poof... lasagna. Well this month's Daring Bakers Challenge was a bit more complicated. Bechamel I could handle, homemade ragu, ok sure, but spinach noodles from scratch without a pasta maker? Mamma mia!

Not only was this lasagna absolutely delicious, but not as difficult as I thought. I made the pasta two days in advance, drying it out overnight on my clothes rack, and I made both sauces the day before. All that prep made baking day a breeze.

I will absolutely make this again, and look forward to experimenting with different types of pasta dough and sauces. Head on over to the the Daring Kitchen and learn how to make your next occasional really special. And don't forget Fudgy The Whale.

Now a word from our sponsor:

The March 2009 challenge is hosted by Mary of Beans and Caviar, Melinda of Melbourne Larder and Enza of Io Da Grande. They have chosen Lasagne of Emilia-Romagna from The Splendid Table by Lynne Rossetto Kasper as the challenge.

Do You Cous Cous?

Ok so I've gotten a little behind on my blogging. My grand plan to post three times a week regardless of my work schedule...FAIL! I hate it when real life gets in the way of my fantasy life. So to catch up, here's what I made last week:

In an effort to spend more time in the kitchen and less in my car driving to Trader Joe's, last Sunday I whipped up a couple of easy lunch salads. This summer-ized cous cous with fresh lemon juice, toasted almonds, and dried cranberries.


Tuna and fennel salad with cute little persian cucumbers and fresh parsley from my garden.


And my first attempt at cedar plank salmon glazed with brown sugar and thyme.



The "lookin's not cookin'" mentality was a too strictly enforced (by me), and the fish came out a little dry. Maybe next time we'll adapt a new rule, "lookin's not cookin', but peekin' is quality control."

Summer Style Couscous
adapted from Giada De Laurentis' Mediterranean Salad
1 bag Trader Joes Harvest Grains Blend
3 tbsp plus 1/4 cup olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 cups vegetable stock
2 lemons juiced
1 lemon zested
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil
1/4 cup chopped fresh mint
1/4 cup toasted slivered almonds
1/4 cup dried cranberries

Saute garlic in 3 tbsp of olive oil for 1 minute, Add couscous and brown lightly, stirring often, for about 5 minutes. Add vegetable stock and juice of 1 lemon and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, covered until couscous it tender, stirring occasionally. In a large bowl, toss cooked couscous with remaining lemon juice, olive oil, lemon zest and salt and pepper to taste. Once cooled to room temperature, toss with fresh herbs, almonds and cranberries.

Tuna Salad with Fennel and Cucumber
from Food & Wine
1 small shallot finely chopped
1/4 cup white vinegar
3 tbsp olive oil
1 1/2 tsp sugar
1 tbsp chopped parsley (or fresh herb of your choice)
1 small fennel bulb, cored and diced
2 persian cucumbers, peeled and diced
2 6oz cans olive oil-packed tuna, drained
salt & pepper to taste

In a bowl, whisk shallot, vinegar, oil, sugar and parsley. Add fennel and cucumber, toss and let stand for 5 minutes. Then add tuna and season with salt and pepper.

Cedar Plank Salmon Rub
from Real Simple
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 tbsp canola oil
1 tbsp dried thyme
1 tsp cayenne pepper

Combine ingredients and spread over salmon just prior to grilling.

Excuses, Excuses Blueberry Scones

It was bound to happen sooner or later. When I started this blog I was on hiatus from my show and had all the time in the world to bake my heart out. What a luxury to spend hours shopping for pastry tips, and buying all my ingredients from the farmers market. But alas, my woman of leisure days had to end (sigh, the bills aren't going to pay themselves) and while I love my job its really cutting into my prep time! With a very small grocery shopping window, a nagging cold, and nary a dried apple in sight, blueberry scones won out. Forgive me TWDers!

I used Dorie's recipe as a guideline, incorporating buttermilk and cornmeal, omitting the apple cider, cheddar and elusive dried apples, and adding dried blueberries and lemon zest. I also used my tried and true method of pressing the sticky dough into a glass 9inch pie pan and then using a knife to score slices into the batter before baking.



They were lovely warm from the oven with a little butter for our Sunday morning breakfast. I'm feeling much better now, and with a 4 day work week (yippee!) I am looking forward to restocking my pantry in anticipation of our next challenge- no excuses!