Need hints ala Lasagna

"theChas." <[email hidden]> wrote in message
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Quoted message said:

Finally I'm getting my sauce to a point where it is pretty good. An
Italian
girl told me she uses her spagetti sauce in her Lasagna too. I want to
try
it.
I can't find the TV's shows I Tivo'ed about it.
So besides the Ricata, & Mozzarella, I need to know the other two cheeses.
And do I cook the wide noodles first ala dente, or put them in the pan raw
(like Emeril did with the Wonton skins)?
And what temp the oven and for how long??? thanks.

Other cheeses are a matter of taste. Some grated pecorino is our choice. I
still have some from Parma and Toscano. Get some decent cheese, not the
grated stuff in the cardboard tube.

We cook the noodles first, but I've seen some that say no pre-cooking
needed. Never tried it that way, but evidently it works, especially if the
rest of the ingredients are very moist.

Temperature about 350 to 375 for an hour, maybe more depending on the pan
size and depth. When you take it from the oven, let it stand at least 15
minutes, even 30 minutes is OK on a large pan.

Don't be afraid. It is one of the easier meals to make and there are many
variations, all good. It keeps well, freezes too, so don't worry about
making too much.

theChas. said:

Finally I'm getting my sauce to a point where it is pretty good. An Italian
girl told me she uses her spagetti sauce in her Lasagna too. I want to try
it.
I can't find the TV's shows I Tivo'ed about it.
So besides the Ricata, & Mozzarella, I need to know the other two cheeses.
And do I cook the wide noodles first ala dente, or put them in the pan raw
(like Emeril did with the Wonton skins)?
And what temp the oven and for how long??? thanks.

I think you've been relying on too much TV.

-sw

"theChas." <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Finally I'm getting my sauce to a point where it is pretty good. An
Italian
girl told me she uses her spagetti sauce in her Lasagna too. I want to
try
it.
I can't find the TV's shows I Tivo'ed about it.
So besides the Ricata, & Mozzarella, I need to know the other two cheeses.
And do I cook the wide noodles first ala dente, or put them in the pan raw
(like Emeril did with the Wonton skins)?
And what temp the oven and for how long??? thanks.

I don't use an actual recipe and just use the time and temp. listed on the
package of noodles for cooking. I put parmesan in mine and whatever other
Italian cheeses I have around. I should say I did. I have a dairy and egg
allergy so I no longer make lasagna. I also would usually mix some parsley
or spinach in with the Ricotta.

The one time I tried making it with the no-boil noodles, they didn't cook!
It was horrible. I wasn't married then and I served it to my now husband
who is Italian. The trick, it seems is to smother them with sauce.

After that, I always cooked the noodles first, slightly undercooking them
for easier handling.

"theChas." <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Finally I'm getting my sauce to a point where it is pretty good. An
Italian
girl told me she uses her spagetti sauce in her Lasagna too. I want to
try
it.
I can't find the TV's shows I Tivo'ed about it.
So besides the Ricata, & Mozzarella, I need to know the other two cheeses.
And do I cook the wide noodles first ala dente, or put them in the pan raw
(like Emeril did with the Wonton skins)?
And what temp the oven and for how long??? thanks.

I only use three cheeses. The third being parmesan. I cook the pasta
before assembling the lasagna. I like a meaty spaghetti sauce, a ragu
(marinara with meat) with lots of pork and beef and maybe some bacon
drippings.

Tomato sauces should have a strong tomato flavor. If possible, use canned
tomato sauce, tomato paste and fresh tomatoes. Try to stay away from those
gas reddened tomatoes at the market that were never allowed to mature. You
may as well throw rocks in your sauce; they will add just as much flavor.

Maybe it's because I am American, but I prefer the taste of cottage cheese
in lasagna to ricotta; ricotta seems more bland. Use plenty of cheese; you
should be able to taste the cheese. Don't be stingy and sprinkle a pinch of
cheese into it.

Keep the spinach and other green plant matter out of it except for the
basil, oregano, etc. It's not a damn salad.

Mitch

Edwin Pawlowski said:

"theChas." <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Finally I'm getting my sauce to a point where it is pretty good. An
Italian
girl told me she uses her spagetti sauce in her Lasagna too. I want
to try
it.
I can't find the TV's shows I Tivo'ed about it.
So besides the Ricata, & Mozzarella, I need to know the other two
cheeses. And do I cook the wide noodles first ala dente, or put them
in the pan raw (like Emeril did with the Wonton skins)?
And what temp the oven and for how long??? thanks.

Other cheeses are a matter of taste. Some grated pecorino is our
choice. I still have some from Parma and Toscano. Get some decent
cheese, not the grated stuff in the cardboard tube.

We cook the noodles first, but I've seen some that say no pre-cooking
needed. Never tried it that way, but evidently it works, especially
if the rest of the ingredients are very moist.

The only time I didn't cook the noodles first was when I had a microwave
(circa 1979) that would accomodate a 9X13" glass baking dish. The recipe
came from the microwave cookbook that came with the "oven" and was
sufficiently liquid so as to allow the noodles to cook in the covered (with
plastic wrap) dish. (I really miss that microwave!) Otherwise, yes,
precook the noodles but don't cook them to death!

Ricotta, good fresh shredded mozz and grated pecorino parmesan. I have no
idea what other cheeses he/she is talking about.

On Thu, 22 Nov 2007 00:51:30 -0800, "Mitch Scherer" <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

Maybe it's because I am American, but I prefer the taste of cottage cheese
in lasagna to ricotta; ricotta seems more bland.

I use about half no salt cottage cheese, just because it's lowers the
salt content and I honestly can't tell the difference in the finished
lasagna... except sometimes I have to salt it. LOL! I wonder if
ricotta comes in a low/no salt variety? If so, I haven't noticed it.

🙂

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"jmcquown" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
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Quoted message said:

(I really miss that microwave!)

So? Buy one. Or tell your Daddy and maybe he'll buy you one.