Bellygasm

Best Lasagna Recipe Made Easy

Before The Simpsons, there was Garfield. As a child, I read the comic strip, watched the cartoon, and even had a stuck-on-you doll with suction cups on the paws that I put up on my mom's car windows. (Sorry, bad trip to the 80's.)

I always felt a particular kinship with the orange tabby cat. Besides being cynical, sarcastic, and borderline sadistic to John, his owner, Garfield loathes Mondays, diets, or any form of exertion. He is truly one badass kitty.

So what does Garfield have to do with my easy recipe for lasagna, you ask?

1. Garfield is the original foodie who was born in an Italian restaurant kitchen.
2. He eats practically everything, and his favorite food is lasagna.
3. As all impressionable, Saturday morning cartoon devotee, I too became food obsessed and a lover of lasagna.

I hope my simple lasanga recipe, a rendition on the classic, will be as well received for you as it did for me. My guests enjoyed 2nds and even 3rds!! If you prefer a vegetarian lasagna, just swap the sausage for sliced zucchinis and/or squash. I promise you'll never buy a frozen Stouffer's again.

Serves: 8-10
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 45 minutes

Ingredients

1 pound of spicy Italian sausage or ground beef (sausages are seasoned so it adds more flavor & complexity)
1 10-oz. box of spinach, defrosted, drained, & squeezed of any liquid
1 9-oz. box of no-boil lasagne noodles (barilla or your favorite brand)
6 cups of shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup of parmesan cheese

For Marinara Sauce:
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1 small onion, finely diced
1/2 teaspoon of dried basil
1/2 teaspoon of dried oregano
1 tablespoon of olive oil
4 1/2 cups of crushed tomatoes
1/2 cup of red wine
Salt & pepper

Preparation

1. In a large skillet, add oil over medium-high heat. Removing casing and add sausages in bite sized chunks to brown for about 5 minutes. Remove and set aside leaving oil and any fat rendering.
2. Add onion to sauté until translucent while scraping any carmelization. Add garlic, basil, oregano, crushed tomatoes, and red wine. Bring it to a boil before reducing heat and cover to simmer for 10 minutes. Salt and pepper to taste.
3. While the marinara sauce simmers, prepare spinach and set aside. (Tip: If the spinach is frozen, defrost in microwave per instruction. If already defrosted and at room temperature, make sure to drain and squeeze out any liquid.)
4. Preheat oven at 375F. Grease the bottom and the sides of a 13x9x3 baking pan with olive oil.
5. Spread 1 cup of sauce evenly on the bottom of baking pan.
6. Layer 4 uncooked lasagne sheets, half of the sausages, 1 1/2 cup of mozzarella, and 1 cup of sauce.
7. Repeat another layer of uncooked sheets, spinach, 1 1/2 cup of mozzarella, and 1 cup of sauce.
8. Repeat another layer of uncooked sheets, remaining sausages, 1 1/2 cup of mozzarella, and 1 cup of sauce.
9. Add final layer of uncooked sheets, remaining sauce, remaining mozzarella, and parmesan cheese.
10. Cover tightly with foil. Bake for 50 minutes until bubbly. Uncover foil and continue to bake for another 15-20 minutes until cheese is completely melted and starts to brown.
11. Remove from oven and let it stand for 15 minutes before serving.
     

Bistecca alla Fiorentina (Florentine Steak)

On my first trip to Italy over 10 years ago - wow where did the time go?, I dined on my first Bistecca alla Fiorentina (Beefsteak Florentine style), and it was like nothing that I've ever tasted before or any beef for that matter. The way the steak was cooked simply and rare I could almost taste the pasteur which the animal had roamed and grazed on.  For one entire week all around Tuscany, I ate nothing but a Bistecca Fiorientina for lunch, a thick Porterhouse with a filet mignon on one side of the T-bone and a NY strip on the other. After devouring the entire Bistecca by myself, I always finished ceremoniously by licking my fingers for having picked up the T-bone and gnawed off any meat stuck to it. I called it a "No meat left behind" policy.

My Florentine Steak recipe is close to tradition. Some recipes call for a few anchovy fillets with the rosemary mixture, but I think just salt tastes more primal.

Serves: 2-3
Prep Time: 3 minutes
Total Time: 25 minutes

Ingredients

1 2-1/2 to 3 inch thick Porterhouse steak
3 fresh sprigs of rosemary
2 tablespoon of kosher salt or coarse sea salt
3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil

Preparation

1. Take the steak out of the fridge and let it to come to room temperature upto 6 hours before cooking.
2. Remove rosemary leaves from sprigs. Grind with salt in a mortar and pestle to a coarse paste. Drizzle in oil and mix until it looks almost like a pesto.
3. Get your grill (mine is gas) as hot as you can, and I mean REALLY hot. Find a hot spot, season the steak only with salt (pepper will cause bitterness) and sear without moving it for 4 minutes per side. Leaving it undisturbed will get a good grill mark too. (FYI: I also like to rotate and sear the edge a little (the height of the steak) especially the fat part.)
4. The steak is ready: 1. if you Insert a meat thermometer into the thickest part of the steak and get a reading of 120F, 2. the meat is springy to the touch, or 3. your mouth starts watering (Ok, the last test can be subjective.)
5. Transfer steak to a carving board. Let it rest for at least 10 minutes before slicing; resting allows the juice to redistribute in the steak. Spread rosemary mixture generously. (Tip: You can tent it with foil or just put it in the oven without any heat.)

Serving suggestion: I normally carve the meat out from the bone and cut both filet and strip diagonally into 1/2-inch thick slices. If serving at the table, reassemble the Bistecca Florientina with the T-bone back in the middle. Add a little freshly ground pepper before you serve.

Classic Beef Stew (a la Beef Bourguignon or Beef Burgundy)

There is nothing more comforting than a plateful of beef stew in the tradition of Beef Bourguignon (aka beef burgundy). Whenever I have one of those days or just feel like spending a cozy evening at home, I make this delicious classic beef stew recipe, which is just full of umami.

Just half the recipe for a romantic dinner for 2, and serve with a nice bottle of red. It's also a real crowd pleasure especially during football and basketball seasons.

Looking at the photo just made me salivate. Honestly, I've tasted (strike that) tested many recipes, and this one is my favorite. Shh, my secret ingredient is cloves.

Serves: 6 to 8
Prep Time: 1 hour
Total Time: 3 1/2 hours

Ingredients

3 pounds of beef chuck, cut into 2 1/2-inch pieces
1/2 cup of all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons of olive oil
2 tablespoons of butter
3 medium yellow onions, quartered
2 ribs of celery, cut into 2-inch pieces
1 cup of leeks, cut into 2-inch pieces
4 large carrots, peeled & cut into 2-inch pieces
1/4 cup Cognac or brandy
1 8oz can of whole plum tomatoes, rough chop with scissors inside the can
3 cups of dry red wine
2 cups of stock, preferably beef 
3 cloves garlic, crushed & minced
1 1/2 tablespoon of herbes de provence (typically includes thyme, rosemary, marjoram & basil)
2 large dried bay leaf
3 whole cloves 
1 tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce  (optional)
1/2 pound russet potatoes, cut into 2 1/2-inch pieces* (in lieu of beurre manie)
1 pound white mushrooms, brushed of debris & bottoms trimmed
Salt & pepper to season and to taste

Preparation

1. Season beef chuck well with salt and pepper. In a ziploc bag, add flour and beef to coat.
2. In a large Dutch oven, add olive oil and butter using medium-high heat. Once hot, brown beef on all sides in 3 separate batches to create nice carmelization. Transfer beef to a plate and set aside.
3. Preheat oven to 325F.
4. Add onions into the Dutch oven, sauté for 5 minutes until slightly brown. Depending on the amount of fat rendered from the beef, add a tablespoon or 2 of olive oil if needed.
5. Push aside onion and add celerys, leeks, and garlic into the middle of the dutch oven to sauté evenly, until fragrant.
6. Add cognac and let it cook until alcohol evaporates.
7. Push veggies aside to add tomatoes, bay leaves, and herbes de provence for 2 minutes to layer in flavor.
8. Return beef along with liquid released onto the plate into the Dutch oven. Add wine and bring to a strong simmer. Add broth and stir.
9. Add carrots, potatoes, cloves, and Worcestershire sauce. Cover with a lid and cook in the preheated oven for 2 to 2 1/2 hours, until beef becomes fork tender.
10. Remove from oven and place on burner at low heat. Rinse mushrooms and add to stew. Once combined, turn off heat to serve.

Note:

* In lieu of beurre manie, potatoes are used as the starch to thickening the jus (or gravy). Also, it makes it a 1-pot meal and slightly healthier with less butter. If you prefer to go sans potatoes, I recommend serving with some good pappardelle pasta. What can I say, I like my carbs.