JULY29, someone in the big world out there decreed that this should be National Lasagne Day...who are you?
I'm hearing that AUG 4 is also proclaimed Lasagne Day...hold on..are you noticing that I keep spelling the
word L-A-S-A-G-N-E?  That's right, it's Lasagne..meaning more than one Lasagna.  Mrs. Giorlando's
7th grade Primo Corso d'Italiano class at Markham Intermediate School #51 in Staten Island definitely
left an impression on me...proper plurals of the Italian language.  It's a pet peeve of mine, again, it
sets of something in the OCD lobe of my brain and when it's spelled with an "a" I hear fingernails scratching
down a big classroom blackboard.  Am I boring you?  I just started to bore myself, apologies.  

Lasagne is a complex dish which is always identified as a celebratory food.  It brings all the lust in your
appetite to the forefront of your thoughts...it is comforting, soothing, decadent, filling, satisfying, and just
plain good. However, across these wonderful United States, many times, due to the former inability to
procure certain ingredients, the Sandra Lee approach fell into use.  Let's start with, NO REGULAR SAUCE
WHICH WILL SAUCE PASTA WITH A TOMATO BASE HAS PEPPERS IN IT. I may be offending or hurting the
feelings of some, not my intent...it is tantamount to throwing some cherry syrup into a boiling pot of chicken
soup...ie:  IT DOESN'T BELONG IN THERE!  True, much Southern Italian cooking will contain peppers, but
not pasta sauce.  And you can't use ketchup (not making this one up...actually had it made with ketchup
at a friend's house when we were kids, the nightmares are haunting me still to this day, 35 years later),
cottage cheese is not the same as ricotta and cheddar or muenster are great with a burger or in mac and
cheese, not in Lasagne.  Can we open our minds to a simple and delicious recipe for Lasagne?
I think so, or you would not be following this blog.  Oh, and before I forget, the sauce never comes out of
a bottle...put it down...just put it down. 

Make your favorite tomato sauce for pasta (adhering to the new rules I have set forth above!), or try this one:
1 onion, finely diced, in a large sauce pan, add to 2 tbs of heated olive oil. Sprinkle with salt.  Add 1/2 tsp.
fennel seeds and 2 tsp. freshly chopped parsley.  Let the onions get translucent...about 10 minutes, stirring
frequently on medium low heat.  Now add 1/2 lb. ground beef, and 1/4 ground pork or Italian sweet sausage
meat.  Let this brown, keep stirring, for 8-10 minutes on medium-low.  Now add 1 can of tomato paste, mix
well.  Heat thru, then add 2 28oz cans of San Marzano's you have crushed and strained, or run thru a food
mill.  Stir.  Let this come to the boil, then lower and simmer for 1 hr 15 minutes.  Check for seasonings, add
pepper and salt if necessary.  Tear 4 basil leaves into the sauce and stir in. 
While the sauce is cooking, make the cheese layer filling...2 lbs. of good ricotta, beat 1 egg and mix well
with the cheese..add 2 tbs of chopped parsley, 1 tsp. of freshly ground black pepper, 1/2 cup of pecorino
romano, and 1 cup of grated mozzarella.  Taste for seasoning, add salt if you wish, just do it after you have
incorporated the cheeses. Now, in a baking dish, ladle in about 1/2 inch of sauce.  Then, lay down 3 of
the Barilla No Boil sheets..


They are just a great invention..AND unlike the earlier versions of the no-boil lasagne sheet, these are thin
and cook up like homemade rolled dough.  Delicious.. Top with 1/8 of the sauce, then randomly dot the
sheets with ricotta mixture. Top with three more of the sheets. Gently press down..Then repeat the process
2 more times, add a nice layer of the meat sauce to the top..sprinkle with lots of Pecorino Romano..Pre
heat your oven to 375 degrees.  Place the baking pan on a sheet pan and tighly cover the top with alumi-
num foil. Let this cook for 45 minutes-1 hour.  Take out of the oven and insert a knife into the center.  If
it comes out clean, you are done, if not, leave in for 5 minutes longer and check again. Sprinkle small
dice of mozzarella over the top and let it cook for another 5-8 minutes uncovered.  Pull out of the oven and
let this Lasagne sit for 15 minutes before you cut it.

  Then cut into squares and serve, with
extra sauce (very American-Italian) and more Pecorino Romano...Even better on day two btw...the key
here is a fresh homemade sauce, the flavors of the two meats, a good cheese filling, and the Barilla
Lasagne sheets..Resist the temptation to top it with mozzarella before it's cooked..this will only
turn hard and brown and lack any flavor.  Serves up to 8 people.

Let's see now...tomorrow is National Cheesecake Day...hmmmmm