No Doctor Who night? Lasagna with Mr. Science!

Due to Wine-ing Philosophers taking up Carmen's time this Monday, we asked Mr. Science to guest star on the blog (he's been itching to make lasagna for a while now... what a good excuse!)

Lasagna A La Mr. Science



What We Used

Sauce

• 2 1/2 lbs lean ground beef (Mr. Science prefers extra lean, but admits you need some fat to help everything stick together)
• 5 or 6 roma tomatoes
• 2 cans tomato paste
• 1/2 yellow onion
  
• 5 cloves garlic
• 1 tbsp oregano
• dash of marjoram
• dash of thyme
• 4 sticks celery
• 1/4 cup fresh parsley
• 3 brown mushrooms
• 5 white mushrooms

All the Rest of it

• 3 brown mushrooms
• 5 white mushrooms
• Lasagna noodles (We used fresh ones, not homemade, but fresh)
• A large tub of baby spinach, chopped
• A bit of butter for cooking the spinach
• 2.2 lbs Ricotta cheese (or two large containers)
  
• Mozzarella cheese, grated (we used a large block of it, you can use however much you'd like)
  

Saute the onions and garlic in a pot, then add the ground beef and spices. Brown the beef. Chop the tomatoes, mushrooms, parsley, and celery and stir them in. Let everything simmer for about 20 minutes then add the tomato paste.

Slice the additional mushrooms and set them to the side. Mr. Science says that adding in raw mushrooms to the layers gives you better texture and taste.

Chop all the spinach and fry in a pan with a bit of butter until the spinach is cooked. It will cook down a LOT, so don't be intimidated by how much you've got. Mix the spinach once it's cool with the ricotta cheese and set aside.

Once everything is ready to go, it's time to layer it. Mr. Science used a stoneware casserole dish for his lasagna, and greased it before beginning to assemble the lasagna. Assembly goes as follows...

1. Noodles
2. Sauce
3. Mushrooms
4. Noodles
5. Spinach
6. Noodles
7. Sauce
8. Mushrooms

... and etc, etc, until you've got all your ingredients used up! Top with cheese! Bake covered with aluminum foil in the oven at 375 degrees for thirty five to forty five minutes. Bake for five minutes uncovered or until cheese is browned.

Just as a note, using fresh noodles will actually cut down on cooking time, because you don't have to wait for the dried noodles to cook!

Verdict?

Super awesome! We all agree that it could've used...something. Egg in the ricotta layer? Eight more bulbs of garlic? salt? bay leaf? Dunno. But then again, that's the glory of experimentation!

Home Made Strawberry Shortcakes



What We Used

Shortcake

• 3 cups flour
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 3 tbsp baking powder
• 1 cup butter
• 1 egg
  
• 2/3 cup cream

The Rest of it

• Strawberries
• Sugar
• Whipping Cream
• Vanilla extract
  

Mix flour, sugar and baking powder in a bowl. Cut in butter with pastry cutter or a fork, then stir in egg and cream. Knead until it's one solid lump of dough.

Grease a cookie sheet, and place dough in 1/2 inch thick discs on it. Bake at 350 for about 20 minutes or until slightly brown on top.

While the shortcake is baking, slice the strawberries into a bowl and sprinkle a couple teaspoons of white sugar over them. Set those aside. Whip the whipping cream with a little sugar and vanilla to taste. Cover and refrigerate.

When you're ready to eat the shortcakes, slice them in half like you would a bagel. Layer some strawberries and whipping cream on the bottom half, place the top half of the shortcake back on, then put a little more of the strawberries and whipping cream on top.

Verdict?

Tasty! The shortcake was just sweet enough, without being too overwhelming.

Anyway, good night for now, see you in the morrow and ecetera...

-Jess