lasagna light bulb

I like lasagna. It's just warm and comforting and filling and warm. Yes, I said it twice.  I like that it's hearty and that the top gets kinda crunchy and brown. My stomach is rumbling.

That said, I have a weird aversion to squishy dairy. What's that, you ask? Exactly like what it sounds... sour cream, yogurt, even ice cream that's too soft and melty.  Which brings us to my problem...the ricotta.

Seems like every lasagna recipe has ricotta, but it's just not appealing to me.  Recently, I had a breakthrough. And while it's more work, it's WELL worth the effort if you, too, are averse to squishy dairy.

BECHAMEL. If you're not familiar, it's basically milk, garlic, and flour all mixed up and simmered to actually cook the flour. It acts like the binder that the ricotta usually fills in for.  And its sooooooo much better.

I found a few recipes that suggest a bechamel instead:

Smitten Kitchen's Lasagna Bolognese --- I called this my opus. I made the sauce, the pasta, the bechamel and then the actual lasagna.  And when I finished, I was nearly too tired to eat it.  BUT it lead me to my bechamel revelation. I made it again without making the pasta, and it was still good (but not as good).

Birthday Lasagna -- untested but sounds spot on.

GL's Classic Italian Lasagna - also untested but sounds delish!

Have you made a lasagna with bechamel?  Any favorite recipes?

Shmallow Time

After hosting a birthday brunch for 30 on Sunday as well as hosting a family of four this weekend, it's fair to say that my reserves of energy are a little low.  Good timing with the holidays and all.  It has resulted in me desperately placing orders from my Amazon Prime account and keeping my fingers crossed that nothing gets lost. 

I needed to make a little treat for some folks around the office, so I decided some bags of hot cocoa with homemade marshmallows would be a good idea.  The marshmallows are in the fridge right now, but it was easier than I thought thanks to Smitten Kitchen's recipe.