Last week I was craving lasagna and garlic bread. I made the lasagna, but in a misguided effort to save time, I grabbed a package of heat-and-serve garlic bread from the bakery at the grocery store.
The lasagna was delicious, but the bread was so bad it went into the trash. Its texture was mushy and tasted of plastic, and the garlic "butter" was definitely not made with real butter.
A few days later when I still had half a pan of lasagna and a yet-to-be-satiated craving for garlic bread, my eyes fell to Alese Shapiro's cookbook, which I keep on my desk.
I'm still thinking about Alese, Irene, Wayne and company from the cookbook found at an estate sale. I wondered, did Alese have a recipe for garlic bread?
Ah, she did! And it was exactly what I wanted. It was perfect with the leftover lasagna.
Basic Garlic Bread
1/2 cup butter, softened
5 cloves garlic, crushed
1 loaf Italian bread, split
Mix butter and garlic well. Spread cut sides of bread with garlic-butter. Place cut halves together; wrap in foil. (Loaf can be frozen at this point.)
Heat oven to 400 degrees. Bake wrapped loaf for 10 minutes. Unwrap, separate halves and bake cut side up, for 5 to 10 minutes more or until lightly browned around the edges.
You might add an herb to the butter mixture. Try parsley or oregano or thyme or dill. Live a little. Don't forget marjoram and tarragon.
Believe me -- there are days when a little marjoram can light up your life.
This simple lasagna is great the day it is baked and even better a day or two later.
Beefy Three Cheese Lasagna
Salt
1 tablespoon olive oil, plus more for pan
8 lasagna noodles
1 pound ground beef
1 (24-ounce) jar tomato pasta sauce (I used Classico Fire-Roasted Tomato and Garlic)
1 (15-ounce) container ricotta cheese
4 ounces shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
1 to 2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, to taste
1/2 teaspoon Crushed Red Pepper, Oregano and Garlic blend such as McCormick OR your favorite Italian seasoning blend, or more to taste
1/4 teaspoon dried basil, or more to taste
Ground black pepper, to taste
1 egg, lightly beaten
8 ounces fresh mozzarella cheese, sliced
Heat oven to 350 degrees.
Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add a generous pinch of salt, the olive oil and lasagna noodles. Cook according to package instructions to al dente, usually 12 to 14 minutes. Drain. Arrange noodles in a single layer on a towel-lined baking sheet; set aside.
Meanwhile, in a large skillet, brown ground beef, breaking it up as it cooks. Drain. Return beef to pan and stir in pasta sauce and cook until heated through; set aside.
In a medium bowl, stir together the ricotta cheese, shredded mozzarella, a tablespoon or so of freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, the crushed red pepper seasoning blend, the basil, ground black pepper to taste and a pinch of salt. Mix well; taste and adjust seasoning as needed. Add egg and mix well.
Coat the bottom of a 7-by-11-inch casserole with olive oil. Spoon about 1/3 of the meat-sauce mixture into the dish. Top with a layer of lasagna noodles. Spread noodles with half of the cheese mixture. Top cheese with a layer of noodles. Top with another layer of meat sauce. Top with a layer of noodles, then spread with the remaining cheese mixture. Top with the remaining noodles and meat sauce. Lay the sliced mozzarella across the top, tucking any exposed noodle ends under the sauce.
Bake 25 minutes or until hot and bubbly.
Makes about 6 servings.
Food on 08/01/2018