LINO (lasagna in name only)

I've been a bit delinquent in posting to our wonderful BB&C blog, but I'm glad to see that others have not fallen behind in their duties. And as I prepare for another sweep of the Barnhart Bloggies look back on some of my recent meals, I find a lot of fodder for some food posts.

The last time David was in town, we made a Butternut Squash and Mushroom lasagna (with copious amounts of help from Olivia). The thing is, though, that this is only "lasagna" in the sense that a spotted dog is a "slow cheetah." I think lasagna (real lasagna) should be somewhat spicy, tomatoey, unbelievably cheesy, and so filling that you almost can't stand to eat a third piece.

While it doesn't really fit those attributes, this one was was pretty delicious. Though we saw room for some improvement after we'd sampled the recipe.

First things first—the lasagna was going to take a long time to cook, so we made up some Devils on Horseback. Here they are, about to go into the oven.

Slice a bunch of butternut squash. For good measure, set a pitted date (Medjool, preferably) on the edge of your cutting board. It wards off bad cooking spirits.

Simmer squash in stock (we used chicken) with some thyme.

Assemble into a beautiful-looking lasagna! (Okay, okay, it seems I missed a few pictures in the middle. Inside there are whole layers of lasagna noodles, a cheese mixture that goes between the layers, as well as crimini/baby bella mushrooms, and onions/garlic, etc.)

Bake for about an hour, and when it looks like this, you're done! Eat it! Enjoy it! That Woody doll (in the background) is wishing he had a real stomach so he could eat this delicious lasagna!

The best way to follow a delicious meal of anti-lasagna lasagna is with bananas foster. The flame is burning away the fat, which makes this dessert much better for the health-conscious.

Suggested improvements:

• I'm of the opinion that you almost can't have enough garlic, and this recipe is no exception to that rule. Even though the recipe calls for no garlic (NO GARLIC!?!?), we added three cloves. Not nearly enough, as it turns out. It could take about six, I think.
• Following some of the recipe comments, we used about two-thirds of the cheese/ricotta mixture. Which was smart. David noted that the squash almost has the consistency of ricotta, and could probably take the ricotta's place. Which would make room for crumbled Italian sausage in this "lasagna."
• The colors here were a bit bland—all orange and white. We thought of adding spinach to the layers, which would have been a nice flavor addition too.

Salsa verde: un gran éxito!

I've been making fresh salsa for a couple months now.  Between Karl's love of all Mexican food and my desire to use appliances that we received as wedding presents, it has been the perfect cooking adventure.  I've gotten pretty close to perfecting regular fresh salsa the way we like it (a little bit of heat, sweet onion taste, and LOTS of cilantro), so I decided to try something new.  Behold, I give you, SALSA VERDE!

You begin by removing the husks from the tomatillos.  This is my favorite part making this salsa because if you pull with just the right amount of force, the entire husk and the stem satisfactorily pop off the tomatillo.

You have to rinse the tomatillos because they are really sticky.  Then they get cut in half, placed on a baking sheet, and are broiled for about 6 minutes.

Next, combine the roasted tomatillos, onion, cilantro, garlic, jalepeno peppers, lime juice, and salt and pepper into a food processor and voila!  You have salsa verde!  

And no, I didn't cut myself and bleed into the jars on the right and left.  I made a batch of regular salsa while I had all the kitchen toys out.  Now all I have to do is figure out how to keep the salsa from disappearing so fast. 

Shannon Dogs - It's What's for Dinner

It's been long enough since we've made Shannon Dogs that I think at least half of the kids at our table were uninitiated before last week.  The other half were either hiding their enthusiasm for this classic comfort food or failed to recognize its culinary import in our heritage.  Maybe they were distracted as they made final considerations for elections the next day.

But when the meal started, it was clear - Shannon Dogs are a winner with kids and adults alike.

 

Maybe it's been a while since you've had a Shannon Dog, or maybe you haven't ever tasted this treat.  Here's the quickie overview (and that's all there is, really):

1. Sautee equal parts sliced hot dog (sorry Andy), chopped onion, and chopped celery
2. Fill hot dog buns and top with shredded cheddar
3. Place them in a 9x13 and bake until the cheese is melted

Some notes: 
We served these with garlic roasted potatoes.  Also, the celery and onion is from our garden (Elisabeth insisted that we plant celery, though I knew that it wouldn't grow.  Ahem!).  And we introduced an adult version of Shannon Dogs that use jalapeño smoked sausage instead of hot dogs.   There's room for interpretation.

 

 

Cake? Chocolate!

Chocolate Cake is the theme of our delectable desserts this week.  I think we've consumed at least 2 pieces of chocolate cake (per adult) every day since Sunday.  We've finally finished off the cakes (yes, plural) - to the great delight of my waistline.  But we'll still enjoy looking at the photos and reminiscing of the amazingly delicious and decadent chocolate we shared.  So, we'll share a photo or two with you, as well.

This cake (the first of our cakes) was created by Steve (but I got to do the frosting and assembling portion as he had to be at church early for a business meeting).  The recipe said it would feed 10 people - but I think they would need to be very hungry to be able to finish 1/10th of this cake in one sitting.  It took 9 people 2 or 3 days to finish off this cake (not all 9 people ate it at the same cake-testing time).  The frosting is very fudgy.  The cake is very dense.  But the cake is somewhat healthy - it contains both apple juice and raisins.

The second cake we consumed has no photographs of it.  It was a birthday gift from a friend and about 1/4 the size of this cake, but still was consumed over 4 days by multiple people.  It was a very dense flourless cake - another birthday indulgence.  Let's just say it was very, very good.

Dairy Belles

The girls made butter from heavy cream this week.  The process consisted of filling a glass jar half full of cream, then shaking shaking shaking!

They ate most of the butter on their baked potatoes for lunch, but saved a little for Dad to eat later (it was very good).

It's Friday? It's Pizza!

We've had a Friday pizza tradition on and off but currently it is ON.

Tonight we went for a short walk while the pizza dough was rising.  We were hunting for interesting leaves and made a quick stop at the park.  By the time we got the oven fired up the kids were h u n g r y!

Add a few minutes for the pepperoni and cheese pie to bake (and cool) and the kids were fairly famished.  And they ate with corresponding fervor.

Meanwhile, the adults waited oh so patiently for the grown up pizza (which the kids ate pretty well too).  This has no tomato sauce - it's sliced yellow tomatoes, cream cheese, and garlic topped with mozzarella and sprinkled with red pepper and basil.  I think we overdid it a little with the garlic.

Mmmmmm!  "When's next Friday, dad?"

A few things on our table tonight

You might be trying to finish off that huge pot of ham and potato soup, or maybe you've hit the doldrums of autumn food already (if that were possible).  Well, here's a little inspiration for you.

Sliced green and red bell pepper and yellow tomato (the latter from our garden).

Eggs on their way to being hard cooked, potatoes being transformed into french fries and meat simmering on the back burner (yes that's sliced beef and hot dog).

Not shown: Sliced onions, ketchup, mustard, mayonnaise. 

All of the above was combined in the making of our dinner tonight - Pique Macho!  The menu was provided by our good friends and we've made it a few times.  It's a favorite!  I'd provide a photo of the assembled meal, but it was too rapidly consumed.  Besides, I didn't want to offend anybody with culinary sensitivity.

If you are not sure what combination of flavors have just entered your imagination, I offer you this refreshing bowl of tomatoes (also from our garden, and rapidly consumed).