Yesterday I packed in too much for a vacation day. I had to do a work call first thing in the morning on Thursday and Friday, which bums me out a bit. I did manage to hit the gym and worked out with my trainer, who was easy on me since I was still hurting from Thursday's total body class. Once I got home from the gym, I decided that I was going to prepare a lasagne to take to Philly for dinner with my boyfriend. (I need a better word for him and our relationship. Boyfriend sounds like we're teenagers.) I had planned to post last night, but was too tired so am just getting to this today. I've never made the Barefoot Contessa's lasagna with turkey sausage. Having eaten it at my mom's and knowing it has become my brother's signature dish, I thought it was time that I gave it a try. Let me just start with the fact that the recipe calls for ONE POUND of mozzarella. Probably not something that I would eat everyday but it couldn't be bad.
The recipe, posted below, is from the Barefoot Contessa Family Style cookbook. It took me about an hour to put together. Taking the turkey sausage out of its casing takes a bit of time. My mom said that she sometimes just uses ground turkey meet and adds some oregano to it, which sounds a bit easier. I was looking forward to the taste off the sweet Italian turkey sausage though so wanted to try it. When I made my shopping list I also neglected to note how much I needed of some of the ingredients. Something that I will pay more attention to in all my future cooking adventures. Thus, in addition to being half a pound short on the turkey sausage, I didn't have a full pound of mozzarella and had to add some leftover Brie. Of course there is so much cheese in this lasagne in the end it tasted fine.
Cooking can be a bit stressful for me. I've realized that I need to stay positive and motivated as I chop and stir. As I fumbled though the lasagna prep, I cranked up a mix CD that I had made for one of my friends. This particular one was for a bachelorette party and is full of random dance tunes. Dancing around the kitchen to Ce Ce Peniston's "Finally" kept me motivated. Not only was I finally cooking, I was taking this crazy lasagna to Philly to see my boyfriend. The song says it all for me. It took a long time and a lot frogs before I found this man.
Finally it has happened to me right in front of my face
My feelings can't describe it
Finally it has happened to me right in front of my face and
I just can't deny it
Yes, it's a cheesy song for a cheesy dish. I've always liked the remix of this song since I first heard it when I lived in London two decades ago. The tune makes me smile and dance. I can't deny it though, cooking for a man brings up a ton of issues. For years I have resisted anything associated with traditional women's roles. I've been on a mission to take over the corporate world and make a ton of money. Well, maybe not quite that, but I have always strove to be independent and financially secure. I wanted to travel and live what I believed was a fabulous single life. I didn't want to be taking care of anything related to the home.
As I look back, it may be a fear of being left alone. My mom stayed home for most of my childhood while my dad worked hard and traveled a lot. Although she never said it, as a child I think that my mom was depressed. She and my dad separated briefly when I was ten or eleven years old. After about a year they reunited. Soon after that my mom returned to school to get her masters degree and began a career as a French teacher. By then I was in high school and too self-centered to notice, but I do think she was much happier when she was working. She still cooked us dinner every day and probably even made our lunches. Over time she has become a better and more adventurous cook, closer to a chef. She loves cooking and is inspirational in her Martha Stewart-like dinners and decor without being annoyingly Martha Stewartish about it. Today, my parents have a wonderful relationship. I admire them, but the sadness in our household when I was young affected me and how I chose to live my life, which was to not get married and have a family.
Thus far, despite some challenges along the way, my life has turned out to be pretty great. I became independent woman who I set out to be, but I've always struggled with my weight and specifically with food. Both of these are also intertwined with my relationships to men. The fact that I actually cooked a meal then took it on a train to another city with a bottle of wine for a man is significant for me. I'm pretty sure that this man has no idea how significant. Yet I realized that I did this as much for me as for him, which is a different perspective than I would have had in the past. I wanted to try the lasagna and have some nice wine for dinner. I wanted to eat healthy and often when we're together we go out to eat or get take-out. So cooking for us is as much for me as it is for him. This is a mindset change for me. He is also part of the process, which makes it feel like preparing a meal is something we can do together. Last night he took care of the salad and dessert. It's fun when we do the whole thing together, like we did on New Year's Eve, but the combined efforts in separate places felt right last night too.
I have no idea how I will feel about cooking every day for him or a family, let alone for myself when I'm back at work next week. But I'm starting to connect more positively with cooking. I'm doing this to take care of myself and as another creative outlet. Yet sharing in a basic necessity, preparing food, with someone else is also rewarding and turns it from a chore to a pleasurable, and often humorous, shared experience.
Lasagna With Turkey Sausage (from Barefoot Contessa Family Style page 100)
Preparation took me about an hour, but I'm new to this so an experienced cook may be able to do it more quickly. Cooking time is only about 30 or 40 minutes.
2 tbsp olive oil
1 cup chopped yellow onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 lbs sweet Italian turkey sausage, casings removed
1 28 ox can crushed tomatoes in tomato puree
1 6 oz can tomato paste
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leave parsley, divided
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
Kosher salt
Fresh ground pepper
1/2 pound lasagna noodles (I used whole wheat)
15 oz ricotta cheese (part skim is fine)
3 to 4 oz goat cheese crumbled
1 cup grated parmesan cheese, plus 1/4 cup for sprinkling
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 pound fresh mozzarella, thinly sliced
Preheat oven to 400 degrees - unless you prepare it the day before and refrigerate or take it on a train to another city and cook it a few hours later in someone else's oven.
Heat the olive oil in a large (10 to 12-inch) skillet. Add the onion and cook for 5 minutes over medium-low heat, until translucent.
Add the garlic and cook for 1 more minute.
Add the sausage and cook over medium-low heat, breaking it up with a fork, for 8 to 10 minutes, or until no longer pink.
Add the tomatoes, tomato paste, 2 tablespoons of the parsley, the basil, 1 1/2 teaspoons of the salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper.
Simmer, uncovered, over medium-low heat, for 15 to 20 minutes, until thickened.
Meanwhile, fill a large bowl with the hottest tap water. Add the noodles and allow them to sit in the water for 20 minutes. Drain.
In a medium bowl, combine the ricotta, goat cheese, 1 cup of Parmesan, the egg, the remaining 2 tablespoons of parsley, remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Set aside.
Ladle 1/3 of the sauce into a 9 by 12 by 2-inch rectangular baking dish, spreading the sauce over the bottom of the dish.
Then add the layers as follows: half the pasta, half the mozzarella, half the ricotta, and one 1/3 of the sauce. Add the rest of the pasta, mozzarella, ricotta, and finally, sauce.
Sprinkle with 1/4 cup of Parmesan.
Bake for 30 minutes, until the sauce is bubbling.
This isn't a dish that I would eat every day. I try not to eat too much dairy so I was happy to leave all the leftovers in Philly. It is delicious though and worth the effort. We drank a Petit Verdot from my favorite winery, Imagery Estates in Sonoma. I wish I could say more about the wine. I'm not even sure if this was the best pairing for lasagna. Who cares? We liked it and finished the bottle. That's something else I'll be working on, maybe a wine-tasting class?
We had a spinach salad with the lasagna and strawberries with whipped cream, one of our favorites, for dessert. There were also some packaged vanilla cream sandwich cookies. I have to admit to having one or two of those, but someone at the dinner needed to step away from the packaged snacks.
The recipe, posted below, is from the Barefoot Contessa Family Style cookbook. It took me about an hour to put together. Taking the turkey sausage out of its casing takes a bit of time. My mom said that she sometimes just uses ground turkey meet and adds some oregano to it, which sounds a bit easier. I was looking forward to the taste off the sweet Italian turkey sausage though so wanted to try it. When I made my shopping list I also neglected to note how much I needed of some of the ingredients. Something that I will pay more attention to in all my future cooking adventures. Thus, in addition to being half a pound short on the turkey sausage, I didn't have a full pound of mozzarella and had to add some leftover Brie. Of course there is so much cheese in this lasagne in the end it tasted fine.
Cooking can be a bit stressful for me. I've realized that I need to stay positive and motivated as I chop and stir. As I fumbled though the lasagna prep, I cranked up a mix CD that I had made for one of my friends. This particular one was for a bachelorette party and is full of random dance tunes. Dancing around the kitchen to Ce Ce Peniston's "Finally" kept me motivated. Not only was I finally cooking, I was taking this crazy lasagna to Philly to see my boyfriend. The song says it all for me. It took a long time and a lot frogs before I found this man.
Finally it has happened to me right in front of my face
My feelings can't describe it
Finally it has happened to me right in front of my face and
I just can't deny it
Yes, it's a cheesy song for a cheesy dish. I've always liked the remix of this song since I first heard it when I lived in London two decades ago. The tune makes me smile and dance. I can't deny it though, cooking for a man brings up a ton of issues. For years I have resisted anything associated with traditional women's roles. I've been on a mission to take over the corporate world and make a ton of money. Well, maybe not quite that, but I have always strove to be independent and financially secure. I wanted to travel and live what I believed was a fabulous single life. I didn't want to be taking care of anything related to the home.
As I look back, it may be a fear of being left alone. My mom stayed home for most of my childhood while my dad worked hard and traveled a lot. Although she never said it, as a child I think that my mom was depressed. She and my dad separated briefly when I was ten or eleven years old. After about a year they reunited. Soon after that my mom returned to school to get her masters degree and began a career as a French teacher. By then I was in high school and too self-centered to notice, but I do think she was much happier when she was working. She still cooked us dinner every day and probably even made our lunches. Over time she has become a better and more adventurous cook, closer to a chef. She loves cooking and is inspirational in her Martha Stewart-like dinners and decor without being annoyingly Martha Stewartish about it. Today, my parents have a wonderful relationship. I admire them, but the sadness in our household when I was young affected me and how I chose to live my life, which was to not get married and have a family.
Thus far, despite some challenges along the way, my life has turned out to be pretty great. I became independent woman who I set out to be, but I've always struggled with my weight and specifically with food. Both of these are also intertwined with my relationships to men. The fact that I actually cooked a meal then took it on a train to another city with a bottle of wine for a man is significant for me. I'm pretty sure that this man has no idea how significant. Yet I realized that I did this as much for me as for him, which is a different perspective than I would have had in the past. I wanted to try the lasagna and have some nice wine for dinner. I wanted to eat healthy and often when we're together we go out to eat or get take-out. So cooking for us is as much for me as it is for him. This is a mindset change for me. He is also part of the process, which makes it feel like preparing a meal is something we can do together. Last night he took care of the salad and dessert. It's fun when we do the whole thing together, like we did on New Year's Eve, but the combined efforts in separate places felt right last night too.
I have no idea how I will feel about cooking every day for him or a family, let alone for myself when I'm back at work next week. But I'm starting to connect more positively with cooking. I'm doing this to take care of myself and as another creative outlet. Yet sharing in a basic necessity, preparing food, with someone else is also rewarding and turns it from a chore to a pleasurable, and often humorous, shared experience.
Lasagna With Turkey Sausage (from Barefoot Contessa Family Style page 100)
Preparation took me about an hour, but I'm new to this so an experienced cook may be able to do it more quickly. Cooking time is only about 30 or 40 minutes.
2 tbsp olive oil
1 cup chopped yellow onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 lbs sweet Italian turkey sausage, casings removed
1 28 ox can crushed tomatoes in tomato puree
1 6 oz can tomato paste
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leave parsley, divided
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
Kosher salt
Fresh ground pepper
1/2 pound lasagna noodles (I used whole wheat)
15 oz ricotta cheese (part skim is fine)
3 to 4 oz goat cheese crumbled
1 cup grated parmesan cheese, plus 1/4 cup for sprinkling
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 pound fresh mozzarella, thinly sliced
Preheat oven to 400 degrees - unless you prepare it the day before and refrigerate or take it on a train to another city and cook it a few hours later in someone else's oven.
Heat the olive oil in a large (10 to 12-inch) skillet. Add the onion and cook for 5 minutes over medium-low heat, until translucent.
Add the garlic and cook for 1 more minute.
Add the sausage and cook over medium-low heat, breaking it up with a fork, for 8 to 10 minutes, or until no longer pink.
Add the tomatoes, tomato paste, 2 tablespoons of the parsley, the basil, 1 1/2 teaspoons of the salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper.
Simmer, uncovered, over medium-low heat, for 15 to 20 minutes, until thickened.
Meanwhile, fill a large bowl with the hottest tap water. Add the noodles and allow them to sit in the water for 20 minutes. Drain.
In a medium bowl, combine the ricotta, goat cheese, 1 cup of Parmesan, the egg, the remaining 2 tablespoons of parsley, remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Set aside.
Ladle 1/3 of the sauce into a 9 by 12 by 2-inch rectangular baking dish, spreading the sauce over the bottom of the dish.
Then add the layers as follows: half the pasta, half the mozzarella, half the ricotta, and one 1/3 of the sauce. Add the rest of the pasta, mozzarella, ricotta, and finally, sauce.
Sprinkle with 1/4 cup of Parmesan.
Bake for 30 minutes, until the sauce is bubbling.
This isn't a dish that I would eat every day. I try not to eat too much dairy so I was happy to leave all the leftovers in Philly. It is delicious though and worth the effort. We drank a Petit Verdot from my favorite winery, Imagery Estates in Sonoma. I wish I could say more about the wine. I'm not even sure if this was the best pairing for lasagna. Who cares? We liked it and finished the bottle. That's something else I'll be working on, maybe a wine-tasting class?
We had a spinach salad with the lasagna and strawberries with whipped cream, one of our favorites, for dessert. There were also some packaged vanilla cream sandwich cookies. I have to admit to having one or two of those, but someone at the dinner needed to step away from the packaged snacks.
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