catdaddy

I really enjoyed my results from SV cooked (160 for 48hrs) corned beef except for the saltiness. Should have soaked that puppy before cooking it.

What are your 3 favorite cookbooks to cook from?

That would be @Lisa Shock. There is roasted garlic involved, too. The next one.......after the holidays.

There were four entries. Two were traditional Italian-American tomato ricotta dried noodle casseroles. The one that I voted for was vegetarian with no tomatoes and mostly mushroom based whose maker refused to tell me the provenance of her noodles, though they were fresh and yummy. I believe it had some bechamel in it but I can't remember as I had to hurry out during lunch break to let our dog out. Good depth of flavor and mouth feel. The whole thing was fun with a minimum of trash talking. It brought us all together for a few minutes during a busy day to break bread. 10/10 would do it again.

Today the Lasagna Wars were fought at work. And.......I won! Thanks to everyone who offered suggestions. I went with the LASAGNA al FORNO recipe and even made both kinds of pasta. It wasn't even close. First prize was this lovely pickle dish and spoon plus bragging rights. Happy holidays, everyone. RelishDish.pdf

Yes! Hunting Season w/ Shelby. I'm just adding my words of encouragement for gritty details from the kitchen and the hearth.

Ha! The judges are my co workers. Libarians one and all.

Pork and beef are ground. Chicken is cooked whole then chopped. There's also a fine dice mirepoix, garlic, red wine, and chicken stock involved. And yes the paste is added to the meat.

I was thinking maybe leaving more pasta to fold over then dust the finished top with roughly chopped parsley. The shear volume of holiday cooking is starting to really effect my planning.

The recipe uses; a meat sauce containing pork, beef, and chicken and only a tablespoon of tomato paste, a thick bechamel, a half'n'half blend of mozz and parm, and fresh thinnly rolled pasta. The result is biggly flavored and easy to serve.

Yes, a topper would be excellent. It would however make serving it just a little bit messy. There is plenty of flavor already there and the ease of serving is a big plus.

Normally I would agree with you on the whole top layer thing. But somehow using fresh pasta and rolling it relatively thin it becomes really good. One of my favorite parts of the dish.

Thank you everyone for your suggestions. I have made a first run at my competion lasagna. After realizing time was indeed the most limiting factor I decided to use an established recipe. Thanks to an above post I used Bugialli's LASAGNA AL FORNO starting on page 221 of his book THE FINE ART OF ITALIAN COOKING. Knowing I would make changes later I tried to follow the recipe closely. Fish sauce instead of porcinis and all egg pasta instead of egg and spinach were the only concessions I made Wow. The meat sauce was deeply flavored and the pasta worked beautifully. The whole casserole was a little dry so next time, for the Wars, I'll make the meat sauce and the balsamella a little thinner. Love using the first layer of pasta to eventually enclose the whole thing. Also I'll make both pastas next time and make as many layers as possible. I cooked it 5 minutes longer than the 25 called for and it was plenty hot at 180 degreesF. Note in the photo the crispy edges. The entire top layer was crispy and TENDER. YUM. Even my wife who tends to like Italian/American dishes in the traditional style (tomatoes and ricotta here) loved it. I like my chances. Lasagna.pdf

Great idea but available time will allow for only one. Holiday party the night before, work, and etc.

Awesome ideas. Thank you! I'm going to do a dress rehersal next week. Will try to post some photos.

Love the idea for an artichoke layer and roasted garlic with ricotta. As mentioned above. Go big or go home.

Many thin layers is brilliant.

Most likely a plus because others will be making traditional ones. Love the idea of alternating green and yellow pasta layers.

Have you made the tomatoless spinachy version? If so any pointers?

Is that the one with pepperoni chopped up in the bolonese?

Wow. Great responses. Thanks to everyone. Love the ideas of adding fish sauce/dried shrimp, raw sausage, chevre, and thick bechamel. Keep the ideas coming . I think a dress rehersal early next week will happen. Mmmmm. Prosciutto, cepes, andouille...........

I am participating in friendly lasagna wars on Dec 1. Wondering if anyone has and secret ingridients or techniques to offer. Making pasta and sausage are both on the table. Assume high proficiency on my part. I know it's a basic dish but two of my adversaries are Italian-American and make it a couple times a month. Thanks.

Yes, red drum. Alternately called spot tailed bass. Commonly farmed.

Can't wait. Love hunting season on egullet!

Technivorm Moccamaster. Used at least once a day for 10 years.......and running.