White Lasagna

White lasagna is one of those foods that I've always wanted to try making, but never have. Until now.

I have friends coming over for dinner tomorrow night and I was wracking my brain trying to figure out what to make. My friends are awesome, a really nice couple who are fun to hang out with. Their house is so cute and designed in a style that I love (it's like straight out of a Pottery Barn catalog). They have hosted the last few times we've gotten together.

They like food, but their tastes are pretty simple. When I thought back to the last few meals at their place, they included steak, steak, hamburgers and tacos. I started asking them about their likes and dislikes so I could figure out what to make.

Their dislikes between the two of them include eggplant, raw onions, citrus, mushrooms and raw tomatoes. And those are just the ones that my friend thought of when we were talking.

So, I'm trying to play it pretty safe because I want them to be happy with the food. But I also wanted to try making something new and different, partly for me and partly for them.

This white lasagna recipe includes chicken, spinach, mozzarella, Parmesan cheese, ricotta cheese and a white sauce made from butter, onions, garlic, milk, chicken broth, mozzarella cheese and Parmesan cheese.

The other thing I'm going to make is Caesar salad, with fresh dressing. We'll see how much anchovy I can sneak into the dressing without making it too fishy.

I'll post some pics of the finished products and report on whether or not they liked the food.

My Favorite Food Porn

I love beautiful pictures of food.

To imagine what flavor might flow forward upon consumption, what texture might surprise you. A picture leaves all the right things up to your imagination. What I imagine probably tastes better than the reality a lot of times!

My favorite place to spot food lately is someplace I stumbled upon, called TasteSpotting.

If you love seeing beautiful food and get inspired to cook based on photos (like me!), you should check it out.

Ahh, now I understand.

I've tried baking bread several times, with moderate success. I love my hardwood bowl and wooden mixing spoons. I have read the 10 Tips for Better Bread post that Farmgirl Fare posted in 2005. I would have assumed that I'd be a purist at heart, because of my love of the special, the artisinal, and the handmade.

Then, my friend gave me a bread machine.

I didn't know if it even worked, so my son and I tried it out yesterday. We used a recipe for French bread that came in the manual. I measured and dumped ingredients in. I pushed a button. And I walked away.

Three and a half hours later, the bread machine beeped three times and I had fresh bread.

My house smelled good and the bread had a good crunchy crust on it. I wasn't cooking tons of fresh bread by hand before, and now....I'm not sure when I'll do it again!

I'm on the hunt for recipes to use in the machine. I've found a few that I want to try so far.

Now I think I understand the appeal of bread machines.

Sausage Meatball Subs

When I was a teenager, I liked going to Subway occasionally to get a meatball sandwich. But sometime between then and now, I realized that the Subway sandwiches I thought were okay, really weren't that tasty.

Perhaps my palette became more refined...maybe their food got worse? I'd like to think that it's the former and not the latter.

So, I always figure that if you have a very specific taste memory in mind, you need to go recipe hunting. I was lucky enough not to have to look too far. I found this recipe on my favorite site for recipes, Allrecipes.

I recommend finding a sharp provolone for topping these...mozzarella doesn't seem to be strong enough to taste compared to the meatballs. Also, the bread is a very important factor. You'll need to find one that crusty enough to stand up to being gnawed on, but tasty enough to bring something to the party. Fresh baked is a MUST.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 pound Italian Sausage Roll
• 1/2 cup oatmeal
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 (26 ounce) jar spaghetti sauce
• 6 hoagie buns (try a good baguette!)
  
• 6 tablespoons grated mozzarella cheese (I recommend sharp/aged provolone instead)
  

DIRECTIONS

1. In bowl, combine sausage, oatmeal, eggs and Parmesan cheese. Shape into 1 inch balls. In skillet over medium heat, cook meatballs until browned and cooked through. Reduce heat to low. Add spaghetti sauce and cook until sauce is hot. Spoon meatballs and sauce into buns and top with mozzarella cheese.

Favorite New Toy: My Grill

I bought a grill two weekends ago. I found it on Craigslist and it was more money than I wanted to spend. However, it was a far superior grill than I ever thought I could buy.

It is a Vermont Castings grill, with a lovely dark blue enamel cover and lower portion, stainless steel all over, and enamel covered cast iron grates.

And I'm in love with it!

I always cooked on a charcoal grill before. The flavor and heat is wonderful with charcoal, but the time to prepare the coals and the mess they create can cause a little more work overall.

With propane, all you have to do is twist on the gas, turn on a burner and twist the starter. Voila! A fire is started.

Since I bought it 9 days ago, I have cooked cheeseburgers, chicken, steak, portobello mushrooms and zucchini. Tonight I'll use it to cook some pork chops.

I'm so in love with my new grill!!!

Creamy Potato Soup

I tried this recipe from Recipezaar this weekend. I think that I should've boiled my potatoes a little bit longer, but overall the flavor was good. Next time, I'm going to add a sprig of fresh rosemary and some parsley for extra flavor.