Last night I had a couple of friends over for dinner and to have some fun in the kitchen. One of them was Jenny Carden, a Pampered Chef consultant and contributor to Dixie Chik Cooks.
There’s nothing like relaxing in the kitchen with good conversation and good wine.
Here’s what we made – Lasagna recipe at the bottom:
Bacon Wrapped Gorgonzola Stuffed Dates
Grape Tomato and Onion Salad with Red Wine Vinaigrette
Cuban Bread with Italian Dipping Oil
Classic Lasagna
Red Velvet Whoopie Pies – a recipe by Sweet Pea’s Kitchen
And, by the way, Jenny made the Whoopie Pies and these turned out perfect. The kiddies couldn’t keep their hands off them.
Below is my recipe for lasagna, which has been my go-to recipe for years. I played around with certain ingredients years ago and finally discovered a couple of things that have become my staples – that really make the difference – in this dish. And sometimes I tweak it here and there, but for the most part the recipe is a good, solid foundation for a great lasagna.
Later I will be posting the other recipes that we made, but for now-
Here’s me (right) and Jenny (left)…..she’s such a cutie – and she LOVES to cook so you know we had fun.
And here’s my friend Tresia enjoying a Whoopie Pie – I just love this girl.
I want to do dinner parties every week! And have somebody come clean up after us!
Here’s the recipe for the lasagna:
Classic Lasagna
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground round
- 1/2 lb ground Italian sausage
- 1 12 oz package lasagna pasta
- 1/2 cup beef broth
- 1 12 oz container ricotta cheese
- 2 eggs
- 1 28 oz can crushed tomatoes
- 1 16 oz can petite diced tomatoes
- 2 tbsp dried basil
- 2 tbsp dried oregano
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/4 onion, diced
- 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce, divided
- 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
- 4 cups mozzarella cheese
- 1 package of sliced provolone cheese (you can find it where the shredded cheese is -sliced for sandwiches)
- 1 tbsp Lawry's seasoned salt
- 1 tbsp Sea salt
- 1 tsp pepper
- Olive oil
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°.
- Heat 2 tbsp olive oil over medium-high heat, and add garlic.
- When fragrant add onions and saute for about a minute or two. Add sausage and ground beef, mashing and stirring until all crumbled and browned.
- Add 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce, both cans of tomatoes, beef broth, balsamic vinegar, basil, oregano, salt and pepper. Bring to a slow boil, then cover and reduce heat to low and simmer for about 20-30 minutes.
- Taste periodically and adjust salt/seasonings to your preference.
- Next, mix ricotta, eggs, and parm in a medium mixing bowl.
- Salt and pepper to your taste. I add about 1 tbsp of sea salt and 2 tbsp coarse pepper, but that's me.
- In a 9x10 baking pan (we used the Pampered Chef stoneware), pour 1/2 cup of the sauce and spread on the bottom.
- Layer lasagna noodles, followed by ricotta mixture, then sauce.
- Next, lay on top of the sauce 3 1/2 Provolone slices, followed by more pasta, ricotta, sauce and next mozzarella.
- Continue repeating until the dish is almost full.
- Cover very tightly with aluminum foil and bake for 1 hour, then uncover and bake an additional 10 minutes. Let it rest for about 15 minutes, then you can cut and serve.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
6Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 1000Total Fat: 63gSaturated Fat: 30gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 28gCholesterol: 279mgSodium: 3915mgCarbohydrates: 36gFiber: 6gSugar: 13gProtein: 74g
I have one stone – which is the pizza stone I got 6 years ago. And although I use it all the time, and I love it, I found a new PC stone friend last night. And she wants me to buy her.
She’s the Deep Covered Baker in Cranberry. I had no idea what a difference baking in stone would make. But oh my….it did. It honestly, and I’m not kidding, made a big difference in how evenly the lasagna cooked overall- no burnt edges.
I actually have a Pampered Chef “show” online open until Monday, 2/7. So, for the first three Dixie Chik fans that order online, Jenny will give away a free 2010 Fall/Winter Season’s Best Cookbook, which will not be available after the end of February. To browse the online catalog and/or order all you have to do is go here and enter “Shea Goldstein” (moi) as the hostess.
Happy Cooking!
~Dixie Chik~
10 Comments
Kate @ Diethood.com
February 6, 2011 at 9:12 AMLook at all those gorgeous ladies! And that spread is delicious … especially those date bites … YUM! You guys must have had a great time.
Susan
February 4, 2011 at 7:34 AMWhat a great spread of food! Even better, sharing it with good friends! Looks like your dinner party was such fun!
Dixie Chik
February 6, 2011 at 8:59 PMThanks Kate! You must try the dates – awesome mix of salty/sweet. I’ll post the rx soon – or you can email me and I’ll send it to you 🙂
Sunit
February 4, 2011 at 6:07 AMWow that stuffed dates idea is genius! I got hold of about half a kilo of dates last week, definitely know what I’m going to be experimenting with this weekend. Thanks a bunch! =)
Liz
February 3, 2011 at 6:47 PMWhat a great gathering of friends…and your food looks fabulous!!!
Dixie Chik
February 3, 2011 at 9:18 PMWe had so much fun!
Happy When Not Hungry
February 3, 2011 at 4:06 PMWow the spread at your dinner party looks amazing!!! Those stuffed dates look beautiful. I’ve never tried making those before, but what a great idea. Love those whoopie pies too!
Dixie Chik
February 3, 2011 at 9:19 PMDefinitely make the dates – they are amazing! The whoopie pies are too 🙂
carolinaheartstrings
February 3, 2011 at 9:53 AMThe food looked wonderful. Looks like you had fun!
Dixie Chik
February 3, 2011 at 9:20 PMThanks!! We had a great time.