Feeling Lazy Lasagna

Here I am standing on my "soap box" screaming about all-natural, organic, sustainable and healthy eating choices and right under my nose my mom (who lives about a mile away) has become a junk food junkie. I simply cannot allow her to consume this rubbish- artificial chocolate snacks, ice cream, processed instant dinners that are loaded with sugar, artificial ingredients, trans fats and worse.

A few weeks ago, we went grocery shopping together (she called it inhumane treatment) and I kept reading the "ingredient list" of the items she wanted to buy...scary stuff. Several of the items contained ingredients that a common person (like myself) cannot even pronounce, let alone understand what it is and that reminded me of something Jack Lalanne (known as the godfather of fitness) has always said..."If it comes from man, don't eat it." Jack is in his 90's and still exercising daily!!!

Anyway, for the past month or so I have been preparing dishes for my mom that she can simply put in the microwave for a minute or two and have a delicious, nutritious and healthy meal without any of this junk. I also have her drinking bottled water & V8 Fusion instead of soft drinks. Have her eating snacks such as yogurt covered cranberries (160 calories per serving and a great source of anti-oxidants) and exercising a little bit each morning and she is feeling and looking much better, even though I suspect she still has a stash of some of her favorite junk foods hidden away somewhere.

So yesterday I had planned on making a lasagna made with all-natural ground sirloin, fresh spinach, homemade tomato sauce, low-fat ricotta cheese, roasted garlic, onions and Parmigiana Reggiano for her to enjoy. But it was a really nice day here in southern Maine and it had been a week since Cindy & I took the dogs for a "long" walk on the beach, so I thought, "what would be better than going to the beach before hitting the grocery store to pick up what I needed for the lasagna."

We decided to park the car in Lower Village, making the walk over 3 miles, which was great. The dogs loved it and I could really use the exercise...as I still need to lose about 35 pounds. We walked and chatted, the dogs ran and played and it was a really great time.

By the time we got back to the car, I was feeling rather hungry and so I suggested that we have a quick lunch at Alisson's (great New England family food restaurant in Kennebunkport). One of the things I love about Alisson's is that they actually know how to properly pour a "Black & Tan" so I found myself giving into the craving and ordered up a pint!

Lunch was delicious and the frosty beer was fantastic but as Cindy & I got to the car we both commented on how nice it would be to take an afternoon nap!

Shortly after returning home, I found my favorite leather chair, kicked off my shoes and drifted off to sleep only to awake around 4:00pm. Oh what a lazy day it was!!!

Remembering that I haven't been to the grocery store yet and don't really feel like heading there now, I figured that I would look in the fridge and cupboards and see what I could whip-up (thinking that the lasagna would have to wait for another day). Yes I was being very lazy, one beer and off to sleep I go! Not the way it was back at Fairfield Prep, was it Roger?

I discovered that I had the ricotta cheese, plenty of Parmigiana, the ground sirloin, some sweet Italian sausage, some portobello mushrooms, the lasagna sheets, garlic, and onions. I didn't have any spinach or nice vine ripened tomatoes to make the sauce with but I did have 2 jars of artichoke hearts, a jar of roasted red peppers and a jar of real basil & tomato sauce (no artificial ingredients, no additives, no gums, etc.) and so I thought what the heck, it won't be great but it won't be terrible either.

So I put a pot of salted (sea salt) water on for the pasta and proceeded to chop the onions & garlic, drain the artichokes and red peppers, slice the mushrooms and before I knew it (about 30 minutes) I had the lasagna in the oven and cooking away.

About an hour and a half later I was taking the lasagna out of the oven and it looked and smelled fantastic!!! I decided to grab my camera and take a couple of shots to show you how it came out.

I have to say, without tooting my own horn, that it was simply delicious, the artichokes, portobello and roasted red pepper added a nice mellow taste and the sausage added just enough complexity to give the dish some style.

Anyway, here is the recipe for anyone who wants to give it a try...I'm calling it my Lazy Lasagna recipe as you can make this dish and still fit a nice long nap into your day. If you don't have a particular ingredient, simply substitute something else.


Lazy Lasagna
Serves 12 - 15











1 tablespoon - organic extra virgin olive oil
12 each - lasagna sheets
1 pound - all-natural ground sirloin
1 pound - all-natural sweet Italian sausage, casings removed
1 medium - Spanish onion, chopped
8 cloves - garlic finely minced
10 ounces - fresh portobello mushrooms, sliced
1 25 ounce jar - basil & tomato sauce(don't get the stuff loaded with sugar and preservatives, look for one that is all-natural without gums, corn syrup, etc.)
2 tablespoons - dried Italian seasoning
2 12 ounce jars - artichoke hearts in water, drained and sliced in half
1 16 ounce jar - roasted red peppers, drained
1 pound - low-fat ricotta cheese
1 pound - Parmigiana Reggiano cheese, shredded
Sea Salt
Cracked Black Pepper

Preheat oven to 385 degrees.

Put a large pot filled with about 6 cups of cool water and a teaspoon of sea salt over high heat, covered and bring to a boil. Once a rapid boil i reached, add the lasagna sheets and cook for 9 minute or until pasta is "just" cooked "al dente". Remove from heat and drain into a colander. Rinse quickly with cool water to stop the cooking process and allow to drain completely.

Place the olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat for 2 minutes and then add the chopped onions, stirring to coat the onions. Saute until the onions Begin to become translucent, about 2 - 3 minutes, add the mushrooms and saute about minutes more. Add the ground sirloin and Italian sausage and cook until meats begin to brown, about 4 minutes. Remove saucepan from heat, drain off excess fat then return to stove, add the chopped garlic, basil & tomato sauce and the Italian seasoning. Simmer ingredients together for about 4 - 5 minutes or until sauce is warm. Adjust seasoning with sea salt and cracked black pepper. Remove from stove.

Using a small amount of olive oil, grease the bottom and sides of a large casserole pan and then layer 3 sheets of lasagna across the bottom of the pan. Next ladle about 1/4 of the cooked meat sauce over the lasagna sheets. Spread a thin layer of ricotta over the meat sauce and then sprinkle some of the Parmigiana over the ricotta. Next place 3 more lasagna sheets on top, followed by the roasted red peppers, some of the ricotta and more Parmigiana, another 3 sheets of lasagna followed by the artichokes, another 1/4 of the meat sauce, more ricotta and Parmigiana, the last 3 sheets of lasagna then another 1/4 of the meat sauce, topped with the last of the ricotta and Parmigiana. Keep the last 1/4 of the meat sauce for the serving plates.)

Place casserole dish onto baking sheet, cover top with aluminum foil and place on center rack of oven for 1 hour. Remove aluminum foil and bake another 20 minutes or so until the top is nice and golden brown.



















Remove from oven, allow to sit for 10 minutes prior to cutting. Using a sharp knife, cut into desired size portions. Place a small amount of the reserved meat sauce in center of each dinner plate, place lasagna portion on each plate, garnish with some fresh rosemary and enjoy with a nice glass of Italian Chianti or Argentinean Malbec.














Several of you have inquired about the dogs so here is a picture of the "kids".


















Also, I've had a number of you ask about the "real kids",
so here is a picture of the whole "human" family.















Until next time,

Chef John

www.cookwithjohncom
john@cookwithjohn.com

Not Your Mama's Shepherd's Pie

Last week I received a nice letter from a woman asking if I had any recipes that used ground beef or ground pork. She stated that she has been receiving the old family battle cry..."not meatloaf again!" and she was wondering if I could possibly help her out.

Well Lesley this recipe is for you, your family and anyone else who would like to try it. It contains both ground chuck and ground pork and I find it is a great way to sneak some vegetables into the family diet.

You will see that I use individual 6-ounce ramekins rather then one casserole dish, I think it helps dress the dish up a bit, but use whichever you prefer.

I know that it costs a bit more to use all-natural and organic products but I honestly believe that our bodies are worth it...remember -"we are what we eat".

Not Your Mama's Shepherd's Pie
Makes 8 Servings

1 pound - 80/20 All-Natural Ground Chuck
1/2 pound - All-Natural Sweet Italian Sausage (casing removed)
1/2 pound - All-Natural Hot Italian Sausage (casing removed)
1 medium - Spanish onion (white), chopped
1 cup - organically grown carrots, 1/4" chop
1 cup - organically grown fresh peas, blanched
1 cup - organically grown corn kernels, cut from the husk
6 each - garlic cloves, finely chopped
3 tablespoons - Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil
4 large - baking potatoes, peeled and cubed
4 tablespoons - unsalted organic butter
1 cup - All-Natural Beef Stock
3 tablespoons - A-1 Sauce
To Taste - Sea Salt and Cracked Black Pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.


In a medium saucepan, place the cubed potatoes in cold, slightly salted water until potatoes are just covered. Bring to boil over medium-high heat until potatoes are tender (you can pierce them with a knife), about 20 minutes. Drain off the water and add the unsalted butter and work the potatoes until whipped. Season with sea salt and cracked black pepper and set aside.


While the potatoes are cooking, pour the olive oil into a large saute pan or skillet and add the onions and carrots over medium heat and saute until onions begin to become translucent, about 4-5 minutes. Add the peas and stir. Add the corn and stir and lastly add the garlic and stir. Season with sea salt and cracked black pepper. transfer to a large mixing bowl and set aside.


Return the pan to the stove and add the ground chuck and the sausage and cook until the meat has browned, about 5 minutes. Add the A-1 sauce and the beef stock, stir and reduce heat to simmer. Continue to cook until almost all of the liquid has evaporated. Season with sea salt and cracked black pepper and remove from stove.


Add the cooked meat to the cooked vegetables, toss well to incorporate and portion into 8 individual ramekins or 1 casserole dish. Top with the whipped potatoes and using a fork, decorate the top with ribbons.


Place on baking sheet on middle shelf of oven and bake for about 30 minutes, or until the potatoes begin to get a light golden brown color.

Serve with some steamed fresh vegetables and enjoy!!!




Until next time,

Chef John

http://www.cookwithjohn.com/

john@cookwithjohn.com

Guy's...Are You Willing to Cook for Sex?

I knew that would get your attention!

Did you hear or read about the recent article published by the Associated Press that discussed the relationship between men doing more around the house and having more frequent sex?

According to the report, "American men still don't pull their weight when it comes to housework and child care, but collectively they're not the slackers they used to be. The average dad has gradually been getting better about picking himself up off the sofa and pitching in, according to a new report in which a psychologist suggests the payoff for doing more chores could be more sex."

""If a guy does housework, it looks to the woman like he really cares about her - he's not treating her like a servant," said Coleman, who is affiliated with the Council on Contemporary Families. "And if a woman feels stressed out because the house is a mess and the guy's sitting on the couch while she's vacuuming, that's not going to put her in the mood."


So, although I'm pretty handy with a vacuum and I do a mean load of laundry, I found myself thinking...wouldn't it be great if we men could step up to the stove and whip together a tasty and healthy meal for the family every once in a while?

Then I started to think about what types of meals would be best for guy's with somewhat limited culinary experience to feel comfortable preparing. A meal that wouldn't require a whole lot of knife skill, wouldn't require several cooking techniques and one that would satisfy and sustain almost any family.

I came up with an "old faithful" that I love to prepare and always get raves when I serve it.


Hearty Beef Stew with Carrots, Onion, Celery and Mushrooms
(Serves 4-6)

2 pounds - all-natural, lean flank steak, cut into 1/2" cubes
1/2 cup - all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon - sea salt
1/4 teaspoon - fresh cracked pepper
1 teaspoon - dried thyme
1 teaspoon - Old Bay seasoning
2 tablespoons - organic extra virgin olive oil
1 cup - organic carrots, sliced lengthwise, then cut into 1/4" slices
1 cup - celery, sliced lengthwise, then cut into 1/4" slices
1 medium - Spanish (white) onion, finely chopped
4 each - garlic cloves, finely chopped
4 each - large russet potatoes, cleaned and cubed into 1/2" cubes
2 cups - all-natural beef stock
1 cup - good quality red wine (Zinfandel, Merlot, Cabernet Sauignon)
3 each - bay leaves
12 ounces - fresh button mushrooms, sliced 1/4" thin

1 loaf - crusty bread (optional)
As Needed - fresh rosemary sprigs (optional)

In a medium sized mixing bowl, combine the flour, sea salt ,cracked pepper, dried thyme and Old Bay and mix thoroughly.

Cube the flank steak and toss into the seasoned flour mixture.

In a medium sized stock pot (ask wife if you don't know what this is), heat the extra virgin olive oil over medium heat for 1 - 2 minutes. Add the carrots, celery and onion and stirring with a long wooden spoon, make sure to coat the vegetables with the oil and continue to stir the vegetables until the onions become translucent (almost clear - about 3 minutes). Add the garlic and the beef and again stir to coat with the oil. While stirring, continue to cook until the meat begins to brown on all sides, about 4 minutes.

Add the potatoes, beef stock, red wine and bay leaves and allow liquid to come to boil. Reduce heat to simmer (lowest flame), cover the pot with a tight fitting lid and let cook for 45 minutes.

Remove lid, add the mushrooms, stir well to incorporate the mushrooms into the stew (try not to break the mushrooms up). Leave uncovered and allow to cook for 20 minutes more.

Just before serving, adjust seasoning with sea salt and cracked black pepper.

Serve in warmed soup bowls, garnish with fresh Rosemary sprigs and serve along with some nice crusty bread. Oh, and don't forget to enjoy the rest of that bottle of wine!

***Guys, I guarantee that your family will love this dish...as for the sex? You'll have to let me know about that one.

Until next time,

Chef John

http://www.cookwithjohn.com/

john@cookwithjohn.com

My Favorite Cup of Hot Chocolate.

Since Cindy and I sold the restaurant back in November, we have been trying to do more active things with our time i.e. long walks on the beach with the dogs, snow shoeing the back woods with the dogs, and skiing (without the dogs) as well as some traveling (we just got back from 12 days in France - without the dogs).

The skiing this year has been absolutely fantastic with over 14 feet of natural snowfall already this season, and being able to go during the week, we have found that we own the mountain most of the time. This past Monday we decided to head to Sunday River for a "day-on-the-slopes" and got to the mountain right around 11:00am. It was a bright, clear and relatively mild day for the beginning of March, we found a parking space right at the front door of Spruce Peak Lodge and we were on the slopes by 11:20am.

Our first 4 or 5 runs were all great, but then it started to rain ever so slightly and being just above 32 degrees the few drops that fell actually froze to our gear instantly. No big deal we thought and so we continued to make our way over to Jordan Bowl. By the time we were about 3/4's of the way over, the rain began really picking up and we found ourselves now being totally encased in a layer of solid ice on our jackets, pants and most importantly goggles. It got to the point that you could hardly see and removing the goggles and trying to ski was worse as the freezing rain pelted your eyes...we were essentially skiing blind at this point.

We decided to make our way down, back to Spruce Peak Lodge and stop for lunch and see if the rain would let-up. After about 20 minutes we were finally back at the lodge, literally entombed in ice by this time. The faces of the people in the lodge were that of total disbelief as we entered and made our way to one of the tables, all the way our clothes crackling as we walked.

I decided that a couple of cups of nice hot chocolate is "just-what-the doctor" ordered and so I made my way over to the hot chocolate machine and began to dispense the two cups. As I stood there watching this brownish, watery substance flow from within the machine, I thought to myself "how could something as wonderful as hot chocolate diminish so far as to now be some synthetic blend of artificial ingredients simply blended within boiling water?"

I found myself standing in front of this machine recalling the absolute "best cup of hot chocolate" that I ever had the privilege of having and where it was that I got that recipe from so many years ago.

When I was a young boy I grew up in Westport, Connecticut and I remember when I was no more then 12 or 13 experiencing my first taste of hot chocolate nirvana sitting in the kitchen in one of my mother's friends homes. Rich, creamy and thick topped with fresh made whipped cream, it was more like a bowl of Heavenly Hash ice cream, only hot than it was a cup of hot chocolate. It was something that you savored and enjoyed each and every sip.

After many, many cries of desperation, my mother finally got the recipe from her friend and it went into her small yellow recipe box full of index cards. Funny to think of it now but so many of those recipes never came out of the box once they made their way in. This recipe though had been saved and savored by yours truly and now I am going to share it with all of you to enjoy as much as I have throughout my years of cold days and long winters. I have brought the recipe up-to-date with ingredients that are readily available at any supermarket. A word of caution though, this recipe could become habit forming and because it is so rich and creamy it is not the type of beverage that you simply consume but rather you experience.

I am savouring a cup as I right this and it makes the task and the day so much more pleasant...enjoy!

MY FAVORITE HOT CHOCOLATE RECIPE

(Makes 4 memorable mugs of chocolate nirvana)


2 1/4 cups - Whole Milk
1/4 cup - Spring Water
1/4 cup - Granulated Sugar
3 1/2 ounces - Intense Dark Chocolate Candy Bar (Lindt 70% or Ghirardelli 72%), finely chopped
1/4 cup - Unsweetened Cocoa Powder





As needed - Fresh Whipped Cream (Not the imitation stuff)
As needed - Homemade or high quality marshmallows (Optional)



In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, whisk together the milk, water and sugar. Allow mixture to come to just a boil and then add the chopped chocolate and cocoa powder, stirring constantly. Bring to a second boil while whisking but do not scald the milk.

Reduce heat to a simmer and allow the mixture to thicken slightly, about 3 -4 minutes. Remove from heat and using a "stick" blender, blend until thick and frothy, about 3-4 minutes.








Pour into preheated ceramic mugs (fill with hot tap water to preheat, then discard water).



If using, add a few of the marshmallows to bottom of each cup, ladle in about 6 ounces of hot chocolate and then top with a dollop of fresh made whipped cream.



Enjoy!!!

Oh, by the way, as we left Sunday River to head back home, we drove into Bethel, Maine and took in the world's tallest Snow Woman - Olympia...here's a picture!

If you find yourself anywhere near Bethel, Maine in the next few weeks, make sure to stop and check Olympia out...she really is impressive - she stands over 120 feet tall with 30 foot pine trees as arms, her buttons are huge truck tires and her eyelashes are skis. If you look close, in the picture there are people standing at her base...for a sense of size.

Congratulations Bethel for setting a new world record.

Let me know what you think of this recipe.

Chef John

http://www.cookwithjohn.com/

john@cookwithjohn.com