I know, I know, we're up to our eyeballs into turkey and dressing season but we have to take some time out for a birthday. That's right this weekend we celebrated my mother's birthday - no I'm not telling you which one. Christmas is just too darn close to risk the naughty list.
So, why am I talking about this here you ask? You see a strange thing happens when we gather to celebrate my mother's birthday. For everyone all the other birthdays, either she cooks (no she should not cook for her own birthday ... not suggesting that at all), we go get barbecue, my dad grills, or any number of other tasty options. So, what do we do for my mother's birthday? Takeout pizza from which ever one of the big three she has a coupon for. The pizza has to be trucked in from at least 30 minutes away because they too live in the middle of nowhere (just a different corner of nowhere than were we are at). This basically leads my mother's birthday celebration to be a feast of reheated pizza.
This year The Picky Eater isn't having it. I'm not sure why, but she decided we will cook. That's cool. I like to cook but I don't cook that often for the entire crew. There's a reason for this (other than the pandemic). You see The Picky Eater isn't the only one in the family - not by a long shot. She's actually one of many in the family. Trying to hit that sweet spot that satisfies everyone can be a bit tricky. Luckily no more than two are allowed together at a dinner table at the same time. I'm pretty more than two at the same table would result in a tear in the space-time continuum and all life as we know it would cease to exist.
The additional picky at this particular time is my little brother. A world class, Jedi-level picky eater. Growing up meals could quickly devolve into the mashed potato scene from A Christmas Story. Thankfully we never had to see how the piggies eat - not because my parents weren't desperate enough for him to eat, but because he still wouldn't have eaten it. It did mean more food for me, but my food and weight issues aren't the point here.
So how do we deal with this situation? Birthday lasagna, that's how. Is birthday lasagna even a thing? This year it is. Maybe we'll put candles in it. I'll let you know how it all works out. With any luck it won't be a total disaster. Oh, and there's no dogs at my parents so we're all eating it or no one is eating it. The recipe is attached, so you can judge for yourself it you think it will work.
FYI, this is not something that the dog would ever get to eat.
Lasagna
My Way Too Much Cheese, Why Is There Vodka In My Italian Food Lasagna
My Thoughts
This is a big slice of warm, cheesy, comforting, mostly Italian goodness. It's the sort of thing to bake on a rainy weekend afternoon or a cold winter's evening if you get off work early. It is also the sort of thing that I find myself baking as a "I'm sorry for your loss" gift (It's a southern thing) and occasionally birthday lasagna. Also, The Picky Eater approves of it, so there!
While not a traditional lasagna (no bechamel sauce and there's vodka), please don't send the Nonna Mafia after me, it hits all the right notes for me and The Picky Eater.
Difficulty
Medium
Makes
8 Servings
Tools
Chef's Knife
Baking Dish 9x13
Time
Prep Time 30 min.
Cook Time 1 hour 15 min.
Total Time 1 hour 45 min.
The How To Do It
Make the vodka cream sauce (recipe follows).
In a large mixing bowl, mix the meats together.
Heat some olive oil (about 1/2 a teaspoon) in a large cast iron skilled over medium-high heat and, once the skillet and oil are hot, add the meat and brown it. You'll want to make sure to get some nice color (dark brown bits) on it to give extra flavor to the dish.
Drain the meat and set it aside.
In another mixing bowl, add the chopped basil, ricotta, eggs, and 1/2 of the Parmesan and mix to combine. You'll also want to add a pinch of salt too.
Preheat the oven to 3750 F and position the top rack of you oven in the middle. You don't want this lasagna too close to the heat.
In the bottom of a 7x11-inch deep-dish (2-inches or more) baking dish, add some of the sauce (recipe follows this one) and coat the bottom of the dish in an even layer.
Next add a layer of noodles. I usually have to break some to fill in the holes. My baking dish has big rounded corners and is not quite the right size. Be better than me. Use the right sized pan. It'll save you time and headaches.
Next add a layer of ricotta and then another layer of pasta. You can add the pasta in the other direction if you want. It will add some stability, but I honestly usually forget and I've never had the whole thing fall over.
Spread more of the sauce over the pasta, then add a layer of meat, and a layer of the provolone and mozzarella.
Repeat steps 8-10 until you have used up all of the ingredients, but make sure that the top layer is pasta and mozzarella.
Back the lasagna for 1 hour and then uncover it. I then usually kick the heat up to around 425/450 degrees F to really brown the cheese and bake for another 15 minutes. FYI, if you do not increase the heat, it will probably get plenty brown but I kind of like the cheese almost burned.
Let the whole thing set and rest for 20-30 minutes before cutting into it. Don't worry, you'll still think the thing came straight from the reactor. It's not going to get cold for what will seem like days.
Vodka Cream Sauce
Heat a medium to large saucepan over high heat.
Add the onions to the pan and cook for 5-10 minutes, or until they start to turn translucent.
Add the vodka and let it cook down until it is reduced by about half. You'll notice the oil/vodka/vegetable mixture will thicken as well.
Add the can of tomatoes and reduce the heat to low-medium.
Next using an immersion blend, blend the sauce until it is the consistency you want (and if you like it chunky skip this step all together). I use an immersion blender because I don't like transferring the contents of a very hot pot to a blender and then back again. You could use a traditional blender but be very careful. Wearing almost boiling tomato sauce is not my idea of a good time.
Next add the dry ingredients, the honey, and half of the chopped basil.
Now add the cream and all but roughly a tablespoon of the Parmesan cheese.
Let the sauce simmer for 20-30 minutes. If you like, you can go lower on the heat and have it barely simmering. This will allow some of the moisture to cook off and the flavors to intensify, but for the most part after about 20 minutes the flavor is there.
