Lasagna

Me and my brother Izaak watching our new brother Gabriel in his cradle

There are certain food memories that really stick in my mind from when I was very small… a neighborhood kid giving me a Nestle Crunch candy bar when I was about two years old and not allowed to eat sweets… dragging my spoon through cream of mushroom soup and trying to get the next bite before the soup was able to cover the bottom of the bowl again… sharing the wishbone from the Thanksgiving turkey with my uncle Grant (he got the biggest part, and I was so upset I didn’t get my wish that he gave me the bigger part!)

One of these memories was the lasagna that one of my Mom’s friends brought when my brother Gabriel was born. I was about six years old, and I don’t think I had ever had lasagna before. It was so good that this is the touchstone of lasagna I still compare all lasagnas too, especially all vegetarian lasagnas – because this one had no meat in it… and the woman who made it told us we could use tofu (yes, TOFU) for the filling. The unexpected spices in the sauce and the filling are what really make this lasagna stand apart and above all other lasagnas in my mind. Cloves and bay leaf in the sauce bring out the flavor of the tomatoes, and the nutmeg in the filling makes the cheese and spinach pop.



I think of Gabe every time I make this lasagna. He has a family of his own now, complete with his own Gabriel, Jr.





Lasagna

Cook 1 lb lasagna pasta.
Grate 8 oz. mozzerella cheese.

Sauce:
Saute a small onion with garlic. Add a quart of tomatoes and a small can of tomato paste. Season with 1/4 tsp pepper, 1/2 bay leaf, 2 whole cloves, 1/2 tsp basil, 1/2 tsp oregano, and a sprinkle of sugar. Cook until bubbly

Filling:
Mix thoroughly 1 lb. ricotta cheese, cottage cheese, or tofu, 2 beaten eggs, 1/2 cup parmesan cheese, 1/4 tsp nutmeg, 1/8 tsp pepper. Cook and drain one 9 oz, pkg of chopped spinach. Add this to the tofu mixture.

In a rectangular baking pan, layer ingredients in this order:

1/3 of the sauce
1/2 of the pasta
All of the filling
1/3 of the sauce
1/2 of the mozzarella
1/2 of the pasta
1/3 of the sauce
1/2 of the mozzarella
Parmasan cheese

Cover loosely with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes. (I usually end up baking it longer. I also take off the foil at about 30 minutes so the cheese can get a little brown on top.

This is good at the first serving, but even better as leftovers on the next day.

Migas

I never heard of Migas until I made my recent trip to Austin. My brother's girlfriend Elizabeth ordered them at the Magnolia Cafe, and informed me that they are on the menu at most restaurants there.

Migas are eggs with whatever you like scrambled in - and then you add tortilla chips to the scramble as well. There is something about corn tortillas (chips or otherwise) and eggs that just goes so well together!

This morning I made my first Migas, and here is the recipe, although your imagination is the limit.

Migas
2 eggs
1/4 small onion, diced
1/4 red bell pepper, diced
1/4 c shredded cheddar
3 tbsp chopped roasted green chiles
handful of tortilla chips
1 pat of butter

Melt the butter in a pan, add all above ingredients, scramble, then eat.

Pancakes on Sunday

I made a batch of pancakes this morning - and I started thinking about pancakes... I love them... if they are done right. And the funny thing is, this is one of very few things that I don't make from scratch. Mainly because I haven't found a recipe I like enough, and because the mixes make good pancakes.

So, now you all know me for the hypocrite I am. I extoll the greatness of home cooked food, and yet I use pancake mix. I should hang my head in shame.

But, my pancakes are better than the way they tell you to make them on the box.

The trick is to buy a mix that has you add eggs to the mix, and also to add more milk than they tell you to... the batter should be relatively thin, or you end up with thick, chewy pancakes that taste like pan-caca. So keep adding milk until the mixture runs off the ladle and easily spreads itself into a pancake when it hits the pan.

You can do add ins as well... Today I did 1/2 a mashed banana and a 1/2 cp of chopped pecans. Another one of my favorites is chopped cooked bacon. Or apples and cinnamon. Or the traditional blueberries. The best way to make blueberry pancakes is to use frozen blueberries and add them AFTER you have already poured the batter into the pan, so you can spread them out evenly. And if you just want ultimate decadence in a pancake, add chocolate chips and serve it with whipped cream or peanut butter.

An Omelet from Austin

While I was in Austin a week ago we ate at a little place called The Magnolia Cafe, where their slogan is "Open 24 hours a day 8 days a week." Awesome place. Had one of the best omelets I have ever had, filled with pico de gallo, jack cheese, and avocados. Soooo good.

So, here is my best recreation of this fantastic omelet:

Scramble two or three eggs with a tablespoon of milk. Heat a small pan over medium-high heat. Melt a pat of butter in the pan, then pour in the eggs. Move the pan and eggs around over the heat until almost cooked through. Add pico, chopped avocado, and cheese, then flip half of the eggs over to cover the mixture. Cook for about 30 seconds more, then turn out onto a plate. Enjoy.

So, the question still remains - how do you make pico de gallo? And for some of you, what is pico de gallo?

Pico de gallo is a fresh salsa made from tomatoes, onions, cilantro, and jalapenos. I can eat it by the spoonful (or tortilla chip.)

Pico de Gallo
5 roma tomatoes, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
1/2 bunch of cilantro, chopped
1 jalapeno pepper, minced
3-5 tbsp lemon juice or lime juice
salt to taste.

Since the size is different with tomatoes and onions, try to get twice as much tomato as onion in your bowl. The above measurements are only a guideline.

Mix all ingrendients in a bowl, let sit for at least 15 minutes before serving. Once you have added the lemon juice and salt the tomatoes will start to break down a little bit. Serve with tortilla chips, or in any way you would serve salsa.

As a side note - I make a big batch of this whenever I feel a cold coming on... The heat from the jalapeno and the vitamin c from the onion and tomato burn the cold right out of my system. However, you end up with some pretty terrible onion breath as a side effect.

My Favorite Breakfast Tacos

My dear friend Liz and I used to eat these almost every weekend. Usually we would serve them with Liz’s red chile on top (a red chili pepper based sauce – the recipe is below.) Since I am a nursing mom, and my baby doesn’t appreciate it when I eat super hot food, I just use a couple of drops of Tabasco on top instead. I heartily endorse the red chile, though! It’s good also as an enchildada sauce if you tone it down with some tomato sauce, too.

Anna and Liz’s Breakfast tacos
(makes 4 tacos, enough for two party girls the morning after a night of clubbing in Vegas)

1 tbsp butter
1 medium onion, sliced thin
4 eggs
4 corn tortillas
1/3-1/2 c shredded sharp cheddar cheese
Liz’s red chile (recipe below)


Fry the onion in butter until almost burnt over medium heat. Cook your eggs over hard (pop the yolk and let it cook, then flip it over and cook the other side.) Heat corn tortillas directly on the burner if you have a gas stove or a glass topped electric stove. If you have an older electric with the coils, use a pan or you’ll make a huge mess. Top each tortilla with an egg, some onions, cheese, and chile.


Liz’s Red Chile
1 bag dried red chilies (in the Mexican food section of the grocery store)
Water
Garlic, oregano, salt to taste.


Pull the stems off the dried chilies. Shake out the seeds and remove as much membrane as possible. Rehydrate the chilies in enough water to cover them by simmering on the stove, or let soak overnight. Put the rehydrated chilies in the blender, blend with the water from rehydrating until smooth. Add the spices and salt to taste. Pour mixture in a saucepan and simmer over low/medium low heat until reduced to desired thickness. Taste, and correct seasoning. Add tomato sauce to cut the heat if desired.

Stuffed French Toast

Stuffed French toast is a decadent breakfast, and it’s very easy to make. The first time I ever heard of stuffed French toast was at the Skillet Café in Las Vegas. Everything on the menu there is good. If you make a trip to Vegas and want some good old fashioned diner food, look up the Skillet Café. The Skillet Café made their stuffed French toast with cream cheese and fruit preserves, but I make mine with cream cheese and dried fruit.

Stuffed French Toast

For each piece of French toast you will need:
2 slices of French bread or Texas toast
1 tbsp cream cheese
1 tbsp dried cranberries -or- 1 chopped dried apricot and 1 tsp chopped pecans
1 egg beaten with 1 tbsp milk
Butter for sauteeing

Spread the cream cheese on one of the slices of bread, cover with the dried fruit, and or nuts. Use the other piece of bread to make a sandwich. Dip the sandwich in the egg and milk mixture, and then fry it in a hot pan with melted butter. Turn when golden brown, and then brown the other side. Serve with maple syrup.

The Trick to Great Hashbrowns

My first job as a cook was at The Hitchin’ Post Café in Dayton, Wyoming. Looking back, I think it was one of my favorite jobs of all time… I was in high school and worked with a great bunch of people – I was learning a lot about food, and I was doing something I enjoyed for money! I took it all for granted back then – I thought all jobs were like that. Oh, how wrong I was.

A picture of some of the staff at the Hitchin' Post at Prom in 1990

I learned a lot at that place. The first lesson I learned about food was how to make crispy hashbrowns from real potatoes. Before this lesson, every time I would attempt hashbrowns I would end up with a grey gooey mass at the bottom of my pan – the polar opposite of the crispy brown bits of heaven I wanted to serve up next to my eggs in the morning.

But there is a trick to making any fried potato become crisp… (this goes for French fries, too.) The potatoes need to be pre-cooked in order to get the crispiness out of them. For hashbrowns the best bet is to use leftover baked potatoes, or just boil whole potatoes and then cut them up or shred them when they are cooled.

These are my husband’s absolute favorite food when mixed with bacon and cheese. Feel free to add what you like – they are good with sour cream on top, too!

Hashbrowns
5 potatoes, washed and cooked whole (boiled and cooled)
1 medium onion, chopped
½ green pepper, chopped
4-5 tbsp olive oil

Heat a skillet at medium high heat. Add the oil, and then the vegetables. Turn occasionally and cook until brown. Turn them only every 5 minutes or more so they get a nice brown crust. Cook until they reach the desired doneness.