My Lasagna

Medically reviewed by Christiana George Updated Date: December 15, 2022

I am by no means a great cook. I have had my fair share of mishaps in the kitchen. I have over- seasoned, under-seasoned, burnt, dried, or completely trashed some meals ( ok, my husband would probably say more than some, but he is no one to talk, since he has had mishaps too). But once in a blue moon I do get it right and come out with something delicious. I decided to make lasagna the other night and really took my time to get it right and make it flavorful. No one likes bland lasagna. And my husband is pretty picky about his lasagna. So this is what I came up with:

(I forgot to put eggs and butter in the picture. I seem to be on a role of forgetting things lately. That’s what happens with 2 little ones running around the kitchen, while I am cooking. Oh well, as long as I don’t forget to put them in the recipe.)

My Lasagna

Ingredients

1 box (9oz) Barilla lasagne (no-boil kind)
1 lb ground beef
3 Italian sausages
2 eggs
1 container (15 oz) ricotta cheese
1 cup parmesan/romano grated cheese
1 1/2 cup sliced baby portabello mushrooms
1/2 medium onion, diced
1 tbsp butter
4 cups (16 oz) mozzarella cheese
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dried rosemary
1 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp garlic powder
2 jars marinara sauce

Cooking Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Take casings off the 3 sausages by cutting a slit at the top and squeezing out the insides into a pan. Crumble them up with the ground beef and cook until brown. Then drain and set aside.
In another pan place 1/2 tbsp butter and the sliced mushrooms, cook on medium/high until soft and set aside.
Use same pan add the other 1/2 tbsp butter and the diced onion. Cook on medium/high until soft and golden brown.
In a medium bowl, beat the eggs, then stir in the ricotta, 2 cups of mozzarella, and the parmesan/romano cheese. Then add the onion, all the dried spices and the garlic powder. Mix until all is well blended.
Then it’s time to start layering. First I lined my 13 x 9 pan with Reynolds’ Non-Stick Pan Lining Paper. Then spread 1 cup sauce on bottom.
Layer 4 uncooked pasta sheets, 1/3 cup ricotta mixture, half browned meat, 1 cup mozzarella and 1 cup sauce.
Layer 4 uncooked pasta sheets, 1/3 cup ricotta mixture, cooked mushrooms, 1 1/2 cups sauce.
Layer 4 uncooked pasta sheets, the remaining ricotta mixture and browned meat, and 1 cup sauce.
Layer 4 uncooked pasta sheets, the remaining sauce, and 1 cup mozzarella.
Bake covered with foil until bubbly, about 50-60 minutes. Then uncover and continue cooking until cheese is melted, about 5 minutes. (I leave mine uncovered, I like the top crunchy)
Let stand for about 15 minutes. Then cut and serve. Makes about 12 servings.

Carmelized onions add so much flavor to recipes. And they are so easy to cook.

I love mushrooms and so do my husband and daughter so we use them a lot in recipes.

I had a coupon for this pan liner and wanted to try it out. I hate scraping dried lasagna.

I don’t put a foil on top when I bake the lasagna, but if you like your cheese nice and soft go right ahead and foil it.

Otherwise it turns out like this, which is the way I like it. By the way, the liner worked great. Saved a lot of time in the clean up. Hubby really enjoyed this lasagna, so this recipe is a keeper.

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Evelyn Sharpe’s Chocolate Cake

Baked Dessert

Christiana George

Updated Date:
June 8, 2023

Valentine’s Day has long felt like an occasion for suckers, suckering poor couples out of paying exorbitant prices to observe their love for each other, that is. For a long time, Chris and I played into that game. And really, it’s not the consumers’ faults that their only recourse, should they decide to seek out a nice dinner, are restaurants that jack up their prices and force you to participate in the prix fixe menu concept.

A few years ago, we decided to start taking short trips as a way to escape those pressures. We’d drive to places a little out of the way, Bolinas for example when we were still living in San Francisco, and go to some dive-y restaurant that didn’t acknowledge the existence of Valentine’s Day. There, we’d enjoy a lowbrow dinner that was usually replete with multiple pints of cheap beer. It was a fine way to commemorate the occasion. Philistines! you must be thinking. But we loved it.

We were going to do the same this year, but memories of our visit to Montauk reminded us how our last-minute tendencies are not as forgiving out here. If we’d wanted to go somewhere, we probably should’ve thought about it earlier than yesterday.

That’s why we’ve decided to boycott the entire dining out experience and cook at home! I’m really excited. (The fact that this idea just occurred to us gives you an idea of how indoctrinated we are with the idea that eating out is the only way to do Valentine’s Day—how silly, right?)

I have all these ideas swarming in my head—these sliders, for instance, which have been on my mind for a good half year, and Momofuku-style pork buns. I’m still narrowing down the list, but one thing’s for certain: dessert will most certainly be Evelyn Sharpe’s chocolate cake.

This recipe is officially titled Evelyn Sharpe’s French Chocolate Cake. But because I don’t see what’s so French about this cake, I decided to omit that part of the title so as not to confuse you like it confused me. (Edit: a nice commenter informed me that this cake is how chocolate cakes are like in France—much denser and chocolatey-er cakes than American cakes—making it very much French-style. Thanks for clearing that up Tessa!) Other than that, it’s pretty much perfect the way it’s written. It’s so dense with chocolate that it’s fudgy and indulgent, but it doesn’t feel heavy or overly-sweet (there’s only half a tablespoon of sugar in the entire thing!). I also threw in a huge pinch of Maldon salt, so occasionally a piece surfaces and sends a little jolt of sublime through your taste buds. And, the recipe, halved, results in the perfect amount of cake for two people, enough to fit a 6-inch pan. It’s lovely. I’m planning on serving it with freshly whipped cream, a little creme fraiche folded in for good, tart measure.

You can read about the background behind the cake in the original article by (THE) Amanda Hesser. Basically, Evelyn Sharpe’s identity is unknown, so please don’t ask me who she is. But I’m sure she was some woman; I can almost imagine her whipping out this most special of cakes with aplomb whenever the occasion called for it.

Happy Valentine’s Day, all of you! (And I hope secret admirers surface, for those this might apply to! The intrigue of the day used to be my favorite part when I was a teenager—oh the raging hormones.)

EVELYN SHARPE’S CHOCOLATE CAKE

Adapted from the New York Times via The Wednesday Chef
Makes one 6-inch round cake

Ingredients:

8 oz. bittersweet chocolate (mine was 64%)
5 Tbsp unsalted butter, softened
Pinch of Maldon salt
1/2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
1/2 Tbsp sugar
2 eggs, separated
Creme fraiche whipped cream

Directions:

Heat oven to 425 degrees. Generously butter a 6-inch round pan (the original recipe calls for using a springform pan, but I don’t have one in a 6-inch size, so I used a regular round pan; it works just fine. You’ll have to be careful when removing the cake as it’s quite delicate.)

Melt the chocolate (either with a double broiler—I used a makeshift one—or in the microwave). Remove it from the heat and stir in the butter, salt, flour, and sugar. Lightly beat the egg yolks and gradually stir them in.

Beat the egg whites until they’re holding their shape, but are not stiff or dry. Fold them into the chocolate mix smoothly, quickly, and easily. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for about 10 minutes until the cake looks firm on the edges but is still a bit runny in the middle. Turn off the heat, open the oven door, and let the cake cool in the oven. It’ll firm up a bit more.

Once it’s only a little warm, remove it from the pan gently. Serve each slice with a dollop of whipped cream. Enjoy!