Mushroom Lasagna

Is everyone ready for Thanksgiving? I'm definitely not.  Growing up as an only child in a family that wasn't super gung-ho over celebrating holidays; I've felt a bit overwhelmed during the holiday season ever since I started dating Mr.S.  He has a big family that's really nice, but the holidays always feel a bit chaotic to me when I'm there. There's a lot of people in his house during Thanksgiving and Xmas, a lot of noise and kids running amuck.  Up until this year, I could skip events and just duck home to the cottage if I needed a breather but now that I live with Mr.S I'm not quite sure how I'm going to handle it all.  I think the panic of the holidays must have already started to show a little on my face because Mr. S suggested we get out of town for a night. So the day after Thanksgiving we're going to duck out and decompress. I'm looking forward to it. ☺

How do you all deal with the holiday frenzy? Got any tried and true tips?

In the meantime, if you get tired of turkey and ham, give this delicious mushroom lasagna recipe by the folks at Sunset Magazine a shot.  My friend Michelle made it for book club and it was so insanely good that I had to ask her for the recipe. I just made it again this weekend. Mr.S and I had half and I brought half to a friend that just had a baby. It has a wonderful earthy taste balanced by a béchamel sauce that's not overwhelming. Also it can be prepared ahead of time which makes it a holiday time-saving gem!

Mushroom and Fresh Herb Lasagna

Ingredients

12 no-boil lasagna noodles (1/2 lb.)

1 qt. milk  (I used 2%)

1/2 cup unsalted butter

1/2 cup flour

1 1/2 tsp. kosher salt

1/2 tsp. pepper

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

3 garlic cloves, minced

3 tablespoons chopped parsley, divided

1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme leaves, divided

3 tbsp. olive oil, divided

2 medium leeks, sliced into thin rings

1 1/2 pounds portabella mushrooms, sliced

1/2 pound shiitake mushrooms, stemmed and sliced

1 cup finely shredded Parmesan cheese

1 cup plus 2 tbsp. coarsely shredded Asiago cheese

Instructions

1. Soften noodles in a pan of very hot water while you prep the other ingredients.

2. Make béchamel (white sauce): Bring milk to a simmer in a saucepan and remove from heat. Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add flour and cook, stirring, until slightly darkened, 2 minutes. Whisk milk into flour mixture all at once and whisk until smooth. Add 1 1/2 tsp. salt, 1/2 tsp. pepper, and the nutmeg. Sauce should be thick enough to coat a spoon; if it isn't, cook over medium-low heat, stirring, until thickened, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in garlic, 2 tbsp. parsley, and 1/2 tbsp. thyme. Keep covered.

3. Preheat oven to 375°. Heat a deep, wide pot over medium-high heat 2 minutes. Swirl in 1 tbsp. oil and add leeks. Cook until tender but not browned, 3 to 4 minutes, stirring occasionally. Scoop leeks into a bowl and set aside.

4. Swirl 2 tbsp. oil into pot. Add mushrooms, season lightly with salt and pepper, and cook over medium heat, covered, until mushrooms are tender and beginning to release juices, about 5 minutes. Uncover and cook until edges start to brown. Stir in leeks and remaining 1/2 tbsp. thyme. Remove from heat.

5. Mix Parmesan with Asiago.

6. Assemble lasagna: Oil a 9- by 13-in. baking dish. Spread a few spoonfuls of béchamel over bottom. Arrange 3 noodles crosswise in dish, then spoon on about 1/2 cup béchamel, followed by a third of the mushrooms and 1/3 cup cheeses. Repeat layers twice more. Top with a final layer of noodles and béchamel, and sprinkle with remaining cheese.

7. Bake lasagna until browned and bubbling, about 45 minutes. Sprinkle with remaining 1 tbsp. parsley and let sit at least 15 minutes before slicing.

* Make ahead: Through step 6, 1 day, chilled, or up to 3 months, frozen. Let chilled lasagna sit at room temperature 1 hour before baking. Frozen lasagna can either be thawed in the refrigerator overnight and then baked, or baked straight from the freezer for 1 3/4 hours (cover for first hour).

* Dried shiitakes will work in this recipe too. Just rinse them in cold water several times, then place them in a bowl with boiling water for 30 minutes. Drain the water off, slice off the stems and use in recipe.

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Hawaiian Mac Salad

 

I hadn't planned on doing a post for the Hawaiian Mac Salad that I made on Sunday, but after I posted about the Kalua pig, I got about a dozen emails requesting the recipe for the macaroni salad I made to go with it.

Note, for those who haven't had it before-  Hawaiian Mac Salad is not your normal macaroni salad from the deli counter. It's tangier and sweeter, the mayo is thinned out by milk and its only extra ingredients are grated carrot, sliced scallions and small bits of celery. Also, you have to use real mayo to make this, not the lowfat stuff or Miracle Whip (gack!).

The recipe I use is from Cook's Country Magazine, from a printing that I clipped from a Bay Area paper a few years ago. It most closely replicates the Hawaiian macaroni salads I ate while on vacation in Hawaii.

Give it a go...Hawaiian Mac Salad is the perfect accompaniment for a plate lunch of Kalua pig, Huli Huli chicken or your favorite BBQ dish.

Hawaiian Mac Salad (from Cook's Country Magazine)

 

Ingredients

2 cups whole milk, divided
2 cups mayonnaise, divided (I like to use Best Foods Real Mayonnaise)
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 tablespoon plus 1/2 teaspoon salt, divided
2 teaspoons black pepper
1 pound macaroni elbows
1/2 cup cider vinegar
4 scallions, sliced thin
1 large carrot, peeled and grated
1 celery rib, chopped fine

Instructions

1. To make dressing, whisk together 1 1/2 cups milk, 1 cup mayonnaise, brown sugar, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 2 teaspoons black pepper (or pepper to taste). Set aside.

 

2. Bring 4 quarts water to a boil in large pot. Add 1 tablespoon salt and pasta and cook until very soft, about 15 minutes. Drain pasta and return to pot. (You want the pasta to be fat and soft, not al dente)

3. Add vinegar and toss until absorbed. Transfer to a bowl. Cool pasta, then stir in dressing until well-coated. Cool completely. (Don't worry, the macaroni will absorb the dressing)

4. To assemble salad, add scallions, carrot, celery, remaining milk and remaining mayonnaise to pasta mixture and stir to combine. Season to taste. Refrigerate covered for at least 1 hour and up to 2 days. Serves 8 people.

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Tsuru - Tsuru : Zaru Soba

The Japanese have a term for the slurping noise one makes when savoring a noodle dish, it’s called, “tsuru-tsuru.” Making slurping noises is recognized to be a good thing and encouraged in Japanese culture. It’s considered a way to convey your appreciation of the meal to your host. In Japan, noodles symbolize “longevity,” and are eaten quite a bit. In addition, they’re eaten on New Year Eve to symbolize the passing of the old year and beginning of the new year (called toshikoshi).

One of my favorite Japanese noodle dishes is zaru soba (which means “basket” noodle). Zaru soba consists of cold buckwheat noodles served with a mild dipping sauce (tsuyu) and various garnishes (yakumi). It’s a refreshing, classic summer dish that cools you down quickly on a hot day and takes minimal effort to prepare. You can make your own tsuyu (from dashi stock, mirin and soy sauce) but I prefer to keep a bottled of premade tsuyu in my fridge. You can buy the premade tsuyus in concentrated and unconcentrated versions; if you buy the concentrated version, be sure to dilute the base before using it.

Ingredients

1 bottle of chilled soba tsuyu (somen tsuyu works too)

9.5 oz. package of soba noodles

Your choice of condiments:

Thinly sliced green onions

Toasted sesame seeds

Nori ( dried seaweed), cut into matchstick sized strips

Grated ginger

Grated wasabi

Chopped shiso  (perilla)


Instructions

1. Bring a pot of water to boil. (Do not salt the water.)

2. Once water is boiling, place the dry noodles gently into the pot.

3. Stir gently with chopsticks to separate the noodles so that they do not clump and to make sure they are all fully immersed.

4. Bring the water back to a boil then set it to simmer.

5. Check your noodle package for how long to cook your noodles; the time varies according to brand. On average, it’s usually about 4-7 minutes.

6. Test a strand. It should be firm yet tender.

7. Remove the pot from the stove and transfer the noodles to a colander. Drain the hot water.

8. Place the noodles under a steady stream of cold water to stop the cooking process and wash the starch off. (Don’t skip this step, it does have an impact on the taste of the noodles.)

9. Use your fingers to swish around the noodles and wash them well.

10. Drain. Then place a small bundle of noodles on a bamboo mat, tray or flat sieve. I have small, plastic “colander/basket bowls” that I like to use. This allows excess water to drain away.

11. Pour one cup of tsuyu per person for dipping.

12. Place a small amount of noodles in tsuyu, garnish with whichever condiments you prefer and finally…sluuuurp!

13. Repeat until satiated.

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