My house smells like an Italian Grandma moved in...

[SherryT]

I'm jus' sayin...

Lasagne with bechemel (not a fan of ricotta!).

As you were...

 

[old sarge]

Great change from turkey leftovers!

 

[SmokinEdge]

At attention. Looks great Sherry. Waiting for a cut or plate shot.

 

[chilerelleno]

Where's the finale, ya know... The plated pic.

 

[indaswamp]

My kinda Lasagna.....with bechamel!

 

[mr_whipple]

I'll take a slice of that! Time to make some myself, maybe get silly and do some moussaka instead.

 

[Steve H]

Looks delicious!

 

[DRKsmoking]

Looks great on the outside. I'm not a Ricotta fan either.

David

 

[forktender]

Yum, I grew up in a Sicilian family, your lasagna looks great.

I absolutely love Ricotta in lasagna and cannoli, which is are my favorite desert of all time. The shells are a pain in the ass to make, though. We only make them at Christmastime any more other times of the year we buy the shells at Restaurant Supply, and they aren't bad but not as good as our homemade shells, go figure...right!!!

 

[JLeonard]

I'll take a big slab of that with a hunk of crusty bread! Man that looks good.

Jim

 

[mneeley490]

I think I can smell it from here...

 

[tallbm]

I'm jus' sayin...

View attachment 681919

Lasagne with bechemel (not a fan of ricotta!).

As you were...

Wow that looks fantastic!

My mother is a cooking machine and of all her dishes, it's her Lasagna that is my favorite meal in the world. She uses cottage cheese instead of ricotta and never a dry bite to be had :D

Great job! :D

 

[noboundaries]

I'm not a fan of ANY of the store-bought ricotta cheeses. Make your own, instead. Soooo easy, and nothing special required. It is so smooth and creamy. Look up the Chef John video on YouTube. Here's the recipe I put together after watching his video.

Ricotta - Homemade - Chef John

This is creamier and so much better than store-bought. So easy to make!

1 quart milk plus ½ cup cream makes approximately 14 oz of ricotta cheese and 24 oz whey.

A half gallon of milk and a cup of cream makes approximately 28 oz of ricotta cheese and 48 oz of whey

A gallon of milk and 2 cups of cream makes approximately 56 oz of ricotta and 96 oz of whey.

Save the whey in the refrigerator and use to bake bread, ciabatta, pizza dough, etc.

Ingredients for a Quart of Milk
4 cups whole milk
½ cup heavy cream
1 tsp fine sea salt
2 Tbs white vinegar

Ingredients for a Half Gallon of Milk
Half-gallon whole milk
1 cup heavy cream
2 tsp fine sea salt
4 Tbs white vinegar

Ingredients for a Gallon of Milk
1 gallon whole milk
1 pint heavy cream
4 tsp fine sea salt
½ cup white vinegar

Directions
Set up drainage. Cut two pieces of cheese cloth into equal lengths, long enough to overlap a large strainer when shaped to fit the drainer. Set the strainer across a pot, bowl, or Dutch oven.

Mix milk, cream, and salt in a heavy bottom saucepan. Turn heat to medium high and gently stir in a figure eight every minute or so to prevent scorching. Each stir should last 4 seconds (important later). Also use a probe thermometer to check the mixture's advance to 195F.

At exactly 195F, about 8-10 minutes, turn off the heat, add the vinegar, and gently stir for 4 seconds.

Set a timer for 6 minutes and DO NOT TOUCH the mixture.

At 6 minutes, spoon the mixture into the cheesecloth-lined strainer. You can pour it into the strainer as the pan empties. Allow to drain for 30 minutes max (my preference. More draining gives a dryer, grainy texture.

Remove the cheese-filled cheesecloth to a bowl and allow to cool to room temp. Then cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate until completely chilled.

Save the whey for baking.

To serve, remove from the cheesecloth. Add a pinch of salt to each serving.

Store covered in the refrigerator.

 

[Brokenhandle]

That sure looks tasty! No ricotta here for me either... tried it once and didn't like it.

Ryan

 

[mneeley490]

Interestingly, ricotta does make for a good cheesecake.

 

[gmc2003]

We use a 50/50 mix of ricotta and cottage cheese.

Chris

 

[Coach JoeQB]

I'm not a fan of ANY of the store-bought ricotta cheeses. Make your own, instead. Soooo easy, and nothing special required. It is so smooth and creamy. Look up the Chef John video on YouTube. Here's the recipe I put together after watching his video.

Ricotta - Homemade - Chef John

This is creamier and so much better than store-bought. So easy to make!

1 quart milk plus ½ cup cream makes approximately 14 oz of ricotta cheese and 24 oz whey.

A half gallon of milk and a cup of cream makes approximately 28 oz of ricotta cheese and 48 oz of whey

A gallon of milk and 2 cups of cream makes approximately 56 oz of ricotta and 96 oz of whey.

Save the whey in the refrigerator and use to bake bread, ciabatta, pizza dough, etc.

Ingredients for a Quart of Milk
4 cups whole milk
½ cup heavy cream
1 tsp fine sea salt
2 Tbs white vinegar

Ingredients for a Half Gallon of Milk
Half-gallon whole milk
1 cup heavy cream
2 tsp fine sea salt
4 Tbs white vinegar

Ingredients for a Gallon of Milk
1 gallon whole milk
1 pint heavy cream
4 tsp fine sea salt
½ cup white vinegar

Directions
Set up drainage. Cut two pieces of cheese cloth into equal lengths, long enough to overlap a large strainer when shaped to fit the drainer. Set the strainer across a pot, bowl, or Dutch oven.

Mix milk, cream, and salt in a heavy bottom saucepan. Turn heat to medium high and gently stir in a figure eight every minute or so to prevent scorching. Each stir should last 4 seconds (important later). Also use a probe thermometer to check the mixture's advance to 195F.

At exactly 195F, about 8-10 minutes, turn off the heat, add the vinegar, and gently stir for 4 seconds.

Set a timer for 6 minutes and DO NOT TOUCH the mixture.

At 6 minutes, spoon the mixture into the cheesecloth-lined strainer. You can pour it into the strainer as the pan empties. Allow to drain for 30 minutes max (my preference. More draining gives a dryer, grainy texture.

Remove the cheese-filled cheesecloth to a bowl and allow to cool to room temp. Then cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate until completely chilled.

Save the whey for baking.

To serve, remove from the cheesecloth. Add a pinch of salt to each serving.

Store covered in the refrigerator.

I agree homemade ricotta is so much better. I make mine sous vide. Easy and perfect every time.

Joe

 

[Hijack73]

We use a 50/50 mix of ricotta and cottage cheese.

Chris

Ditto. And I break 2 eggs into the mixture and add a shartload of parsley.

Ricotta on it's own is bland, and cottage on it's own is just bland and chunky, together they turn into something quite tasty and have a really good texture.

 

[noboundaries]

I agree homemade ricotta is so much better. I make mine sous vide. Easy and perfect every time.

Joe

Joe, I've been resistant to buying or gift listing a sous vide appliance. You may have just given me a reason to get one!

Ray

 

[noboundaries]

Joe, I was telling my wife about your sous vide ricotta. Guess what I'm getting for Christmas!

Sherry, I will be making a lasagna for New Years. You've inspired me!

Ray