The best beef and cheese lasagna

I have a very simple lasagne recipe but wanted to try something a little different.

This is possibly the most difficult lasagna recipe I've tried to date but well worth the effort.

Ingredients

Tomato sauce

• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 can chopped tomatoes
• 1 garlic clove, peeled and chopped
• pinch of caster sugar
• 1 sprig of thyme, chopped
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 vanilla pod, halved (I took this out of my recipe)
• salt and pepper to taste

Meat sauce

• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 onion chopped
• 400g lean minced beef
• 1 sprig of thyme, chopped
• 2 bay leaves
• 375ml red wine
• 2 teaspoons tomato puree

Camembert sauce

• 20g unsalted butter
• 20g plain flour
• 60ml hot vegetable or beef stock
• 100ml double cream (I used milk)
• 250g mature Camembert cheese
• nutmeg to taste
• 9 sheets of good quality lasagna

Method

• Make the tomato sauce - heat oil in a pan and add tomatoes and garlic. Add sugar, herbs and spices. Cook over a gentle heat for 10 minutes or until tomatoes are reduced and thick
• Meanwhile, make the meat sauce - heat oil in a separate frying pan. Saute the onion for 3-5 minutes or until soft but not coloured. Add the meat and cook for 5-8 minutes . Add herbs and pour in the wine. Reduce slowly over a gentle heat until thick. Season to taste, add sugar and tomato puree. Remove the bay leaves
• Make the Camembert sauce - melt the butter in a saucepan and add the flour. Stir for 1-2 minutes, making sure that the flour is cooked but does not brown. Pour in the hot stock slowly, stirring all the time to prevent lumps. Pour in the cream
• Shave off the Camembert skin with a vegetable peeler and discard. Break the cheese into small pieces and add to the sauce. Stir well until melted. Season to taste
• Combine tomato and meat sauce and three quarters of the Camembert sauce
• Bring a pan of salted water and 2 drops of olive oil to the boil. Blanche the lasagna sheets for approximately 3 minutes. Remove and drain
• Preheat oven to 160 degrees celsius
• Place one layer of lasagna on the base of an oven proof dish. Top with one third of the meat sauce. Add another layer of lasagna and cover with one third of the meat sauce. Repeat process until all the pasta and meat sauce is used up
• I topped mine with the last bit of cheese sauce and cheddar cheese
• Cook in the oven for approximately 30 minutes or until golden brown and cooked through

Recipe from Everyday Novelli by Jean Christophe Novelli

Jamrock

I was feeling a little nostalgic today as I was going through some old pictures of mine. I came across pictures I took over 6 months ago when I was in Jamaica with some of my girlfriends. I had this stupid smile on my face as I relived the holiday. We really had a blast.
One of the many highlights was when we had lunch at the Pelican bar in the ocean. It's quite a popular establishment among tourists and it's not hard to understand why.

It's quite a modest hut that allegedly withstood a number of tropical cyclones (that's according to our tour guide).

The Pelican bar

His menu is really quite simple. Whatever is caught on the day gets prepared and served.

The fish was perfectly seasoned and grilled and served with a simple yet tasty salsa and rice. I think I licked my fingers after that meal.

Our sumptuous meal

We hung around a little while after we ate and took in the magical scenery. There was nothing but blue water, sky and fresh air in sight...really quite something.

Our mode of transport - to and from the bar

It definitely is one of my best food highlights to date - hands down

Bringing sexy back

This is an apron. Yes. An apron

Sigh...I want one

Chick 'n coke

This recipe isn't new but definitely my new favourite thing. It's an easy way to make sweet and sticky chicken.

Ingredients

• 8 chicken portions
• 1 can of Coca cola (330ml)
• 250ml of tomato sauce
• salt and pepper to taste

Method

• Preheat your oven to 180  ̊C
• Skin the chicken (I prefer mine without the skin) and place in a baking tray
• Mix the Coke and tomato sauce in a bowl. Season with salt and pepper
• Pour over the chicken and bake for approximately 2 hours
• Enjoy :-)

Recipe from cooks.com

I 'heart' that

I made heart shaped pancakes today. They left me feeling all warm and fuzzy inside.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla essence
• 3 tablespoons butter
• pinch of salt

Method

• Sift the flour in a bowl
• Add the sugar and salt
• In a separate bowl, mix eggs, milk. Add this to the flour and mix well
• Melt the butter and add to the mix
• Beat the mixture until smooth
• Place a pan on medium heat on the stove (no need to use oil/butter)
• Once pan is hot, pour mixture into shapes and cook until bubbles form on the surface
• Flip over and cook for a few more seconds
• I had mine with chocolate sauce

My dilemma



Source: pinterest

 This pretty much sums me up... :-)

Happy 2012