ArcaMax

The Tale of the HOT Lasagna

At 19 years old I was already well on my way with my cooking experience. I started out at six years old baking chocolate chip cookies. I had mastered them. My friends started calling me the new Debbie Fields.

I had moved into a new apartment and had won over the other residents with my cookies. I made them about every week because with four apartments in the building, there was never a shortage of young adults who could make a meal out of chocolate chip cookies.

Now it was time to make a real meal. Winter was approaching and I decided it was time for my first dinner party in the building. My boyfriend and I invited everyone over for lasagna.

I pulled out my trusty Betty Crocker cookbook and looked up lasagna. With the long list of ingredients and preparation instructions I knew I was in for a full afternoon of cooking. I made my list and ventured off to the grocery store. I had never made Italian food before. I was excited. Up to that point, my childhood had been filled with simple American fare. This was going to be a stretch for me but I was up for the challenge. My mother had told me, “If you can read you can cook”, and I was a good reader, so what could go wrong?

I strolled the aisles picking up one of these, a dozen of those, some lasagna noodles (well, maybe one more box --not sure how many I’ll need). I was tentative but still having fun.

I got home and began my preparation. Chopping tomatoes for my sauce was my first job. That was a lot of tomatoes! Garlic came next. I unwrapped each “clove” and got to chopping. My fingernails were coated in garlic. I was really into it. I had a mound of garlic about four inches in diameter and two inches high when the aroma really got to me. I decided that although the recipe called for six, I was going to settle at five and call it sauce. I tossed it into the pot and let it all simmer so it became the thick lasagna sauce we all know and love. Or at least I thought so.

When the casserole was fully assembled I carefully slid it in the oven. The smell of lasagna wafted through the building. About an hour later, everyone arrived, hungry, and ready for dinner. There would be garlic bread and Caesar salad too. After a beer or a glass of wine everyone was set to surround the table and dig in.

There was no delay. We cut the lasagna, put it and salad on our plates and passed the garlic bread. Everyone took their first bite; pretty much in unison. What followed was really quite funny. There were hands flapping everywhere! Hands up near their mouths. I thought the lasagna was burning everyone’s tongue. It didn’t feel like a burn to me. My mouth was fine. Then there was a bit of coughing; almost choking amongst the group and everyone grabbed their glass of wine and took a swig.

They were all new friends, so they didn’t want to be impolite, but someone finally commented on how there sure was "garlic in that there lasagna, Mighty Italian!” I went on to tell them that the recipe called for six cloves of garlic but that I stopped at five. Then I showed them the “clove” I had left on the counter. Most burst out laughing. What I thought was a clove was really the whole bulb. I was too “cooking naïve” to know the definition of a clove. I had put in about 30 times more garlic than the recipe called for. The flapping hands were a defense mechanism against the near-lethal amount of garlic I had foisted upon them with my lasagna.

In the end, they actually ate it. Everyone made jokes about how they’d all smell in the morning, but that we all lived in the same building, so what’s the harm? We’d all have bad breath. We’d all reek. So why get worked up about it? We had all day Saturday and Sunday to let the effects wear off.

I found out that day that cooking terms were important. Ingredient definitions were worth double checking. And I had a LOT more to learn about cooking.

Super Simple Spaghetti with Meat Sauce
Serves Four
Today’s recipe is about easy and from scratch at the same time. This is a perfect starter recipe for a new cook. It’s simple for a weeknight or a spaghetti party during a recession. Not expensive to make and with a salad and garlic bread you’ve rounded out your meal.

1 lb. hamburger (you choose the quality level based on budget)
1 Tbl of olive oil
1 large onion chopped (white or yellow, mild or sweet)
1 clove of garlic, minced
1/4 tsp of grated sea salt
1 tsp of sugar
2 tsp of Italian spice blend
2 - 15 oz cans of diced tomatoes or 4 cups of fresh tomatoes chopped
1 – 6 oz can of tomato paste
1 cup of water or red wine
1 10 oz package of spaghetti, cooked (just follow the directions on the box)

Grated parmesan to pass

Put your pot of water on to boil so that when the sauce is almost ready, you can quickly cook and drain your spaghetti.

In a soup pot or large sauté pan add your oil, hamburger and onion. Heat on medium high and brown the burger and cook the onion. Break up the meat into bite-sized chunks as it cooks. You want to get the meat cooked until no pink shows. Then add the garlic and stir. Now add the salt, sugar, spices, tomatoes and tomato paste with one cup of water or wine. Heat until boiling and then turn it down to a simmer and cook for about an hour. Stir occasionally to make sure the sauce is not sticking to the bottom of the pot and if the sauce is getting too thick for your taste, you can add more liquid. You want to cook the sauce a fair amount of time so it breaks down the tomatoes and they become a smooth consistency. You’ll still have a lumpiness from the onions and of course, the beef.

When ready to serve, drain your cooked spaghetti. Put the noodles on the plate and top with sauce. You can then sprinkle on the parmesan cheese if you choose.

Cheers!
Enjoy,
Zola

Send email to Zola at zolacooks@gmail.com.