Moussaka

Pronouced "moo-sah-KAH", it's Greek for "lasagne".  Not really, but it's like Greek lasagne.  It's a meat-and-eggplant layered casserole with cheese souffle on top, but no pasta, and it is exquisite.

I first experienced this dish in Greece on a high school Classics Club trip (yeah, Latin nerd right here), later at Primo's in Alexandria, VA, the Trojan Horse in Bloomington, IN and the Greek Fest in Boca Raton, FL and have cooked it from the Frugal Gourmet's Three Ancient Cuisines recipe since.  I count moussaka among the first "real" dishes I learned to cook, and it has never disappointed.

You can make your own homemade tomato sauce (I don't) or use store-bought spaghetti sauce (I do).  The Frug's recipe for "Greek Tomato Sauce" calls for allspice which most spaghetti sauces don't use, so I simmer the moussaka meat sauce with a few allspice berries to incorporate that flavor.

Like all layered casseroles, you can build this recipe in a variety of sizes: 1 13x9 or 2 8x8 or 4 8x4 pans.

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Asparagus Potato Lasagne

A neat trick to freezing lasagne without it drying out is to freeze a small amount of liquid like stock or wine in ice cubes and put one at each corner of the pan so that as it thaws and cooks, there's a bit of a steam room effect keeping the noodles and filling nice and moist.
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Fish Burgers and Veggie Croquettes

The common theme with these two recipes is that if you make them ahead to freeze, they need to spend some time in the freezer firming up before you squash the daylights out of them with a vacusealer.  Vacusealing will keep them both much fresher-tasting, but they're prone to going completely out of round if they don't freeze pretty solid first.

The veggie croquette is one of my faves for its dual vegetarian main/side dish status, its repurposing of leftovers that usually won't get consumed and its general old-fashioned-ness.  In fact, the original recipe came from a WWII-era home economics textbook that belonged to my husband's grandmother.  Reading old cookbooks and trying out vintage recipes is as close as I get to liking history, but I must say that it is such an insightful history lesson to cook as women did in another time and place.  There's a moment of connection across generations when you realize that the face your husband made about Meatless Monday Rice Patties with Flourless Cheese Gravy is the same face somebody's husband made about the exact same dish in 1944.  But I digress...
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Mushrooms on sale!

What to do with several pounds of mushrooms purchased on sale?  Slice them in the food processor and prep for roasted mushroom sandwiches and freeze mushroom casseroles, of course!

(By the by, I haven't gotten around to doing my mushroom cleaning science experiment because a) I'm easily distracted and b) my mushroom slicer broke.  Eventually...  So I'm still working with the assumption that a quick rinse and pat dry will be sufficient for cleaning and allowing prepped, sliced mushrooms to stand for a day or two in the fridge awaiting cooking.)

You'll need about 2 lbs of mushrooms for 4 sandwiches and 1 1/2 lbs. for each casserole.  I'm making one recipe of sandwiches and 2 casseroles, so I have 5 pounds of mushrooms.  All button-type mushrooms, cremini and white button.  Shitake, oyster, and any other fancy mushroom should be sliced by hand as the food processor will just tear them up rather than slicing them.  Use the slicing plate in your food processor, and you'll be done in no time flat.

For the mushroom casserole, you need to make a thick white sauce for the base of the dish.  I have recently discovered that this can be accomplished in the microwave!  Huzzah!  So fast, so easy and no extra heat in the kitchen.  You will need to use a container that is much larger than seems necessary because the mixture will foam up quite a bit.
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White Seafood Lasagne

This is possibly the most labor-intensive lasagne I make.  You cook the sauce, you cook the protein, you make a special filling...believe me, it's worth it!!  You invest a little more time on the front end (when you *choose* to cook), put less time on the back end (when you *need* to cook), and get a knock-your-socks-off dinner...this is exactly what Dinner Done Yesterday is about.

There are food allergies in our extended cookery household, so shrimp is a no-no.  Feel free to use shrimp, or any other seafood, if you prefer.  In this recipe, I used half whole wheat noodles and half white noodles because that's what I had in the pantry.

White Seafood Lasagne
Makes 1 9x13 pan

Boilables:
1 lb. lasagne
1/2 bunch kale, stems trimmed, or 10 oz. box frozen greens

Scallops:
1 tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 lb. bay scallops

Bechamel:
4 tbsp butter
4 tbsp flour
2 1/2 cup milk
salt and pepper

Filling:
15 oz. ricotta cheese
1 cup Parmesan cheese
1 egg
3 tsp Italian seasoning
pinch nutmeg
salt and pepper

1/4 cup parmesan cheese

Heat a 4 quart pot of water to boiling.  Add kale and boil 10 minutes.  Lift out of the water with tongs and drain.  Chop coarsely when cooled (if using frozen greens, thaw and drain thoroughly, then chop).

Add lasagne noodles to the same pot of boiling water (topping up if necessary) and cook 10 minutes.  Drain and lay flat to cool.  Insure that you have 15 whole noodles.

Heat oil in skillet over medium heat and saute onions and garlic until soft, about 5 minutes.  Add scallops and cook until opaque, about 3 minutes.  Drain any liquid in the pan and reserve.

To make bechamel sauce, in a saucepan, melt butter and stir in flour.  Cook 1 minute.  Slowly stir in milk until completely incorporated.  Increase heat to medium-high until simmering.  Reduce heat to medium and whisk occasionally until sauce is thickened, about 5 minutes.  Set aside.

To make filling, combine ricotta, parmesan, egg, spices, chopped greens, scallop mixture and 6 tbsp of bechamel sauce.

To assemble lasagne...divide filling mixture into 15 portions (about 1/4-1/3 cup each).  Spread each portion on one lasagne noodle.  Roll noodle lengthwise and place seam-side down in lasagne pan. 

Repeat for remaining noodles. 

Pour bechamel sauce over noodles, making sure to cover all surfaces.  Sprinkle remaining 1/4 cup of parmesan cheese over top.  Wrap in foil and plastic wrap and freeze or refrigerate.

When ready to cook, thaw lasagne.  Cook at 400F for 30 minutes, or until heated through. Pin It

Blue Cheese Artichoke Pasta

This is a fairly strong tasting pasta sauce, thanks to the blue cheese.  If blue isn't your thing, you can use less or sub in something you do like...feta, parmesan, shredded asiago, manchego, whatever floats your boat.  You must leave in the artichokes though...they are one of the top 5 cancer-fighting foods on the planet.  I heard it on Dr. Oz, so it must be true ;-)  

When it comes to browning mushrooms, I've found that a little benign neglect is the way to go.  Get your pan hot and your butter melted, put the mushrooms in and WALK AWAY for a few a minutes.  I mean, don't leave the house or anything, but go clean the cutting board.  You more you fiddle with them, the less they brown.

Blue Cheese and Artichoke Pasta

Makes 6 servings

2 tbsp butter

4 oz. mushrooms, sliced

2 tbsp butter

3 tbsp flour

3 cups milk

salt and pepper to taste

4 oz. crumbled blue cheese

1 15-oz can artichokes, cut up

1 13-16 oz. box pasta, any shape

(If prepping ahead for same-day or next-day cooking, measure and chop all ingredients.  Combine 2 tbsp butter and 3 tbsp flour in a container, keep remaining ingredients separate.)

Saute the mushrooms in 2 tbsp butter over medium-high heat, if you like them browned, or over medium heat if you just like them soft (about 5-7 minutes).

Lower heat to medium.  Add the additional 2 tbsp butter to the pan.  When melted, whisk in flour.  Cook 1 minute.  Whisk in the milk 1 cup at a time.  When all the milk is added, turn the heat up to medium-high until the sauce is simmering.  Return heat to medium and allow to simmer for 5 minutes, until slightly thickened.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.

If preparing a freezer kit, freeze the sauce now and label the pasta and can of artichokes for pantry storage.  When ready to cook, thaw and reheat the sauce.  You may have to add a little milk to get the consistency you like.  Add chopped artichokes.  Boil the pasta according to the package directions.  Toss drained pasta with sauce.

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