The Void and Neztra

I love entertaining. Spending an evening in the company of my friends, in the comfort of my own home is pure bliss. Cooking for my friends is a pleasure I try to indulge in whenever possible.

Last week, I decided to make, for my friends, a dish that always gets raves from diners and since I am on a summer squash kick, it truly hit the spot.

Lasagna tends to be so heavy that not long after eating, a good nap is in order. This is, as far as I can tell, because of the abundance of carbs and cheese. I tend to make a slightly lighter version. Not to say that my lasagna is more healthy than the average lasagna, just that is seems lighter on the stomach.

Paired with a salad of fresh, mixed greens, grape tomatoes, sweet onion rings, pecans, cranberries, cucumbers and topped with a light grating of Gruyere and a garlic balsamic vinaigrette, this is a great meal for a group of four or more. The bulk of the work can be done the day before, so all you have to focus on the night of the dinner is the salad and some slicing some crusty french bread if you wish.

Wine pairing: Cabernet Sauvignon or Chianti

Be prepared - the prep and cooking process for this dish is two hours. I usually prep and construct the lasagna one night and bake it the next night.

Italian Sausage and Summer Veg Lasagna

3 Tsp. Olive Oil
1 medium Sweet Onion, diced
1 1/2 lb. fresh Italian Sausage (Hot or Sweet to taste), removed from the skin if linked
3/4 cup Red wine
1 large Yellow Summer Squash, sliced 1/2" thick, then cut each "coin" into fourths
1 large Zucchini, sliced 1/2" thick , then cut each "coin" into fourths
3 cups sliced, fresh White Mushrooms
4 Cloves of Garlic, roughly chopped
6 large, fresh Basil Leaves, cut into 1/4" pieces
2 20 oz. jars of Tomato Basil Pasta Sauce (yes, I can make my own, but I usually don't bother)
1/2 package no-boil Lasagna
1 cup Ricotta Cheese
2 cups Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
1 cup Grated Asiago Cheese


Preheat the oven to 375F.

In a large frying pan, saute the onions in the olive oil over medium heat until the onions become soft and translucent. Add the Italian sausage, making sure to break it up into bite size pieces. Cook until sausage has browned. Add the red wine, garlic, squash, zucchini, and mushrooms. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes or until sausage is not pink in the middle and the veggies have softened. Remove the lid, stir in the basil and continue to simmer until the liquid has reduced to just cover the bottom of the pan.

In the meantime, spray the inside of a 13 x 9 x 2 inch baking dish with non-stick spray. Then coat the bottom of the dish with pasta sauce. Line the bottom of the pan with one layer of lasagna noodles, then another coating of sauce.

Sparingly add pearl onion sized dollops of ricotta on top of the lasagna. I prefer to keep the dollops between one and two inches apart. Then add one layer of the meat and vegetables, covering the noodles and cheese completely. Add a very light sprinkling of mozzarella cheese. Add another light layer of sauce and more noodles. Repeat the layering steps (noodles, sauce, ricotta, meat and veg, mozzarella and then sauce) until the dish has been filled to approximately 1/8" from the top. Sprinkle on any remaining mozzarella cheese and then the asiago cheese on top of that.

Cover with aluminum foil and bake in a preheated oven at 375F for 60 minutes. Then remove the aluminum foil, being careful not to burn yourself, and place the pan back in the oven to bake, uncovered for an additional 15-20 minutes, or until the cheese is completely melted and slightly toasted on top.

Now comes the difficult part. It is best to let your lasagna rest on top of the stove for at least fifteen minutes before cutting into it. This will help all the layers come together and will be best for pretty plate presentation. If you just can't wait, that is fine too, but be prepared for burned tongues!

Either way, I hope you enjoy!

Yield: 8-10 LARGE portions

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I'm a city girl. The smallest community have ever been a part of is Dallas, TX. So you can imagine that I was fearful of the change when I moved to the very small town of Bentonville, Arkansas.

Because it is the home of Wal-Mart and many business people travel in and out each day, Bentonville is a unique community, merging the best of big city life and small town culture. With a population of around 35,000 people the city boasts a surprisingly wide range of dining experiences including at least, to my count, five Thai restaurants, two sushi joints and bona fide Indian takeaway.

In Bentonville Square, one of the newer restaurants is Table Mesa, offering an eclectic menu bounded loosely under the description of Latin. They will make a point to tell you that theirs is not a Mexican restaurant, though they do offer Mexican fare, from tacos to chili rellanos. They also offer a wonderful tapas section as well as Cuban, Spanish and South American fare. Fresh, well-seasoned and delicious, you would be hard-pressed to find something on the menu that lacks authenticity or flavor.

Nothing, however, compares to their margaritas (sweetened with agave juice) and an unassuming tapas dish aptly named the Cheap Date. The Cheap Date was recommended to us by our hostess, who assured us that we would love it, though, at the time, it sounded dubious, especially considering that I have never been a fan of dates. Boy was I wrong. A perfect combination of flavors and textures, this dish is addictive. The salty and smoky flavor of the bacon blends perfectly with the earthy sweetness of the dates and the creamy bite of the Gorgonzola cheese. Pure bliss.

So addicted am I and my little group of friends, that I created my own version of the Cheap Date at home and have been told that it is even better than what is served in the restaurant. Of course, these people are my friends, so I would not put it past them to lie about it. So I put it to you: Try this recipe at home and let me know what you think. As usual, I am not so much about the measure spoons and cups and with this recipe, you really don't have to be. Enjoy!

Gorgonzola Stuffed, Bacon wrapped Medjool Dates with Balsamic Glaze.



Speaking of Balsamic Glaze, you can make you own by reducing Balsamic Vinegar with a bit of sugar and a little butter, but if you can get a hold of a bottle of Blaze Balsamic Glaze (seen here at Amazon.com and apparently also available to purchase at Costco) you will be doing yourself a huge favor. Good Stuff!

8 Jumbo Medjool dates (I bought mine at Costco but if they are not available to purchase in your local area, they are readily available for purchase online)
8 slices of bacon
Brown Sugar
Balsamic Glaze
Cream Cheese (whipped works best)
Gorgonzola Cheese (I prefer BelGioioso brand)

In a medium-sized skillet, begin cooking the bacon over medium heat, turning every couple of minutes until the edges begin to curl. Sprinkle brown sugar on one side of the bacon, then turn the slices over and drizzle a very small bit of glaze on the other side of the bacon. Be very careful not to overcook the bacon. Be sure to turn the bacon over and cook the glaze into the bacon a bit. When done, the bacon should be not quite finished cooking and still pliable. If it is cooked too much, it will break when you try to wrap the dates.

In the meantime, place the dates in a microwave safe container with a tablespoon of water. Cover and heat in the microwave on high for about 20 seconds. This softens the dates slightly and makes the pits easier to remove.

Gently remove the pits, trying not to tear the flesh of the dates too much. Stuff a pea sized portion of cream cheese in the bottom of each date, then stuff with the Gorgonzola cheese to about 3/4 of the way full. Add another small dollop of cream cheese to the end of the date.

Carefully wrap each date with one slice of bacon, being careful not to burn yourself or break the bacon. The natural stickiness of the brown sugar and balsamic glaze will keep you from having to use tooth picks or anything else to secure the bacon to the date.

Gently wipe the skillet to remove most of the bacon grease and remnants, but leave a very small amount of grease in the pan. It should not pool in the bottom of the pan, but instead lightly coat the surface.

Place the dates in the skillet over medium heat with a teaspoon of water. Quickly place a lid on the pan and let cook for about a minute. Turn the dates and cook with the lid on again for another thirty seconds to one minute.

Remove, drizzle with a little bit of the balsamic glaze and serve while still warm.

Yields 8 dates - appetizers for four people

I love it. Best sign I have seen in years.

Question of the day: If you saw ME in a police car what would you think I got arrested for?

This week, it was Heather's turn to choose a recipe for THCB. Since I think she has a bit of an evil streak, I wasn't surprised when she immediately suggested we bake bread when I confessed that I never had, mainly due to a fear of the process.

My mother use to spend laborious hours, kneading, rising, punching down he bread and watching it rise again. It seemed excessively time consuming and muscle-strength sapping, especially since I do not own a stand mixer at the moment. Sidebar - if you have one that you would like to donate to me and you live in the Bentonville, AR area, I would gladly bake goods for you on a regular basis to get my hands on one without having to pay an arm and a leg to get the mixer.

Still, she took pity on me and picked a very simple recipe for Crusty bread. She then proceeded to trek all over Bed, Bad and Beyond with me as I picked out a bunch of culinary treasures, including a baking stone that, unfortunately, did not include a pizza peel. Still, I was excited to try my hand at bread baking.

The first thing I noticed is that the recipe is very easy! No endless kneading. No tired muscles at all! More importantly, no need to spend $300 on a standing mixer. Score!

The downside is you still have to wait a few hours for the dough to rise, but such is the nature of the yeast beast. It was well worth the wait.

Other than a lingering burnt odor that I am attributing to the brand new baking stone since my oven is SPOTLESS (for now), the baking process was easy-peasy and my bread came out of the oven looking like it belonged in a proper boulangerie at 5:00am rather than my modest kitchen.

I couldn't resist the urge to cut one of the loaves open when it was still hot and steamy and slather a little butter on it. The resulting slice was like pure heaven. Still a little moist, not dry at all, with a delicious, nutty flavor to the crust, which is amazing considering this was nothing but flour, yeast, salt and water! I am amazed.

The only negative I can report is that the bread was a bit dense, which was lovely the first day, but meant that after the first day, unless the bread was warmed in the microwave or in the toaster, it tasted dry and a little tough. I think next time I will knead the bread a bit more and maybe even let it rise twice instead of once. If I remember correctly, that is what lends a lighter, fluffier feel to the bread. On another note, round loaves do not make more than two good sandwiches, so I think I may attempt to bake a longer loaf next time. I still have half the dough in the fridge. I may also try making pizza out of it. If I do, I'll take pictures and share them.

All in all, I am very pleased with this week's baking. Thanks for the entre into bread baking HB! You rok.

Simple Crusty Bread

Adapted from “Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day,” by Jeff Hertzberg and Zoë François (Thomas Dunne Books, 2007)

Time: About 45 minutes plus about 3 hours’ resting and rising

1 1/2 tablespoons yeast

1 1/2 tablespoons kosher salt

6 1/2 cups unbleached, all-purpose flour, more for dusting dough

Cornmeal.

1. In a large bowl or plastic container, mix yeast and salt into 3 cups lukewarm water (about 100 degrees). Stir in flour, mixing until there are no dry patches. Dough will be quite loose. Cover, but not with an airtight lid. Let dough rise at room temperature 2 hours (or up to 5 hours).

2. Bake at this point or refrigerate, covered, for as long as two weeks. When ready to bake, sprinkle a little flour on dough and cut off a grapefruit-size piece with serrated knife. Turn dough in hands to lightly stretch surface, creating a rounded top and a lumpy bottom. Put dough on pizza peel sprinkled with cornmeal; let rest 40 minutes. Repeat with remaining dough or refrigerate it.

3. Place broiler pan on bottom of oven. Place baking stone on middle rack and turn oven to 450 degrees; heat stone at that temperature for 20 minutes.

4. Dust dough with flour, slash top with serrated or very sharp knife three times. Slide onto stone. Pour one cup hot water into broiler pan and shut oven quickly to trap steam. Bake until well browned, about 30 minutes. Cool completely.

Yield: 4 loaves.

Variation: If not using stone, stretch rounded dough into oval and place in a greased, nonstick loaf pan. Let rest 40 minutes if fresh, an extra hour if refrigerated. Heat oven to 450 degrees for 5 minutes. Place pan on middle rack.

I've never made shortbread in my life. I've never even heard of Scottish Sharp Cheddar Shortbread. When I located this recipe on epicurious.com it was so different a concept that I just had to try it.

Remember last week when I said I love chocolate? Well, cheese is in the same category for me. Not only are there so many varieties of delicious cheese in the world that I have probably only scratched the surface as far as the flavors I have personally tried, but cheese is such a versatile ingredient in baked food that one could dedicate a lifetime to understanding the potential goodness of each style of cheese.

I personal favorites are Gruyere, Aged Swiss, and Asiago - the harder, sharp cheeses that seem to dance on the pallet like fine wine. I've made some of the best fondues with a mixture of Gruyere and Swiss, but that is another story for another day.

This Scottish Sharp-Cheddar Shortbread recipe was so easy that I would even recommend it as something to bake with your kids. The ingredients are simple and the steps are few and fun.

I did stray from the recipe slightly. I added a little more cayenne than recommended to bring out the sharpness of the cheese and ended up not finding as dry a cheddar as I would have liked. I also cut the shortbread into squares instead of circles to avoid wasting dough and having to reroll it out, which, as the recipe states, makes the resulting shortbread a bit stiffer and not as delicate.

The resulting flavor was similar to popular White Cheddar cheese crackers, but the flavor was much more complex and the texture was, as the recipe title suggests, similar to a regular shortbread cookie.

These treats were a perfect compliment to the Creamy Tomato Basil Soup I made the same night and a glass of Gewurztraminer - A perfect trio for a February night.

Scottish Sharp-Cheddar Shortbread
Courtesy of Epicurious.com

Ingredients
* 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
* Pinch of cayenne pepper
* 8 ounces extra-sharp white Cheddar cheese, finely shredded
* 1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour

Using electric mixer fitted with whisk attachment, beat together butter, salt, black pepper, and cayenne at low speed just until blended. Add Cheddar and flour and mix at low speed just until smooth (do not over mix). Shape dough into disk, wrap in plastic wrap or waxed paper, and chill 30 minutes.

Arrange racks in upper and lower thirds of oven and preheat to 350°F. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper.

On lightly floured surface, roll out dough to 1/4- to 1/8-inch-thick round. Using 1 1/2- to 2-inch round cutter, cut out rounds and arrange 1 1/2 inches apart on baking sheets. Reroll scraps if desired (rerolled scraps will be tougher).

Bake shortbread until lightly golden and beginning to brown on edges, about 13 to 15 minutes. Cool on sheets 5 minutes, then transfer to racks to cool completely.

Cook's Notes:

•Look for a sharp, white Cheddar that is on the dry side, such as English Wensleydale Farmhouse Truckle or Extra Old Black Diamond Cheddar.
•It's important not to whip air into the dough — simply mix until blended.

I love chocolate. Let me say that one more time. I love chocolate. White chocolate, milk chocolate, dark chocolate, flavored chocolate - you name it. By the way, if you are every feeling adventurous and want to try some truly delicious and unique chocolate, find yourself a bar of Belgium-made Dolfin Milk Chocolate with Hot Masala (you can order it online at World Wide Chocolate).

I have been on the hunt for the perfect brownie recipe for years. I am pretty picky about my brownies. They have to be the perfect balance of richness, heady chocolaty goodness and chewy texture. So when HP Sauce and I were trying to decide what to bake this week, it was an easy decision to make brownies our next endeavour.

We decided to try Nigella Lawson's Triple Chocolate Brownie recipe this time. It was so significantly different from any brownie recipe that I had ever made that I thought maybe, just maybe, Nigella knew something I didn't about the perfect brownie recipe. Six eggs... six eggs??? Three sticks of butter? Wow. I would either love them or die of hardening of the arteries just gazing at their buttery goodness. Alas, I did survive both the mixing, baking and taste testing of these rich brownies and have to say that, although they are not my ideal vision of a brownie, they are quite good heated in the microwave for a bit and served piping hot with a scoop of french vanilla ice cream melting on top. The richness of the brownie is like eating an almost souffle-like fudge. I don't know any other way of describing them. So if that sounds good to you, then I highly recommend this recipe.

One warning - HP Sauce and I ran into the same problem with this recipe. Twenty-five minutes in the oven simply didn't do the trick. HP figured this out too late, but after a quick consultation with her, I decided to leave mine in a bit longer. So I checked them at the 30 minute mark. Not done. 35 minutes, still goo in the middle. At forty, they were starting to look good and I decided to heed Nigella's warning to not cook the life out of them. Even so, these brownies are still on the under-done side in the very center. So if you have any solutions when you try this recipe, hit me up - I'd love to know your fix.

Triple Chocolate Brownies
Recipe courtesy of Nigella Lawson and Food Network.com

Ingredients
3 sticks plus 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
12 ounces best-quality bittersweet chocolate
6 eggs
1 3/4 cups superfine sugar
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup white chocolate buttons, chips, or morsels
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate buttons, chips or morsels
Approximately 2 teaspoons confectioners' sugar, for garnish

Special equipment: Baking tin (approximately 11 1/4 inches by 9 inches by 2 inches), sides and base lined with baking parchment.
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Melt the butter and dark chocolate together in a large heavy based pan over a low heat.

In a bowl or large measuring jug, beat the eggs together with the superfine sugar and vanilla extract.

Allow the chocolate mixture to cool a little, then add the egg and sugar mixture and beat well. Fold in the flour and salt. Then stir in the white chocolate buttons or chips, and the semisweet chocolate buttons or chips. Beat to combine then scrape and pour the brownie mixture into the prepared tin.

Bake for about 25 minutes. You can see when the brownies are ready because the top dries to a slightly paler brown speckle, while the middle remains dark, dense and gooey. Even with such a big batch you do need to keep checking on it: the difference between gooey brownies and dry ones is only a few minutes. Remember, too, that they will continue to cook as they cool.

To serve, cut into squares while still warm and pile up on a large plate, sprinkling with confectioners' sugar pushed with a teaspoon through a small sieve.

As I have mentioned before, I am a novice baker with aspirations far greater than current abilities allow. But I come from a long line of excellent bakers. My grandmother is perhaps the greatest of them all.

Just so you know, Granny isn't the typical warm and fuzzy, stay at home cooking all day granny. Grandmother Helen likes to drive stick-shift sports cars. At 83 years old, she is still a very successful Avon salesperson. She travels by herself several times a year and made the journey twice to Kenya on her own when I was growing up there. She is adventurous, intelligent and fiercely independent - all of the character traits I hope to embody some day. She is also epically secretive about her trademark recipes - those decadent and devilishly delicious desserts that we moan in ecstasy over during the holidays and other special occasions.

To this day, I don't know what makes her apple pie the best. My mother and I are both very proud of the apple pies we serve and both have been complimented to no end on various occasions, however, in a blind taste test, Granny's pie will win out every time.

As she approaches the middle of her 80's I think Granny is finally starting to get to the point where she is ready to release her iron-fisted grip on her trademark recipes. This past year, I got a little misty-eyed when, for my birthday, she sent me not only her coveted Red Velvet Cake recipe that has been passed down from mother to mother since the beginning of the 20th century, but she also sent me recipes for some 30's, 40's and 50's era recipes, including an incredible recipe for Tomato Soup Cake, which sounds disgusting, but is actually quite nice. She also sent Victorian Lace Cake, Mayonnaise Quick Bread and an assortment of other odd, but delicious recipes.

So be on the lookout for some mid-20th century recipe reviews to come your way over the next few months.

It will be keen, groovy, and above all else, the cats pajamas.

My buddy HP Sauce, aka Hot Pants, aka Eddy and I love baking. She loves it because she happens to be very, very good at it. I love it because I aspire to one day be good at it and it always results in tasty stuff I shouldn't eat.

Eddy is already a seasoned food blogger. She belongs to a bunch of food blogs and is something of an online bloggy celeb in some circles. Me, I just bask in her sunshine.

Eddy and I decided to start our own cooking group. What name would we call it? Why "Two Hot Chicks Baking" of COURSE. Because, well, I think it is obvious.

I love ginger. Ginger is the perfect balance of hot, sweet and exotic and can wear so many personalities that you might think it should be named Sybil. From Thai Coconut Curry to Pickled along side sushi, ginger rounds out some of the most delicious savory dishes in Asia and around the world.

On the home front, ginger takes on a new, more comforting facet as a layer in many, typically holiday traditional desserts. Playing a supporting role in dishes like Pumpkin Pie and Carrot Cake, Ginger is usually relegated to a subtle background role that is some times hard to pinpoint. For a starring role, Ginger shows its true personality when used to make one of my all time favorite cookies, Ginger Snaps. The hot, comforting flavor is the perfect accompaniment to a nice cup of hot cocoa on a cold winter day.

I've never made Ginger Snaps before, but Alton Brown, my personal Culinary Hero recently featured a recipe on his fabulous Food Network show, Good Eats for Ginger Snaps using not one but three forms of ginger; fresh, dried and candied. I had to try it and now, I share the results with you.

I wasn't able to find candied ginger at my local grocery store, but since I am not really a fan of it anyway, it wasn't a big deal to leave it out of the recipe. These snaps were good, except that they were not as "snappy" in texture as I am use to, but the flavor is incredible. I have never had Ginger Snaps like this before. Next time, I will probably increase the brown sugar and decrease the molasses quantity a bit to fix the texture of the resulting cookie, but other than that, these were pure heaven and I recommend them to anyone who loves Ginger.

So, without further ado, Alton Brown's Gingeriest of the Ginger Snaps:

Alton Brown's Ginger Snaps
Source: Food Network

Ingredients

* 9 1/2 ounces all-purpose flour
* 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
* 1 tablespoon ground ginger
* 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
* 1/2 teaspoon ground clove
* 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
* 7 ounces dark brown sugar
* 5 ounces unsalted butter, room temperature
* 3 ounces molasses, by weight
* 1 large egg, room temperature
* 2 teaspoons finely grated fresh ginger
* 4 ounces finely chopped candied ginger

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

In a medium mixing bowl whisk together the flour, baking soda, ginger, cardamom, clove and salt.

Place the brown sugar and butter into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and beat on low speed until light and fluffy, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the molasses, egg and fresh ginger and beat on medium for 1 minute. Add the crystallized ginger and using a rubber spatula, stir to combine. Add the dry ingredients to the wet and stir until well combined.

With a 2-teaspoon sized scoop, drop the dough onto a parchment lined half sheet pan approximately 2-inches apart. Bake on the middle rack of the oven for 12 minutes for slightly chewy cookies or 15 minutes for more crisp cookies. Rotate the pan halfway through cooking.

Remove from the oven and allow the cookies to stay on the sheet pan for 30 seconds before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Repeat with all of the dough. Store in an airtight container for up 10 days. If desired, you may scoop and freeze the cookie dough on a sheet pan and once frozen, place in a resealable bag to store. Bake directly from the freezer as above.