Wedding Belles

Now, you probably didn't know that my dad is from the Cereal City, Battle Creek, along with the Kellogg's and the CW Post's.

I know this doesn't seem to have anything to do with dogs. But, then, neither does Mushroom Lasagna.

One of Marjorie's Schnauzers photographed by Alfred Eisenstaedt

But, wait, there is a connection. You see, Marjorie Merriweather Post's granddaughter, Ellen Charles is a dog fancier and raises and shows the most amazing Standard Poodles. And Marjorie herself loved her Miniature Schnauzers beyond reason. You can see one of their canopied dog beds at her Washington, DC estate Hillwood. And there is a very elaborate cemetery under the trees out back where all her pets take their final rest.

Although we haven't seen Ellen is quite a while, Dad used to be on an advisory group at Hillwood and they once spent a very fine day touring some beautiful DC area gardens together. The last time we saw Ellen was in New Jersey, of all places. Dad, Angus and I and Ellen and her poodles were all out for an early morning promenade in front of our hotel before a dog show. I don't remember much about the conversation, but I do remember Ellen remarked about how fine Angus is. I never forget things like that.

The Best (Mushroom) Lasagna Ever

There is this guy at our local farmer's market that grows the best, freshest, cleanest mushrooms you have ever seen. Perfect for a delicious mushroom lasagna.

Are you ready for a lasagna that tastes really rich, but is actually quite healthy?

First, a few notes:

We use Gia Russa No Bake whole wheat lasagna noodles and white whole wheat flour for the bechamel. White whole wheat flour is the best. Great taste, consistency, and texture. We use it for everything. Don't use anything else.

Also, you can ignore using cheesecloth to drain the mushrooms. We do. We just use a colander to drain them.

Enjoy!

The Best (Mushroom) Lasagna Ever

This lasagna tastes very rich, even though it really isn’t. It combines an olive oil béchamel with a simple mushroom ragout and Parmesan cheese. I prefer no-boil lasagna noodles because they’re lighter than regular lasagna noodles.

For the mushrooms:

1 ounce (about 1 cup) dried porcini or shiitake mushrooms

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

2 shallots or 1 small onion, finely chopped

2 to 3 garlic cloves, minced

1 pound cremini mushrooms, sliced

Salt

1/2 cup fruity red wine, such as a Côtes du Rhône or Syrah

1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves

Freshly ground pepper

For the béchamel:

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons minced shallot or onion

2 tablespoons sifted all-purpose flour

2 cups milk (may use low-fat milk)

Salt and freshly ground pepper

For the lasagna:

1/2 pound no-boil lasagna noodles

4 ounces Parmesan cheese, grated (1 cup)

A few leaves of fresh sage (optional)

1. Place the dried mushrooms in a glass measuring cup and pour 2 cups boiling water over them. Let soak 30 minutes, while you prepare the other ingredients. Place a strainer over a bowl, line it with cheesecloth or paper towels, and drain the mushrooms. Squeeze the mushrooms over the strainer to extract all the flavorful juices. If using shiitakes, cut away and discard the stems. Then rinse the mushrooms, away from the bowl with the soaking liquid, until they are free of sand. Squeeze dry and set aside. Chop coarsely. Measure out 1 1/2 cups of the soaking liquid and set aside.

2. Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large, heavy skillet over medium heat and add the shallots or onion. Cook, stirring often, until tender, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the garlic, stir together for about 30 seconds, then add the fresh and reconstituted mushrooms and salt to taste. Cook, stirring often, until the mushrooms begin to soften and to sweat, about 5 minutes. Add the wine and turn the heat to high. Cook, stirring, until the liquid boils down and glazes the mushrooms, 5 to 10 minutes. Add thyme and stir in the mushroom soaking liquid. Bring to a simmer, add salt, and cook over medium-high heat, stirring often, until the mushrooms are thoroughly tender and fragrant and the surrounding broth has reduced by a little more than half, about 10 to 15 minutes. Remove from the heat, stir in some freshly ground pepper, taste and adjust salt.

3. Meanwhile, make the béchamel. Heat the oil over medium heat in a heavy saucepan. Add the shallot or onion and cook, stirring, until softened, about 3 minutes. Stir in the flour and cook, stirring, for about 3 minutes, until smooth and bubbling, but not browned. It should have the texture of wet sand. Whisk in the milk all at once and bring to a simmer, whisking all the while, until the mixture begins to thicken. Turn the heat to very low and simmer, stirring often with a whisk and scraping the bottom and edges of the pan with a rubber spatula, for 10 to 15 minutes, until the sauce is thick and has lost its raw-flour taste. Season with salt and pepper. Strain while hot into the pan with the mushrooms.

4. Assemble the lasagna. Heat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Oil or butter a 2-quart rectangular baking dish. Spoon a thin layer of béchamel and mushrooms over the bottom of the dish. Top with a layer of noodles. Spread a ladleful of the mushroom/béchamel mixture over the noodles and top with a layer of Parmesan. Continue to repeat the layers (I get three layers in my pan), ending with a layer of the mushroom/béchamel mixture topped with Parmesan. Cover with foil and place in the oven. Bake 30 minutes. Remove the foil, and if you want the edges of the noodles crispy and the top lightly browned, continue to bake uncovered for another 5 to 10 minutes. Serve hot or warm.

Advance preparation: The mushrooms can be cooked up to 4 days before the lasagna is assembled and baked. The béchamel can be made a day ahead. Whisk well and reheat gently before straining into the mushrooms and assembling the lasagna. The assembled lasagna can be tightly covered and refrigerated for a day before baking. Leftovers will keep for 3 or 4 days. Reheat in a low oven or in a microwave.

Readers are Leaders (Literally)

Nicole reads to Bandit at Paws for Reading at the Montville Township Public Library

We like this Montville, New Jersey reading program.

The Montville Township Public Library's first Paws for Reading session was held Wednesday evening in the Pio Costa Auditorium, with children ages 6 and up reading to therapy dogs for 10 minutes at a time.

For an hour, children took turns reading to Jersey and Bandit, two therapy dogs brought in by their owners. Montville Township residents Chelsea Ritschel and her mom, Jackie Ritschel, brought Jersey, a black lab. Township resident Marcia Lederman brought Bandit, a Tibetan terrier.

Chelsea Ritschel, a senior at Montville Township High School, and Lederman are certified to use their dogs for therapy by St. Hubert's Animal Shelter.

Library director Allan Kleiman and children's director Amy Resnikoff said the program is designed to help kids learn to read aloud in a friendly environment, boosting children's literacy and confidence.

I want someone to read to me!

Beamer's Mom is bunkycooks.com

Beamer

Yes, that's right, bunkycooks.com. I know, I've said it before, but I am going to say it again. I LOVE BUNKYCOOKS.COM. And I love Beamer too.

Well, we are usually pretty good with recipes, but Dad kinda messed up this amazing Clementine Bundt Cake from Ms. Bunkycooks. We love clementines and we love cake. How could we go wrong?

Well, the recipe called for a 6-cup mini-Bundt cake pan. Dad saw a 9-inch one at the local TJ Maxx and thought that must be a mini one. Come on Dad! Did you think a regular size Bundt pan is like 18 inches?

So we were a bit concerned when the batter only filled the bottom third of our Bundt pan, but we stuck it in the oven anyway. Luckily we checked the cake about 15 minutes before it was due to be done and found that it was ready to come out. And, guess what? It looked pretty darn good. It was just a bit more horizontal, less vertical, than the cake pictured on bunkycooks.com. It actually looked quite elegant, we thought. And it was so nice. Just like Ms. Bunkycooks said it would be. A subtly clementine-y delight. We highly recommend that you try it. We will be baking up another one real soon. We added a bit more zest and clementine juice to the cake and more juice to the icing. We love it clementine-y. Bring it on!

Grace, dressed as an Indian Maiden for Halloween, serves the Clementine Bundt.

clementine and spiced rum bundt cake

Yield: 1 6-cup bundt cake
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 40 minutes
Total Time: 55 minutes

This perfectly sized 6-cup bundt cake is great for smaller families of parties. The subtle citrus and rum flavors make it perfect for fall and winter gatherings.

ingredients:
For cake:
1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
1 cup sugar
2 eggs, organic if possible, at room temperature
1 teaspoons finely grated clementine peel
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
2 teaspoons spiced rum (I used Captain Morgan)
1 1/2 cups unbleached, all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 cup whole milk

For glaze:
1 cup confectioners' sugar, sifted
3 teaspoons fresh clementine juice, maybe more until desired cocnsistency
3 teaspoons spiced rum (I used Captain Morgan), maybe more until desired consistency

directions:
For cake:
1. In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar until fluffy; beat in the eggs, clementine peel, vanilla and rum. Combine flour and baking powder; add to creamed mixture alternately with milk.

2. Pour into a greased and floured 6-cup bundt pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. (* Be sure to check the cake at 40 minutes. The cake does not need to be brown to be done.) Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack to cool.

For glaze:
1. Combine the confectioners' sugar, juice and rum until smooth. (* I had to add a bit more liquid to get the desired consistency.) Drizzle over the cake.

And....guess what arrived in the mail today? A 6-cup mini-Bundt pan from Ms. Bunky. We love you Ms. Bunky and Mr. Beamer too!!

Pomodoro Cotto

So, I told you, we were going to be making a simple Pomodoro Cotto sauce to dress our 100% Whole Wheat Petit Pasta Nests from The Pasta Shoppe. First. let me say, don't be afraid of whole wheat pasta. When done right, it is delicious. The Pasta Shoppe does it right! With their whole wheat petit pasta nests you get perfect hearty, not heavy, pasta with none of the guilt that comes with consuming a typical flour pasta. Think of all that dietary fiber scrubbing the cholesterol from your system. No. Don't think about that. Pour yourself a glass of red wine and whip up this easy and molto gusto dish.

Pomodoro Cotto

Ingredients:
Salt (we like Sea Salt)
6 TBLSP Extra Virgin Olive Oil
4 large garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1 Box Pomi Chopped Tomatoes
(If you haven't tried Pomi tomatoes, you must. Pure tomato package in a waxed box, not a noxious can. DELICIOUS!!)
Freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano and fresh basil leaves for serving.

Bring 6 quarts of water to boil in a large pot. Add 3 tablespoons of salt.

Meanwhile, heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil in another large pot over medium heat until hot. Add the garlic and cook until lightly golden, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the tomatoes, reduce the heat to medium-low, and cook, stirring for 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste and remove from the heat.

Drop the pasta nests into the boiling water and cook until just al dente. Drain, reserving about 1/2 cup of the pasta water.

Add the pasta and about 1/4 of the reserved pasta water to the tomatoes and stir and toss over medium heat until the pasta is well coated (add a splash or two of the pasta water if necessary to loosen the sauce). Stir in the remaining 3 tablespoons of olive oil and serve immediately, garnish with grated Parmigiano and basil.

Happy Halloween, A (Much Needed) Apology to Dogs and Cats

What's a Girl to do With a Butternut Squash?

It's butternut squash season. I love butternut squash. Dad usually gives me a bite or two when he bakes them in the oven. I always beg for more. The other night he gave in. I later threw up on the oriental carpet in the dining room. But, now that I think of it, it might have been the bowl of oatmeal he gave me earlier in the day. It did look a bit like oatmeal. I love oatmeal.

Now, this new recipe is definitely not for dogs. It is a fresh take on butternut squash and it is light and fresh and really easy to make. Except for peeling the butternut squash! Who wants to peel a butternut squash? So Dad just cut off the ends and cut it in quarters and grated it. Being careful not to grate in any of the peel.

Raw Butternut Squash Salad With Raisins and Ginger

1 butternut squash (about 1 1/2 pounds), peeled, seeded and grated

1/2 cup raisins

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1 to 2 tablespoons sherry vinegar, or to taste

1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger

Salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Combine the squash, raisins, oil, vinegar and ginger in a salad bowl; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Toss, then taste and adjust the seasoning. Serve immediately, or cover and refrigerate for up to several hours.

Yield: 4 servings.