Creamy Spinach and Mushroom Lasagna

I am back!!! I finally have the time to cook. Life has taken me on yet another path...I have been babysitting these wonderful girls and also make cakes and cupcakes on the side. These girls happen to be vegetarians and I always eat dinner with them, which has inspired me to cook more vegetarian food! We had this frozen mushroom lasagna one night that can be found at Trader Joe's. Although it was good, it was overly salty since it came in a frozen package. I had a craving for it again this weekend so I set off to find a recipe that would satisfy! I found this recipe by Giada and it is absolutely delicious! You can click on the link to follow the recipe exactly or try my rendition of it! I did not set out the milk and heavy cream out to reach room temperature and my sauce still came out fine! Also, I did not have any whole milk so I used the 2% reduced fat milk in the fridge and I bought lasagna noodles to boil instead of making it fresh. I bought two wedges of Pecorino Romano and grated it, causing the biggest stink in the kitchen! That cheese is very pungent! I was thinking of the phrase, "Who cut the cheese" as it was being grated! If you are a mushroom lover like I am, try to incorporate a mixture of mushrooms instead of just using one kind to make it even more tasty! Remember to go ahead and chop, dice, mince, etc. everything in advance so that you can throw everything together during the cooking process.

A mixture of chopped mushrooms! Yum!

In the skillet they go!

Is it weird that I love the way mushrooms look after being cooked?

Sauce in the making!

In the oven it goes...

Tada! Being the piggy I am, I forgot to take a picture of the lasagna and so you are stuck with this stock photo courtesy of Food Network! Enjoy and happy cooking!

**If you do choose to go with the exact recipe from Giada, I would like to warn you in advance that it is extremely salty! I tailored my recipe down to reflect the changes I would make to improve upon the recipe. You don't want to end up bloated and feeling like a blueberry!

Yields: 1 9x13 baking dish of lasagna

Ingredients:
1 tbsp. unsalted butter at room temperature for greasing the baking dish
All purpose-flour for dusting
Vegetables
3 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
8 oz. package of white button mushrooms, cleaned and sliced
6 oz. package of portobello mushrooms, cleaned and sliced
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 tsp. ground black pepper
Sauce
2 cups (1 pint) heavy cream
1 3/4 cups 2% reduced fat milk <--- use whole to make it extra decadent
1/3 cup all purpose flour
2 - 5 oz. wedges of Pecorino Romano, grated
8 oz. bag of shredded Mozzarella
10 oz. container of baby spinach (I opted not to chop it, partly because I forgot to)
1/3 packed cup chopped fresh basil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 tsp. ground black pepper
pinch of nutmeg
9 lasagna noodles, boiled per directions or get the oven ready ones
8 oz. bag of shredded Mozzarella
Extra virgin olive oil, for drizzling

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter and flour a 9 x 13 glass or ceramic baking dish. Set aside.

2. Vegetables: In a large nonstick skillet, heat the oil over high heat. Add the mushrooms, onions, garlic, salt, and pepper. Cook, stirring frequently, until the onions are soft and any liquid from the mushrooms has evaporated, about 20 minutes. (Do not be alarmed by the liquid! I assure you it will evaporate with enough time!)

3. Sauce: In a 5 quart saucepan, bring the cream, milk, and flour to a simmer over medium heat, whisking constantly for 3 minutes. Reduce the heat to low. Add the Pecorino and one bag of mozzarella. Whisk until the cheeses have melted and the sauce is smooth. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the spinach, basil, garlic, salt, pepper, and nutmeg.

4. Add the mushroom mixture to the sauce and stir to combine. Set aside to cool slightly.

5. Spread 2 cups of the sauce over the bottom of the prepared baking dish. Arrange 3 sheets of pasta on top in a single layer. Spread 2 cups of the sauce over the pasta sheets. Repeat the layers with the remaining pasta sheets and sauce, ending with the sauce. Sprinkle with the second bag of mozzarella. Drizzle with olive oil and bake until the filling is bubbling and the top is golden, 30 - 35 minutes. Cool for 20 minutes before cutting into squares and serving.

Mini Green Tea Chiffon Cakes

I'm not a big fan of green tea dessert because it can turn out to be a hit or miss! Sometimes green tea can taste pretty artificial if not done right! My boss/friend loves green tea desserts because they usually have a hint of sweetness to it. He's not a fan of anything overly sweet or indulgent! I had no idea what to get him for Christmas because he can buy everything he wants. His material things also happen to be out of my price range if you get my point! What better way to celebrate and give through what I do best?! I decided to find a recipe to make green tea cakes and came upon this one! As stated from the website I found this recipe from, buy high quality green tea powder that comes in an airtight and lightproof metal container. I highly encourage you to buy a scale for baking if you do not already own one as this recipe is a bit tough to try and convert. I only had jumbo eggs in the fridge, so it took about 3 eggs total to come to the correct measurement. I ended up having to scoop a bit of the egg whites out because it was over the amount called for. Measure out all ingredients beforehand to make the process easier!

Folding in the egg whites creates such a light, airy, and subtle yet delicious dessert!

Water bath for these delightful cakes! This keeps it from overcooking and burning. I purchased a Wilton Petite Loaf Pan to make my mini cakes, but if you happen to have an 8x5 inch loaf pan, you can just use that and follow the exact recipe from Kitchen Tigress if you do not want to make individual portions. Just make sure to use an aluminum pan that is NOT non-stick. Non-stick pans will not work for chiffon cakes!

See how the cakes pull away from the sides of the pan? No need for non-stick! I absolutely love these little cakes! Happy baking!

Yields: 9 mini cakes

Ingredients:

Cake

10 g castor sugar (superfine sugar, not to be confused with powdered sugar)

60 g egg yolks (about 3-4 egg yolks)

30 g corn oil

5 g good quality green tea powder

   add 20 g boiling water and mix until smooth, then add 30 g room temperature water and mix

   thoroughly; set aside to cool down

40 g cake flour

105 g egg whites (about 3-4 egg whites)

1/16 tsp cream of tartar

45 g castor sugar

Whipped Cream 

1/2 pint heavy whipping cream, chilled
1/3 cup of powdered sugar

1 tsp green tea powder

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to about 320 degrees F.

2. Measure out all ingredients for cake and prepare green tea as directed above.

3. In a medium bowl, whisk 10 g castor sugar with egg yolks until dissolved. Add corn oil and whisk until just combined. Add green tea and whisk until just thoroughly mixed. Sift cake flour into mixture and whisk until combined. The small lumps in the batter will disappear as you let the mixture sit so do not be concerned.

4. In a separate medium bowl, use a mixer to beat the egg whites until frothy. Add cream of tartar and continue to mix until thick foam forms. Gradually add 45 g castor sugar whilst still mixing. Continue to mix until firm peaks are achieved.

5. Use a spatula to mix the green tea batter a little. It should be smooth at this point. Add half of the egg whites and gently fold it into the batter until just combined. Add remaining egg whites and continue to fold with spatula until evenly mixed. Bang the bowl against the worktop a few times as you are folding the batter to get the air bubbles out.

6. Slowly pour the batter into each individual slot from about 12 inches high. This will allow more bubbles to escape, creating an evenly baked cake. Jiggle pan until the batter is level.

7. Place baking pan into a water bath and bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes, turning it halfway through the baking process. Take it out of the water bath and bake for an additional 10 minutes or until the cake starts to pull away from the pan. Allow it to cool on the counter for 15 - 20 minutes before attempting to take them out of the pan using a butter knife. They should come out easily.

8. Whipped cream: Using a mixer, mix cream in a small/medium bowl until frothy. Add powdered sugar and continue whipping until it is thick enough to hold its shape. Add green tea powder and mix until evenly mixed and cream is stiff. Use a spatular to scrape the bowl down and to get all the air bubbles out of the whipped cream for a more dense texture.

9. Once completely cooled, frost the cakes with the whipped cream and enjoy!