Red Sauce, Noodle, White Sauce, Cheese

And we're back!  Cozy Italian Favorites coming right up...

Rosemary Focaccia Bread with Herb Dipping Oil
Pan Fried Provolone Salad
Individual Lasagnas
Affogato

My favorite way to start off class is with a new Crème Club inductee!  Congratulations and many thanks to Lisa Koch for taking six classes at Crème de la Crème.  I am so blessed to have you as a repeat student.  To many, many more!

I had to get the bread rolling so that my students had something to snack on while we worked on my lasagna recipe.  This bread is so much easier than it looks.  Lots of olive oil gives it that true focaccia flavor. This would be a terrific recipe for the holidays...

The red sauce for the lasagna comes together so quickly.  I did have a couple of questions from students about what kind of hamburger to use.  I like to use 85/15 or 80/20 because that fat really holds all the flavor.  You can certainly substitute a lower fat content, but you will lose the moistness and flavor.

I also make a Béchamel sauce which is much simpler than it sounds.  I've found that a lot of people don't care for ricotta because of the texture -- so this is a way to add that creaminess.

Once you have the two sauces going, it's time to assemble!  My little saying is "red sauce, noodle, white sauce, cheese".

As the lasagna was baking, I started on the Pan Fried Provolone Salad.  I roast Roma tomatoes until sweet and tender, make a sun dried tomato vinaigrette, and then fry a slice of provolone cheese for a pretty and yummy presentation.

Eat Italian, drink wine, repeat.  Little tip -- make sure you let the lasagna cool after you take it out of the oven.  It will be EXTRA hot.

A little Italian pick me up: affogato!  

I can't wait to share these recipes with my upcoming classes this month.  And if you didn't get in -- don't worry!  You can always book this menu in a private group.

Cheers! XOXO Paula