Chocolate Makes the World a Better Place

It's been a while since our last post but, due to the hour, I'll be making this a short post. Jordan and I have been ALL over the place the last few months with holiday preparation but that doesn't mean we haven't had time to cook. Actually, holidays gave us reason to cook more than usual. We managed a full Thanksgiving meal for 15 people and Christmas Eve dinner for 11. You might think we're crazy, and on Thanksgiving, we kind of were, but Christmas Eve was fairly easy due to the nature of the meal. Christmas Eve was almost entirely a one-man show, cooking simple Italian and splurging on the sauce. Some people are entirely opposed to the idea of Italian cooking, though it isn't nearly as terrifying as one may assume. To make it less intimidating, we'll start with an easy Faux-talian lasagna recipe.

Easy, Cheesy Faux-talian Lasagna (feeds 4-6)

2 lbs lasanga pasta*

2 lbs mild or hot ground Italian sausage

1 (16 oz) container ricotta cheese
2 eggs
1 cup Italian bread crumbs
3 jars pasta sauce (I personally like Bertolli brand Vidallia Onion, Arrabbiata or Olive Oil and Garlic)
1 (4 cup) bag shredded Italian cheese blend
Dried basil, as needed (optional)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and boil the lasagna according to packaging directions. Do NOT drain or the noodles will stick together. Mix the egg, ricotta and bread crumbs in a small bowl and brown and drain the sausage. Coat the bottom of a deep dish lasanga pan with pasta sauce. After the lasagna has cooked to just before al dente remove from heat. Line the bottom of the pan with lasagna noodles, drop spoonfuls of ricotta mixture onto the pasta and spread evenly. Sprinkle over with sausage and pour sauce over before repeating the layering process. When the pan has about 1 inch of room left, sprinkle with half of the cheese, basil and remaining sausage. Cover with tinfoil and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Remove from oven, top with remaining cheese and return to oven WITHOUT the tinfoil for another 30 minutes. Allow to rest 10 minutes before slicing and serving.
*I suggest making more pasta than you'll actually need only because I refuse to use the pieces that are horribly broken and mangled. Also, there's a chance some of your noodles will stick together so I like to have extra so I don't have to peel it apart. If you don't mind using broken pieces, 1 lb is usually plenty, depending on the depth of your pan.

Now, mostly for pure excitement at FINALLY perfecting a recipe, I'm going to add a picture of my cupcakes. I can give you the recipe for the "frosting" but, unless I have a child that inherits my love for baking, the cupcake recipe with follow me to the grave. Okay, that's a bit drastic, but I DO need to keep it TOP SECRET in case I have my own bakery one day. Not in case, for when I have my own bakery one day. Anyway, the "frosting."

Raspberry Cream Frosting (basically whipped cream)

1 pint whipping cream

1 1/2 tsp raspberry extract

1 stick (1/2 butter), softened*

powdered sugar, to taste

Beat butter on medium speed until creamy. Add in raspberry extract and beat until well incorporated. Slowly add in whipping cream, beating on slow speed, until ripples begin to form in the cream. Add powdered sugar to taste and increase speed to medium. Beat until stiff peaks form.

*Omit for whipped cream 

Well, that's all folks. I'm going to FINALLY get some sleep!