copyright 2011 Maria Liberati/art of living,PrimaMedia,Inc

This weekend, the terrible tragedy in Japan, forced me to recognize  all the things in my life I have to be thankful for, no matter how small..it is all good..but most of all I found myself thankful for not having to endure the horrendous earthquake in Japan. My heartfelt wishes goes out to everyone that had to endure this.  It was also a weekend that made me realize that we all (myself included) take for granted many things in our lives that we should be thankful for.  We should  find a way to celebrate anything we feel we should celebrate.   But most of all if you are  able to celebrate, that alone can give cause to celebrate! Of course we all have to live our lives and can’t stop every moment of the day to celebrate, but once in awhile..stop and think about it!

Lasagna is usually a meal that is reserved for those special Occasions-Christmas, New Year’s Day, Easter..but I’ve decided to make it this  Sunday and have my own special occasion..it’s Sunday..I can relax a bit..I can enjoy a delicious meal..a glass of wine.. and that alone gives me reason to celebrate!

Also remember, not all lasagne is made with  mozzarella and ricotta..the last time I posted a lasagna with beschamel sauce I had a ton of emails asking if we forgot to include the ricotta cheese..but no we didn’t . This is a lasagna typically made in the North of Italy, no ricotta in the recipe.

Lasagna Con Beschamel e Spinaci (Lasagne with Beschamel & Spinach)

(recipe fromThe Basic Art of Italian Cooking: Holidays & Special Occasions-2nd edition)

½ lb (250 gr) fresh spinach,washed ,cleaned and chopped

2 cups beschamel sauce

5 tblsps (75 gr) freshly grated parmigiana reggiano cheese

1 lb (500 gr) scamorza cheese

1 tblsp (15 grams) butter

1 lb (500 gr) fresh or dry pasta for lasagna

2 tblsps (30 gr) plain breadcrumbs

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 C). Wash and dry fresh spinach, chop, Place beschamel in saucepan and add in freshly chopped spinach, 3 tblsps (45 gr) parmigiana-reggiano cheese. Heat for 3 minutes. Remove from heat. Cut scamorza cheese into thin slices

Butter a lasagna pan and place  2 tablespoons of beschamel sauce in bottom of pan, cover with one layer of pasta, Place 2 tblsps (30 gr) of beschamel sauce on top of pasta and top that with scamorza slices. Cover with another layer of pasta and repeat till ingredients are finished. Last layer on top should be pasta topped with beshcamel sauce and remaining parmigiana reggiano cheese. Sprinkle with plain breadcrumbs. Bake for 20 minutes.

Let us know what you are going to celebrate! Post here or email..

 Get your copy of the award winning book The Basic Art of Italian Cooking: Holidays & Special Occasions-2nd edition  winner of the Gourmand World Cookbook Awards.

 Peace, Love &  Pasta,

Maria

executiveeditor@marialiberati.com

copyright, 2008, Maria Liberati

 My grandmother (nonna) Maria loved the Italian opera..she loved to sing all the Italian classics and  to this day, when I hear an  opera cd -you can be sure that one of the songs will always bring back memories of her singing at the table after a long dinner…

My grandparents immigrated to the USA and settled in  South Philadelphia. My grandmother even sang with a young Mario Lanza in a local church produced opera there.

But being that nonna loved opera… when I look back on memories of things she did it seems that everything had acts and scenes just like an opera..dinners and making preserves and making her famous biscotti and just about everything.. From the drama of the preparation to the presentation..always almost the same thrill as witnessing an opera-from the overture to the final act..

But I think that one of her grandest ‘operas’ was Thanksgiving dinner. It had many acts..from the grand opening act of a table full of appetizers to the first course which was almost always her scrumptious lasagna made from freshly made pasta dough and freshly made tomato sauce..then the turkey arrived as the second course and everything else arrived seperately as its’ own course..the roasted potatoes with fresh rosemary, the spinach sauteed in garlic and olive oil, then the salad (salad is typically served last in Italian households and in Italy).Then the fresh cheeses and dried meats.  Plates of fresh fruits and nuts..then fresh fruit macedonia (A type of fruit cocktail-made with fresh fruits or fruits she had jarred from the summer)..then the desserts taking stage one after the other..Every course being so special and made with such care that you had to focus on one course at a time..just like at the opera..one act at a time… And nonna was always the ‘diva’ of the opera from it’s preparation to the presentation and the final act…

And I can’t forget about the audience..an audience of 35 or more-family and friends gathered around as many tables as one can fit in a kitchen..old and young and in between all ‘oohed’ and ‘aahed’ at the arrival of another course..just like the beginning of the acts of an opera… And upon the arrival of an act or course the audience became quiet… anxious to savor what was before them..  The tastes were as pleasing to the palate as the sounds of  a great tenor like Pavarotti and Caruso or Mario Lanza or soprano Maria Callas..you don’t want to miss a minute of a memorable performance…

The Opera… and the Final Act

And after dinner and all the plates had been cleared away, the memorable final act was nonna serenading us with one of her opera classics..and nonno may chime in with one of the love songs he serenaded her with when they first met…Oh what a beautiful opera and unfortunately one that I can never see again.

So I am thankful this Thanksgiving not just for being able to have the food on the table but for having had all those special memories that I can look back on. The Thanksgiving Opera… 

If you also have some special Thanksgiving memories..please share…. Memories are special gifts to be shared….

For more memories and recipes get your copy of  bestselling book The Basic Art of Italian Cooking by Maria Liberati at http://www.marialiberati.com or http://stores.lulu.com/marialiberati

Technorati Profile

“Mangia Bene, Vivi Bene”
Maria

copyright, 2008, Maria Liberati 

I  am continuing to receive a lot of emails from you all about the wonderful products and events for World Pasta Day. Keep those emails coming!
As I always tell my readers, take any excuse you can to celebrate your meals..we certainly don’t have enough celebrations in our life.  World Pasta Day sure is a great excuse to make a pasta meal more than a special meal.  To celebrate World Pasta Day we usually have 3-4 pasta dishes..all using a different pasta and  different sauce.. add some great wine or even a non-alcoholic wine..

Unfortunately, we are not able to include all of your emails and suggestions into our World Pasta Day posts, but we have selected some here for you..

I found some really interesting ravioli at www.marxfoods.com   many shapes,sizes and colors  and even tri-colored ones..always fun to add to a meal..and

Our friends at Sur La Table stores have written  to let us know all the perfect  ’accessories’ they have for making your special pasta meals all year ’round from extra virgin artisan olive oils to pasta bowls ,plates ,olive oil drizzlers and and Pasta machines (see photo above of Atlas pasta maker available there) to make that ever so yummy..fresh pasta. If you have never eaten lasagne made with fresh pasta..treat yourself for World Pasta Day and make that one of your pasta dishes..you will not want lasagna made any other way once you taste this…

 My friends at  Carmine’s Restaurant in NYC, Atlantic City and Paradise Island wrote to tell me that their  new family cookbook is filled with ‘family friendly’ pasta recipes to celebrate with..

Gibbs Smith Publishers have written to tell me about their new cookbooks-Mangia! all about food events in Italy and Trattoria Grappolo..containing authentic Italian recipes..of course many pasta ones!!

Lagostina USA couldn’t wait to tell me about this wonderful pot to cook your pasta, couldn’t make pasta cooking any simpler, I’ve never tried this one but hope to try it out one day and wil let you know. If anyone gets to try it out  please write and let us know if you liked it, here’s some of the info they sent (see photo above ):

This mirror-polished, 18/10 stainless steel pot has an aluminum base that hastens boiling the water, and it comes with a close-fitting lid and perforated stainless steel insert for draining noodles. The unique double-loop handles stay cool on the stovetop and the Pastaiola is designed to make an effortless transition from the oven to the table. For more information on Lagostina, visit http://www.lagostinausa.com

Olivenation.com has sent me some guidelines to tell our readers about choosing pastas:

What is a good pasta?

You want a pasta that has the flavors of the original wheat but also holds on to the sauce. If sauce does not adhere to your pasta then you have that gloopy mess at the bottom of your plate. Its all in the baking and the type of pasta mold (to create the various shapes) being used. Nowadays they bake the pasta in 4-6 hours and then use Teflon or stainless steel molds – why? The pasta does not stick to the molds and you can produce more pasta per hour and therefore offer a cheaper product to the market. However, the really traditional way (the way the ancient Romans used to do it) – Bake the pasta slowly over 48 hours so that the original wheat flavor and moisture gets trapped inside the pasta. Then you use the “bronze mold” (sometimes called a die) t make the various pasta shapes. Bronze cuts into each shape just enough and create tiny abrasions just enough that when you mix the sauce into the pasta it holds on to the sauce. That’s a good pasta. Too bad that only very few small pasta makers do it nowadays.  

Egg Pasta

Its the king of pasta. It really only should have some egg, flour and water. That’s it. If you get hold of a truly great egg pasta then all it requires is a little bit of butter and parmigiano. Well, maybe a few slices of truffles. You don’t need anything else. It’s a whole other experience. Again, its too bad that its not really available in supermarkets. The Campofilone area of Italy is known for their egg pasta and their legendary egg-pasta makers. Yes, its expensive, but then life is too short not to enjoy this special treat..

“Mangia bene, Vivi Bene”

For more great recipes get your copy of the bestselling book The Basic Art of Italian Cooking  at http://www.marialiberati.com and more great books at http://stores.lulu.com/marialiberati

Maria