Gingerbread House

Hello Daring Bakers!! I can't believe I wasn't able to participate for these last few months and I had to set aside my only free weekend (the first one in December) to tackle this challenge! But I'm not here to complain because this was such a fun task- even if it did kill my hand mixer...

The December 2009 Daring Bakers’ challenge was brought to you by Anna of Very Small Anna and Y of Lemonpi. They chose to challenge Daring Bakers’ everywhere to bake and assemble a gingerbread house from scratch. They chose recipes from Good Housekeeping and from The Great Scandinavian Baking Book as the challenge recipes.

Here's the short and sweet version:

Make your hand-mixer-killer-gingerbread dough recipe and chill. I got lucky and started this in advance and then realized this dough has to chill overnight.

Take your dough out of the fridge about an hour before you are ready to cut the pieces. Again, this dough is killer- just about killed my wrists just trying to roll it out! Make sure that your dough's thickness is nice and even. Cut out the pieces using your template- making sure that you cut down into the dough withouth dragging your knife (otherwise you'll end up with some ugly cuts that will then cook up ugly).


While your dough is cooking, assemble your candy- the cat is not essential for this stage.


And just look at those beautiful gingerbread walls and roof top! Let them cool completely.

Next, make your syrup which you will be using to assemble the gingerbread house. Try not to burn it.. I never knew you could get such a dark black without using food coloring!

The candy is ready and waiting. The candy buttons were probably my favorite to use as they are small and colorful. I had high hopes for the Necco wafers (adorble roof shingles maybe?) but the colors are so bland! I gave away the Leone candy boxes (and can I just say that although the Polar Strong box is adorable, the candy tastes HORRIBLE!). If this experience taught me anything is that candies are heavy and frosting can only hold so much weight.

Roof Attempt Number 2. You don't want to see Attempt Number 1. Trust me.


Looking a little sad... Can I just say that the Royal Icing recipe I used sucked? I can't remeber which one it was- oh wait, it was Martha! But it was far too liquidey and I ended up using 2 pounds of sugar to even things out- and look! It still dripped all over the place! We couldn't even pretend that the drips were icicles! (Can you tell my the exclamation points that this is a hot topic with me?)

TADA!

Gumball fence- coconut snow and snowman with a Mint Meltaway hat and Big League Chew scarf- Cut down Mint Meltaway wreaths- Necco Wafer walking path- Fruit Salad gummy bushes with Candy Button flowers.

In the end though I think we pulled it off. We settled on a simple roof and stopped fighting the heavy candy and just let them hang out at ground level. But next time, I'll be getting smaller candy and a different dough recipe (unless Santa brings me a mixer that can handle it!)

Beouf Bourguignon Vol au Vent

I mentioned in my last post (almost a month ago....) that my French grandmother is one of the only people who has been able to make me eat fish- largely due to the incredibly buttery sauce that always came along side it- but every once and a while she'd try to get us to eat shrimp and Coquille Saint Jacques (scallops) too which was a whole other level of gross to my 11 year old self. In comes the puff pastry to dull the pain:


It's pretty hard to turn down puff pastry and a buttery white sauce even if it laced with seafood.

The September 2009 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Steph of A Whisk and a Spoon. She chose the French treat, Vols-au-Vent based on the Puff Pastry recipe by Michel Richard from the cookbook Baking With Julia by Dorie Greenspan. So I was pretty psyched to create my own (meat) version for this month's Daring Baker's Challenge. I spent a very long but industrious Sunday making Julia Child's Beouf Bourguignon to eat in puff pastry vessels but as both recipes are very long, I've separated them into two posts. Here is how we do the puff pastry:


I made half a recipe of Puff Pastry and I have a tiny little food processor so I did the dough in two batches- no biggie! Once you've made your dough in the food processor you want to put it in the fridge for a bit- meanwhile

Pull out your sticks of butter- place them between two sheets of cling sheet and whack them until they smoosh together and flatten to about 1/4 inch. Then you roll out your chilled dough into a largish rectangle and place the butter in the middle. Use the dough flaps to cover the butter and roll the dough out.

You're going to do 6 turns, where you roll the down out really long, then fold it in thirds like a business letter and then roll it out again the other way.


See? Rolled out nice and long- then you would fold it again and roll it again- 6 times in total. Then I should have some picture of me cutting out the rounds for the vessels. I went with a 4 inch round and stacked two layers of rings to make higher walls.

I'd say it turned out pretty well- And it was truly delicious. Didn't matter that we didn't eat until 10pm- it was awesome then too.

Obligatory parsley sprig

Beouf Bourguignon Vols-au-Vent
puff pastry from Michel Richard in Baking With Julia by Dorie Greenspan

• 1/3 puff pastry recipe (see below), well-chilled
  
• 1 recipe Beouf Bourguignon (to be posted soon)
• egg wash (1 egg or yolk beaten with a small amount of water)
  

Assemble the vols-au-vent: 1/3 of the puff pastry recipe below will yield about 8-10 1.5” vols-au-vent or 4 4” vols-au-vent. Line a baking sheet with parchment and set aside. Using a knife or metal bench scraper, divided your chilled puff pastry dough into three equal pieces. Work with one piece of the dough, and leave the rest wrapped and chilled. On a lightly floured surface, roll the piece of dough into a rectangle about 1/8 to 1/4-inch (3-6 mm) thick. Transfer it to the baking sheet and refrigerate for about 10 minutes before proceeding with the cutting. (This assumes you will be using round cutters, but if you do not have them, it is possible to cut square vols-au-vents using a sharp chef’s knife.) For smaller, hors d’oeuvre sized vols-au-vent, use a 1.5” round cutter to cut out 8-10 circles. For larger sized vols-au-vent, fit for a main course or dessert, use a 4” cutter to cut out about 4 circles. Make clean, sharp cuts and try not to twist your cutters back and forth or drag your knife through the dough. Half of these rounds will be for the bases, and the other half will be for the sides. (Save any scrap by stacking—not wadding up—the pieces…they can be re-rolled and used if you need extra dough. If you do need to re-roll scrap to get enough disks, be sure to use any rounds cut from it for the bases, not the ring-shaped sides.) Using a ¾-inch cutter for small vols-au-vent, or a 2- to 2.5-inch round cutter for large, cut centers from half of the rounds to make rings. These rings will become the sides of the vols-au-vent, while the solid disks will be the bottoms. You can either save the center cut-outs to bake off as little “caps” for you vols-au-vent, or put them in the scrap pile.

Dock the solid bottom rounds with a fork (prick them lightly, making sure not to go all the way through the pastry) and lightly brush them with egg wash. Place the rings directly on top of the bottom rounds and very lightly press them to adhere. Brush the top rings lightly with egg wash, trying not to drip any down the sides (which may inhibit rise). If you are using the little “caps,” dock and egg wash them as well. Refrigerate the assembled vols-au-vent on the lined baking sheet while you pre-heat the oven to 400ºF (200ºC). (You could also cover and refrigerate them for a few hours at this point.) Once the oven is heated, remove the sheet from the refrigerator and place a silicon baking mat (preferred because of its weight) or another sheet of parchment over top of the shells. This will help them rise evenly. Bake the shells until they have risen and begin to brown, about 10-15 minutes depending on their size. Reduce the oven temperature to 350ºF (180ºC), and remove the silicon mat or parchment sheet from the top of the vols-au-vent. If the centers have risen up inside the vols-au-vent, you can gently press them down. Continue baking (with no sheet on top) until the layers are golden, about 15-20 minutes more. (If you are baking the center “caps” they will likely be finished well ahead of the shells, so keep an eye on them and remove them from the oven when browned.) Remove to a rack to cool. Cool to room temperature for cold fillings or to warm for hot fillings.

Notes: For additional rise on the larger-sized vols-au-vents, you can stack one or two additional ring layers on top of each other (using egg wash to “glue”). This will give higher sides to larger vols-au-vents, but is not advisable for the smaller ones, whose bases may not be large enough to support the extra weight. Although they are at their best filled and eaten soon after baking, baked vols-au-vent shells can be stored airtight for a day. Shaped, unbaked vols-au-vent can be wrapped and frozen for up to a month (bake from frozen, egg-washing them first).

puff pastry dough

I made a half recipe of the dough and was able to assemble two large vessels with some leftovers which are now in the freezer.

• 2 1/2 cups (12.2 oz/354g) unbleached all-purpose flour
  
• 1 1/4 cups (5.0 oz/142g) cake flour
• 1 tbsp salt (you can cut this by half for a less salty dough or for sweet preparations)
• 1 1/4 cups (10 fl oz/300 ml) ice water
• 1 pound (16 oz/454g) very cold unsalted butter
• extra flour for dusting work surface

Mixing the Dough: Check the capacity of your food processor before you start. If it cannot hold the full quantity of ingredients, make the dough into two batches and combine them. Put the all-purpose flour, cake flour, and salt in the work bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade and pulse a couple of times just to mix. Add the water all at once, pulsing until the dough forms a ball on the blade. The dough will be very moist and pliable and will hold together when squeezed between your fingers. Actually, it will feel like Play-Doh. Remove the dough from the machine, form it into a ball, with a small sharp knife, slash the top in a tic-tac-toe pattern. Wrap the dough in a damp towel and refrigerate for about 5 minutes. Meanwhile, place the butter between 2 sheets of plastic wrap and beat it with a rolling pin until it flattens into a square that’s about 1″ thick. Take care that the butter remains cool and firm: if it has softened or become oily, chill it before continuing.

Incorporating the Butter: Unwrap the dough and place it on a work surface dusted with all-purpose flour (A cool piece of marble is the ideal surface for puff pastry) with your rolling pin (preferably a French rolling pin without handles), press on the dough to flatten it and then roll it into a 10″ square. Keep the top and bottom of the dough well floured to prevent sticking and lift the dough and move it around frequently. Starting from the center of the square, roll out over each corner to create a thick center pad with “ears,” or flaps. Place the cold butter in the middle of the dough and fold the ears over the butter, stretching them as needed so that they overlap slightly and encase the butter completely. (If you have to stretch the dough, stretch it from all over; don’t just pull the ends) you should now have a package that is 8″ square. To make great puff pastry, it is important to keep the dough cold at all times. There are specified times for chilling the dough, but if your room is warm, or you work slowly, or you find that for no particular reason the butter starts to ooze out of the pastry, cover the dough with plastic wrap and refrigerate it . You can stop at any point in the process and continue at your convenience or when the dough is properly chilled.

Making the Turns: Gently but firmly press the rolling pin against the top and bottom edges of the square (this will help keep it square). Then, keeping the work surface and the top of the dough well floured to prevent sticking, roll the dough into a rectangle that is three times as long as the square you started with, about 24″ (don’t worry about the width of the rectangle: if you get the 24″, everything else will work itself out.) With this first roll, it is particularly important that the butter be rolled evenly along the length and width of the rectangle; check when you start rolling that the butter is moving along well, and roll a bit harder or more evenly, if necessary, to get a smooth, even dough-butter sandwich (use your arm-strength!). With a pastry brush, brush off the excess flour from the top of the dough, and fold the rectangle up from the bottom and down from the top in thirds, like a business letter, brushing off the excess flour. You have completed one turn. Rotate the dough so that the closed fold is to your left, like the spine of a book. Repeat the rolling and folding process, rolling the dough to a length of 24″ and then folding it in thirds. This is the second turn.

Chilling the Dough: If the dough is still cool and no butter is oozing out, you can give the dough another two turns now. If the condition of the dough is iffy, wrap it in plastic wrap and refrigerate it for at least 30 minutes. Each time you refrigerate the dough, mark the number of turns you’ve completed by indenting the dough with your fingertips. It is best to refrigerate the dough for 30 to 60 minutes between each set of two turns. The total number of turns needed is six. If you prefer, you can give the dough just four turns now, chill it overnight, and do the last two turns the next day. Puff pastry is extremely flexible in this regard. However, no matter how you arrange your schedule, you should plan to chill the dough for at least an hour before cutting or shaping it. Makes 2.5 pounds of dough.

Mallows

The July Daring Bakers' challenge was hosted by Nicole at Sweet Tooth. She chose Chocolate Covered Marshmallow Cookies and Milan Cookies from pastry chef Gale Gand of the Food Network.

Summer has been slipping by me and this was another "last minute" challenge- I was very lucky that it didn't turn out to be that challenging and let me tick off "Home Marshmallows" from my list of things to learn to do in the kitchen! So let's get started:


For ONCE I remembered to take two eggs out of the fridge in time to get them to room temperature!

Rolling out the cold dough- with a curious kitty nearby

I didn't want to pipe the marshmallow onto the cookies, so I needed to find a cutter that would be the same size as whatever mold I chose for the marshmallows. This shot glass did the trick-

Shot glass footprints in my dough

As mentioned, I didn't want to pipe the marshmallows onto the cookies, so i needed to find a mold. Some helpful bakers suggested spreading an inch or so of flour onto a cookie sheet and creating molds into the flour and I thought I would be a freaking genius and just use a mini cupcake pan as a mold instead. Once i filled the pan up I realized that the marshmallows probably won't just fall out of their molds... and they didn't- but it wasn't a complete failure- a spoon easily extracted the little buggers. Next time, I think some flour thrown into the molds first, would be perfect.
These didn't come out perfectly, but nothing a lot of chocolate glaze can't help!

And voila! The boyfriend was worried that they would be too small since the shot glass was cutting such small cookies, but i like my mallows with a whole lot of marshmallow so it worked out perfectly. Tasty stuff for sure!

Mallows (Chocolate Covered Marshmallow Cookies)

by Gale Gand

• 3 cups (375g) all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup (115g) white sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 3/4 tsp baking powder
• 3/8 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 12 tbsps (170g) unsalted butter
• 3 eggs, whisked together
• homemade marshmallows, recipe follows
• chocolate glaze, recipe follows

In a mixer with the paddle attachment, blend the dry ingredients. On low speed, add the butter and mix until sandy. Add the eggs and mix until combine. Form the dough into a disk, wrap with clingfilm or parchment and refrigerate at least 1 hour and up to 3 days.

When ready to bake, grease a cookie sheet or line it with parchment paper or a silicon mat.

Preheat the oven to 375°F. Roll out the dough to 1/8-inch thickness, on a lightly floured surface. Use a 2-inch cookie cutter to cut out small rounds of dough. Transfer to the prepared pan and bake for 10 minutes or until light golden brown. Let cool to room temperature.

Pipe a “kiss” of marshmallow onto each cookie. Let set at room temperature for 2 hours. Line a cookie sheet with parchment or silicon mat.

One at a time, gently drop the marshmallow-topped cookies into the hot chocolate glaze. Lift out with a fork and let excess chocolate drip back into the bowl. Place on the prepared pan and let set at room temperature until the coating is firm, about 1 to 2 hours. If you want to decorate the mallows, sprinkle a topping on the glaze while it is still wet.

Makes about 4 dozen (using 2-inch cutter).

Homemade Marshmallows

• 1/4 cup water
• 1/4 cup (85g)
• light corn syrup
• 3/4 cup (170g) sugar
• 1 tbsp powdered gelatin
• 2 tbsps cold water
• 2 egg whites , room temperature
• 1/4 tsp pure vanilla extract

In a saucepan, combine the water, corn syrup, and sugar, bring to a boil until “soft-ball” stage - 235°F on a candy thermometer (218°F at 8500 ft. above sea level). Sprinkle the gelatin over the cold water and let dissolve. Remove the syrup from the heat, add the gelatin, and mix.

Whip the whites until soft peaks form and pour the syrup into the whites. Add the vanilla and continue whipping until stiff. Transfer to a pastry bag.

Chocolate Glaze

• 12 oz. (340g) semisweet chocolate
• 2 oz. (55g) cocoa butter or vegetable oil

Melt the 2 ingredients together in the top of a double boiler or a bowl set over barely simmering water.

Bakewell Tart

The June Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Jasmine of Confessions of a Cardamom Addict and Annemarie of Ambrosia and Nectar. They chose a Traditional (UK) Bakewell Tart… er… pudding that was inspired by a rich baking history dating back to the 1800’s in England.

This challenge is so close to the deadline that I haven't even tried the tart yet! But it should make a pretty delicious breakfast with fresh blueberries. In terms of what I did this afternoon to make the tart, I started off by mixing the sifted flour, sugar and salt and adding the butter by grating it through a cheese grater.

And yes, it looks like cheese. A pretty easy method really- I'll have to do this next time I make scones.

Next you mix the butter into the flour and add the egg yolks one a time. Assemble the dough with some cold water and put it in the fridge for about an hour.

Here's one measly picture of the making of the frangipane- it was too quick and easy.

Once you have your dough, frangipane and jam, roll out the dough, place it in the pie dish and spread out the warm jam.

Then top it with the frangipane before putting it into a 400 degree oven for about 30 minutes. We'll have to wait until tomorrow to find out what looks like and tastes like!

Pretty Tasty

Bakewell Tart
a traditional (UK) recipe from the 1800s in England
1 sweet shortcrust pastry
bench flour
1 cup (250ml) jam or curd, warmed for spreadability
1 batch frangipane
handful almond slivers, blanched

sweet shortcrust pastry
8 oz (225g) all purpose flour
1 oz (30g) sugar
1/2 tsp (2.5ml) salt
4 oz (110g) unsalted butter, cold (frozen is better)
2 egg yolks
1/2 tsp (2.5ml) almond extract (optional)
1-2 tbsps (15-30ml) cold water

Sift together flour, sugar and salt. Grate butter into the flour mixture, using the large hole-side of a box grater. Using your finger tips only, and working very quickly, rub the fat into the flour until the mixture resembles bread crumbs. Set aside. Lightly beat the egg yolks with the almond extract (if using) and quickly mix into the flour mixture. Keep mixing while dribbling in the water, only adding enough to form a cohesive and slightly sticky dough. Form the dough into a disc, wrap in cling and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

frangipane
4.5 oz (125g) unsalted butter, softened
4.5 oz (125g) icing sugar
3 eggs
1/2 tsp (2.5ml) almond extract
4.5 oz (125g) ground almonds
1 oz (30g) all purpose flour

Cream butter and sugar together for about a minute or until the mixture is primrose in color and very fluffy. Scrape down the side of the bowl and add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. The batter may appear to curdle. In the words of Douglas Adams: Don’t panic. Really. It’ll be fine. After all three are in, pour in the almond extract and mix for about another 30 seconds and scrape down the sides again. With the beaters on, spoon in the ground nuts and the flour. Mix well. The mixture will be soft, keep its slightly curdled look (mostly from the almonds) and retain its pallid yellow color.

Assemble the tart: Place the chilled dough disc on a lightly floured surface. If it’s overly cold, you will need to let it become acclimatised for about 15 minutes before you roll it out. Flour the rolling pin and roll the pastry to 5mm (1/4”) thickness, by rolling in one direction only (start from the centre and roll away from you), and turning the disc a quarter turn after each roll. When the pastry is to the desired size and thickness, transfer it to the tart pan, press in and trim the excess dough. Patch any holes, fissures or tears with trimmed bits. Chill in the freezer for 15 minutes. Preheat oven to 400°F (200°C). Remove shell from freezer, spread as even a layer as you can of jam onto the pastry base. Top with frangipane, spreading to cover the entire surface of the tart. Smooth the top and pop into the oven for 30 minutes. Five minutes before the tart is done, the top will be poofy and brownish. Remove from oven and strew flaked almonds on top and return to the heat for the last five minutes of baking. The finished tart will have a golden crust and the frangipane will be tanned, poofy and a bit spongy-looking. Remove from the oven and cool on the counter. Serve warm, with crème fraîche, whipped cream or custard sauce if you wish. When you slice into the tart, the almond paste will be firm, but slightly squidgy and the crust should be crisp but not tough. Makes one 9-inch tart.

Triple Strawberry Cheesecake

The April 2009 challenge is hosted by Jenny from Jenny Bakes. She has chosen Abbey's Infamous Cheesecake as the challenge.

I really loved this challenge. Even though we made cheesecake for the cheesecake pops in a previous challenge, this allowed many more variations and it was so much fun seeing some many drastically different cheesecakes from all the other Daring Bakers.

A couple weeks, maybe months ago, I found this adorable cookbook collection called Sugar and Spice by Keda Black. It was languishing in the sale pile at Urban Outfitters and was calling out my name: 16 mini books each dedicated to one or two ingredients in recipes for candies, cookies, cakes and the like. Not only are the recipes inspired but the books are so incredibly cute! I think I might try to do one recipe out of each 16 books and post about it here. Any interest? Here's the first book:

The backside is dedicated to Yogurt!

Start by hulling and cutting 2/3 of 2lbs of strawberries. Don't worry about the math- you just want to save some of the strawberries for decoration at the end (the 3rd part of this TRIPLE strawberry cheesecake)

Blitz it all together with 2tblsp sugar.

Next, break up the graham crackers and run them through a food processor until you have crumbs. Make sure you use pulse the graham crackers intermittently and not continually for about 30 seconds or you will end up with cracker dust and a couple chunky bits.

Then you add in good stuff like melted butter and vanilla extract and smoosh it into a spring form pan.

Mix up your cheesecake ingredients and finish the filling off by folding in half of the strawberry puree without blending it until it's homogeneous- so much prettier this way!

Once it's out of the oven, let it cool completely (or just put it in the fridge overnight) then spread the rest of the strawberry puree on top.

Finish it off with some sliced strawberries.

The verdict? The cheesecake was excellent- The best I've ever made, that's for sure. And the recipe wasn't really difficult at all. I did this early in the month and had plans to try other flavours, but ran out of time. But I know I will revisit this recipe again- plus the variation based on Keda Black's book was so simple and effective. I can't wait to try this with every other berry this summer!

Abbey's Infamous Cheesecake

Crust:

• 2 cups / 180 g graham cracker crumbs
• 1 stick / 4 oz butter, melted
• 2 tbsp. / 24 g sugar
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract

Cheesecake:

• 3 sticks of cream cheese, 8 oz each (total of 24 oz) room temperature
• 1 cup / 210 g sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 1 cup / 8 oz heavy cream
• 1 tbsp. lemon juice
• 1 tbsp. vanilla extract (or the innards of a vanilla bean)
• 1 tbsp liqueur, optional, but choose what will work well with your cheesecake

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (Gas Mark 4 = 180C = Moderate heat). Begin to boil a large pot of water for the water bath.

2. Mix together the crust ingredients and press into your preferred pan. You can press the crust just into the bottom, or up the sides of the pan too - baker's choice. Set crust aside.

3. Combine cream cheese and sugar in the bowl of a stand-mixer (or in a large bowl if using a hand-mixer) and cream together until smooth. Add eggs, one at a time, fully incorporating each before adding the next. Make sure to scrape down the bowl in between each egg. Add heavy cream, vanilla, lemon juice, and alcohol and blend until smooth and creamy.

4. Pour batter into prepared crust and tap the pan on the counter a few times to bring all air bubbles to the surface. Place pan into a larger pan and pour boiling water into the larger pan until halfway up the side of the cheesecake pan. If cheesecake pan is not airtight, cover bottom securely with foil before adding water.

5. Bake 45 to 55 minutes, until it is almost done - this can be hard to judge, but you're looking for the cake to hold together, but still have a lot of jiggle to it in the center. You don't want it to be completely firm at this stage. Close the oven door, turn the heat off, and let rest in the cooling oven for one hour. This lets the cake finish cooking and cool down gently enough so that it won't crack on the top. After one hour, remove cheesecake from oven and lift carefully out of water bath. Let it finish cooling on the counter, and then cover and put in the fridge to chill. Once fully chilled, it is ready to serve.


Triple Strawberry Cheesecake variation:

From Strawberry + Yogurt by Keda Black

Wash and hull 2lb strawberries. Puree two third of them with 2 tblsp sugar.

Continue with recipe as written then fold in half of the strawberry puree, without trying to obtain an even mixture. Pour into the cake pan. Bake as directed above.

Turn out the tin and and store in the refrigerator until the next day. Slice the remaining strawberries. Cover the cheesecake with the remaining strawberry puree and add the sliced strawberries.

Try not to eat it all in one sitting!

Daring Bakers go Seriously Savory

I hope you're ready for a picture bonanza, because this month's Daring Baker's Challenge was a doozy. I worked on it over the course of about 4 days and that's because this month's challenge was Lasagna! That's right. Homemade, handstreched pasta-old Italian grandma style.

The March 2009 challenge is hosted by Mary of Beans and Caviar, Melinda of Melbourne Larder and Enza of Io Da Grande. They have chosen Lasagne of Emilia-Romagna from The Splendid Table by Lynne Rossetto Kasper as the challenge.

But before I could get my hands doughy, I had to make the ragu. We were given the option of using our own ragu recipe, as long as we posted the recipe and I'm happy to say that this recipe is tried and true. It hails from The Traveler's Lunchbox and I've made it twice now with similar happy results.

Starting off with some fresh rosemary.

Mix it into the meat along with some diced garlic, salt and pepper.

Cook up some pancetta, carrots, celery and onion until they turn golden brown

Add in the meat and brown it.

Add the wine, stock and bay leaf and cook on LOW for 2 t0 3 hours.

Now- onto the pasta!!

giant pile fresh leafy spinach

Chop. Chop. Chop.

Aaaaaaaand.... TADA!
Pasta Dough!

I have to admit that I had no faith when it came to kneading the dough. When you first start combining the mixture, it feels like barely moist sand and I really couldn't see how this would ever combine but 20 minutes of piling the stuff on top of each other, pretending it was dough, did eventually lead to dough. Can't loose the faith people!

After the dough rests for at least 30 minutes, it's time to roll out that bad boy.

Then cut it to size

And let it out to dry

I didn't take pictures of the process of making the Bechamel Sauce but you can see that (sorta) with the Croque Monsieur recipe. So here we have a huge pot of salter water boiling away for the pasta. The bechamel has been made and is being kept warm on the hob and the ragu has been reheated.

Now, because I was kinda freaking during the making-of-the-lasagna (and maybe because by then it was dark on day 4) I didn't manage to take any pictures... and because the stuff was so delicious, I didn't take pictures of the finished product either... *SHAME* i know. No- wait! I DID take one picture of my bowl right before I ate it but it was really more of an afterthought and it was dark out and it made the lasagna look like dog food.. so I'll spare you that. Instead, why don't you head on over to see what the other Daring Bakers cooked up this month! I'm sure they pictures aplenty to satiate your need for lasagna photography. And if you're feeling brave- here are all the recipes:

All recipes below from The Splendid Table: Recipes from Emilia-Romagna, the Heartland of Northern Italian Food by Lynne Rossetto Kasper (published by William Morrow and Company Inc., 1992).

Lasagne of Emilia-Romagna (Lasagne Verdi al Forno)

(Serves 8 to 10 as a first course, 6 to 8 as a main dish)
Preparation Time: 15 minutes to assemble and 40 minutes cooking time

10 quarts (9 litres) salted water

1 recipe Spinach Pasta cut for lasagna (recipe follows) #1

1 recipe Bechamel Sauce (recipe follows) #2

1 recipe Ragu Bolognese (recipe follows) #3

1 cup (4 ounces/125g) freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

Working Ahead:

The ragu and the béchamel sauce can be made up to three days ahead. The ragu can also be frozen for up to one month. The pasta can be rolled out, cut and dried up to 24 hours before cooking. The assembled lasagne can wait at room temperature (20 degrees Celsius/68 degrees Fahrenheit) about 1 hour before baking. Do not refrigerate it before baking, as the topping of béchamel and cheese will overcook by the time the center is hot.

Assembling the Ingredients:

Have all the sauces, rewarmed gently over a medium heat, and the pasta at hand. Have a large perforated skimmer and a large bowl of cold water next to the stove. Spread a double thickness of paper towels over a large counter space. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (180 degrees Celsius). Oil or butter a 3 quart (approx 3 litre) shallow baking dish.

Cooking the Pasta:

Bring the salted water to a boil. Drop about four pieces of pasta in the water at a time. Cook about 2 minutes. If you are using dried pasta, cook about 4 minutes, taste, and cook longer if necessary. The pasta will continue cooking during baking, so make sure it is only barely tender. Lift the lasagne from the water with a skimmer, drain, and then slip into the bowl of cold water to stop cooking. When cool, lift out and dry on the paper towels. Repeat until all the pasta is cooked.

Assembling the Lasagne:

Spread a thin layer of béchamel over the bottom of the baking dish. Arrange a layer of about four overlapping sheets of pasta over the béchamel. Spread a thin layer of béchamel (about 3 or 4 spoonfuls) over the pasta, and then an equally thin layer of the ragu. Sprinkle with about 1&1/2 tablespoons of the béchamel and about 1/3 cup of the cheese. Repeat the layers until all ingredients are used, finishing with béchamel sauce and topping with a generous dusting of cheese.

Baking and Serving the Lasagne:

Cover the baking dish lightly with foil, taking care not to let it touch the top of the lasagne. Bake 40 minutes, or until almost heated through. Remove the foil and bake another 10 minutes, or until hot in the center (test by inserting a knife – if it comes out very warm, the dish is ready). Take care not to brown the cheese topping. It should be melted, creamy looking and barely tinged with a little gold. Turn off the oven, leave the door ajar and let the lasagne rest for about 10 minutes. Then serve. This is not a solid lasagne, but a moist one that slips a bit when it is cut and served.

#1 Spinach Egg Pasta (Pasta Verde)
Preparation: 45 minutes
Makes enough for 6 to 8 first course servings or 4 to 6 main course servings, equivalent to 1 pound (450g) dried boxed pasta.

• 2 jumbo eggs (2 ounces/60g or more)
• 10 ounces (300g) fresh spinach, rinsed dry, and finely chopped; or 6 ounces (170g) frozen chopped spinach, defrosted and squeezed dry
• 3&1/2 cups (14 ounces/400g) all purpose unbleached (plain) flour (organic stone ground preferred)

Mixing the dough:

Moud the flour in the center of your work surface and make a well in the middle. Add the eggs and spinach. Use a wooden spoon to beat together the eggs and spinach. Then gradually start incorporating shallow scrapings of flour from the sides of the well into the liquid. As you work more and more flour into the liquid, the well’s sides may collapse. Use a pastry scraper to keep the liquids from running off and to incorporate the last bits of flour into the dough. Don’t worry if it looks like a hopelessly rough and messy lump.

Kneading:

With the aid of the scraper to scoop up unruly pieces, start kneading the dough. Once it becomes a cohesive mass, use the scraper to remove any bits of hard flour on the work surface – these will make the dough lumpy. Knead the dough for about 3 minutes. Its consistency should be elastic and a little sticky. If it is too sticky to move easily, knead in a few more tablespoons of flour. Continue kneading about 10 minutes, or until the dough has become satiny, smooth, and very elastic. It will feel alive under your hands. Do not shortcut this step. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap, and let it relax at room temperature 30 minutes to 3 hours.

Stretching and Thinning:

If using an extra-long rolling pin work with half the dough at a time. With a regular-length rolling pin, roll out a quarter of the dough at a time and keep the rest of the dough wrapped. Lightly sprinkle a large work surface with flour. The idea is to stretch the dough rather than press down and push it. Shape it into a ball and begin rolling out to form a circle, frequently turning the disc of dough a quarter turn. As it thins outs, start rolling the disc back on the pin a quarter of the way toward the center and stretching it gently sideways by running the palms of your hands over the rolled-up dough from the center of the pin outward. Unroll, turn the disc a quarter turn, and repeat. Do twice more.

Stretch and even out the center of the disc by rolling the dough a quarter of the way back on the pin. Then gently push the rolling pin away from you with one hand while holding the sheet in place on the work surface with the other hand. Repeat three more times, turning the dough a quarter turn each time.

Repeat the two processes as the disc becomes larger and thinner. The goal is a sheet of even thickness. For lasagne, the sheet should be so thin that you can clearly see your hand through it and see colours. Cut into rectangles about 4 by 8 inches (10 x 20 cm). Note: Enza says that transparency is a crucial element of lasagne pasta and the dough should be rolled as thinly as possible. She says this is why her housekeeper has such strong arms!
Dry the pasta at room temperature and store in a sealed container or bag.

#2 Bechamel
Preparation Time: 15 minutes

• 4 tablespoons (2 ounces/60g) unsalted butter
• 4 tablespoons (2 ounces/60g) all purpose unbleached (plain) flour, organic stone ground preferred
• 2&2/3 cups (approx 570ml) milk
• Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
• Freshly grated nutmeg to taste

Using a medium-sized saucepan, melt the butter over low to medium heat. Sift over the flour, whisk until smooth, and then stir (without stopping) for about 3 minutes. Whisk in the milk a little at a time and keep the mixture smooth. Bring to a slow simmer, and stir 3 to 4 minutes, or until the sauce thickens. Cook, stirring, for about 5 minutes, until the sauce thickens. Season with salt, pepper, and a hint of nutmeg.

#3 Ragu Bolognese

The recipe is from The Traveler's Lunchbox

For the meat:

• 1.5 lbs (700g) pork, or half pork and half beef (preferably organic, free-range)
• 3 large cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, chopped1/2 teaspoon
• salt
• freshly-ground black pepper
  2 tablespoons olive oil
  4 oz (120g) pancetta, finely chopped
• 1 large onion, finely chopped
• 1 fat carrot, peeled and diced
• 2 stalks celery, diced
• 1/2 cup (125ml) whole milk
• 1 cup (250ml) dry white wine
• 3 cups (750ml) chicken stock, preferably low-sodium (if your stock is very salty dilute it with a little water before measuring)
• 1/3 cup (80ml) tomato paste
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 tablespoon sugar

At least an hour and up to a day before starting to cook, knead together the ground meat, crushed garlic, chopped rosemary, salt and pepper. Cover and refrigerate.

In a large heavy pot over medium heat, heat the oil and add the pancetta, onions, carrot and celery. Cook, stirring frequently, until the vegetables are golden and have started to caramelize, about 25-30 minutes. Raise the heat to medium high and add the meat, breaking it up thoroughly with a fork and stirring constantly until medium brown in color, about 10 minutes. Add the milk, stirring until most of the liquid has evaporated. Add the wine, stock, tomato paste and bay leaf, stir well and bring to a boil.

Partially cover the pot, reduce the heat to low, and allow to cook at a gentle simmer for 2-3 hours. At the end of its cooking time the ragu should be juicy and thick, but not liquidy; if after two hours it still looks too wet, uncover and raise the heat slightly. Stir in the sugar, and adjust salt and pepper as needed. Keep warm.