A cook on the Grumpy side

Today's recipe: Butternut Squash Lasagna

Today is the official launch of my new unofficial blog section, “A cook on the grumpy side”. This new category will cover all my bloopers and maybe even my bad moods, which of course are few and far between…unless you believe my husband. And needless to say, he is still in the naughty corner where he will remain until he learns to behave better, or my mood changes.

Today starts off with a (not so great) Butternut Squash Lasagna (Soup) , but I first have to transport you back in time to January 2008. I was enjoying my usual stay on Cape Cod and had the pleasure of being invited to Mindy’s (my divine art teacher) son’s baby shower. It was great fun and the food was superb. Lynn and I were in charge of the drinks (what were they thinking?!), but we managed to stay sober in spite of the flowing temptation. (And neither of us was or is pregnant, so cheers!)

And Bonnie cooked. There is no need to say more than that. Except to say that she is a very gifted, talented, wonderful person and cook. We had Chicken Piccata; and Butternut Squash Lasagna which she made with ricotta rather than the usual béchamel sauce, so it was light and fluffy, and absolutely delicious. I am hoping that Bon will give me the recipe when she has a moment to spare, but in the meantime I went on-line and found a recipe that uses ricotta and a béchamel sauce. So I made it…

Now, I’m sure the recipe is just grand. The problem is that I tend to make my béchamel sauce too runny, so instead of Butternut Squash Lasagna we had Butternut Squash Lasagna Soup… I scooped away the white sauce and put it into a soup bowl before taking this picture so (believe it or not) this looks half way decent. What can I say, maybe I should wing it a bit less in the future, or hell, just add a bit more flour for goodness sake, ‘cos it don’t get any thicker in the oven!

And please note the overflowing béchamel sauce next to the (very delicious) meatloaf (which you will hear about later)…

And as per usual I cooked for the 5000, so I froze the rest for my in-laws to enjoy at a later date… I know, I’m all heart. And no more funny comments or you’ll be in the naughty corner with Joerg before you know it. Give them the little finger…

Here’s the link for the Butternut Squash Lasagne – just remember to follow the recipe and all will be fine!

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/michael-chiarello/lasagna-of-roasted-...