I was given the task of making the lasagna for my sister's birthday
tonight.

I love my grandma's recipe, but I wanted to 'kick it up a notch' as
far as the meat flavor goes.

The meat sauce part calls for 1lb of ground beef and 4 spicy pork
italian sausages (all browned and drained), 12oz tomato paste, 12oz
tomato sauce, 16oz stewed tomatos, salt, pepper, dried basil, garlic.
Cook 30 min and you are done with the meat sauce.

I skipped the salt.

I put in one ham hock to increase the pork flavor, and add a little
smoke flavor. I pulled the whole hock after the 30 min cooking time
was done.

I also took 8oz of beef broth and boiled it down to about 4oz. I
added that to the sauce at the beginning also. That kicked up the
beef flavor component.

The end result is a sauce bursting with meat flavor.

My other substitution is on the cheese - grandma always used the dry
chunk of mozzarella, but I am using the fresh whole milk stuff that
comes in the water - again, all in the name of flavor.

The rest of the cheese is the standard stuff - Ricotta, Cottage
Cheese, Parmesan, 2 eggs, salt, pepper, fresh parsley, all mixed up
into a paste. No low-fat cheese please!

> wrote in message
...
>I was given the task of making the lasagna for my sister's birthday
> tonight.
>
> I love my grandma's recipe, but I wanted to 'kick it up a notch' as
> far as the meat flavor goes.
>
> The meat sauce part calls for 1lb of ground beef and 4 spicy pork
> italian sausages (all browned and drained), 12oz tomato paste, 12oz
> tomato sauce, 16oz stewed tomatos, salt, pepper, dried basil, garlic.
> Cook 30 min and you are done with the meat sauce.
>
> I skipped the salt.
>
> I put in one ham hock to increase the pork flavor, and add a little
> smoke flavor. I pulled the whole hock after the 30 min cooking time
> was done.
>
> I also took 8oz of beef broth and boiled it down to about 4oz. I
> added that to the sauce at the beginning also. That kicked up the
> beef flavor component.
>
> The end result is a sauce bursting with meat flavor.
>

The best Italian tomato sauce is slow cooked.

On Aug 9, 11:15*am, " >
wrote:
> ....
> I skipped the salt.

because...

> I put in one ham hock ...

and because ....

> I also took 8oz of beef broth and boiled it down to about 4oz. *I
> added that to the sauce at the beginning also. *That kicked up the
> .....

salt more than enough to compensate skipping it when seasoning the
meat. -aem

cybercat noodles:

> > wrote in message
> ...
> >I was given the task of making the lasagna for my sister's birthday
> > tonight.
> >
> > I love my grandma's recipe, but I wanted to 'kick it up a notch' as
> > far as the meat flavor goes.
> >
> > The meat sauce part calls for 1lb of ground beef and 4 spicy pork
> > italian sausages (all browned and drained), 12oz tomato paste, 12oz
> > tomato sauce, 16oz stewed tomatos, salt, pepper, dried basil, garlic.
> > Cook 30 min and you are done with the meat sauce.
> >
> > I skipped the salt.
> >
> > I put in one ham hock to increase the pork flavor, and add a little
> > smoke flavor. I pulled the whole hock after the 30 min cooking time
> > was done.
> >
> > I also took 8oz of beef broth and boiled it down to about 4oz. I
> > added that to the sauce at the beginning also. That kicked up the
> > beef flavor component.
> >
> > The end result is a sauce bursting with meat flavor.
> >
>
> The best Italian tomato sauce is slow cooked.


WOW


Next you'll tell us that the the Earth is round...


--
Best
Greg

" wrote:

> I was given the task of making the lasagna for my sister's birthday
> tonight.
>
> I love my grandma's recipe, but I wanted to 'kick it up a notch' as
> far as the meat flavor goes.
>
> The meat sauce part calls for 1lb of ground beef and 4 spicy pork
> italian sausages (all browned and drained), 12oz tomato paste, 12oz
> tomato sauce, 16oz stewed tomatos, salt, pepper, dried basil, garlic.
> Cook 30 min and you are done with the meat sauce.
>
> I skipped the salt.

If you skip the salt you will need a whole lot os something else to kick
it up.

Dave Smith wrote:

> " wrote:
>
> > I was given the task of making the lasagna for my sister's birthday
> > tonight.
> >
> > I love my grandma's recipe, but I wanted to 'kick it up a notch' as
> > far as the meat flavor goes.
> >
> > The meat sauce part calls for 1lb of ground beef and 4 spicy pork
> > italian sausages (all browned and drained), 12oz tomato paste, 12oz
> > tomato sauce, 16oz stewed tomatos, salt, pepper, dried basil, garlic.
> > Cook 30 min and you are done with the meat sauce.
> >
> > I skipped the salt.
>
> If you skip the salt you will need a whole lot os something else to kick
> it up.


Yup...I'm thinkin' some red pepper flakes...at *least*.


--
Best
Greg

"Dave Smith" > wrote in message
...
> " wrote:
>
>> I was given the task of making the lasagna for my sister's birthday
>> tonight.
>>
>> I love my grandma's recipe, but I wanted to 'kick it up a notch' as
>> far as the meat flavor goes.
>>
>> The meat sauce part calls for 1lb of ground beef and 4 spicy pork
>> italian sausages (all browned and drained), 12oz tomato paste, 12oz
>> tomato sauce, 16oz stewed tomatos, salt, pepper, dried basil, garlic.
>> Cook 30 min and you are done with the meat sauce.
>>
>> I skipped the salt.
>
> If you skip the salt you will need a whole lot os something else to kick
> it up.

Reduced packet stock can be very salty, and of course the ham hock will be
salted, not to mention the sausages and tomato sauce. Even the tomato paste
probably has salt. I dunno if it's a big a tragedy as everyone seems to be
making out.

Michael wrote:

> Reduced packet stock can be very salty, and of course the ham hock will be
> salted, not to mention the sausages and tomato sauce. Even the tomato paste
> probably has salt. I dunno if it's a big a tragedy as everyone seems to be
> making out.

I didn't know that everyone else was making it out to be a big thing, but it
seems odd to hear someone talk about leaving the salt out of a recipe and then
asking how to kick it up. Salt is a great flavour enhancer.

In article >,
Dave Smith > wrote:

> " wrote:
>
> > I was given the task of making the lasagna for my sister's birthday
> > tonight.
> >
> > I love my grandma's recipe, but I wanted to 'kick it up a notch' as
> > far as the meat flavor goes.
> >
> > The meat sauce part calls for 1lb of ground beef and 4 spicy pork
> > italian sausages (all browned and drained), 12oz tomato paste, 12oz
> > tomato sauce, 16oz stewed tomatos, salt, pepper, dried basil, garlic.
> > Cook 30 min and you are done with the meat sauce.
> >
> > I skipped the salt.
>
> If you skip the salt you will need a whole lot os something else to kick
> it up.

In the US, I find that regular sausage, tomato sauce and stewed tomatoes
have enough salt to suit my taste. Then when you add the ham hock and
beef stock, that may add even more salt. If the noodles are cooked in
salted water, and the cheeses have salt, I often find that the meat
sauce adds too much salt for my taste.

--
Dan Abel
Petaluma, California USA

"Dave Smith" > wrote in message
...
> Michael wrote:
>
>> Reduced packet stock can be very salty, and of course the ham hock will
>> be
>> salted, not to mention the sausages and tomato sauce. Even the tomato
>> paste
>> probably has salt. I dunno if it's a big a tragedy as everyone seems to
>> be
>> making out.
>
> I didn't know that everyone else was making it out to be a big thing, but
> it
> seems odd to hear someone talk about leaving the salt out of a recipe and
> then
> asking how to kick it up. Salt is a great flavour enhancer.

It's also the thing most people rely too heavily upon. With something
tomato-based, because it is inherently so sweet, you just *have* to have a
good bit of salt if you want a savory dish.

But when I can I use as little salt as possible--meaning when I can do so
and not sacrifice flavor. Two things that help me in this regard are garlic
and rosemary. They are so strong and pungent, I find I can use far less salt
in dishes in which I use them.

The obvious reason not to want to add too much salt is blood pressure
concerns, but there is also just the potassium-sodium balance which, once
upset leads to water weight bloating and such for many people, and the fact
that so many foods we may use as ingredients have salt added anyway. Not
just in things like the canned soups that many of you seem to like to use,
but also in canned vegetables and even in some frozen.