Victoria's Blog

How to Make Luscious Lasagne
17 March, 2010
I have certainly had my share of lasagne in my time and the number of them I finished and enjoyed I could count on my left hand and I wouldn’t have used all my fingers.

This extremely simple dish for some reason seems beyond even advanced cooks and it amazes me how many get it wrong.

Lasagne is essentially a combination of a cheese Béchamel sauce and a basic tomato sauce with either a bolognaise (mince meat) or primavera (vegetable) variations, layered between lasagne sheets, ideally instant variety so it cooks more quickly and evenly.

Now for those of you familiar with the rules of cooking pasta will know, there are a handful of basic principles once must follow – use lost of water, salt the water, don’t rinse the pasta and don’t add oil. Now, there are reasons why these principles are there because each of them have a detrimental effect to the taste and success of the pasta.

Now why one would think the same rules don’t apply to baked pasta dishes is beyond me, but they do, but the execution will be different because generally, the pasta sheets are not cooked before being layered with the sauces, therefore, adding salt to the water can’t be done, but it needs to be done so salting needs to be done to the sauces instead because it’s the sauces that will be doing the cooking and infusing of the pasta sheets. So make sure you taste your sauces and season them well before you add them to the layering mix.

Next, make sure your sauces aren’t too thick because if they are they won’t have enough moisture int hem to soften the lasagne sheets and the pasta will be tough and chewy and basically inedible, and you’ll have wasted those sauces because no one will be able to eat your dish.

Now I’ve had several lasagna’s that honestly I could have built a retaining wall out of and the flavour, when I did manage to cut through the pasta, was bland bland bland. Why bother??

Get flavour into those sauces, they are the key to your dish. Use fresh herbs, flaked salt, freshly ground black pepper, whatever you fancy but just make sure it’s there.

Make the sauces first before you begin to assemble the lasagne. You can even do this the day before if you’re making it for a meal. They’ll keep well in the fridge and can be layered in cold then reheated as they cook with the lasagne sheets in the oven.

Use instant lasagne sheets to cut down oven-cooking time. If you’re precooking your lasagne sheets before layering with the sauces, unlike cooking loose pasta, never boil lasagne sheets. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Drop in the sheets, stir a little until it comes back to a boil, then place the lid on and remove from the heat. Let stand for 10-12 minutes without peeking or removing the lid, then drain into a colander.

Add cheese to your béchamel for an enhanced flavour in addition to throughout the layers and on top. Make sure you add this while it’s being made so it melts through thoroughly. A grated tasty cheddar will give lots of flavour, it doesn’t have to be parmesan, in fact I’d advise against it because it can be a bit overpowering on top of the lasagne as well as throughout it.

Ideally make lasagne several hours before eating to allow the flavours to develop and the layers to hold their shape. If you make it the day before then refrigerate when cold, you can cut very precise servings the next day, and wrap and freeze for quick lunches or dinners in the coming weeks.

You can make gluten free lasagne by eliminating the lasagne sheets altogether and substituting polenta slices or char grilled eggplant slices instead.

And lastly, make sure the dish you use is deep enough to hold at least 3 layers of each sauce and lasagne sheets, any less and it looks meagre. Plus, if you use a deep dish, you can serve smaller portions because they’ll be piled high, and they’ll look 100% better when they’re plated up.

Lasagne really is one of the classic Italian pasta dishes; make sure you do it justice by keeping these tips in mind. Happy Cooking!
Making Your Own Christmas Gifts
12 December, 2009
Not only are home made Christmas gifts well received but just about everyone, they will also be remembered long after store bought choices and, they're relatively inexpensive.

This year my sister Tracey and I decided to create lots of small stocking stuffer gifts and have a stall in her driveway. We put an add in the paper and set up our Christmas stall last Saturday and had a great time.

I made individual Christmas puddings and cakes, small 150ml jars of

Brandy Alexander Chocolate Sauce, Caramelised Balsamic Vinegar and Tracey made Plum Sauce for ham.

As she's a graphic designer, she also made preserve labels, ingredient labels for pantry storage items and bookplates.

We also decided to have samples for buyers to taste.

I had a bowl of Christmas cake and Christmas pudding and I'd made a brandy custard for dipping. We started pretty early in the morning so we had people there by 7pm. Honestly though, I really wonder where some people's heads are at. One woman came over to the table and commented "Oh you have food, what a pitty, I've already had breakfast". Of course never one to knock back an opportunity for sarcasm, I said "we're not a cafe, it's just to taste before you buy". She gave a nervous giggle and said, "well maybe next time I'll remember not to eat first". Well sweetie you'll be waiting a while, it's a CHRISTMAS STALL.

I also put out crusty bread and drizzled some of the caramelised balsamic into my favourite olive oil (Bunna Bunoo from the Hunter Valley). That went down a real treat. One teenager who obviously didn't have breakfast before he came with his parents, did think it was a cafe and proceeded to stuff as much bread in as he could. He didn't worry about the oil and vinegar, too messy I suspect!!!!

I'm not suggesting you hold a stall, but home made produce makes great gifts, especially for people you want to give something to but don't want to spend a lot.

When I made my basic Christmas cake mixture, I got about 10-12 individual cakes out of it. That's 12 individual gifts. Not bad for one batter mixture. And with the Steamed pudding recipes I got about 15.

Then we packaged them up in little cellophane bags am tied them off with gold string and Tracey designed a delightful label that we printed on clear Avery Labels then stuck on the plastic sheets you buy to back ring bound reports, then guillotined them to size. A little fiddly to create but they looked fabulous.

I cooked each cake in disposable cake mould and the puddings I steamed in 125ml dariole moulds then when they were cooled, I put them into small paper moulds then into the cellophane bags and tied the same as the cakes with their own labels.

Tracey also created stick on labels, again using standard Avery labels, for the sauces and caramelised vinegar.

I've usually always made some part of my Christmas gifts, but this year, I decided to make all of them. It was fun, inexpensive and gave me an excuse to drink lots of champagne while I was cooking and listening to Christmas carols.

If you don't want to go to the trouble of printing clear labels, peeling them off then sticking them on plastic sheets then cutting them up, you can just print the labels on an A4 sheet of stiff card then guillotine or scissor cut them up and place a small hole in the corner to thread the tie string through.

Our parents, God love them, came to help and decided to sell a few things of their own. Not food or gifts, just garage sale items. They did rather well too.

Once you've made home made gifts once, you'll do it time and time again. It really is a lovely gift to give. Perfect for…
- Colleagues you feel you need to give something to but don't want to spend a lot of money.
- Your children's school teachers.
- Friends whose house you're going to for Christmas drinks.
- Friends you don't really like but need to buy for and don't want to spend a lot on.
- Neighbours.
- Suppliers or clients.
You can order some of our PDF templates and create your own home made Christmas Gifts if you're so inclined.

Happy Christmas cooking!
The History of Christmas
30 November, 2009
A child discovering the delights of Christmas for the first time is presented with a wonderful array of good things: trees with sparkling lights, carol singing, rich food such as iced cakes and biscuits, presents tucked into bulging stockings and days of excitement and parties. The modern holiday is in fact a cornucopia of widely different traditions, all combined into what we think of as Christmas. Some traditions come from religious sources or social customs, while others have their origins in folklore and magic. Over the centuries, the traditions have become entwined and embellished to create a fascinating ritual.

Christmas Day
Feasts held in deep midwinter to celebrate the winter solstice, or shortest day, were common long before Christianity, and have been traced across Europe to ancient Babylon and Egypt. One of the most notable was the Roman Saturnalia, from 17 to 24 December.

The Christian church chose various dates for Christ's birthday before settling finally on 25 December, a deliberate substitution for the pagan festival celebrating the rebirth of light in the winter gloom. Some of the rituals and customs used in the pagan celebrations, such as the "greening" of public buildings and houses with branches, were also rapidly absorbed by the Christian church.

The Tree
Tree worship dates back to prehistoric times, and the Christmas tree probably has pagan origins, being an evergreen and thus the one tree in the forest with the promise of survival to spring. Fir trees decorated with apples, paper flowers and candles were introduced into Britain by German immigrants, and then made popular in the 19th century by Prince Albert, the German-born husband of Queen Victoria.

He also introduced decorations made from spun glass, miniature wooden toys and paper ornaments. By the end of the 19th century, decorations were being made commercially, and now most people buy mass-produced baubles, tinsel and other decorations rather than making their own.

Green boughs, mistletoe and holly were all used in pagan celebrations long before the advent of Christianity. Mistletoe was particularly prized by the Celtic Druids, who believed that it warded off evil and promoted fertility. Other cultures used it too, including the Greeks and Romans, and in Norse mythology it represented peace. While holly was adopted by the Christian church - its red berries symbolizing Christ's blood - mistletoe with its powerful pagan symbolism was banned in churches, though no doorway is complete without a bunch of mistletoe or a kissing bough.

Cards & Gifts
The ancient Romans gave lavish gifts to each other during the feast days of the Saturnalia, but it took many more centuries to see a widespread adoption of this present-giving. Not until the late 19th century and the beginnings of consumerism did it become usual to give and receive gifts. Originally, these simple home-made offerings were unwrapped, but they later came to be elaborately presented in special boxes and papers to signify the season.

Cards were yet another Victorian addition to Christmas. At first they were quite unseasonal in their designs, occasionally bawdy and usually sentimental. Images such as the Christmas robin and snow scenes became popular with the advent of colour printing. In 1843 Henry Cole, the director of the Victoria and Albert Museum, produced the first commercial cards. The introduction of the penny post in Britain meant that card-sending gained momentum, and people were encouraged to "post early for Christmas".

The Origin of Santa
Santa Claus, Father Christmas, St Nicholas and Sinterklaas are basically all the same person, descended from the Roman King of the Saturnalia. The original St Nicholas was a 4th-century saint. His cult became popular in the Middle Ages, and in Switzerland, Germany and the Netherlands he was linked with gift-giving on his feast day, 6 December. The image of a white-bearded man in a white suit is very recent. A century ago, Santa Claus was usually depicted in a long brown robe or furs carrying a cross and wine flask with a holly crown on his head. In 1885 a Boston printer, Louis Prang, first devised the red-suited Santa and this theme was later developed by the Coca-Cola ad artist Haddon Sundblom in the 1930s, producing the modern image of a jolly character in a red suit trimmed with white fur. The reindeer that carry Santa Claus through the frosty night probably came from stories of the Norse god Woden who rode through the sky with reindeer and 42 ghostly huntsmen. Clement Moore's famous poem A Visit from St Nicholas ("Twas the night before Christmas") sealed the image of Santa Claus, his reindeer and the magical flying sleigh loaded with sacks of presents.

Customs & Traditions
There are endless games and pastimes, quirky customs and odd traditions that happen only at this time of year. Many have their origins far in the past, such as the yule log. To most people this is now a delicious chocolate cake shaped like a log of wood, but originally the yule log was dragged home from the woods with much ceremony and then lit on Christmas Eve to symbolize the sun and its warmth. A picture of a man was once chalked on the log in parts of Britain, perhaps a long-forgotten reference to ancient sacrifices made at the winter solstice. An Englishman called Tom Smith invented the tube-shaped cracker as we know it, with a fire cracker inside to produce the bang. The paper hat in the cracker may be related to the hats worn in Tudor times by the Lords of Misrule, who were the leaders of the Christmas revels.

Games, singing and dancing were all seasonal entertainments and still are, albeit in very different forms. People gathered together on the dark nights of the winter solstice centuries ago and broke out into merriment and wild behaviour, fuelled with plenty of food and drink. Not much changes! Pantomimes too have a long tradition, and usually include role reversal of the sexes and of authority, and dressing-up. The modern version can be traced through Saturnalias festivities and mumming plays up to the 18th-century harlequinades.

Food & Feasts
The concentration on food and feasting at Christmas is hardly surprising - centuries ago before the days of canning and freezing it was difficult to survive the winter without stores of preserved food. Summer preserves and the last of the fresh food were brought out for a festive feast, while hardship was forgotten for a brief time of rest, celebration and merry-making. Some traditional Christmas recipes hark back to those times when foods such as dried fruit and nuts were luxuries saved for feasting. Spices and flavourings are important in many of these recipes, bringing echoes of earlier dishes in which these precious ingredients were gathered from all over the known world. Most countries have dishes that are special to this time, such as the heavy fruit cakes and round Christmas puddings from Britain, the roast goose from Germany stuffed with apples and nuts, and the spiced cakes, biscuits and breads of central Europe.

Australia is of course a mixture of all traditions. With so many immigrants mingled with our own style of traditions, there really isn't any one traditional Christmas way. We all adopt our own styles depending on where we live, what is our heritage or who we spend Christmas with.

Source: Ultimate Christmas by Jane Newdick (RD Press 1996)