63 Don’t You Be Boilin’ Those Lasagna Noodles From:   drwo@woteki.com Subject: Hey you! Don’t you be boilin’ those lasgana noodles! Date: January 11, 2004 7:38:43 PM EST To:   aroundthekitchen@aroundthekitchen.info Reply-To:   aroundthekitchen@aroundthekitchen.info On Saturday I found myself looking at not one but two hangar steaks in the fridge. One a beef, the other a veal. Vacuum packed they were, but been there for a couple weeks and time to do something. Hangar steak? Found near the kidney, if you’re a cow, and found at Eastern Mkt if you are a consumer and can pry them away from Roy before I do on Saturday morning. Great on the grill, but not this weekend. So I decided to turn them into Bolognese sauce and make lasagna. winter comfort food at its finest. So there I am at my local Safeway in search of lasagna noodles. I know, I was supposed to make the pasta from scratch, but I just didn’t have the stamina (Besides, I was busy planning the bialys I was going to bake on Sunday, and did. Bialys?) Much to my disappointment, no lasagana except San Giorgio. I’m not an SG kind of guy, so bummer. Scan the shelves again. Find Barilla “DO NOT BOIL” lasagna noodles. Instant lasagna..... Honest, I hung back several minutes. But two things won me over: 1) the world’s largest pasta plant is, where else, in Ames Iowa (my alter home town) and owned by, who else, the Barilla family. 2) The Barilla family are next door neighbors in Parma, Italy to the Tanzis. Tanzis, you ask? Parma... Parmalat.... $11 billion... scandal... By less than 6 degrees of separation I’m related. Besides, Barilla actually makes good stuff. Prepare lasagna. DO NOT BOIL noodles. Bake. Rest. Eat.... OK. As a convenience product, not bad at all. But not up to freshly made homemade pasta. Honest, there is a difference. But  not bad, and very convenient. And the Bolognese made with hangar steaks?.....  Primo! Belissimo! T From:   kent@kentcooks.com Subject: Re: Hey you! Don’t you be boilin’ those lasgana noodles! Date: January 11, 2004 8:01:50 PM EST To:   aroundthekitchen@aroundthekitchen.info Reply-To:   aroundthekitchen@aroundthekitchen.info ok, now you’re starting to freak me out a bit here. yours truly was also in a lasagna state of mind for the holidays. for me, that means setting aside the time to do it all from scratch, including the pasta...spinach in my case. oh yes, i can hear the purists out there clinking their collective tongues and mumbling something about “tradition*. pfui i say...in the words of momma mac ”hell, you’re an adult now, go start your own traditions!“ and so yards of velvety smooooooth lasagna dough rolled out of my kitchen and onto the linen-covered dining room table for a bit of drying before cooking. having visited 3 local groceries that morning, and finding the required veal less then tempting (yes, i too was working on a bolognese sauce) i opted instead for a 2 to 1 lean ground pork/beef mixture. perfect, but as i type this, im thinking the next time round, i shall look for game...duck maybe. 3 hours later, coming in at just under bantem weight, it hit the table along side a serious garden salad, 2 loaves of exceptional garlic bread (neighbor daphne’s claim to fame...or one of them at least. the eight cats we can discuss at another time), and 3 bottles of fab italian wine. pushing back from the table nearly two hours later,  we finished off the night watching the ball come down and eating individual apple souffles. screw atkins. happy new year. kent From:   drwo@woteki.com Subject: Re: Hey you! Don’t you be boilin’ those lasgana noodles! Date: January 11, 2004 8:19:25 PM EST To:   aroundthekitchen@aroundthekitchen.info Reply-To:   aroundthekitchen@aroundthekitchen.info Huge factory, pumping out yards and yards and pounds and pounds of penne, linguine, DO NOT BOIL lasagna, farfalle, penne rigate, spaghetti........ Ames: crossroads of Great Plains hard winter wheat and the US transportation system (read Interstate highways) If you’re ever in Ames (and you should be because it’s warmer than DC is right now) I’m sure Cathie can arrange a tour of the plant for you. That’s how important she really is. T