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All I can say is if you LOVE mushrooms you will LOVE this recipe...Was Delicious!

Mushroom Lasagna

Serves 6 to 8 (more as a first course)

Salt
Olive oil
3/4 pound dried lasagna noodles
1 large clove garlic, minced
4 cups whole milk
3/4 cup (12 tablespoons or 1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, divided
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 1/2 pounds cremini or Portobello mushrooms
1 cup freshly grated parmesan

Preheat your oven to 375°F. Bring a large, wide (if you use a wide one, you can save a dish later and saute your mushrooms in the bottom of it) of water to boil with salt and a splash of oil, that will help keep your noodles from sticking together as they drain. Add the lasagna noodles and cook for 10 minutes. Drain and set aside.

Make bechamel: Bring the milk and garlic to simmer in a saucepan, or heat it in your microwave, and set it aside. Melt 1/2 cup (8 tablespoons or 1 stick) butter in a large saucepan. If your name is Deb, you will probably brown this butter, too. Add the flour and cook for one minute over low heat, stirring constantly with a whisk or wooden spoon. Pour in the hot milk, a little at a time at first and stirring until combined. Once you’ve added half of it, you can add the second half all at once, along with 1 1/2 teaspoons table salt, the pepper, and nutmeg. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring or whisking frequently, for 3 to 5 minutes, or until thick. Set aside.

Prepare mushrooms: Discard Portobello mushroom stems and/or trim the ends of the cremini stems. Slice mushrooms 1/4-inch thick. Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil and 2 tablespoons butter over medium in the bottom of the large, wide pot you used to cook the noodles earlier, or in a large saute pan. Cook the mushrooms with a couple pinches of salt for about 5 minutes, or until they are tender and release some of their juices, tossing to make sure they cook evenly. Repeat with additional oil and butter, and remaining mushrooms.

Assemble lasagna: Spread some of the sauce in the bottom of an 8 x 12 or 9 x 13 baking dish. (Ina recommends the former, I only had the latter; if you’d like to freeze or give this dish as a gift, remember to use a foil pan). Arrange a layer of noodles on top*, then more sauce (about 1/4 of what remains), 1/3 of the mushrooms and 1/4 cup grated parmesan. Repeat two more times then top with a final layer of noodles, your remaining sauce and last 1/4 cup of parmesan.

Bake for 45 minutes, or until top is browned and the sauce is bubbly. Let sit at room temperature for 15 minutes before serving. To freeze for future use, allow it to cool completely and wrap two to three times in plastic wrap before freezing.

· Burning question: Do you overlap your lasagna noodles on each layer? I think that’s the way it is usually done, but it has been so long since I made lasagna, I couldn’t remember. I decided to line mine up, and ended up with three neat rows down my 9 x 13 pan (I trimmed the ends of the noodles, because I can occasionally be a neat freak) and found it exceptionally neat and pretty to serve, as each piece could have two ruffly edges. This meant I only used 12 noodles total, or about 2/3 of a one-pound box.

· Adapted from Ina Garten

I made mine in a 9x13 pan and the lasagna fit perfect!

So easy even I can make it, and incredibly rich and yummy. That stuff about the whipped cream topping? Total overkill. And if you're like me, you'll only be able to eat a bitty square at a time so it's a lot more than eight servings.

12 ounces semisweet chocolate, in chips or small pieces
1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch pieces
6 eggs

Preheat the oven to 350° F. Grease or spray a 9- or 10-inch tart pan with removable bottom with nonstick spray and wrap the outside and bottom with aluminum foil so the bottom is water tight. If you have no tart pan, line the bottom and sides of a 9-inch pie plate with parchment paper or very smoothly with aluminum foil.

Melt the chocolate and butter in the microwave or in a heavy pan over very low heat, stirring with a rubber spatula or wooden spoon until completely melted. Set aside.

Lightly beat the eggs and stir them into the melted chocolate mixture. Pour the chocolate mixture into the tart pan, cover with foil, and set it in a heavy roasting pan. Pour hot tap water into the roasting pan halfway up the sides of the tart pan to create a bain-marie and place it in the preheated oven for 30 to 35 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and uncover it.

The torte will be a soft batter that will solidify when cold. Let it cool to room temperature on a wire rack, and then cover it with plastic wrap. Refrigerate or freeze at least 2 hours. Release the sides of tart pan. You can freeze the well-wrapped torte at this point for up to 3 months.

To make the whipped cream garnish, split a vanilla bean with a paring knife and scrape the seeds into a cold mixer bowl with the heavy cream and sugar. Start on low speed, slowly increase the speed, and beat on high speed until firm but be careful not to let it separate. If using vanilla extract instead of the bean, beat it in at the end. Refrigerate. (The tiny brown flecks, the seeds of a vanilla bean, give the whipped cream a "homemade" look.)

When ready to serve, cut the still cold or even frozen torte into 8 pieces with a hot, wet non-serrated knife. (Clean the knife in hot water after each cut.) The torte will defrost rapidly and is best moved when frozen. Place 1 heaping Tbsp of whipped cream on the torte. Place 1 wedge of frozen torte on a plate. Garnish with edible flowers, fresh berries, or chocolate curls.

Yield: serves 8
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