Kitchie Coo

This lasagna was born from leftover ravioli filling I made during a ladies night cooking feast at my house.  I had some ladies over to teach them how to bake bread and make ravioli and what a blast we had.  I love it when friends come pounding at my door to infiltrate my house for a night of cooking, laughter and wine.  When my dear friend Danesa asked if she and a couple of her friends could come over and learn to a cook a few things with me, how could I say no?

I pondered over what we should make and finally decided on focaccia bread and a sweet potato ravioli I'd been drooling over for awhile on Picture Perfect Meals.  I picked these items because people often think that making bread from scratch if hard or even impossible and I always love opening up people's eyes to how easy it really can be.  The same goes for pasta, although it helps tremendously to have a pasta roller which, perhaps, everyone doesn't have in their kitchen.


The night was a wild success and a wild amount of fun.  Seriously, with all these awesome ladies and kiddos taking over the kitchen, how could it not have been a blast?  Plus, the food was out of this world and everyone was pretty impressed in what we rolled out of the kitchen in only, ahem, five short hours. 


The next day I found myself staring at an obnoxious amount of sweet potato ravioli filling and wondering what the heck to do with it.  I am very much a recipe cook, and have only recently started branching out and trying a few of my own creations.  One thing I do know how to make recipeless, and darn good too, is cream sauce.  I also know that brown butter makes everything taste better.  Could I possibly turn this into a brown butter cream sauce?  I am positive that God was speaking to me at this point, because who else could have put such a divine thought into my head?  Woo wee, am I glad I listened closely to that voice and made this sauce.  I'm not gonna lie, this lasagna is rich, but its that kind of rich that melts in your mouth and tells your whole heart, body and soul that life is soooo-ooo-ooo good.

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Sweet Potato Lasagna with Brown Butter Cream Sauce
8-10 servings

Filling:
3 large sweet potatoes
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup creamy ricotta (recipe here, or storebought will do too)
1/2 cup parmesan, grated + 1/4 cup for topping
1 1/2 teaspoons ground sage
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 egg
1/2 cup mozzarella, shredded

Noodles:
(store bought noodles will work too, but I prefer the taste and texture of fresh pasta)
3 eggs
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon olive oil

Sauce:
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 cup flour
2 cups milk (I used whole milk)
1 teaspoon kosher salt

Garnish:
1/2 cup pecans, toasted and roughly chopped

Make the filling: Preheat oven to 425F.  Scrub the sweet potatoes and then prick them all over with the tines of a fork.  Place on a baking sheet and bake in the oven for 45-55 minutes, or until a fork inserted in the middle passes easily through.  Allow to cool completely, then cut in half and scoop the middle out into a large bowl.  Add all remaining filling ingredients, except 1/4 cup parmesan and mozzarella, and stir to thoroughly combine.  Set aside. 

Make the noodles: Combine all ingredients in a food processor and process until it forms a soft shaggy dough.  Dump out onto the counter and knead into a ball.  If not using immediately, wrap tightly in plastic wrap and store in the fridge.

Cut the dough in quarters and, taking one section at a time, run through a pasta roller to the third thinnest setting (this is a 6 on my KitchenAid roller).  Lay on a generously floured counter.  Repeat with remaining dough pieces. 

Just before assembling the lasagna, bring a large pot of water to a boil.  Cook lasagna noodles in boiling water for 2-3 minutes, until barely cooked through (they'll finish cooking in the oven).  Drain.

Make the Sauce: In a medium saucepan, melt butter over medium heat until brown and the butter has a nutty fragrance, 6-8 minutes. Watch the butter carefully to avoid burning and add the flour when the butter has just turned brown.  Whisk the butter and flour constantly for one minute, then add the milk.  Whisk the milk constantly over medium heat until the sauce starts to thicken, 7-8 minutes.  When the sauce has thickened, remove from the heat and stir in the salt.

Assemble the lasagna: Set oven temperature to 375F.  Lightly spray the bottom of a 9 x 13" baking dish with non-stick cooking spray.  Spread 1/2 cup cream sauce on the bottom of the baking dish.  Layer noodles to cover the bottom of the dish.  Spoon half of the sweet potato filling on top of noodles and cover with 1/2 cup sauce.  Repeat with one more noodle, sweet potato, sauce layer and then add another layer of noodles to the top.  Spoon the remaining sauce on top of the noddles then sprinkle with reserved 1/4 cup parmesan and mozzarella. 

Bake covered with tin foil for 20 minutes.  Remove the foil and bake an additional 15-20 minutes or until the top is lightly browned and bubbly.

Allow to sit for 5 minutes before cutting.  Serve with a sprinkling of the toasted pecans.  Then you should probably...

Eat it!! 

Before getting to the promised task at hand, I have some majorly big business to address.  First, (I am still in a state of shock and disbelief) thank you so much to everyone that voted me into the FoodBuzz Top 9 on Friday!  The Dark Chocolate Mocha Buttercream Cake I made last weekend was both fun and therapeutic for me, and the fact that it made into the Top 9 was a major win for me.  So, thank you, thank you and thank you!  I actually started crying when I read the first email congratulating me on Top 9.  It means a lot.

Second, I have a winner for the OXO salad spinner giveaway I posted last week.  The winner was lucky number 5, jwfong, which random.org selected for me.  Congratulations!  I'll be in touch shortly. 

Now, onto the star of the show...chocolate curls (like the ones on top of my cake that made the Top 9, surely it was the curls that got it there).

How-to: Chocolate Curls

3 ounces chocolate (I used bittersweet)
1 tablespoon coconut oil (shortening can be substituted)

Melt the chocolate and coconut oil in the microwave in 30 second increments, stirring after each increment, until completely melted and smooth.

Using an offset spatula, spread the chocolate on an overturned rimmed baking sheet, until smooth and evenly distributed.  Put the entire baking sheet into the freezer for 2 minutes. 




Remove from the freezer and, using an overturned metal spatula (turner), lightly push the chocolate away from you to form the curls.  If the chocolate is too hard, it will not curl and will look like this:

If this is the case, allow to sit at room temperature for 30-60 seconds more and then try again.  Repeat until the chocolate is the right temperature and the chocolate curls easily under the spatula, like so:

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Dark Chocolate Cake with Mocha Buttercream & Toffee

Dark Chocolate Cake

This is Exhibit A.

Life has slowed down a bit after the craziness of the past few weeks.  Between the St. Patrick's Day run  that I organized (with over 700 participants!), and my beloved dog passing away, I have been absent from Blogland much longer than I'd anticipated or liked.  I didn't realize until these past few weeks how much joy blogging gives me, and how much I would miss all of you. 

I am hopping back in the game now, and what better way to jump in than with a giveaway?!  My very first giveaway to be exact, thanks to the awesome folks at OXO.  I am so excited about what they sent me to share with one of you!!  A salad spinner!!  A very nice, sturdy, salad spinner.



Why am I so excited about a salad spinner?  For a few reasons:

1. My (very expensive) salad spinner that I've had for only a year broke about a month ago.  It was the kind where you pull the string to spin it and the string just snapped right off!  Rar!  OXO sent me a salad spinner too, to try out and review.  Great timing OXO, thank you!

2. I hate (hate) washing and drying lettuce and will only do this if I have a salad spinner.  Since my salad spinner broke I've been buying pre-washed salad mix, which isn't very budget friendly.  I'm back in action now...no more bagged lettuce equals a few more buck in my pocket!

3. I discovered the wonder that are kale chips the day before that stupid salad spinner broke.  The kale has to be pretty darn dry before you throw it in the oven.  I'm not even going to attempt that one without my precious salad spinner.  I am back in kale chip heaven.



Kale chips are the perfect food in so many ways.  I have a wild salt tooth, that can only be tamed by greasy, salty potato chips, or something equally unhealthy. Kale chips satisfy the crunchy salty beast inside of me almost instantaneously.  But...here's the good news, kale chips are super good for you!  Kale packs a nutritional punch that can't be ignored.  Kale is extremely low in calories (35 calories/boiled cup) and includes 100% of your daily vitamin K as well as being a great source for vitamins A, C & B6, manganese, fiber and potassium.  You go kale!  Work it!

The second reason kale chips are so awesome is that they are a snap to make.  Chop, spin, toss and bake.  Easy.  Even Anna could do it (except I don't let her near the oven, so actually on second thought, she couldn't do it).



The OXO Salad Spinner was a dream when making these chips.  The pump handle on the top is so much easier to use than the string-pull method of my stupid ex-salad spinner.  There is a non-slip bottom that allows for one-handed use of the salad spinner when pumping.  It has a good sized bowl that can be used separately as a bowl for your salad and the basket can also be used as a strainer.  Finally, this spinner dried my kale chips enough with just ten pumps to immediately toss them in olive oil and then the oven.  No waiting around for them to dry.  Hooray!  I am seriously in love, and so grateful to have gotten this awesome tool for my very own!

Do you want one too?  Well, you've got five separate opportunities to get in on the action.  You'll get one entry for each one of these you do.  Open to US Residents only!!

1. Leave a comment here telling me what you'd use this salad spinner for.
2. Like Kitchie Coo on Facebook, and leave a separate comment telling me that you did.
3. Like OXO on Facebook, and leave a separate comment telling me that you did.
4. Follow me on Pinterest, and leave a separate comment telling me that you did.
5. Follow me on Twitter, and leave a separate comment telling me that you did.

This giveaway will be open until 11:59 pm, MST, Wednesday March 21.  I will announce the winner on Thursday.  Good luck!!



PRINT THIS RECIPE!

Baked Kale Chips

1 bunch kale
2 tsp olive oil
1/2 tsp kosher salt

Preheat oven to 350F.

Remove stems from kale by folding the leaf in half and then cutting along the inside of the stem.  Rip or roughly chop the kale into bite sized pieces.  Rinse the kale under cold water and then spin in a salad spinner until very little water remains on the leaves.  (Alternately, you can rinse them and then press them dry between between paper towels.)

Toss the kale in olive oil and salt until completely coated.  Spread on a rimmed baking sheet in a single layer and bake for 15-18 minutes or until crispy.

Remove from the oven and...

Eat it!!

Amidst the chaos last week, I lost a friend.  I am not writing this to bring sadness, but to celebrate a life that changed my own infinitely.  Gretta found a way to burrow herself snug against our hearts, and when we lost her, that part of our heart left with her.  Its painful, it sucks, I feel like my heart has split in two...and I wouldn't trade my time with her for anything.

Gretta was with me for 9 1/2 years.  She was the constant in my life for just shy of a decade and for the better part of my adult life.  Me and this girl, we had some adventures. 



Gretta loved to be outdoors more than anything in the world (besides me...mmmm, actually I think she liked being outside more).  Gretta was a dog of few "words", but one of the times she would become vocal was when we headed up the road to some of our favorite hiking spots.  She knew, even though we were miles from the trailhead, that when the car turned up Pattee Canyon she was going to get some freedom.  She would dance around the car running from window to window, give us a quick lick on the face, and then let out a long low bark.  Pure joy.



Gretta was my sole companion on a 10,000-mile road trip around the country.  We had some long days in the car.  Each morning after she realized we were not, in fact, going hiking - she'd settle herself on the front seat and lay her head in my lap.  We'd drive for hours this way, me stroking her head and her sleeping soundly.  She kept me company and kept me sane on those long days.

Gretta was a 100% total bad ass.  We thought that she had run away one day and spent hours searching the neighborhood for her.  When we finally found her, she was sitting at the base of a tree.  Staring up at a mountain lion she had treed.  No shit.  Another time we were backpacking through the Bitterroots and she chased a bear that came across our path.  No Shit.  Yeah 100% bad ass.


Gretta also had some moments that weren't so bad ass.  Gretta loved sticks.  She was borderline obsessed; when she saw a stick that was all she saw.  It didn't even matter if it was attached to someone's hand.  On one occasion she snagged a stick right out of a small child's hand and started dancing happily around him while he cried, and I frantically chased her in circles apologizing profusely to the mother.  Another time, we were hiking on top of a mountain and came across a group of Tibetan Monks (really).  Gretta jovially snatched a (4 foot long) hiking stick from one of the monks and bounded through the woods in bliss.  The same circus ensued, me chasing Gretta and the monks staring blankly at me.  I think they found some humor in it, maybe not.  I know I did.  As inappropriate fits of laughter escaped my mouth in both situations, I realized she must have a sense of humor in their somewhere too.

Gretta was never an overly affectionate dog. Affection was always on her terms, and when she gave it, oh was it sweet.  Which is why I knew Mace was "the one" at the beginning of our first date.  When he came to pick me up, he sat down on the couch and Gretta climbed up on the couch and laid herself square on his lap.  That was maybe the third time I'd ever seen her do that, the previous two times it had been my lap.  I recounted that story to her during the last few moments of her life.  I thanked her for choosing Mace, for giving me the "ok" to bring someone else into our lives. From that day on, there was no question, it was always the three of us.  If we left her behind, it was only because it was a "no fur coats allowed" kind of place.


When Anna joined our family it was a hard transition for Gretta.  She was a pound puppy and ended up there because her previous owners had a baby and decided they couldn't keep Gretta.  When we brought Anna home Gretta started shaking from tail to toe, it took days for me to convince her that she was still an important part of our family.  And, while she never appeared to take any interest in Anna, she tolerated her. Somewhere deep down, I know she loved her.



Gretta had her peculiarities, and one was that she hated having her picture taken.  If you look at all of these pics, she is refusing to look at the camera...except this one where I am bodily forcing her to look up.  Gretta was patient, and constantly put up with my nonsense.  She didn't like it...but she loved me. So, she put up with it.



I had no idea how in-tune my body was to Gretta's presence until she was gone.  I still find myself stepping over her in the kitchen.  I find myself getting ready for bed and heading downstairs to let her out one more time for the night.  I find myself checking the space where her water and food used to be to make sure there is enough.  I hear noises in the house that sound like Gretta moving around, and I believe it for about 2 seconds before reality hits.  We're planning a trip out of town next week and Mace caught himself almost asking if we could bring Gretta with.  Anna blows kisses to the spot where Gretta's bed used to lay.  Our house doesn't feel the same.  Her absence is felt in so many crevices of our lives.

Our Girl, our Noona Berra, our Heart, our Gretta.  I know you're prancing in the mountains in heaven, where you can run again, you can hear again, you can see again.  You are whole again.

We miss you so much every day.

Our lives never would have been the same without you.

Our lives will never be the same without you.

Another Run for the Luck of It is here and gone.  Just like the 1st place winner that whizzed across the finish line in a blur, the day of the event snuck up on us and was gone in a flash.  A flash of over 700 PEOPLE!!

For anyone that might not know, my superstar friend Jen and I co-direct a St. Patrick's Day foot race.  The race is in its 3rd year and the first two years the event was just a 5k fun run.  This year we also added a (lucky) 7 mile distance which attracted 200 more people than last year. What a success!

Race Director Extraordinaire's!

In any event of this size, there are going to be a few hitches.  But the hitches were minor and the day was glorious!  The sun was shining, the participants were dressed in their finest St. Patrick's Day garb, the bag pipers were kilted and played jovially throughout the morning.  Yup.


We were blessed with a plethora of rock star volunteers.  Over 60 people dedicated their morning, their hearts and their voices to our event.  We never ever in a million years would have been able to pull this off without them.  Simply stated: they made this day what it was!

And our husbands....oh, did they work hard.  They spray chalked, duct taped and marked the heck out of the courses.  In the dark.  For hours.  There is a 0% chance that Jen and I would have had time to do this, so without them there wouldn't have been a race at all.  Or maybe it just would have been a mob of crazy green chaos running blindly through Missoula.  Either way, they paved an easy way for the runners to follow.


When the runners returned to the staging area they gorged themselves on corn-beef stew, soda bread and beer.  Because, seriously, who doesn't want to drink a beer at 10:00 am?  We went through 3 kegs, so I guess that answers that question.

Anna even made an appearance toting my mother & father-in-law along with her, and crossed the finish line in record time.  Go Anna!  My in-laws hung with Anna for two days and made it possible for Mace and I to run around like crazy people and get everything done.


If you want to see more awesome photos of the day check out Run Wild Missoula's Facebook page.

Oh what a day!  Oh what a day.  A huge shout-out to Jen, to our awesome hubbies, my in-laws and everyone that made this day what it was.  Thank you everyone for your cheers, your love and your patience while I dropped off the planet for a couple of weeks.  It takes a village...yes it does.

And now, I am collapsing for a day or two to get my head on straight.

Hello friends...I am tired.  Please excuse my absence this past week.  I am in the midst of planning Run for the Luck of It, a 5k and 7-mile foot race I organize for the St. Patrick's Day holiday.  As always, it is all-consuming.  Fun, but all-consuming.

Which is why it comes at a perfect time that Sofie over at The German Foodie has chosen to feature me in one of her posts this week.  Each week Sofie chooses a blogger she follows and admires and does a write-up of them.  I am honored to take this spot this week!!  Thank you Sofie for your kind words.

Sofie is a German living in the U.S. and she shares some amazing German recipes on her food blog.  And, lots of bread recipes to boot.  If you know me, you know one of the quickest ways to my heart is through a good hunk of bread.  Sofie is witty, intelligent, an excellent photographer and an amazing baker and cook.  Please check her blog out at The German Foodie and see for yourself what a great space she has created.

So, I promise you, I have not fallen off the face of the earth.  I am just wearing my "Race Director" hat this week rather than my "Blogger" hat.  I will be back...it will just be after I collapse next Saturday afternoon in a heap of exhaustion and race director glory (or at least I hope!).  Until then...Top 'O the mornin', afternoon and evenin' to ya!