DB Challenge: Lasagna

Time for a new challenge!
The March 2009 challenge is hosted by Mary of Beans and Caviar, Melinda of Melbourne Larder and Enza of Io Da Grande. They have chosen Lasagne of Emilia-Romagna from The Splendid Table by Lynne Rossetto Kasper as the challenge.
Mm-mm! Fresh pasta is one of my favorite things to make, and I've always wanted to try making a different flavored one, like the spinach or maybe a tomato one, so it was cool making the spinach lasagna this time.
I used my own ragu sauce recipe, and my own bechemal recipe as well, and they were stinking awesome with the pasta (ok, it wasn't actually stinking, the smell of it was enough to make you full itself, or else just a million times more hungry.) I'm used to making lasagna the American way-lots of veggies, cheeses, and anything else I can manage to fit in there, so it was pretty cool making it the traditional way with just the sauces and a little of one type of cheese. I definitely liked it this way better, it was much simpler but the flavors were far richer than any lasagna I've made before.

I also made foccacia and a Tuscan salad to go with it, but honestly it was a an awesome dish by itself.
I'll totally be making this again. Props to the hosts for an awesome challenge, and congrats to the rest of the bakers for their work also!

~lacey
"When the lasagna content in my blood gets low, I get mean."
-Garfield the cat

Sacher Cake...yeah I'm back!

Hello my fuzzy furry readers. I've made my magical reappearance, and will now proceed with kicking myself in the butt to post much more. Though, I'm not sure how successful I will be with actually kicking my own butt. I've tried it before, and it's rather awkward. Oh well, maybe I'll ask someone else to kick it. Then again, I may get angry and say angry things and end up kicking their butt too. Ok forget that, I'll just make myself write!
Today I offer you my very first Sacher Cake to feast your eyes upon. I would offer it to you to eat, but I ate it all. Hah!
A Sacher cake is an Italian chocolate cake, a torte really, which has a chocolate ganache and an apricot filling. Supposedly the original recipe back in Italy is only made and the cakes sold at one restaurant. They got in a load of legal shenanigans with another bakery which opened who claimed to have the original. I have no idea what happened with that story, I got too impatient and went to make the cake.
Well I pretty much hate all preserves and jellies except strawberry, so I didn't have any of course. So instead I used some orange marmalade which my mom bought during Christmas time from a little old lady. I liked it with the cake, but there happened to be orange peel in the preserves which was downright disturbing with the cake in my opinion. The ganache and everything else was just lovely together though.
Ta-dah!
Alright here's the recipe!

Sacher Torte
6 egg whites
5 oz semisweet or dark chocolate
1/2 c. butter
6 egg yolks
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/2 c. sugar
3/4 c. all purpose flour
2/3 c. apricot preserves

Ganache
4 oz. semisweet chocolate
2 tbs butter
1/2 c. cream


In a large mixing bowl, allow eff whites to stand at room temperature for 30 minutes. Grease and lightly flour a 9-inch springform pan and set aside. In a heavy saucepan, melt chocolate and butter and let cool. Stir egg yolks and vanilla into the cooked chocolate mixture. Set mixture aside. Beat egg whites with an electric mixer on medium to high speed until soft peaks form. Gradually add sugar, about 1 tbs at a time, beating about 4 minutes until stiff peaks form. Fold about 1 c. of the egg white mixture into the chocoalte mixture. Fold mixture into remaining egg white mixture. Sift about one third of the flour over the chocolate-egg mixture. Gently fold in. Repeat, sifting and folding in one-third of the flour at a time. Spread batter into prepared pan. Bake in a 350 F oven for 35 to 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Cool completely on a wire rack. Remove sides of springform pan. Top will be slightly flaky.
Split the cake evenly in two layers and spread apricot preserves on one half, and replace the other half on top.

Ganache
Melt chocolate and butter over low heat in a small saucepan. In a seperate small saucepan, bring the cream to a gentle boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 2 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in chocolate mixture.

Place cake on a wire rack over a cookie sheet, and pour ganche over to coat all sides and top.

Enjoy it guys. It's good.
Peace out!

~lacey
"Vegetables are a must on a diet. I suggest carrot cake, zucchini bread, and and pumpkin pie."
-Jim Davis "Garfield"